Why should I obey God's commandments if He will love me either way?

By CopticBot.ai (Coptic Space Inc.) · Last reviewed 2026-10-10

To understand why we must keep the commandments of God despite His unchanging love, we must look at the nature of love and the reality of our salvation from a Coptic Orthodox perspective.

The commandments are not arbitrary rules given by a legalistic judge to earn His affection; rather, they are the "spiritual medicine" and the "path of life" that allow us to actually experience and abide in that love.

1. Love and Obedience Are Inseparable

As documented in the writings of the Fathers, such as the Venerable Bede in his commentary on the Catholic Epistles, one cannot claim to love God while ignoring His word. He asks: "Who is there who would say that he loves the emperor but cannot abide his laws?" If you claim to love God but ignore His commandments, your love is a lie. True love produces alignment of the will. Our Lord said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15).

2. The Commandments Are for Our Healing

God is like a physician, and the commandments are the prescription. He loves the sick man and the healthy man equally, but the sick man who refuses the medicine will not recover. By ignoring the commandments, you are not transitioning away from God's love, but you are transitioning away from life. Sin—which is the breaking of commandments—is literally "missing the mark." When you sin, you choose death, and even though God loves you in that state, you are making yourself incapable of enjoying His presence.

3. Love as "Consuming Fire"

In Coptic theology, particularly in the Alexandrian tradition, God's love is often compared to a "consuming fire."

• To the saint who keeps the commandments, that fire is light and warmth—Paradise.
• To the person who remains in sin and ignores the commandments, that same love feels like burning and judgment.

If you do not listen to God, His love does not change, but you change. You harden your heart, like Pharaoh, until you can no longer perceive His love as a good thing. Listening to the commandments is how we soften our hearts so that God’s love remains a blessing to us rather than a condemnation.

4. Avoiding the Deception of "Mercy" Without "Truth"

We must be careful not to fall into the Protestant error of "cheap grace" or the "deception" described by the Fathers. St. John warns us that many deceivers have gone out into the world. If you use God’s love as an excuse to sin, you are being deceived by the "antichrist" spirit (as mentioned in the commentary on 2 John). As St. John Chrysostom and other Fathers teach, those who turn away from hearing the law find that even their prayers become an "abomination" because they are acting in rebellion against the Truth.

5. The Goal of Theosis

The purpose of the Christian life is not just to be "loved," but to be transformed into the likeness of Christ. This transformation, or Theosis, is only possible through a life of active faith and obedience. Without the commandments, you remain a "person of the world", stuck in your passions.

You listen to the commandments because you want to be with Him, not just be a distant object of His pity. We keep the commandments to maintain our fellowship/communion with the Holy Trinity, for as the scriptures say, "He who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him" (1 John 3:24).