Since Jesus came to earth as a Jew under the authority of the old covenant and to teach on the new covenant would have been a transgression against the old covenant, effectively negating everything Jesus came to earth to accomplish, Jesus had to carefully weave His teaching on the new covenant together with His fulfillment of the old covenant in such a way as to not transgress the old covenant. Therefore, when considering what Jesus said and did prior to His death on the cross, we must ask ourselves, "Is this old covenant principal or new covenant principal?" You see, the old covenant was chartered between the Father God and the Jewish Nation. Any Gentile, or non-Jewish person, who wanted to partake of the old covenant first had to convert to Judaism. They had to become a Jew.
At the point of Jesus' birth in Bethlehem, the Jews had so interpreted the law that there was very little resemblance between the words of their bibles and what was taught in their churches. In the beginning of Jesus' ministry, He attempted to take the Jewish people back to the original Word of God, the un-interpreted version, but as He progressed in this purpose the Jews rejection of Jesus became more overt and toward the end of His ministry He taught more on the new covenant. John's gospel holds a beautiful picture of this transition. As Jesus neared the cross He taught the masses less and became more intimate with His chosen 12. He still could not openly teach on the new covenant because His first priority was to fulfill the old covenant.
Thus Jesus' statements, "If you love me, keep my commandments," and again, "You are my disciples if you keep my commandments," are absolutely key to the new covenant. The difference between these two statements and the two old covenant statements Jesus made earlier is clear. Under the old covenant the priority was love, but under the new covenant, the priority is obedience and this obedience is critical to new covenant thinking. Without obedience you cannot be Jesus' disciple. Now again, let us consider that Jews were born into the old covenant, but no one is born into the new covenant. The new covenant is accessed by faith and obedience.
Consider this, Bill Gates made millions of dollars developing and selling computers. He is now in the process of giving most of this money away in great acts of philanthropy. Do these acts of love make him a disciple of Jesus? No! This is because it is not love that makes one a disciple of Jesus, nor does love assure one a forever home in heaven. What does assure one a forever home in heaven? Obedience!
The emphasis the Church puts on love is a humanistic perspective. As Christians we must be careful not to emphasize certain points that speak to our humanity over those made by God. Jesus did not say, "You are my disciples if you love one another." He did say, "You are my disciples if you obey." Therefore, removing certain commandments from the scripture that do not fit within the parameters of our thinking to focus on some that do is not walking in obedience and obedience is the point Jesus stressed.
One thing that is important for us to remember is that we are not God. Christians, supposedly, serve a being greater than themselves. When they allow their own sensibilities to weigh too heavily on one thing God has said to the exclusion of another they are in danger of creating another god. A god of their own making; a god who will not respond to their needs. Remember that Elijah mocked the worshipers of Baal, saying, cry louder, for perhaps he has gone off on a journey and cannot hear you. But Baal never answered because he was not a god at all, he was only a figment of imagination created by the minds of those who worshiped him. Christians have the same opportunity. We can either rightly divide God's truth and carefully place our emphasis where He does; we can let His Word define His terms and follow in His footsteps or we devise our own path, place our emphasis where we see fit and deceive ourselves into thinking that our god is better than the one true God. Where does that leave us?
A creation of our own thinking is convenient and safe for us. Our god closely resembles us and His ways are our ways. His worship feels natural to us and we are his mouthpiece. We can trust in our words. However, our god, the creation of our thinking and reasoning, has no power to deliver us from ourselves.
It is obedience, not love, that makes one a Christian. By changing the emphasis from obedience to love the Church has created a new god to worship. Love is seen and viewed as the highest goal and aim and all the Church strives for love but the God they pray to, their god of love, cannot deliver them. He has no hands, no feet; he is a figment of their imagination, a creation of their own minds. Jesus, the Son of the One True God, emphasized obedience to His commands. Oddly enough, if we were to obey His command to wait for the baptism with the Spirit and allow the Living Water to pour forth from our bellies, miracles, healings, signs and wonders would flow over the earth like water, delivering the masses from so much trouble and torment and all would experience the great love and compassion of God. Our God is love, but it is by obedience that we experience our God's great love.