John 13:34-35
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

James 2:8, 10, 12, 14-18; 20-26

⁸ If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.

 ¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

¹² Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom,

¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? ¹⁵ Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶ If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷ In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.

²⁰ You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? ²¹ Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³ And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,”^[e] and he was called God’s friend. ²⁴ You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

²⁵ In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? ²⁶ As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Matthew 16:27 (ESV)
27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.

2 Corinthians 5:10 (ESV)
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

It is absolutely true that we are saved by grace through faith, not by works lest any man should boast.

But James, in speaking about our life of faith and specifically fulfilling the command to love tells us that we must allow our works to demonstrate our faith, or it is dead faith

Key Text: James 2:8, 10, 12, 14-18; 20-26

Jesus said it this way…By their fruits you will know them (Matthew 7:20)

He also said…

Matthew 16:27 (ESV)
27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.

Paul also reminds us that…

2 Corinthians 5:10 (ESV)
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

So here’s my question, when that day comes how much and what kind fruit will be hanging from your tree? Will it be more or less?

When it comes to the things that Jesus wants us to be doing, I pray it is more, and when it comes to the things He has instructed us not to be doing, I want it to be less

For instance, will we love more or less? We will never regret Loving too much, but we will most assuredly regret loving too little. We will never hear the Lord say, “You loved too much” but we may hear Him say “You didn’t love enough”