Summary:

God's love is unconditional; however, His love for us shouldn't be an excuse to continue in sin. We must know how to properly respond to God's love.
We demonstrate that we love God by obeying His commandments. If we
don't obey God, we demonstrate that we don't really love Him.

1. We love God because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).
   1. God's love for us is not based on what we have or haven't done.
   2. God loves us because He is love.
   3. How do we love God?
      1. We love Him by obeying His commandments (John 14:15).
      2. We demonstrate our love by saying no to those things that seduce us away from God.
      3. We love Him by not allowing Satan to distract us from our personal time with Him.
         1. Our heavenly Father has blessed us when we didn't deserve it.
         2. We come to church and read our Bibles to experience God, Himself, not for a show or to be religious.
            
            
2. Sin can be wiped away by repentance and through the blood of Jesus. The problem arises when you choose to stay in sin (1 John 5:3).
   1. Partial or delayed obedience is still disobedience.
   2. Choose whom you will serve: God or Satan.
   3. Obeying God's commandments does not cause grief and regret (1 John 5:3, AMP).
      1. Many times people think that doing what God says will cause them grief and loss.
      2. For example, the rich young ruler thought he would lose out by serving God.
      3. When you try to fulfill selfish desires, you will lose something. However, there is great gain when you obey God. %3