Keep Commandments

 Seven Things We Should Keep

THERE are many things God expects his people to keep. In this article we

wish to call attention to a few of them.

Hearts

We should keep our hearts. "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of

it are the issues of life." (Prov. 4:23.) This was spoken by wise King Solomon.

Again, in Prov. 23:7, we have this significant statement: "for as he thinketh in

his heart, so is he." We are very largely products of our thinking. It is

impossible to think wrong thoughts and live right lives. It we do not think as

we should, we will not live as we should.

"Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are

honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever

things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue,

and if there be any praise, think on these things." (Phil. 4; 8.) God expects

Christians to think on the things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and

of good report. If we have our minds full of such thoughts, there will be no

room for the thoughts that are vulgar and impure.

Bodies

We must keep our bodies under control. This is not always an easy thing

to do. Paul said: "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection; lest

that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a

castaway." (1 Cor. 9:27.) That does not sound like some of the cocksureness we hear in our day.

That does not sound like "once in grace, always in grace." No, if we do not

keep our bodies under, we ourselves shall be cast away. Some otherwise good

preachers have failed miserably in keeping their bodies under. They have

allowed the lusts of the flesh to be their utter ruin and undoing. "Therefore we

ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at

any time we should let them slip." (Heb. 2:1.) It is so easy to drift away.

Unless we keep our bodies under, we shall drift into bell. It takes a live body

and one under perfect control to go upstream. A dead and lifeless body can

drift with the current. The members of our body will war against the Spirit:

hence, they must be brought under subjection and kept under.

Keep Pure

We must keep ourselves pure. Impurity denotes weakness. Paul, in writing

to the young preacher. Timothy, said: "Keep thyself pure." (1 Tim. 5:22.) We

must keep our hearts pure, our words pure, our lives pure. A real Christian is

the purest person on this impure earth. "Who shall ascend into the hill of the

Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a

pure heart: who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully."

(Ps. 24:3, 4.) Are our hands clean? Are our hearts pure?

Jesus said: "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." (Matt.

5:8.) The pure in heart enjoy God: the impure in heart do not enjoy the things

of God. God is pure in all of his attributes. His words are pure. "The words of

the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven

times." (Ps. 12:6.) All of his statues and commandments are pure. "The

statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the

Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes." (Ps. 19:8.) The wisdom of God is pure.

"But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, andeasy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and

without hypocrisy." (James 3:17.)

"Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what

we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him: for

we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth

himself, even as he is pure." (1 John 3:2, 3.)

Peter thought that he should stir up the pure minds of the brethren. "This

second epistle, beloved, I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your

pure minds by way of remembrance.'" (2 Pet. 3:1.) In both of his Epistles he

was stirring the pure minds of the brethren. "Having therefore these promises,

dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and

spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." (2 Cor. 7:1.)

Keep Unspotted

Christians must keep themselves unspotted from the world. We are in the

world, but we are not of the world. I heard an old preacher, who had once

worked in a mine, telling about some young ladies coming to visit the mine.

They asked whether they could go into the mine dressed in white as they were.

The old preacher told them they could go in that way, but they could not

come out that way. Yes, it would be possible to enter a coal mine dressed in

white, but it would be impossible to come out that way. The garments would

be soiled and contaminated. It might be possible for a Christian to enter a

dance hall, a road-house, dens of vice and corruption, but he cannot come out

an unspotted Christian. His garments of righteousness have been soiled. He

has become contaminated with the things of the world. "Pure religion and

undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows

in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." (James

1:27.) And, brethren, the farther we travel toward heaven, and themore we become like Christ, the less attraction worldly things will have for us.

Keep the Word

We must keep the word of God bound up in our hearts. We should be

thinking on it continually. "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel

of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the

scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord: and in his law doth he

meditate day and night." (Ps. 1:1, 2.) Jesus said: "Blessed are they that hear the

word of God, and keep it." (Luke 11:28.) Of course, if we hear, and do not

obey, it will profit us nothing. "But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers

only, deceiving your own selves." (James 1:22.)

Keep the Unity of the Spirit

One tiling badly needed among us today is the unity of the Spirit. We

should keep the unity enjoined by the teaching of the Spirit. There is no more

prolific source of infidelity in the world today than the divided condition

existing in the religious world, and brethren in Christ are divided and

alienated. My brethren, such things ought not so to be. "Endeavoring to keep

the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Eph. 4:3.)

Keep Commandments

Our Master said: "If ye love me, keep my commandments." (John 14:15.)

This is the crucial test of our love. If we do not keep his commandments, the

reason is that we do not love him. "He that hath my commandments, and

keepeth them, he it is that loveth me." (John 14:21.) "If a man love me, he will

keep my words." (John 14:23.) It ought not to be hard from these simple

declarations to know whether we love the Lord. Are we keeping his

commandments? Lord, help us to do this very thing.