Keeping God's Commandments

By Dan Bailey Keeping the commandments of God is either essential or not essential to salvation. If the keeping of the will of God is essential, then we certainly ought to preach a great deal about doing the will of God. If the keeping of the commandments of God is not essential, then why bother teaching anything about keeping God's commandments?    There are many in the church and in the world today who laugh and scorn the very idea of commandment keeping. They usually say out of one side of their mouth, "Oh yes, I believe that we should keep God's word." But out of the other side of their mouth they say, "Man cannot go to heaven by commandment keeping." It is a practice of false teachers to affirm contradictory propositions. If anyone ever questions them, then they can just quote a verse on the keeping of God's law and continue to teach that man is saved apart from commandment keeping.    Multitudes fail to see the contradiction. Let us open our eyes to the truth! God's law is not contradictory! A true teacher of God's doctrine does not contradict himself! When God's law is preached and followed, there is perfect harmony. "Out of the mouth of the most High proceedeth not evil and good" (Lamentations 3:38).    Let us make some clear statements and support them by the word of God:    One cannot go to heaven who does not do the will of God. We read in Matthew 7:21-23 "21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."    Jesus affirmed that love and commandment keeping go together. "15 If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15). And in John 14:21 we read, "21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. "    Jesus taught that those who do not love Him would fail to do His commandments. "23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. 24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me" (John 14:23,24).    Jesus taught that His friends were those who did His commandments. "Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you" (John 15:14).    Jesus taught that love itself was a commandment. "These things I command you, that ye love one another" (John  15:17).    The inspired apostle John taught that a man was a liar who said that he knew Christ but failed to keep His commandments.  "3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him" (1 John 2:3-5).    God further taught that those who did His commandments would enter into the holy city. "14 Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city" (Revelation 22:14).    It is tragic that men pervert and corrupt the word of God. Even some in the church today are teaching that man cannot be saved by commandment keeping. They separate the gospel from the grace of God. It is true that we are saved by God's grace, but that grace is found in and through the gospel of Christ. That pure gospel teaches us that we must obey God in order to be saved. "8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; 9 And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him" (Hebrews 5:8,9).    All of God's commandments are important. It is our responsibility as Christians to obey those things that our Father has commanded. If we want to be pleasing to God, we cannot pick and choose just the ones that we want to obey. Which commandments will you choose to obey?  "58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord" (1 Corinthians 15:58)   - Dan C. Bailey serves as a minister with the State Street Church of Christ in Bristol, VA. He may be contacted through the congregation's website at https://www.thelordsway.com/statestreetchurchofchrist/framedindex.asp?Group=Home