Keep…
We find the word “keep” in many verses throughout the scriptures. Here are some in the order they appear –
“Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.” (Psalm 34:13)
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23)
“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
“But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.” (Luke 11:28)
“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.” (John 14:23)
“Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:3)
“Lay hands suddenly on no man, neither be partaker of other men’s sins: keep thyself pure.” (1 Timothy 5:22)
“Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.” (1 John 5:21)
“Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.” (Jude 21)
Let’s focus a little on several of the above verses.
“Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.” (Psalm 34:13)
Paul in his letter to the Ephesians says, “Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:31-32)
James in his epistle, has a lot to say about the tongue.. In one verse, he says, “Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.” (James 3:10)
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23)
The next verse says, “Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. (Proverbs 4:24)
The heart has been referred to as being symbolic of man’s innermost being. The Lord Jesus said, “But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: These are the things which defile a man: …” (Matthew 15:18-20)
“The issues of life will proceed from the heart, but, it is the mouth and the lips that will do the speaking. Someone has put it like this: “What is in the well of the heart will come up through the bucket of the mouth.” How true it is that sooner or later the mouth will reveal what is in our heart.” 1
“Little children, keep yourselves from idols. Amen.” (1 John 5:21)
Idols are those things that divert our attention away from God – those things that constantly tug at us to try and draw us away from our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus Christ should have the preeminence in our lives. Here are a few helpful verses to encourage us to do so:
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness…”. (Matthew 6:33)
Since ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-3)
“…Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. (Galatians 5:16)
“Keep yourselves in the love of God…” (Jude 21)
“Jude is saying, Keep yourselves out there in the sunshine of God’s love.” Let His love flood your heart and life.” 2
“Keep yourselves in the love of God” means to keep oneself in the consciousness in that fellowship with the Father and with the Son…, that is, enjoying the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 3
“Here the love of God can be compared to the sunshine. The sun is always shining. But when something comes between us and the sun, we are no longer in the sunshine. That’s the way it is with the love of God. It is always beaming down upon us. But if sin comes between us and the Lord, then we are no longer enjoying His love in practice. We can keep ourselves in His love first of all by lives of holiness and godliness. And if sin should come between, then we should confess and forsake that sin immediately. The secret is to let nothing come between us and God.” 4
Nothing between my soul and the Savior,
Naught of this world’s delusive dream,
Nothing preventing the least of His favor,
Keep the way clear, let nothing between.
~ Charles A. Tindley
1 (J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible, Volume III (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1982), 20-21.
2 (J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible, Volume V (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1983), 873.
3 (Arno C. Gaebelein, Gaebelein’s Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (Neptune, NJ: Loizeaux Brothers Inc., 1985), 1195.
4 (William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1995), 2345.