Staying on Course

We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. 1 John 2:3

We aren’t saved by keeping the commandments, but we can be sure we know the Lord if we keep His commandments. “The man who says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 John 2:4). John doesn’t beat around the bush. He simply says that if you say that you are saved, but you don’t do what God says, you are a liar. He isn’t expecting us to be perfect. We are all sinners. If we didn’t sin, we wouldn’t need salvation. Yet we have come to know him if we keep his commandments.

The word “keep” was used by sailors sailing by the stars. They would plot the heavens, then keep the boat going in the right direction by “keeping to the stars.” To keep His commandments means to steer your life by His Word. That’s the goal of the Christian life. A sailor might get distracted and get off course, but when he realizes his problem, he goes right back on course. That’s the way it is with the child of God. We sometimes take our eyes off Him and fail, but the desire of our hearts is to keep His commandments.

You aren’t saved by keeping the commandments, but the evidence of being saved is your desire to live by them.