Keeping 
the 
Commandments 
By 
Paul 
Chappell 
Saturday, 
Dec 
7, 
2013 
"My 
son, 
keep 
my 
words, 
and 
lay 
up 
my 
commandments 
with 
thee. 
Keep 
my 
commandments, 
and 
live; 
and 
my 
law 
as 
the 
apple 
of 
thine 
eye." 
Proverbs 
7:1-2 
In 
1896, 
the 
pastor 
of 
a 
small 
church 
in 
Topeka, 
Kansas, 
began 
preaching 
a 
series 
of 
sermons 
designed 
to 
encourage 
his 
congregation 
to 
truly 
live 
as 
Jesus 
would 
if 
He 
were 
in 
their 
situation. 
· 
The 
next 
year, 
Charles 
Sheldon 
novelized 
the 
illustrations 
and 
stories 
he 
had 
used 
in 
his 
sermon 
series 
and 
published 
it 
as 
the 
book 
In 
His 
Steps. 
· 
The 
novel 
became 
one 
of 
the 
best-selling 
books 
of 
all 
time 
with 
more 
than 
thirty 
million 
copies 
printed. 
· 
Then 
Sheldon 
encouraged 
readers 
to 
make 
decisions 
based 
on 
the 
answer 
to 
the 
question, 
“What 
Did 
Jesus 
Do?” 
Many 
were 
challenged 
to 
consider 
their 
Christian 
walk 
in 
those 
pages. 
People 
today 
still 
ask 
this 
question 
to 
help 
guide 
them 
in 
making 
important 
decisions. 
Sometimes 
people 
answer 
the 
question 
in 
ways 
that 
reveal 
they 
do 
not 
fully 
understand 
the 
principles 
that 
guided 
Jesus 
during 
His 
earthly 
life. 
· 
With 
complete 
certainty 
and 
confidence 
we 
can 
say 
that 
Jesus 
would 
never 
do 
anything 
that 
violates 
the 
Word 
of 
God. 
He 
declared, 
o 
“Think 
not 
that 
I 
am 
come 
to 
destroy 
the 
law, 
or 
the 
prophets: 
I 
am 
not 
come 
to 
destroy, 
but 
to 
fulfill” 
(Matthew 
5:17). 
· 
Part 
of 
the 
reason 
that 
Jesus 
came 
to 
Earth 
was 
to 
live 
a 
life 
in 
complete 
obedience 
to 
the 
laws 
of 
God. 
The 
most 
important 
way 
we 
demonstrate 
our 
love 
and 
commitment 
to 
Christ 
is 
not 
through 
our 
words 
but 
through 
our 
obedient 
actions. 
· 
Jesus 
said, 
“If 
ye 
love 
me, 
keep 
my 
commandments” 
(John 
14:15). 
o 
Some 
who 
proclaim 
their 
love 
for 
Jesus 
undermine 
the 
validity 
of 
their 
declaration 
by 
refusing 
to 
submit 
to 
His 
commandments. 
· 
We 
cannot 
ever 
truly 
say 
that 
we 
are 
following 
Christ 
unless 
we 
are 
walking 
as 
He 
walked—in 
submission 
to 
the 
will 
of 
the 
Father 
in 
Heaven.