What Does It Mean to Keep Jesus’ Commandments?

Guarding His Words by Treasuring and Obeying Them

“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”
—John 14:15

In our previous lesson, “Will Your House Stand When the Storm Comes?” we considered the two builders described by Jesus in Matthew 7:24–27. Both men heard His words, but only one acted upon them. The wise man built his house upon the rock by hearing what Jesus said and putting it into practice.

This leads us to an important question: What did Jesus mean when He told His followers to “keep” His commandments?

At first, the answer may seem obvious: keeping His commandments means obeying them. That is certainly true, but the word “keep” carries an even richer meaning. It includes the ideas of treasuring, guarding, preserving, observing, and practicing something valuable.

Jesus was not merely telling us to remember His words. He was telling us to give His words a protected place of authority within our hearts—and then allow them to govern how we live.

Keeping Begins With Loving

Notice the order of Jesus’ statement:

“If you love Me, keep My commandments.”

Jesus did not say, “Keep My commandments so that I might begin to love you.” Neither did He say that we can earn salvation by obeying enough rules.

Our obedience is not the price of His love. It is our response to His love.

We are saved by grace through faith, not by our works. No amount of obedience can erase our sins, purchase our forgiveness, or make us worthy of salvation. Jesus accomplished what we could never accomplish when He died for our sins and rose again.

However, the grace that saves us also begins changing us. When we truly love Jesus, we increasingly desire to please Him. Obedience becomes the evidence of our relationship with Him—not the payment required to obtain it.

We do not obey Jesus to become loved. We obey because we have been loved.

What Are the Commandments of Jesus?

The commandments of Jesus cannot be reduced to a small checklist. They include the entire way of life He taught and demonstrated.

Jesus calls us to:

• Believe in Him and trust the Father.

• Love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.

• Love our neighbors as ourselves.

• Love one another as He has loved us.

• Repent of sin and forgive those who have wronged us.

• Pray for our enemies.

• Speak the truth.

• Live with humility, purity, compassion, and generosity.

• Care for those who are suffering.

• Make disciples and share the Gospel.

• Abide in Him and remain faithful.

These are not separate duties disconnected from one another. They grow from a heart surrendered to Jesus and governed by love.

Jesus said:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you.”
—John 13:34

Biblical love is more than a warm feeling. It is a decision to seek another person’s good, even when doing so is inconvenient, costly, or undeserved.

Keeping Means Guarding His Words

We carefully protect the things we consider valuable. We secure important documents, guard our homes, and protect the people we love.

Do we guard the words of Jesus with that same seriousness?

The enemy’s first recorded temptation began with a challenge to God’s Word: “Has God indeed said?” Deception frequently begins by questioning, diluting, twisting, or dismissing something God has spoken.

We must guard the words of Jesus against:

• Cultural pressures that call disobedience acceptable.

• Personal feelings that seem more authoritative than Scripture.

• Religious traditions that contradict His teaching.

• Teachers who remove verses from their proper context.

• Selective obedience that accepts His promises but rejects His corrections.

• A distorted understanding of grace that excuses continued rebellion.

Guarding the Word does not mean that we must angrily debate everyone who disagrees with us. It means that we refuse to let deception remove Christ’s truth from our hearts.

We can listen to teachers, pastors, authors, and online speakers, but everything they say—including everything written in these lessons—must be examined in the light of Scripture.

Keeping Means Doing

James wrote:

“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
—James 1:22

It is possible to hear many sermons, attend Bible studies, underline verses, and discuss theology without allowing the Word to change our behavior.

Knowledge by itself is not obedience.

If Jesus tells us to forgive, keeping His commandment means beginning the difficult work of forgiveness.

If He tells us to pray for those who hurt us, keeping His commandment means bringing their names before the Father.

If He warns us against anxiety, keeping His Word means repeatedly surrendering our fears to God.

If He tells us to speak truthfully, keeping His commandment affects our conversations, business dealings, and private conduct.

If He tells us to love one another, keeping His commandment changes the way we treat people who are different from us.

The question is not only, “Do I know what Jesus said?”

The deeper question is, “Am I doing what He said?”

Obedience Is Not Sinless Perfection

First John 2:3 teaches that we know Him when we keep His commandments. This does not mean that genuine Christians never stumble. First John also teaches that if we claim to have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and that when we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us.

The difference is not between people who have never failed and people who have failed. We have all failed.

The difference is found in the direction of the heart.

A follower of Jesus may stumble, but does not want to make peace with sin. When the Holy Spirit brings conviction, that person confesses, turns back to God, and continues walking with Him.

Keeping Christ’s commandments describes the continuing direction of a believer’s life—not a claim of flawless performance.

Peter failed Jesus terribly, but he returned to Him. Judas remained hardened and walked away.

Failure does not have to be final. Jesus still calls us to return, repent, and follow Him.

We Cannot Do This Without the Holy Spirit

Jesus did not leave His disciples to obey through human determination alone. Immediately after speaking about keeping His commandments, He promised the coming of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus later said:

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit…will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.”
—John 14:26

The Holy Spirit helps us understand the Word, brings it back to our remembrance, convicts us when we disobey, and gives us strength to choose what pleases God.

This does not mean we remain passive and expect the Spirit to obey for us. Neither does it mean we can succeed through willpower without Him.

Christian obedience is a partnership of surrender. We yield ourselves to God, and He works within us to produce both the desire and the ability to do His will.

We take the coat off, and we put the coat on—but we depend upon God for the strength to do it.

Obedience Will Sometimes Be Costly

Keeping the commandments of Jesus is easy when His teaching agrees with our preferences. The true test often comes when obedience costs us something.

Will we forgive when we feel justified in holding a grudge?

Will we tell the truth when dishonesty might benefit us?

Will we remain faithful when compromise would make life easier?

Will we love someone who has treated us unfairly?

Will we wait for God’s timing when we desperately want immediate relief?

Will we obey Jesus when the surrounding culture mocks what He taught?

The strength of our commitment is revealed when obedience becomes difficult. Faith that has never been tested has never demonstrated how deeply its roots have grown.

Obedience Keeps Us Close to Jesus

Jesus said:

“If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love.”
—John 15:10

This does not mean that God stops loving His children every time they make a mistake. It means that obedience allows us to live in the enjoyment, fellowship, and fruitfulness of His love.

A disobedient believer may still know many facts about Jesus while becoming spiritually distant, restless, and unfruitful. Disobedience clouds our fellowship with God. Obedience keeps our hearts tender and responsive to Him.

His commandments are not prison bars designed to deprive us of life. They are loving boundaries that protect us from the destruction of sin.

A child may not understand every instruction given by a loving father, but the father sees dangers the child cannot see. In the same way, we may not immediately understand why God requires something of us. We obey because we trust His wisdom, character, and love.

A Daily Practice of Keeping His Word

We can learn to keep the words of Jesus through a simple daily pattern:

1. Hear His Word. Read Scripture slowly and attentively.

2. Treasure His Word. Treat what Jesus says as more valuable than personal opinion or cultural approval.

3. Understand His Word. Consider its context and ask what He is truly teaching.

4. Guard His Word. Refuse to let deception, temptation, or hardship take it from your heart.

5. Apply His Word. Identify the specific action, attitude, or belief that must change.

6. Ask for help. Depend upon the Holy Spirit for wisdom and strength.

7. Obey promptly. Delayed obedience can easily become disobedience.

8. Return when you fail. Confess your sin, receive God’s forgiveness, and begin walking faithfully again.

We should not read the Bible merely to finish a chapter. We should read it to hear from God and respond to Him.

The Question Is Personal

It is easy to examine whether other people are obeying Jesus. It is much harder—and much more important—to allow His Word to examine us.

Where have I heard Jesus but not acted upon what He said?

Is there someone I need to forgive?

Is there a habit I need to surrender?

Is there a truth I have avoided because it makes me uncomfortable?

Have I allowed disappointment, suffering, or mistreatment to weaken my obedience?

Am I following Jesus only when His commands agree with my desires?

These questions are not meant to drive us into despair. They invite us into a closer walk with Christ.

The Lord does not reveal an area of disobedience merely to condemn us. He reveals it so that we can confess it, surrender it, and experience the freedom of walking in His truth.

Hear, Treasure, Guard, Obey, and Abide

Keeping Jesus’ commandments is not cold rule-following. It is the daily expression of a loving and trusting relationship with Him.

We hear His words.

We treasure His words.

We guard His words.

We obey His words.

We abide in His love.

The wise builder did not merely admire the words of Jesus. He built his life upon them.

When deception comes, we guard His truth.

When temptation comes, we obey His truth.

When suffering comes, we trust His truth.

When we fail, we return to His truth.

And when we finally stand before Him, may our lives demonstrate that we did more than hear what He said. May it be evident that we loved Him enough to keep His commandments.

Closing Prayer

Father, thank You for giving us Your Word and for sending Your Son to show us the way of truth and life. Forgive us for the times we have heard the words of Jesus without putting them into practice. Teach us to treasure His commandments, guard them in our hearts, and obey them in our daily lives.

Protect us from deception, selective obedience, and the temptation to follow our feelings instead of Your truth. When we fail, help us to confess our sin and return quickly to You. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit and give us both the desire and the strength to do what pleases You.

May our obedience grow from love rather than fear or pride. Help us build our lives upon the words of Jesus so that we will remain faithful when the storms come. May everything we do bring honor to Christ and prepare us to hear Him say, “Well done.”

In Jesus’ name, amen.