Keeping Your Commitment

It has been a month since I signed up at a local gym per doctor’s request. It has not been easy, and I have not been as constant as I must be. But, in order to be healthy, this becomes a requirement for this servant. A commitment was made.

Let us think about this for a couple of minutes. You know you are not living a healthy life, and you also know that, if you keep going that way, there will be complications in the future. You take a decision, and that one is to sign up for a gym. But, once you do that, you are not expected to get there and sit with a cup of coffee and watch everyone who comes in and workout. You are expected to work out. What would be your progress if you just signed up but never show up? What would your coach tell you when you go and talk with him after several months, complaining that you have not seen results, even when you signed up to the best gym in the country? His reply might be, “well, if you do what you committed to doing, you might see the results that you expect”. The order of the things to do is very simple, you need to enter the gym, sign the contract, and keep your word by doing what you agreed to do, right?

There will be one day, when the biggest coach of all will stand firm in front of you, and you will not like him to tell you, face to face, “well, you did not do what you committed to do”. You see, this short article has been written to Christians, to those who at a moment in their lives, understood that their lifestyle was not healthy, or in better words, it was worldly, not according to what God expects, and therefore, decided to, instead of opening the doors of a gym, open the Bible and read it, and later on, after many prayers, study, and meditation, signed up the contract, not in paper and ink, but in water and blood, through the waters of baptism to be redeemed of their sins and added by the Lord to His church (Acts 2:37-47). That same day you were immersed in that water, you COMMITTED to Christ. Not to a gym or a building which is temporal and will be destroyed someday, but to the immortal Word who gives life, eternal life (John 1:1-4, 3:16, 6:63). Being a contract with God, there is no need to “read the small print” because he has nothing to hide or trick us. He simply expects we live godly lives, submitting ourselves to Him, and serve Him and all humanity by following the example He set in front of us, His only begotten Son.

God reminds us, through His Word, in the first place, that our bodies are His Temple:

“Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are [emphasis added, MR]”

1 Corinthians 3:16-17.

In this passage, He is not meaning each one, as individuals, but the entire group, Christians, the body of Christ. The building is not the church, the members are, and when the members come together to worship God, as approved by Him, there is no doubt that the Spirit dwells there. How does the Spirit dwell in us? He is a person, Deity, an intelligent being, not as a parasite that governs or directs us as some suggest, but through our submission and obedience to God’s Word, which was written by men who were moved [inspired] by Him (2 Peter 1:20-21). Do people see your dad or mom in you? You might have heard that before, but that does not mean that they dwell, literally, inside of you. People see the example and teachings of them in you. Because of time and space, this writer cannot get into more details on this, but strongly recommends you look for brother Robert R. Taylor, Jr.’s book, “The Bible Doctrine of the Holy Spirit”, and read chapters 16 and 17.

Second, our bodies are not ours, Christ paid a high price for them (1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Acts 20:28). In this passage, He is talking about our souls, not about the church as previously studied. Each soul is precious to God (2 Peter 3:9). We usually take care of things that are not ours, because we do not want to be charged for or to replenish them. So, why we do not honor God with “our” bodies as we should? Once again, I recommend reading brother Taylor’s chapters in regards to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Finally, getting back to our example of signing up in a gym, it is not about how we look, but how healthy we are. Our spiritual being is more important than our temporal body. The apostle Paul in his first letter to his son in the faith stated, “For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come” (1 Timothy 4:8). That beautiful body you are so dedicated will be eaten by worms someday, no matter how much work you put into it. What about your spiritual body? The one that gives you benefits not only in this life, but in the next one. How are you keeping your daily routine of hiding God’s word in your heart, so you do not sin against Him (Psalm 119:11, Colossians 3:16)? How many miles are you putting on the treadmill of going out and preaching Christ to the entire world (Matthew 28:19-20, Mark 16:15)? How are you lifting the weight of doing good unto all men (Galatians 6:10, Ephesians 2:10)? Please, dear brethren and friends, keep in mind that we are not running a sprint, but a marathon, a long marathon (1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Revelation 2:10)

Keeping our earthly bodies healthy is a good thing, but keeping our spiritual bodies godly is the best thing we can achieve in this life. Keep your commitments, not only with mankind, but be sure to give God what He deserves, all the time. Are you coming to assembly with the body of Christ this coming Sunday, or do you prefer to forsake them as many do (Hebrews 10:25)?

We hope and pray you do, but it is up to you to take such a big decision based on how committed you are to the Lord. To God be all glory.

May God bless you richly today and always.