Proverbs 19:27
“Cease, my son,
to hear the instruction that causeth to err
from the words of knowledge.”
There are false instructions, false doctrines, and philosophies of men that will cause people to miss the truth. Because many will listen to the lies of the devil, they will fail to know the truth and to walk in the truth of God to obey Him. The LORD says to stop listening to those false words and preserve your life.
Proverbs 19:8
“He that getteth wisdom loveth his own soul: he that keepeth understanding shall find good.”
Proverbs 16:17
“The highway of the upright
is to depart from evil:
he that keepeth his way
preserveth his soul.”
Proverbs 19:16
“He that keepeth the commandment
keepeth his own soul;
but he that despiseth His ways shall die.”
If no one could ever work to earn their own salvation, then how can we preserve our own lives? It’s true that there’s nothing we alone could do to save ourselves. It takes the blood of Jesus Christ to save us from the death penalty of sinning because God the Father said “the wages of sin is death”.
The Everlasting Covenant has the answer to this question. God commanded His covenant to a thousand generations. Salvation is a free gift which no one has ever, or could ever earn, and that includes all the Old Testament saints who lived by faith (Hebrews chapter 11). God still required their obedience to His covenant in order to receive His free gift they could never earn.
Even though salvation is free and is freely given; it’s not given to everyone no matter what they do or what they believe. If that were true then everyone would be saved, even the wicked who refuse to believe and obey God. That’s just not the gospel.
God’s covenant is conditional. It is required that we keep it by His Spirit which He gives us to empower us to do His perfect will. Even when we fall short and sin, we can still be in obedience and keep His covenant when we do what He’s commanded us to do when we sin, that is we sincerely confess it, repent and turn away from sin and ask His forgiveness as in the Lord’s Prayer. Daily confession and repentance is part of God’s commanded covenant. When we do all these things He’s told us to do, we are keeping His Everlasting Covenant and that’s how we cooperate with God to allow Him to preserve our souls; because He will destroy all the unrepentant wicked, whether or not they were once His children.
1Corinthians 11:31-32
“For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.”
If we refuse to turn from unrepentant sinning then God will eventually also condemn us along with the world, just as that scripture indicates along with many others. Revelation chapters two and three are excellent examples also.
Jesus tells this story of a child of God who is also a servant of God who turned back to serve Satan by unrepentant sinning and He says that he will receive eternal damnation which is the “portion with the unbelievers”.
Luke 12:46
“The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.”
This is an important reason why we must know God’s covenant of salvation and always be mindful to keep it every day. This is how we preserve our own souls.
1 Chronicles 16:15
“Be ye mindful always of His Covenant;
the word which He Commanded
to a thousand generations”
There is a listing in the Bible of all the generations from Adam until Jesus Christ. We can see that from the creation of Adam to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, there have only been 76 generations in around 4,000 years. For me, this shows that we are no where close to having had 1000 generations yet, so this covenant is still binding and in effect today. (More on this at CovenantKeepers . com entitled “To a Thousand Generations”)
It’s God the Father who calls us to Himself when we were dead in our sins. He is the one who first seeks us out. Without His divine intervention, we would never seek Him out because our flesh is weak and it would never choose righteousness itself, it would only seek its own pleasure at the expense of everything and everyone else, just like Satan.
But when we answer God’s call and submit to His will to save us by entering into His Everlasting Covenant, we have cooperated with Him to preserve our own souls. God alone has that power to preserve our souls, but He can’t do it if we don’t cooperate and keep His covenant.
Deuteronomy 7:9-12
“Know therefore that the LORD thy God, He is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant AND MERCY with them that love Him and keep His Commandments to a thousand generations; And repayeth them that hate Him to their face, to destroy them: He will not be slack to him that hateth Him, He will repay him to his face. Thou shalt THEREFORE keep the commandments, and the statutes, and the judgments, which I command thee this day, to do them. WHEREFORE it shall come to pass, IF ye hearken to these judgments, and keep, and do them, THAT the LORD thy God shall keep unto thee the covenant AND THE MERCY which He sware unto thy fathers:”
Psalms 105:6-10
“O ye seed of Abraham His servant, ye children of Jacob His chosen. He is the LORD our God: His judgments are in all the earth. He hath remembered His Covenant for ever, the word which He commanded to a thousand generations. Which Covenant He made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac; And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an Everlasting Covenant:”
The blood of Jesus Christ is called the blood of the Everlasting Covenant, the blood which saved Abraham and the rest of the Old Testament saints.
Hebrews 13:20-21
“Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, THROUGH THE BLOOD OF THE EVERLASTING COVENANT, MAKE YOU PERFECT in every good work to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
Deuteronomy 6:24
“And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, THAT HE MIGHT PRESERVE us alive, as it is at this day.”
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This reminds me of the following scripture: (God’s testimony about Abraham) Genesis 18:19 “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; THAT the LORD MAY BRING upon Abraham that which He hath spoken of him.”
By Abraham’s faith in God, he believed and obeyed God and kept His covenant to enable God to also keep the promises He made to him.
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Joshua 24:17
“For the LORD our God, He it is that brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and which did those great signs in our sight, and PRESERVED us in all the way wherein we went, and among all the people through whom we passed”
Nehemiah 9:6
“Thou, even Thou, art LORD alone; Thou hast made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth, and all things that are therein, the seas, and all that is therein, and Thou PRESERVEST them all; and the host of heaven worshippeth Thee.”
Job 10:12
“Thou hast granted me life and favour, and Thy visitation hath PRESERVED my spirit.”
Job 36:6
“He preserveth not the life of the wicked:
but giveth right to the poor.”
Psalms 16:1
“Preserve me, O God:
FOR in Thee do I put my trust.”
Psalms 25:21
“Let integrity and uprightness preserve me;
for I wait on Thee.”
Psalms 31:23
“O love the LORD, all ye His saints: for the LORD PRESERVETH the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.”
Psalms 32:7
“Thou art my hiding place; Thou shalt PRESERVE me from trouble; Thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.”
Psalms 37:28
“For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not His saints; they are PRESERVED for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off.”
Psalms 40:11
“Withhold not thou Thy tender mercies from me, O LORD: let Thy lovingkindness and THY TRUTH CONTINUALLY PRESERVE me.”
Psalms 41:2
“The LORD will PRESERVE him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and Thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies.”
Psalms 61:7
“He shall abide before God for ever:
O prepare MERCY and TRUTH,
which may PRESERVE him.”
Proverbs 19:23
“The fear of the LORD tendeth to life:
and he that hath it shall abide satisfied;
he shall not be visited with evil.”
Proverbs 19:3
“The foolishness of man perverteth his way: and his heart fretteth against the LORD.”
Here are some more scriptures to encourage you on how God preserves us physically and spiritually in this world and also eternally. This doesn’t mean we won’t face hardships or trials of faith, it means God will hold us up, strengthen us, encourage us, love us, will help us and eventually He will deliver us from these trials like He promises He will.
Psalms 64:1
“Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy.”
Psalms 79:11
“Let the sighing of the prisoner come before Thee; according to the greatness of Thy power preserve Thou those that are appointed to die”
Psalms 86:2
“Preserve my soul;
FOR I AM HOLY:
O Thou my God,
save thy servant that TRUSTETH in Thee.”
When we trust God, we are believing what He says, that He will destroy all the wicked. So we fear that destruction, and we respect God’s authority over our lives and we do our best to obey all His commandments.
Psalms 97:10
“Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: He preserveth the souls of His saints; He delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.”
Psalms 116:6
“The LORD preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and He helped me.”
Psalms 121:7
“The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: He shall preserve thy soul.”
Psalms 121:8
“The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.”
Psalms 140:1
“Deliver me, O LORD, from the evil man: preserve me from the violent man”
Psalms 140:4
“Keep me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from the violent man; who have purposed to overthrow my goings.”