Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death.”
I know what it means to keep my word but what does it mean to keep His?
Just to simplify my intentions here let us look at the Greek definition used in John 8:51.
Logos “a word or saying,” also means “an account which one gives by word of mouth”. Source Vine’s Dictionary
The simplest definition seems the best. Whenever we speak His Word it should be accurate in meaning and use. It should be an accounting, a right representation of the Word of Jesus.
We have the bible which we read and study, memorize and quote. This seems to be the most reasonable understanding of what it means to keep His Word.
I have four bibles in my home which I rarely open. Is that keeping His Word? If I were to argue it is available to refer to when needed, I could say it is keeping His Word.
I have a bible app on my phone. More and more people have found that convenient to carry around and use. Pastors have had to get used to the notion that his flock is not texting during his sermon. Is that keeping His Word? Sure just as much as my four bibles sitting on a shelf.
When I go into a store and leave my wife in the car on a hot day and turn on the air and leave my phone connected so she can listen to music, am I leaving His Word rather than keeping it?
I would argue that His Word resides in my heart and if needed is available to be spoken aloud. Do I speak from the heart or from an aging and fallible memory? The hearer would not know one way or the other. It might sound right but unfamiliar, or it might sound foreign according to that person’s beliefs.
That is a simple explanation. We need not complicate it any more than that.
What does keeping His Word mean to you?