Today we are talking about how to walk upright or in other words how are we supposed to keep from sinning? The Bible says that when we get born again that old things passed away and all things are become new, but what does that really mean?  

Last week we talked about putting on the new man and this is a continuation of that.  If you missed it, you can check it out here.  When you put on the new man, you overcome the devil, flesh and the world’s system.  

David had a hold of these concepts and began to speak in Psalm 119 (the longest psalm) about the Word of God and his love for it. 

Our Verses

9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.

10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.

11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

12 Blessed art thou, O Lord: teach me thy statutes.

13 With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth.

14 I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.

15 I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.

16 I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.

Psalms 119:9-16 KJV

Seek God with your WHOLE Heart

Jesus spoke in Matthew 6 and said that you can’t serve two masters.  This is the same thing that David began this section talking about.  He asks, 

“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.”

It is important to seek God with our whole heart.  It isn’t just about following a list of DOs and DON’Ts.  Instead, it is about putting God first in everything that we do.  

Is He really your LORD? Or just your saviour?

Hide God’s Word in your Heart

11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.

Psalm 119:11 KJV

It takes effort to hide God’s Word in your heart.  It really just starts with memorizing scripture.  As you memorize and think on the verses, speak them out of your mouth.  Then when you speak the words out of your mouth, you will start to hear them not only with your physical ears, but also with your spiritual ears. 

This might be a foreign concept to some people, but it is an important one.  

HEART

Hear with the ear that is inside your heart.

Meditate in His Precepts

This goes right along with the previous point.  The only way that you will hear God’s word in your heart is by meditating on the Word.  

Meditating isn’t sitting in a room going 

“UMMMMM….UMMMMMM….”

It isn’t chanting or some religious word, but that is often what we think when we hear the word “meditate”.  Really all it means is that you speak, think and talk about the Word of God over and over again until it just starts to come out of your pores.  

Think about that movie you get all engrossed in or that TV show.  When you watch it and then you have to go do something else, things in the house or on the job starts to remind you of that show or parts of it.  

That is what we have to be like with the Word of God.  It has to be at the top of our brains so much that everyday life just starts to bring verses back to our memory.  You do something or are having a conversation with someone and you end up saying, “Hey! There’s a scripture about that…”

How does this keep you from sinning and make you walk upright?

You may be asking yourself, “Great but really how does this help me walk upright and not sin?”  

13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Romans 8:13 NKJV

It’s the anointing that breaks the yoke of bondage and heals the sick, raises the dead and makes the captives free.  That anointing rests on the Word of God. That is why all of this matters. 

You can’t quit all your bad habits and get to heaven.  Even more so, you can’t stop sinning without the anointing that rests on the Word of God getting inside of you.