It is true that Cain asked God, “Am I my brother’s keeper?<\/em>” (Genesis 4:9). It is true that the apostle John said, “Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous<\/em>” (I John 3:12). Strongly implied in both passages is the truth that we are <\/b>our brother’s keeper. We are bound by love to be interested in the welfare of others, both temporal and spiritual.<\/p>\n The hungry will not be fed unless someone is willing to provide for their needs. “For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat<\/em>” (Matthew 25:35). Those who hunger for the spiritual food of God’s word need feeding. To whom are you indebted for the hearing of the gospel of Christ, the power of God unto salvation (Romans 1:16)? Somebody cared enough for you to be his brother’s keeper. I know for a fact that you did not conceive and write out the gospel. No man living today had a part in this “God-breathed” writing (II Timothy 3:16). But somebody did! God used somebody who cared enough to suffer physical and mental affliction to see that the word of God became the written word and that it be preserved for us today.<\/p>\n But there is another and equally important sense in which you are a keeper. Jesus taught that keeping must begin with you<\/strong>. “Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye<\/em>” (Matthew 7:5). Notice the order of priority<\/strong>. First<\/strong>, do what? Be your own keeper first. Sin in your own life will blind you to the needs of others.<\/p>\n Observe some “keeps.”<\/p>\n Have you ever committed a sin? Even one? Since you became a Christian? When was the last time you sinned by word or deed? Have you wounded some soul today? Have you caused one foot to go astray? I suppose there are those who would answer “no” or never to all of these. The scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ day professed such righteousness. “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness<\/em>” (Matthew 23:27). To profess or even think that we are without sin is an affront to God. God knows better!<\/p>\n “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us<\/em>” (I John 1:8-10). Get down off that pedestal you have put yourself on! “And whosoever shalt exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted<\/em>” (Matthew 23:12).<\/p>\n Let’s first be our own keeper. Take the word of God, the mirror for the soul, and humbly and sincerely compare our lives with truth. We have nothing to fear from truth. It is the best friend we can have. Truth will not lie to preserve a friendship. Truth will not hide the spots and blemishes. Truth will reveal to us what the Lord already knows. No one has invested as much in you as you. What a tragedy to fret and worry about others and neglect to “Keep yourself<\/em>!”<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Kenneth Frazier via\u00a0Sentry Magazine, Vol. 20 No. 3, September 1994 It is true that Cain asked God, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” (Genesis 4:9). It is true that the apostle John said, “Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[354],"class_list":["post-94085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-responsibility"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":54982,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/am-i-my-brothers-keeper\/","url_meta":{"origin":94085,"position":0},"title":"Am I My Brother\u2019s Keeper?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 6, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Steven Harper You may be familiar with the story in which the title for today's\u00a0article was spoken,\u00a0and probably just as familiar with its popular usage today. In the Bible story, Cain had killed his brother Abel and God said to Cain,\u00a0\"Where is Abel your brother?\"\u00a0(Genesis 4:9). Cain's reply was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":22176,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-cain-the-son-of-the-devil\/","url_meta":{"origin":94085,"position":1},"title":"Was Cain the son of the Devil?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 16, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: My Sunday school teacher says that Cain is the son of the Devil. I don't see where in the Bible this is true. Is it? Answer: If your teacher means physically, then it is time to find a better teacher. \"Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":68041,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-the-dead-return-to-haunt-their-killers\/","url_meta":{"origin":94085,"position":2},"title":"Do the dead return to haunt their killers?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 12, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Dear brethren, I hope I find you well. I need your input on whether the dead return to haunt or get revenge on their killers. It's a hot topic in this region. One preacher wrote the following arguments in favor of the spirits avengers. Afternoon, Brother's. Allow me to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":50626,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/was-cain-conceived-by-satan\/","url_meta":{"origin":94085,"position":3},"title":"Was Cain conceived by Satan?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 23, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: [Since the author believes himself wise, I left the original note unedited.] Who ever said that Cain is Adams' son and not the devil or Satan the Dragon or what ever name you want to use is out of there mind Very simply first check the Hebrew manuscripts and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27125,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-bibles-impact-on-language\/","url_meta":{"origin":94085,"position":4},"title":"The Bible’s Impact on Language","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 9, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Many common phrases in American English have their roots in the Bible. Tell which book of the Bible each quote or allusion comes from: All things to all people Cast the first stone Doubting Thomas Eat, drink, and be merry Forbidden fruit Man after his own heart Salt of the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16783,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wouldnt-a-new-testament-church-realize-that-we-are-our-brothers-keepers\/","url_meta":{"origin":94085,"position":5},"title":"Wouldn’t a New Testament church realize that we are our brothers’ keepers?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 6, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: On\u00a0the home page, it says that you really don't participate in community activities, fundraisers, home missions, or anything like that, in the way I interpreted it anyway. Wouldn't a New Testament church realize that we are our brothers' keepers? And that James said faith without works is dead? 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