It has come to my attention many times and often that people say one thing but do another thing. Why is this? Well I am not one to speak on behalf of others, so I do not know. I've been contemplating how to handle this topic for a while now and this blog has been sitting in my drafts for a few weeks. I pray that I what has been on my heart does justice to this topic and can be put into words that you can understand.
"Preach the gospel at all times, and when necessary use words."
In all honesty, it is easy to say that you are a Christian. Well...what is a Christian? I'm glad you asked: a Christian is a person who has professed their belief in Jesus as Christ and follows the religion ased on the life and teachings of Jesus. This means that you must admit that you are a sinner and are truly sorry for your sins, believe that Jesus came and died for your sins, and confess Jesus as Lord and Savior of your life. After you have confessed these things in front of you new brothers and sisters in Christ, a change must occur. I'm not saying that this change will happen over night, because it doesn't. It take time...and a lot of it.
This blog is not for those who have just given their lives to Christ but for those who have been in Christ for a while, for those using their spiritual gifts to benefit God's people and His kingdom.
As the quote stated above, we must preach the gospel at all times and when necessary we should use our words. For those who do not understand: ministry is most effective with the life that we live.
Imagine that I am new to the church scene and I live my life how I want to live. If I see you doing the same things that I do, and you are trying to get me to give my life to Christ, it would make no sense for me to listen to you. You were at the club last night and you showed up to church late and in the same thing you had on last night, now you're shouting in church how God changed you? You are getting in bed with the whole choir, and you are trying to tell me right from wrong? You are constantly bad mouthing people behind their back and have the audacity to smile in their face? I can't take you serious. Why would I listen to one word that came out of your mouth? Even if you are speaking the word of God to me, all I can think about is the life that you are showing me.
Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisess, you hypocrites! you are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outsid but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything enclean. In the samy way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous jbut on the inside you are full of hypocracy and wickedness. (Matthew 23:27-28 NIV)
Not only are you hindering the worship of others, but you are hindering the worship and possible relationship that you can have with the Lord. We must serve God with a pure heart. It says in Matthew 5:8, "Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God."
When they say that actions speak louder than words, they weren't lying. Before you can open your mouth to say that another person, "God is good," they have already seen how you act and what you do. Be careful in what you do, what you say, and how you act, especially if you are putting God's name out there for people to see. You are making it easy for non-believers to just throw in the towel and give up on God. He never gave up on you so show people why you call Him your Father, you way maker, you delieverer, you Savior.
I am going to end with this scripture and let you ponder on the life you are showing to others. In Peter 1:15-16 it states, "But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."
No comments:
Post a Comment