Luke 6: 31 NKJV
We've all seen them. Those people who say one thing and yet do another. A coworker of mine has a unique observation on such individuals. Money talks and bull***t walks. Translation, your actions often speak louder than those words which you tell others. If I come across a person who confesses to be a christian and yet engages in destructive behavior I can but come to a few conclusions. Either they do not realize that Spirit which is truly in them {Galations 2:20} or their professed christianity is merely a veil and a disguise. Actions speak louder than words. Yes, I can listen to another person, but what are their actions telling me? That man who claims time and again to be devoted to his family, yet in the shadows he leads a secret life with another woman. Actions speak louder than words. I believe that this is a major contributor as to why others all too often criticize christians as being hypocritical in their dealings with others. We often talk a good game when we tell others of how we are supposed to act and yet all too often we ourselves fall woefully short of that standard we are holding others to. Now, I will not go so far as to characterize most christians as hypocrites, but all too often we fail to see just how our own actions are seen by others. In fact, Jesus warns of this in Matthew 7 when He tells us that "You will know them by their fruits." How is it that others will know that we have Christ in us? It is by our own actions that Christ who is in us will be glorified and personified.
15“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16“You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17“Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18“A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20“Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
Matthew 7: 15 - 20 NKJV
Indeed, if Christ is in us, then all that we do we do as Him. Would Jesus engage in adultry? Would He hold others to a different standard than Himself? No, for I believe that to Jesus actions spoke louder than words. When Jesus spoke of His woes to the Jewish Pharisees, He was speaking to men who would often require others to a righteous standard that they themselves fell far short of. Jesus had some pretty choice words for these men. Hypocrites, blind guides and fools. Was Jesus being too harsh on these religious leaders? Probably not. For if there is one thing about Jesus is that He did not shy away from speaking of the heart of a man. Jesus was speaking of the hearts of these Pharisees, not of the men who they led others to believe that they were. If we believe in our hearts that the Spirit of Christ Jesus resides in us, then it is through our own actions that He will reveal Himself to the world. After all, many would never had seen the Father had it not been for Christ {John 14:7}. For the physical body of Christ was simply a vessel which contained His Spirit. So it is with ourselves, we are mere containers for that Spirit which is in us. It is this Spirit which is exemplified and glorified by all we do. Actions speak louder than words.
7“If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” 8Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” 9Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10“Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11“Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.
John 14: 7 - 11 NKJV
~Scott~
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