A healthy
church knows what it believes. It might have a printed doctrinal statement. It
may have a vision statement supported by a set of core values. These could be
included in new member materials. They may be rehearsed at annual church celebrations.
The church may have parts of them included on their stationary and in their
regular promotion pieces, weekly and monthly. The question is do the church
members live them.
A person and
organization of integrity live what they believe. We have proverbial sayings
that reflect this idea. “What you see is what you get.” Perhaps you have heard
something like “She is true to the heart,” or “He is true to the core.” All of
these would indicate someone lives what they believe. Their life reflects their
speech and their values.
Those who do
not “practice what they preach” have been around as long as man himself. In the
Old Testament, God has a complaint against those who practiced hypocrisy among
his people.
Isa
29:13-14 The Lord said, "These people claim to worship me, but their words
are meaningless, and their hearts are somewhere else. Their religion is nothing
but human rules and traditions, which they have simply memorized. So I will
startle them with one unexpected blow after another. Those who are wise will
turn out to be fools, and all their cleverness will be useless."
The Lord was
not happy with a people who patted themselves on the back for all their
religious rituals and speeches while their lifestyles made a mockery of what they
said about themselves and their piety. In the end the Lord would show the truth
of their hearts.
People had
not changed by the time of Jesus. The religious leaders of his day were
recipients of his wrath as he called them to account for the discrepancy
between their words and their actions.
Mat 23:1-3 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his
disciples. "The teachers of the Law and the Pharisees are the authorized
interpreters of Moses' Law. So you must obey and follow everything they tell
you to do; do not, however, imitate their actions, because they don't practice
what they preach.
Religious
leaders and teachers carry the greater responsibility to be true to their
spoken values. Integrity is of utmost importance. The responsibility is no less
for those who say they are followers. “Practice what you preach.” Live out your
values. Live what you believe.
In
three and one half weeks, the sacred day on the Christian calendar will arrive,
Resurrection Sunday – Easter. For hundreds of millions of believers around the
world, the day represents the reason they are followers of Christ, Christians.
They believe he died as a criminal when he had never committed a crime. They
believe he was buried and on the third day after his burial he was raised alive
from the tomb in a transformed body. They believe his victory over death
confirms the promise that all who follow him in obedience will also be raised
from the dead to live with him for eternity in a new and glorious existence.
Believing
these things about Jesus should affect how we as his followers live.
Resurrection Sunday represents God’s love shown in a supreme way for all those
who love him. If God loves us so, then we should love others. If God was
willing to forgive us because of that love, then we should be willing to
forgive others. If God was willing to give us the hope of eternal life in glory
with him, then we should be willing to offer that same hope to everyone we
meet.
Php 1:27
Now, the important thing is that your way of life should be as the gospel of
Christ requires.
That
is living what we believe.
