Do You Live What You Believe?
Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, sacrifice to Baal and go after other gods that you don’t know, and then come and stand before me in this temple that bears my name, and say, “We are safe,” only to keep on doing all these detestable things?
Jeremiah 7:10-11
Someone once asked, “If you were on trial for being a Christian would there be enough evidence to convict you?” If you listen closely to what Jesus said about being His disciple you’ll understand that He expects us to be with Him, to follow Him, to be like Him. And if we are like Jesus then everyone will know that we are one of His followers.
Do you live what you believe? Do you know what you believe? Is your faith more than just knowledge of doctrine? Does your faith show up in the way you talk? The way you walk? The way you act? The way you react?
It’s true that no one is perfect but if we are Christ followers we should all be in the process of life change. It’s true that God loves us just the way we are but it’s also true He loves us too much to leave us the way we are. God wants us to “be conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29).
One of the greatest excuses unbelievers give for not becoming a Christian is the sloppy way people who are Christians live. We often give the unbeliever nothing to convert to. He or she sees little or no difference between the way we live and the way they live.
Is the problem with God’s salvation? “Jesus saves”, we sing, but does He? Does He do more than deliver us from hell (something I’m quite happy He does)? Yes, He does more than deliver us from hell; He delivers us from sin. The Bible says that all who believe on Jesus become “new creations” and that means we have a brand new life. We were dead—now we are alive. We were in darkness—now we are in the light. We were part of Satan’s kingdom—now we are citizens of the kingdom of God.
So why is it we sometimes find ourselves not living what we believe?
The believers in Corinth were carnal in the way they lived. Paul even went so far as to say, “are you not behaving like mere men” (1 Corinthians 3:3) meaning it was hard to tell the difference between them and people who didn’t even know Christ. Paul then gave the reason for their struggle; they were spiritually immature...they hadn’t grown up in Christ.
You’ve seen pictures of malnourished children. They are emaciated and under developed. Their bodies have not received enough nourishment. Many believers are spiritually emaciated and under developed. Their souls have not received enough nourishment. The nourishment we need to grow comes from the truth and knowledge we gain from reading and studying scripture; praying and spending time with the Lord; fellowshipping with other believers; being honest with God about sin and confessing that sin quickly and the list goes on. God has provided a table for us where we can feed our souls and Christ is always there with us and being in His presence is life changing. We like David can say, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.” (Psalm 23:5).
The Holy Spirit is in us to help us find that table of communion with Jesus. He will show us the food that has been prepared for our souls. He will encourage us to eat and drink and find that Jesus never disappoints but always satisfies. With a cup that is running over in abundance we find the energy and strength to live what we believe.
Pastor Dan