“They claim to know God, but by works they deny Him” (Titus 1:16).
What we really believe about God is often something other than what we claim to believe. For example, we may say that we believe that He exists, but if from time to time our actions are inconsistent with that belief, it would be reasonable to question whether we really believe what we say. Even in the affairs of this life, our real “master” is the one whom we actually “serve”, and when it comes to God, Paul asked the obvious question: “Do you not know that to whom you yield yourselves slaves to obey, you are slaves to the one whom you obey, whether it is to sin that leads to death, or to obedience that leads to righteousness?” (Romans 6:16)
But please don’t misunderstand. I am not saying that we knowingly lie about our faith, claiming to believe one thing while we know our actual belief is something else. I’m simply suggesting that our words generally reflect what we know is right to believe, what we want to believe, etc., while our actions may indicate that – For all practical purposes – Our real beliefs run in the other direction. We don’t always have what Paul said we should aim for: “impartial faith” (1 Timothy 1:5 KJV).
If there is a discrepancy between what we say and what we practice, how should we resolve it? Of course, we could get rid of this gap by bringing our profession down to the level of our practice, but that would be giving up and selling out to the devil. But there are definitely better things we can do.
First, we can be more honest about the difference between our profession and practice. We can pray to God about that more clearly and openly. Second, we can raise our practice to the level of our profession, always asking for God’s help in doing so. He wants us to follow what we believe in, and He will help us do so if we will let Him. But third, we can accept the fact that we will be evaluated not on the basis of our profession, but on the basis of our practice. In the end, it is our actions that God will judge (2 Corinthians 5:10) – not what we said we believed, not what we wanted to believe, and not what we planned to believe someday. Whether we accept it or not, it is a fact: What we really do is what we really believe.
“Can a faith that does nothing be called true?” (Jean Racine).
Gary Henry – WordPoints.com AreYouaChristian.com
