By: Steve Wilmot
Do your actions match your words? That’s a question posed in a devotional I read over a decade ago.
People are sick of believers who talk spiritually but live only marginally different from unbelievers. It’s one of the things that turn them off from Jesus and the church. Hypocrite is the word they use — saying one thing and acting a different thing.
The church has twisted what it means to be a discipleship of Jesus Christ the further removed we are the from the days of Jesus and the Twelve.
Today you’re called a disciple if you go to church, read your Bible, pray some, put a bit of money in the offering, and you’re a nice guy.
Those are all commendable things, but two major characteristics of a true disciple is personal relationship with Jesus and repentance.
Repentance is “a change of mind.” You think differently about things. You think differently about sin, about God, about what’s matters most, about your past and your future. Change doesn’t happen all at once, but the course is set.
Once a person has a change of mind (repentance), two things happen. First, he changes the direction of his life. He realizes his life prior to repentance was lived going in the wrong direction.
He was moving away from God — doing his own thing and rejecting God’s Word. When he changed his mind, he changed his direction and begins to follow Jesus.
Second, his life changes. He doesn’t stay the same. Because he’s changed his thinking, things change — his actions, his words, his thoughts, his priorities, the way he relates to people, the way he responds to temptation.
Someone said repentance is “a change of mind that leads to a change of life.” True.
The devotional I read pointed out John the Baptist preached a baptism of repentance. But it wasn’t a casual, “Yeah, I think I’ll follow Jesus. I hear he’s got lots of goodies. He heals the sick and feeds the hungry. I could use some of that, so I guess I’ll follow him.”
John’s message was: “Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God” (Luke 3.8, NLT).
Prove it, John says. Prove that you are a follower of Jesus. Not by going to church or putting money in the offering. Not by carrying a Bible or talking the talk. Prove it “by the way you live.
John’s voice isn’t the only one sounding the same message. Jesus echoed it. To the woman caught in adultery he said, “I don’t condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin” (John 8.11). Translation: Prove you’re grateful that I forgave you by the way you live.
Paul’s message was nearly identical to John’s. To summarize his ministry before King Agrippa he said, “I preached first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout all Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that all must repent of their sins and turn to God — and prove they have changed by the good things they do” (Acts 26.20). Translation: Prove you’ve repented by a changed life.
The Apostle John made the same point in his first letter: “My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin” (1 John 2.1). Translation: Now that you’re a Christ-follower, make it your aim to never sin again. Change.
It’s plain this message is not an isolated one you must hunt to find in the Bible. It’s a recurring theme. Don’t just say you’ve changed; prove it by specific changes you can point to between the way you once lived and how you live now.
John the Baptist, Jesus, Paul, and John all called people to more than words or ritual. They told them to change their behavior. They still do. God looks beyond our words and religious activities to see if our conduct backs up what we say.
Back to my opening question: Do your actions match your words?
Here are a couple more: Can you identify changes in your life — your words, your actions, your response to people — since you became a Christ-follower? Or are you basically the same?
According to the Bible, the evidence you have truly repented is there are changes in your life everyone can see. You’re not the same as you were before you gave yourself to Christ.
Some of the old sin habits are gone, and you’re making steady progress in the rest. The way you treat other people, especially those who wrong you or hurt you, is different than what it was in your pre-Jesus life.
Do you want your life to match your words? Do you want to change? God can make that happen. In fact, if you choose to follow him, he will change you. You can’t be a true Christ-follower and remain the same.
If you aren’t changing, you need to ask yourself a more basic question — Am I really a disciple of Jesus?
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Steve Wilmot is a former Edgerton, Ohio area pastor who now seeks “to still bear fruit in old age” through writing. He is the author of seven books designed to assist believers to make steady progress on their spiritual journey.
