DEUTERONOMY 26:17 – You have declared today that the Lord is your God, and that you will walk in his ways, and keep his statutes and his commandments and his rules and will obey his voice.
THEME OF THE DAY. MATCHING OUR PRACTICE OF FAITH WITH OUR PROFESSION OF FAITH. Before a watching world, the greatest hindrance, even contradiction, to the Gospel is a Christian professing faith in Jesus Christ, yet, failing to consistently practice how the Bible describes such faith. Not only does this confuse unbelievers observing the hypocrisy of professing Christians, but it also grieves the God who empowers His people to live above hypocrisy. For the believer, hypocrisy is always a choice. God’s Spirit, His Word, and His grace provide everything we need to ensure our practice of Christianity matches our profession of Christian. For sure, we won’t reach sinless perfection in this world. However, we may consistently model sin-less sincerity in this world. Remember, our unbelieving friends may be genuinely seeking truth and meaning in a world of falsehood and confusion, and that seeking just might be their observing us to see if what we profess is real. Do not underestimate their eyes watching our lifestyles and listening to our words. They might be looking for real hope through us professing real hope. So, what are a few practical things we may do to make our practice of faith in Christ match more closely our profession of faith in Christ?
First, read today’s scripture and ponder the seriousness in making a profession of faith. Moses used the word “declared” to describe God’s people’s profession of faith in Him. It was not a whisper or some “secret” commitment. They were making known far and wide that God was their God, and they would follow Him by lives of obedience. We make the same type of “public proclamation.” We tell the world, “I believe in Jesus Christ. He is real, alive, and I will walk in His ways, keep His statutes, His commandments, His rules, and will obey His voice.” And that my friends, is a big, big deal and by making such profession God takes it seriously, holding us to our commitment. Let these words of Solomon sink into our hearts and minds of God’s perspective on our commitment to Him – When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow. It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5).
Next, put us in the shoes of the unbeliever observing us, especially the unbeliever who is hurting, looking for truth, and is genuine in wanting to know if what we profess is real. Not only should we take seriously our profession of faith before the Lord, but we owe the world an accurate and sincere picture of a Biblical Christian. They deserve our profession of faith being matched by our practice of faith. God declares by our public proclamation, “I am a Christian” that we become His ambassadors (2 Corinthian 5:20). As such, we live for Him, representing Him, every waking moment of the day, before all people.
We are a called people by God to walk with God before a watching world needing to see God. This “sight” of Him is through the observation of His people striving to ensure their profession of faith is validated by their practice of faith. May it be so with each of us naming the name of Christ!
PRAYER: “Father, help me to strive to have my life of faith validated by my profession of faith.”
QUOTE: “The greatest hindrance to the Gospel is hypocrisy; a Christian not living what is professed.”