Have you ever said that you were going to do something but never actually followed through and did it? I’m sure we all have done something like this before, but there are certain times or situations where you certainly do not want this to happen because it could result in some serious consequences. Just think of what would happen if you told your neighbor that you would watch over their pet while they were away for an extended period, but you completely forgot to do it. If it was long enough of a time that pet could starve to death, and all because you didn’t do what you said you would do.
Imagine that you hired someone to fix the furnace in your house on a cold winter’s day, and they told you that they would be all done that night. You go off to work and leave them to their job, but when you get home later that evening you discover that they didn’t even do anything at all! You need to have that furnace on because it keeps the pipes from freezing in your house, but it didn’t get done.
Anyone can say that they are going to do something, but they are only expelling hot air unless they actually do it. You can hear the Word of God preached, you can read it, you can call yourself a Christian and tell everyone else that you are, but unless you have repented from your sins and your life reflects that change, those are just hollow words.
Matthew 21:28-32 “But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard.
He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went.
And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not.
Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.
For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.”
Jesus had posed this parable to the elders and the chief priests who themselves had the Law and the prophets to read and understand, and they should have known that Jesus was indeed the Christ, the promised Messiah. They had the Lord right there in their midst and could see firsthand the incredible works that He had done, from healing the lame, to giving a blind man his sight, to raising the dead. Everything about Jesus had been prophesied many years earlier, as well as by John the Baptist, but they still wouldn’t believe in Him. He was their Messiah! Yet many of them refused to believe in Him. But do you know who did? The publicans. The harlots. The Gentiles. They were the first son in that parable because they believed.
There have been many instances of people who are born into a religious family, but as they grow up those teachings and values are not manifested in their life. “But I am a Christian!” they may say. “My family has been a member of the church for many generations! I attend services regularly!” Regular attendance to church service is commendable, but being a Christian is far more than that. It is more than just hearing the scriptures preached. It is what you do with what you have heard and read from the Word of God that matters. And this is why the Lord was so greatly angered by the chief priests and the Pharisees. As ministers of the Law, they should have been trying to draw people to Him, as He was their Savior, but instead they tried to do the exact opposite. They weren’t living their lives according to the teachings that they claimed to believe in.
Isaiah 29:13 “Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:”
To truly honor the Lord we need to do more than just say that we are a Christian. We need to back up those words with our actions, because it is our actions which show who we really are.
In Christ,
Andrew
We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods.
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 