[338 words]
Out of the things that Jesus taught during His ministry, there is one that has a supreme importance. It can be summed up in only four words: “Say it with my life.” Jesus said: “And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”(Luke 6:46). He is teaching us to show Him by our lives. Our lives must be able to put into action the things that Jesus taught. This means that our speech and life must balance out.
Many people become offended when we talk about obedience. They want a “faith only” and a “do nothing” type of religion. However, this type of religion pleases only man and not God. James said it this way: “Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only” (James 2:24). He goes on to illustrate, “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26). Paul thanked God that the Romans had “obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered” (Romans 6:17). Paul also told the Thessalonians that the Lord Jesus will be “revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 1:7,8). Jesus classified any man as a foolish builder that would hear His sayings only without doing them! “And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand” (Matthew 7:26).
The New Testament is full of things that we can learn from, but it will never happen on its own. We cannot get it from a read here, or a read there. We can however get what we need with a life devoted to Jesus Christ. That means I will be willing to “say it with my life.”
Jonathan Burns
Findlay church of Christ
Sparta, TN