Some people say Jesus was a prophet. Some say He was a religious leader. Some say He was simply a good man who did great works. Some say He was a troublemaker. Some say He’s about as real as Santa Claus.
But who do YOU say He is?
In Matthew 16:13, Jesus asked His disciples who others said He was, and the disciples answered, “Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elias; and others, Jeremias, or one of the prophets” (v. 14). Then Jesus asked His disciples, “But whom say ye that I am?” (v. 15), and Simon Peter said, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v. 16).
Now a lot of us have made similar declarations of faith, but do our actions say the same? Actions do speak louder than words. After all, a lot of instruction for Christians focus on our actions (Romans 6:11-13; Romans 12:1-3; 1 Corinthians 6:18-20; 1 Corinthians 13; 2 Corinthians 6:14; Galatians 5:22-26; etc). We can say that Jesus is the Messiah, that He’s the Savior, that He’s God’s Son, but do we act like it? We can say that Jesus is our Friend, our Lord, our Redeemer, but do we act like it?
In the past, I often treated God like a genie. I’d go to Him, list my wishes, and then go on my merry way. But it wasn’t supposed to be like that. God wants a personal relationship with us. God wants us to surrender all to Him.
We’re supposed to let our light shine so others may see Christ in us (Matthew 5:16). If we say that God is our provider and yet we doubt Him when things get tough, who are we really saying He is? We might as well say He’s as powerless as we are, even though He’s not. We might as well agree with others that He doesn’t exist, even though He does.
1 Corinthians 13:1 says, Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. We can talk about God all we want. We can say nice things, praise His name for all to hear, but if our heart doesn’t match our words, it’s just noise.
James 2:17 says, Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. We should show our faith. People should be able to see it without us even opening our mouths simply because of the way we act. And people notice when your words don’t match your actions. How many times has someone assured you they’re not mad at you, but you know it’s a lie because you catch them glaring at you and they snap at you any chance they can get? How many times has someone told you they’re fine, but yet you catch them crying when they’re alone?
When you say you’re a Christian yet conform to the world, people notice. When you say you trust Jesus but fall apart at the smallest trial, people notice. When you act one way at church on Sunday and another at work on Monday, people notice.
So I have 3 questions for you:
1. Who do you say Jesus is?
2. Who do you want to say He is?
3. How are you going to get there?
