Preach What You Practice
“That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved…For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” Romans 10:9-15
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ…” Romans 1:16
Practice what you preach. You’ve heard the words before, haven’t you? Don’t just talk the talk. Walk the walk. Most of us have heard the expression practice what you preach. But how many of us have heard and are putting into practice the expression preach what you practice? What exactly does this mean? How many of us who believe in Jesus Christ and love the Lord and are devoted to following Him are telling others how to find and follow Him? Convicting, isn’t it? Are we lovingly, boldly, courageously, faithfully, continually telling others the saving Gospel message?
According to Romans 10:13-15, the way to be saved from God’s wrath at us for our sins and the resulting condemnation and eternity in hell and the lake of fire is to believe Jesus Christ is Lord and that He was raised from the dead. When we repent of our sins, believe Christ is Lord and commit our lives to Him, we are forgiven by God and enter into a forever relationship with Him. Genuine faith and repentance result in a lifestyle of truly living for Christ and enduring in faith until the end. But how can people be saved and follow Christ if they don’t hear this life-giving, life-changing Gospel message? How do they hear? By preachers. The word translated into preach from Greek according to the concordance is to preach, proclaim, and herald. All Christ followers are responsible for telling others how to be saved and follow Christ now and forever. Some in fact are called as pastors to preach from the pulpit, or to preach from the trenches as I do as an evangelist through writing and streets ministry. But preaching is not restricted to those called into full-time ministry. Preaching the Gospel message about how to repent, believe in Christ as Lord, and devote oneself to the Lord and His ways is a responsibility all Christ followers share. This broken world is rapidly dying in sin and heading straight for hell and the lake of fire forever.
What are you doing to proclaim the saving message of Christ to the world around you?