Romans 2:17-24

But if you bear the name “Jew” and rely upon the Law and boast in God, and know His will and approve the things that are essential, being instructed out of the Law, and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, a corrector of the foolish, a teacher of the immature, having in the Law the embodiment of knowledge and of the truth, you, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that one shall not steal, do you steal? You who say that one should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the Law, through your breaking the Law, do you dishonor God? For “the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you,” just as it is written.^[1]

What good is faith if we do not put it into operation? “When we rest on who we are as Christians and then do nothing with our faith, we do like the Jews who reject Christ. We may have our salvation (which they do not), but what good is it? This is also the theme of James; faith without works is dead. You are saved, but no big deal if you do nothing with it! When you are teaching others, your first and primary task is to be instructed yourself! You cannot teach what you do not know or have not experienced” (Krejcir).

The objective of this time of consecration is to provoke a vital and vibrant faith that is powerfully effective. When Christians say one thing but practice another it has the effect of destroying faith. Teaching and preaching one thing and practicing another is the very definition of hypocrisy that really opposes faith and Jesus, and also leads people watching us astray. The destruction of faith through hypocrisy ultimately dishonors our heavenly father and negates faith. It is not enough to give mere lip service to that which we believe. There have been too many instances of encouragement given to do as one hears rather than what they observe.

We are called to model the faith and not just teach it. To do otherwise is to risk giving ‘seekers’ a false impression of the faith. Jesus taught there are dire consequences for those who model other than that which the Word requires. “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble” (Luke 17:2). Unrestrained hypocrisy is one of the main reasons why people are being driven away from the Church. Let us resolve to be consistent with what we teach or preach and what we live.

Dear Lord, we have not always been consistent with our witness: forgive us. Forgive our carnal attitudes and our love for the things of the world. Forgive us for treating our faith as a suit of clothes that we put on and take off when convenient. Forgive us for mistakenly leading others astray through our undisciplined behavior and lack of faith. Help us to be more sensitive to those who observe our lives and the faith we espouse. So also convict us today of places in our lives where we labor in hypocrisy that we might be transformed for the furtherance of Your Kingdom and the honoring and glorifying of Your name. Amen.

^[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Ro 2:17–24.