Devotions: Men of Action Not Words

 

For the kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power.

1 Corinthians 4:20 New American Standard Bible 1995

 

The Corinthian church had problems. They were compromising and living like the world while still claiming to be Christians. Unfortunately, some were even arrogant about it and claiming to know more than those who had taught them, (which accounted for their severe fall into sin.) The point Paul is making is that we need to judge by power (or evidence) not by words only. We cannot take a person merely at their words that they know a lot about the Bible and are good people. I know plenty of Christians who think they are better than everyone and do know quite a bit about the Bible, yet don’t live according to the Bible at all. We need to assess their lives and see what power or evidence of true, saving, transforming faith there is in them. As Paul said, the kingdom of God is not all talk; it’s about walking the walk. This chapter of his letter is rather harsh. He is scolding them to try to wake them up and make them see how far they had fallen so that hopefully they would turn around and start living godly lives again. It is better to discipline ourselves rather than wait for someone else to discipline us. We need to prove who we belong to, not by our words, but by our actions. Jesus said that what is in the heart is evident in our actions. The Pharisees claimed to be the best people around, yet they did not even obey their own laws, let alone God’s. We need to make sure that our words match our lives, and that our lives line up with Christ’s.

What do people think about you based on your words? Do your actions match up? Are you living according to God’s word?

 

 

 

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