Professing and Practicing

I preached this sermon on 7/30/2010. I usually preach expository preaching, which is, to develop the entire sermon based on one single passage that sets a boundary for the sermon itself. And I try to come up with a preaching outline according to the flow of the argument in the passage.

However, in this sermon, I use Luke 6:46 as the idea. I then use four different verses (or short passages) to complete the idea. I don't usually do this. But I must admit that it's much easier to prepare a sermon like this. The danger of this type of sermon is that it may not be faithful to the original context. It's a bit more easier, but it's a bit more dangerous.


Scripture: Luke 6:46

Topic: We Practice what We Profess

In The Future of Faith, Harvey Cox, the Professor of Religion at Harvard, distinguishes the difference between faith and belief. He said that “Faith is about deep-seated confidence. In everyday speech we usually apply it to people we trust or the values we treasure…Belief, on the other hand, is more like opinion….Beliefs can be held lightly or with emotional intensity, but they are more propositional than existential. We can believe something to be true without it making much difference to us, but we place our faith only in something that is vital for the way we live” (p. 3).

There are two types of Christians. The first type of Christians has different opinions about the salvation of Christ and obedience to Christ. But Christ is always on the side. What they “believe” doesn’t dominate their thoughts and behavior. What they believe has little to do with what they value. They know Christianity,  the teachings of Christ on the surface, and the model answers when questions are asked about Christianity. They know what to say and how to say it in different occasions. But what they say is not what they truly value. What they say is not what they live for. What they say is not what they practice. They profess without practice. They say without action. They talk about it without passion. They reason without grace. They sound good; they act horrible. Unfortunately, you and I may be like that.

The second type of Christians, according to Harvey Cox, places their faith in something that is vital for the way they live. The way they approach Christian faith is not about their opinions. Rather, it’s their convictions that become their guiding principles in life. They live and value things according to these guiding principles. They practice what they profess. They profess with action. They live with biblical principles. Unfortunately, you and I may not be like that.

Jesus said, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Lk. 6:46)

When pious Jews read the Bible, they felt that God’s name Yahweh was too holy to pronounce. So they substituted the Hebrew word adonai, "Lord," in its place whenever they read it. In most of our English Bibles the word Yahweh in the Old Testament appears as "LORD" in small letters. Thus, when Jesus' followers were calling him "Lord, Lord," they were speaking to him with extreme reverence and respect. On their lips, they revered Christ. But they didn’t put Jesus' teachings "into practice." In terms of knowledge, they got it right. They knew the Scripture. But they were just professing Christians, for they didn’t practice what they professed. Action speaks louder than word.

You call me “Lord, Lord,” but the way you date, you don’t do what I tell you. You call me “Lord, Lord,” but in terms of tithing, you don’t do what I tell you. You call me “Lord, Lord,” but the way you live in private doesn’t please me. You call me “Lord, Lord” in public, but you are the master of your soul in private. You call me “Lord, Lord”, but when you pray, you just want me to listen and follow your agenda.

The Greek word that underlies this phrase is the very common verb poieo, "do, act, practice, commit, carry out." Too many so-called followers don't practice what they preach. We can quote the Scriptures. This is what we believe. This is what we should practice. But this is not what I practice. As a fellowship, this is what we should practice. But this is not what I practice. In our corporate worship, this is what we should practice, but this is not what I practice. In our relationship, this is what we should practice, but this is not what I practice. We are believers, but we are not followers. We talk about following, but we aren’t following. Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples” (Jn. 8:31). In other words, those who follow Christ, there are true disciples and false disciples. In my own terms, false disciples are professing Christians. True disciples are practicing Christians.

As practicing Christians, there are four aspects we need to practice:

1.      Heb. 10:25—“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

Let us not give up meeting together because when we give it up, we also give up the chance to encourage others or to receive encouragement/help from others. Don’t be too independent, saying that “I don’t need fellowship. I don’t need to participate in corporate worship. I don’t need to go to Sunday School.” In our culture, we become too independent. The only thing that we depend on is Internet. The spirit of independence is the enemy of biblical fellowship.

When we’re fading away from a community, it’s also a time for us to stop practicing our faith. Jesus said, “Apart from me, you can do nothing.” We can also say that apart from the people of God, there are not much fruits we can bear. From time to time, we will stop growing up, just growing old. Meeting with other Christians keeps us in perspective. We place ourselves in a meeting, and the meeting put us in a condition in which we realize we lack of many things (e.g. mental maturity, spiritual maturity, emotional maturity, etc…), lack of the capacity to deal with differences of one another. Whether we accept it or not, the community that we are in helps us understand what we really are, not what we think we are.

2.      Heb. 10:26—“If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left.”

We profess that Christ died on the cross for our sins. After converting to Christ, we are still sinners, but sinners saved by grace through faith. Due to our sinful nature, we still fall short and sin. But it doesn’t encourage deliberate sins.  Martin Luther used this analogy to illustrate the difference between intentional sins and unintentional sins. A bird can fly over your head, and you can’t stop it (sinful nature). But when a bird tries to build a nest on top of your head, you can stop it (temptation). We commit unintentional sins because of our sinful nature. We commit intentional sins because we succumb to temptation even though we know we can say “No” to that temptation. Heb. 10:26 deals with intentional sins—human deliberation.

In the original language, the adverb “deliberately” is the first word in this verse. “Deliberately, if we keep on sinning…” The author puts the emphasis on deliberation. We plan carefully to do it. We intentionally let it dwell in our heads. A Bible scholar comments on this verse, saying  “The adverb communicates the idea of willing participation in an action, something done with a clear mind and firm step…What the author has in mind is a deliberate, sinful lifestyle of high-handed rebellion against the gospel. If a person keeps on sinning in this way after receiving a knowledge of the gospel’s truth, no sacrifice for this kind of sin remains.”

As practicing Christians, we don’t deliberately sin. Why? Because when we do so, not only do we trample Christ, but also insult the Spirit of grace” (Heb. 10:29).

3.      Mk. 10:45—“The Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

When we profess that we believe in Jesus Christ, we practice serving. A disciple mean a pupil—the apprentice of Jesus. We practice serving because we imitate the service of Christ. Our service to Christ is the imitation of the service of Christ. We know this kind of teaching. We profess it. We believe it. But we need to practice it.

In order to serve, however, we have to give up something. In my mind, I am thinking about convenience. We need to learn how to serve even though it’s inconvenient. We serve when things go our ways. That’s convenience. We serve at our own convenience.

We went to the summer retreat. Many things had been prepared for us. Why? Because people served not at their own convenience, but at their own inconvenience. Whether or not we serve with a servant attitude, what we need to ask is that do we serve at our own convenience? Or when it’s inconvenient, we serve with complaint and serve unwillingly. When we profess we are Christians, we must practice what He practiced. Christ never served unwillingly. Thus, when we serve unwillingly, we must think about why we serve with unwillingness.  And why do some Christians serve with willingness? Why did Christ always serve with eagerness?

4.      Making disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:19-20).

We make disciples in season and out of season. Paul said, “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season” (2 Tim. 4:2). We are called to make disciples in season and out of season. We are called to make disciples even though we don’t see anything happening. We present everybody mature in Christ. But we don’t see that people are mature spiritually. But the Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. In the beginning, it’s tiny and invisible. It requires faith to look beyond the surface. In season and out of season, we have to practice the Great Commission. Otherwise, we turn the Great Commission into the Great Omission, which is, “making disciples” is not our primary, not even secondary, agenda.

I believe that one day when each of us sees him, he would ask, “What did you do with my Great Commission? Did you put the Great Commission into practice? How many individuals did you present mature in Christ? Why did you profess your faith? Why did you call me “Lord, Lord,” but did not do what I told you?

We practice discipleship with the people whom He has given us. We make disciples not based on what we think they can become, but according to what God thinks they can become.