Do What You Say

(John 10:40-42)

Hypocrites live their lives with their fingers crossed. They live in a false hope that people will not find them out. They say one thing but do another and it was because of their falseness that Jesus despised hypocrisy.

One of the great lesson we learn from the example Jesus gave us when he lived on the earth was to do what we say we will do with no deviation. Our words and deeds should match and so we prove ourselves to truly be disciples of The Lord.

This short section of scripture suggests how The Lord followed this path and what the outcome of doing so was.

John the Baptist

The verses here say this:

40 He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained.
41 And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.”
42 And many believed in him there.

John the Baptist came to preach repentance and to bear testimony to the coming of Jesus. His primary ministry was to prepare the way for The Lord and to bear witness to the fact that He was the Son of God. He told the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is Jesus Christ.

We see in these scriptures that the people recognized that John did no great signs and wonders, but all that he told them about Jesus was true. The scripture infers also that the people recognized the signs that Jesus performed and that they could only have been done by the power of God, and so they believed the word of John and his witness to the fact of who Jesus truly was.

What You Say versus What You Do

There are many people who say a lot about a lot of things but do not follow up on their words. In this day and age we see it especially amongst politicians, advertisers and sales and marketing people. They speak of great things but the outcomes often do not meet the expectations they set. That is why people do not trust them because what they say does not match what they do. It is hypocrisy.

Could you imagine a politician, advertiser or salesperson who spoke the truth and then followed through and delivered exactly what they said? They would be unstoppable because they would have the full trust of the people and they would prove themselves totally believable.

Well Jesus still has the faith and devotion of people even down to today, after some 2,000 years have passed. Why? Because His deeds, actions, behaviors and promises matched His words. He was believed because he was believable. His offer was accepted because he gave people a promise and then delivered on His promise.

And that promise of eternity still stands today and He is still delivering on His promises right now. Many, many Christians can testify today of the changes in their lives for the better and miracles still happen today.

And all of this is because the words and the deeds of The Lord matched. He spoke and he acted in accordance with the words that he spoke. Our aim is to do the same. We need to be consistent in our words and deeds so that we truthfully and accurately represent the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We should not make promises we cannot keep and it is OK to say no.

As James wrote in James 5:12 repeating the words of Jesus from Matthew 5:37,

But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your “yes” be yes and your “no” be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.

You do not have to say yes to every request of people and try to please everyone. In factor is impossible to please everyone. Not even Jesus managed to do that and in the end they put Him to death! But what is important is that our deeds, actions and behaviors should match our words and vice versa. Say what you will do and do what you say and you will do well.