Practice what you preach
THE saying ‘practise what you preach’ originates from Jesus’ teaching about legalism. Giving instructions to someone else which we are not willing or able to follow makes us hypocrites. This kind of do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do behaviour fuels mistaken ideas about who God is as reflected by Jesus.
Moreover, Jesus says ‘practise’ not ‘master’. He always spoke purposefully, so what is the reasoning behind Christ’s choice of verb? Jesus told His listeners in Matthew 23:2-3, “You must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.” He was rebuking the Pharisees and enlightening the people: Legalism is not from God. The Pharisees had created laws and set standards that were impossible for the Jews to follow. These rules were heavy, cumbersome loads placed on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves were not willing to lift a finger to move them.
Many Pharisees had questions they asked Christ, by which, though they thought to expose him, they did nothing but expose themselves. Jesus warned against following the Pharisees, calling them ‘blind guides’ and ‘hypocrites’. He was angry with them for how they have burdened Israel’s people with religiosity and laments how they will ‘kill and crucify’, ‘flog’ and ‘pursue’ the ‘prophets and sages and teachers’ He was sending. Hypocrisy was a problem
among Pharisees, but also among His disciples. As crowds gathered to hear Jesus, He warned them “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” (Luke 12:1).
Most Christians nowadays act no better than the way Pharisees did. Many of us stand on the pulpits to rebuke sin while in secret, we ourselves are committing the same sins we were rebuking earlier. According to Scripture, if you are preaching the law, particularly as a means for becoming right with God, you had better be practising the law. It is the teacher who will be judged with greater strictness, after all (James 3:1).
Practising what we preach is not be easy because of our sin nature, so Jesus encouraged His followers ‘you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth’. (Acts 1:8). Believers can rest assured that what we cannot accomplish to His glory, He will accomplish through us
by the Holy Spirit.
How does a Christian practise what they preach? Firstly, we preach the Gospel: Christ died for us while we were still sinners. In this way God shows his great love for us. Jesus loved His enemies enough to die on a cross for them and we were His enemies. In fact, Christ died for repentant sinners before they repented. We repent and worship God by hating our sin and by acting out Matthew 22:34, the greatest commandment, love your neighbour as you love yourself. Remember 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, Love ‘is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres’.
Jesus did not teach us to master or overcome, to become skilled or proficient in the use of or to gain a thorough understanding of something. When a
Christian behaves as though he has got it all together that’s like saying he has overcome sin and knows God completely. This person is righteous and doesn’t need Christ. But Jesus mastered sin for us.
For the Christian, the ‘practise what you preach’ concept reveals an outward reflection of our God-honouring character, mirroring the very life of our Lord and Saviour. It was Jesus who came as the perfect example of practising what you preach, Himself doing all that He taught to others.
Beloved, if doing the very things you speak or expect of others has ever been a struggle, remember it is through the sanctification of God’s Word and convicting power of God’s Spirit, believers too shall lead a life of good example, with great integrity upon submission to God’s will. In this manner, to practise what you preach is truly a biblical concept, to be practised in all areas of life - from parenting to relationships, to the workplace and beyond.