Lip Service
“Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:” -Isaiah 29:13
Here we see an age-old complaint that is as true today as it was thousands of years ago: that some people simply give God lip service; they talk the talk, but they don’t walk the walk.
It has been said that talk is cheap, and perhaps nowhere is this more true than in religion. In numerous places in the Bible, acts of faith are emphasized much more than mere confession of faith.
“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? . . . Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” -James 2:14, 18
What James is trying to say is that mere words do not save a person, but if that person has a true faith in God, then his true faith will by its very nature produce godly works. This is not to say that works save a person, but rather, that they are an outward reflection of a genuine, inward conversion.
Over and over, God shows that He cares for the inward state of a man, in his heart, and not just mere words; and from his heart, whether it be good or bad, spring his actions. Jesus said that we’ll know men by their fruit—that is to say, we’ll know them by how they act, and what effect their life has on those around them.
“Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.” -Matthew 7:16-20
And Jesus also continues and shows that God is truly after obedience from the heart, and not simply of lip service, and outward shows. He teaches that even if we were to call Him “Lord,” He will not accept a mere empty confession. If we truly believed that He was Lord, then when we cry out to Him for salvation, we would be filled with such reverence that we would also act as if Jesus were Lord—and He is indeed.
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.” -Matthew 7:21
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