Have you ever known someone who calls themselves a Christian, but their actions would seem to prove otherwise? They want to be known as pure and right, but don’t seem to conduct themselves in a way that the Bible would affirm as “pure and right”. The Bible tells us that we will know the heart of a person by their fruit, not necessarily by their words. Proverbs 20 verse 11 puts it this way:
“Even a child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and right.”
If you claim to be a Christian; if you claim to be a follower of Christ, then your actions should reflect that claim. Are your motives pure? Are your actions pure? Would your friends be surprised to hear your claim of being a Christian? Yes, we are human and subject to fall through sin on occasion, but where is our heart? If we are only pretending, or flat out falsely claiming that we are believers, then our actions will prove us a liar. And over time, our words will also. Because the Bible reminds us that “the mouth speaks what the heart is full of”. So whatever your true motives, whatever your true intentions, your heart will reveal who you really are - certainly to God, but also to man. So I encourage you to be true to your claim of being a believer, because Proverbs reminds us that even a child is known by his actions.
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We need to be true to our testimony, or our claim that we are believers in Christ. Yes we are subject to sin, but our heart and our intentions should be towards purity and righteousness in Christ. To say that we follow him, but live in a way that is unbecoming a believer only proves us false and can be a stumbling block to those who God is calling to himself. So I encourage you to take seriously your conduct before God and also before men. Because who you truly are will be revealed whether you want it to or not.
