Dear Saints,
“You gotta walk the talk.” I hear these and similar sayings when people get tired of hearing someone say they’ll do this and that, but never get around to it. In the sports world we see teams brag about how good they are, but the reality is that it doesn’t matter what they say until they back it up on the field. We frequently hear politicians make bold promises to get elected, but again, talk is cheap if the actions don’t back up the promises.
Paul is urging the church in Ephesus to “walk the talk” when he says, “I urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.” (Ephesians 4:1) One problem he was addressing was a church where people heard about the gospel of Jesus Christ, said they believed in it … yet their actions weren’t always consistent with it. By the gift of God’s grace, they were called by the Holy Spirit into faith in Jesus Christ, the Son through their baptisms. It wasn’t because of anything they did that they were brought into faith … rather it was only because of God’s love and Jesus’ humble servanthood on the cross that makes faith possible.
Nevertheless, many in the church of those days were still under the mistaken impression that man’s work was part of the process to be saved. This brought about division caused by … false teachings, differing opinions on old religious practices, and simple intolerance of those different from them. But, the church is not a place of division, but rather of unity under a single head, Jesus Christ.
We see some of the same issues in the modern church today too. Unfortunately, this disunity, caused by people in the church not “walking the talk,” threatens the church and keeps many outside the church from coming to faith. In the eyes of many in society, the church’s witness by actions that are inconsistent with God’s word shows the church as hypocritical.
God desired the 1st century church, as well as the 21st century church, to “walk the talk.” To use the old “wristband phrase” … “What would Jesus do?” as we engage the world. Jesus walked the talk by speaking and acting in humility, gentleness, patience, and love. He didn’t do this by giving into the world, but He did it by letting the world see that His actions matched His words. He told people to love … and He loved (e.g. John 11:1-44). He told people to be servants … and He served (e.g. John 13:1-20). He told people to forgive … and He forgave (e.g. Luke 7:36-50). Sometimes He spoke the hard truth, but He did it in love in order to bring about repentance ( e.g. Matthew 16:21-23).
We walk the talk when our lives reflect the words we believe in. When we “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” (Ephesians 4:1-2) Let us show the world the gospel of Jesus Christ in our words and deeds.
In God’s Peace,
Pastor Jim
Think many people do a great job of "Walking the Walk", unfortunately praising the good people and their acts are out of vogue.