Ephesians

Ephesians 4:25-29 — Practical Christianity

A preacher had been trying for months to coax his unbelieving neighbor to come visit a church service. Finally, just to get the preacher off his back, the neighbor agreed to come. That Sunday morning, the unbelieving neighbor sat in the very front pew, just in front of the pulpit. The preacher began to preach his sermon with brisk evangelistic fervor, hoping in particular to reach the heart of his unsaved neighbor.

As he preached, the preacher gestured so vigorously that his arm knocked the water glass off the pulpit, sending a shower of water across the first pew. Several people, including the pastor’s unsaved neighbor, got drenched. Flustered and embarrassed, the preacher apologized, then went on with his sermon as best he could.

At the end of the service, the unsaved neighbor came up to the pastor and chuckled, “Well, Reverend, you may have baptized me—but you still haven’t converted me!” In his wry and cynical way, this unsaved man pointed up an important distinction: Outward signs, such as baptism, are of secondary importance, compared with the truly primary issue of Christianity: inward change.

The Christian faith was never intended to make us religious. It was intended to change the way we think and the way we live our lives. Religion is outward, but faith is inward. Religion involves our Sunday rituals, but faith pervades our daily obedience. God desires our reverent, worshipful obedience.

Religion alone is an empty shell. Both the Old and New Testaments tell us that religion alone is detestable to God. But genuine, obedient faith—lived out in the real-life situations of our families, our workplaces, our schools, and our neighborhoods—is what Christianity is all about.