If you say you know God, prove it!

The relationship between faith and works cannot be understated. Your works tell us everything about your faith. If you profess to believe in God, then act as righteously as you can, struggling against sin, that tells us your faith is true. But what if you're a Christian in name only? What if you say you know God, yet disobey His commands? Or what if you outright oppose His commands? God says He hates lies, yet you lie. God calls us to sexual purity, yet you pursue pleasure in many forms. God calls us to charity, yet you are selfish. God calls us to love, yet you rush to violence. God calls us to self control, yet you eat twice your fair share. I could go on.

As Christians, we all struggle with sin. It's not like we convert, then boom, we're Jesus. No, Christians will struggle with sin for as long as we are weak in the flesh. Thus, sin in and of itself does not disqualify us as Christians. Indeed, reading this article back for proof reading, I am cut to my own core, knowing that some of the sins I listed, I struggle with. The entire point of the cross is that if anyone sins, Christ advocates on our behalf. We are presented blameless, though we are to be blamed, because Christ has already borne that blame. But my brethren, this is a safety net. It is not a hammock.

Yet how many "Christians" treat it as the latter? So often, we justify sin by reminding ourselves of our Savior. But it should be the other way around. Our Savior should remind us to run from sin, not to run to it. So what if He doesn't? What if you look no different after your conversion than you did before? At this point, it becomes entirely legitimate to question your conversion. It's like the reverse of the ugly duckling. You may insist you are a swan, but if you don't act like it, you don't fit the bill.

If you say you are a Christian, act like a Christian. If you don't act like a Christian, stop saying you are one. Then repent and become one. Paul tells us to rebuke those who say they know God, yet deny Him by their works. If this is you, consider this your rebuke. Repent, and be saved. If you must struggle with sin, struggle with sin. Do not bow, do not submit, and definitely do not befriend. Let your sin be nailed to the cross, then bow before the God who hung on it for you.

Recommended song: This the Power of the Cross - Stuart Townend