Please before you rush into the comments to tell me of the upstanding lives the apostles lived know that I agree. They did live in accordance with the very words God inspired them to write. But they didn’t operate in the way that phrase insinuates. You see the Apostles didn’t simply practice what they preached. They preached what they practiced. Instructing others to do the very things they had already been doing for sometime before they taught it.
Unlike many today they took the word they received and applied it to their own lives first. Then and only then did they begin to preach that word to others. For instance, before Paul started preaching that everyone should be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of their sins he did just that.
Acts 9:18 (ESV)
18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized;
Acts 16:14–15 (ESV)
14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. 15 And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.
Acts 19:4–5 (ESV)
4 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
The Apostles were men of integrity. You could always trust that they had already been living in the very way they were calling you to. When they taught Christians should praise God in every circumstance even in the worst times of life. It wasn’t simply something they hoped to also apply at some point. It was what they had already been doing and the thing they knew strengthened them during tough times. They also knew it would strengthen others in the church.
1 Thessalonians 5:16 (ESV)
16 Rejoice always,
Acts 16:23–25 (ESV)
23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. 24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. 25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,
1 Peter 1:6 (ESV)
6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,
James 1:2–3 (ESV)
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
Acts 5:40–41 (ESV)
40 and when they had called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go. 41 Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name.
These men knew all that God revealed to them was important. That it needed to be applied in the lives of all people. So they started in their own lives. Living out all that the Lord had commanded them to. Then they proceeded to share those very same commands with others. Their ministries and evangelical efforts were fruitful because they lived in this way. Never calling others to do what they were not themselves willing to and were already doing. In no way could they ever been accused of being hypocrites as the Pharisees often were.
Preaching, or you could even just say telling others what to do in regards to Christian living, what you are practicing is the way things should be done. Before we tell others to remove certain sins from our life we should do the same. Or before we tell others how important it is to love others or be generous we should already be applying those very things in our own life. Effectively removing the stump from our eye before trying to remove the twig from someone else’s.
Matthew 7:5 (ESV)
5 You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.
In Ezekiel, we read that God told the prophet to do this very thing. Telling him not just to run out and tell the people what the Lord said. But to first allow the word God had given him really sink into his own heart. Once he had truly accepted and applied the word in his life, he could then deliver it to the people.
Ezekiel 3:10–11 (ESV)
10 Moreover, he said to me, “Son of man, all my words that I shall speak to you receive in your heart, and hear with your ears. 11 And go to the exiles, to your people, and speak to them and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ whether they hear or refuse to hear.”
The Apostles were men who preached what they practiced and we should do the same. As God’s people, we should first accept and apply His word in our lives. Then we should begin to share that life-changing word with others. We can’t expect others to do what we ourselves are not already doing. Preaching what we do not practice will only cause them to view us as hypocrites and more than likely be driven away from the Lord.
Live out the word of God, the fruit of it will be evident in your lives. Then will you not simply be sharing words or beliefs with others but your real tangible experiences. Which will cause your personal evangelism to be just as productive as that of the Apostles. So start living all God’s word in every way so you to can preach what you practice just as those closest to our Lord and Savior did.
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