“Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.” (Matthew 7:15-20)

We’ve heard it said, “Actions speak louder than words,” and this is such a true statement. You know, when we call someone a hypocrite it is because their actions have spoken louder than their words. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught that we can identify people by their actions just as we can identify a tree by its fruit. So what kind of person do your actions show you are?

“Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” (John 13:35)

“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-15)

“Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.” (1 John 2:15-18)

Could you be identified as a disciple of Christ based on your actions? Do you love one another as Jesus taught us to love? Do you forgive those who sin against you? Do you do what pleases God? Now don’t worry about those who might have known you before you became a follower of Christ, before you repented of your sins and turned to God.

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17)

All of this is concerned with your new life in Christ. After all, Jesus said in Matthew 3:8, to “prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God.” So we’re not talking about any actions in your old life, just your actions after you repented and turned to God. There might be some people who only know the old you, but they would not be identifying you by any of your recent actions, only old actions from your old life.

 “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” (Matthew 3:8)

“What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, ‘Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well’—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.” (James 2:14-17)

Our actions are the evidence of our faith. Actions speak louder than words. We can say we have faith all we want, but James says that faith by itself is not enough. Jesus said of the Pharisees in Matthew 15, “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’

Our actions matter. James posed the question, “What good is it if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?” Do your actions identify you as someone who loves this world and the things it offers? Do your actions show that you seek pleasure and pride in your achievements and possessions? Are your actions contrary to God’s teaching? Or do your actions show that you are a follower of Christ, someone who loves others, tries to live in peace with everyone, forgives, shows grace, loves mercy and is filled with the love of the Father? Do your actions show that you are pursuing a godly life with all of your heart? What kind of a person do your actions say you are?

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

—Redeemed