Which is appropriate?

[Richie]

Dear friends,

Now a days, there is a famous saying which goes like this:

"Practice what you preach."

But I believe that the bible talks about something beyond that. I think it should be the other way round.

"Preach what you have already practiced."

Just look at what the bible says:

Acts 1:1: Dear Theophilus:
In my first book, I told you about everything Jesus began to do and teach.

See here what Jesus did, "......to do and teach.". So first we've got to do it (means follow God's word), and then teach it.

I just want to hear your interpretations as well.

God bless you.

 

[ThatGuy]

A wise man once said, "If we practiced what we preached, we'd be awesome".

 

[redfox]

I think the wonderful thing about Christianity (clearly not THE wonderful thing, just a wonderful thing) is that to encourage and help others we don't have to be wisened and experienced in our own Christian walk. That is because it is GOD who is working in us however developed we are in our faith.

So I say practice what you preach, because preaching should be God speaking through you and it is not all about our actions and situations but about imparting something of God's heart and mind and counsel to others...

ummm.....

Love Jack

 

[rizen1]

Preaching what you practice..is very wise.

We have so many young Christians..who say " The word of the Lord says this "..yet does the complete opposite the next 10mins, because they don't understand what they are preaching.

Someone preaching what they practice would be a very mature Christian, who lived through it all, and know from experience what they are saying. Because they have put what they learnt into action..and now preaching about it, sharing a testimony of what God has to offer.

Now a person who " practice what they preach " is doing exactly that.
They are practicing what they are currently learning or have learnt and preaching on it.

Either one is good..but I hope to be the one preaching what I've practiced.
You can't become a doctor just by reading the books...

They become doctors based on what they have already practiced ( through internships )

The poll is not about faith and works...just so no one goes off topic.

 

[capriham]

Practice what you preach, First

Good day to all,

I think Practice what you preach comes first. People will be more willing to listen to what you preach if they see you are leading by example. I've know a few people that preach to much, and their lives don't reflect what they preach.

In Christ,
Frank

 

[redfox]

Good post rizen1.

Preaching what you practice..is very wise.

We have so many young Christians..who say " The word of the Lord says this "..yet does the complete opposite the next 10mins, because they don't understand what they are preaching.

Someone preaching what they practice would be a very mature Christian, who lived through it all, and know from experience what they are saying. Because they have put what they learnt into action..and now preaching about it, sharing a testimony of what God has to offer.

Now a person who " practice what they preach " is doing exactly that.
They are practicing what they are currently learning or have learnt and preaching on it.

Either one is good..but I hope to be the one preaching what I've practiced.
You can't become a doctor just by reading the books...

They become doctors based on what they have already practiced ( through internships )

The poll is not about faith and works...just so no one goes off topic.

We preach perfection.
By this I mean that we are always seeking to be christ like and perfect in every part of our lives.

Yet we are imperfect.
We always fall short of perfection because although we are redeemed, we still live on in a fallen world. We still sin. By grace our failings count or nothing, but nonetheless in our 'practise' we are imperfect.

On account of this I would say that it is inevitable that we will preach what we still desire to put into practise (and fail to do). I think nonetheless that we have a responsibility to preach, but we have to recognise that we are imperfect.

So WHEREVER POSSIBLE, preach what is already in practise.

But don't feel that, as a result of failing to put something into practise, we can't preach it. If this is the case, we need to seek to put it into practise all that we preach, even if at present we are still failing.

So I guess I would say:

preach what you are seeking to practise.
I hope that I've made sense.

What d'you think?

Love Jack

 

[jari]

This scripture came in mind:

Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.
- (1 Timothy 4:16)


God bless your study...

 

[Bunnytus]

This was a hard choice for me because I believe it should be both. You should practice what you preach and you preach what you have practiced. To me, this would be like witnessing to others because you have learned and are able to share your experiences, good and bad, with God's guidance. (Hopefully this makes sense.)

 

[rizen1]

Good post rizen1.





We preach perfection.
By this I mean that we are always seeking to be christ like and perfect in every part of our lives.

Yet we are imperfect.
We always fall short of perfection because although we are redeemed, we still live on in a fallen world. We still sin. By grace our failings count or nothing, but nonetheless in our 'practise' we are imperfect.

On account of this I would say that it is inevitable that we will preach what we still desire to put into practise (and fail to do). I think nonetheless that we have a responsibility to preach, but we have to recognise that we are imperfect.

So WHEREVER POSSIBLE, preach what is already in practise.

But don't feel that, as a result of failing to put something into practise, we can't preach it. If this is the case, we need to seek to put it into practise all that we preach, even if at present we are still failing.

So I guess I would say:

preach what you are seeking to practise.
I hope that I've made sense.

What d'you think?

Love Jack

Jack you make a whole lot of sense....:thumbs_up
We are not perfect....but we must be careful for people love to criticize when we don't practice what we preach.

I think they both go hand in hand, and some time in our live, during our many seasons we will find ourselves practicing what we preached and preaching what we already practice.

The reason I choose number 2 was...ok bare with me my mind loves to run off...lol

2 doctors came to mind.

Both have the same amount of degrees and years of schooling.

Now John needs a heart implant.

Both doctors are knowledgable, but only one is needed to help john. They both have the same level of education, the only difference is one doctor was able to do an internship at a huge hospital.

Both qualified...but which one is going to be used.

The one with or without the experience.

Sometimes...God will need Christians with the experience to perform. It doesn't make the inexperience less of a christian and they can't help others.

But seriously, our final goal should be option 2....there comes a time when our lives should speak for itself.

When you learn to overcome obstacles in life, its much easier to help others go through it.

"Practice what you preach."

Cleaning your house and telling others to do so is good.

"Preach what you have already practiced."

After cleaning your house, then going out and sharing is even better.


Sorry for posting so much..I told you my mind runs off....at least this time it wasn't to lala land..:coocoo:

Love you guys.

 

[redfox]

Rizen1 that makes complete sense. Basically we're saying option 1 is good but option 2 is better . Thank you for your thoughts, your mind running off was very informative and helpful, don't apologise, I find analogy very helpful.

Just, referring to what you were saying, that in essence is why an older person who is mature in their faith can generally offer more wisdom than a young immature believer. Like you said, it doesn't make them any less a Christian, but just affects there ability to help.

Thank you love you all too! Jack

 

[jiggyfly]

Francis of Assisi said "preach the Gospel everyday and use words if necessary". So although preaching may not be practicing, practicing is definitely preaching.

 

[HisFollower]

For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? (Matthew 9:5)

 

[Rev T.S.Perkins]

As a minister of God i try to never preach anything that i cannot preach with conviction because i have already applied it in my life..any body can preach the word but to preach it with Gods conviction comes from personal experience and application so you know that you know that you know GODS WORD IS PROVEN...! seen a lot of ministers fall because they preached it and it was discoverd they never experienced it first hand by applying the truth to their own heart first....PULL THE LOG FROM YOURE OWN EYE SO YOU CAN REMOVE THE SPLINTER FROM YOURE BROTHERS is very clear ..Rev

 

[eddieb]

i aint vote. but thats because they are both appropriate and i doubt it will let me pick both. if you dont practice what you preach then you are a hypocrite. and how can you preach what you havent had experience with? there is a reason "elders" of the church are there. they have more experience and have been walking with God longer.