(Epictetus, Encheiridion, Book 2, chapter 1, §4, my paraphrase).

“Show my a real Stoic if you can—not those who merely repeat Stoic phrases.”

Epictetus (A.D. ca. 55-135) was a Stoic philospher.  He knew some good teachings, and he gave us some good teachings.  However, he was not impressed at all with good teachings.  He wanted to live as a Stoic.

No matter how much they might have disagreed on many things, the New Testament author James would have agreed with Epictetus on the need for action, rather than mere teachings.

“21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.

23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror.

24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like.

25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

26 If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.

27 Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.” (James 1:22-27)

Now, don’t get me wrong: What Christians (or anyone else) believe does matter.  Bad beliefs can, and often do, lead to bad behavior.  Sincerity of belief doesn’t cut it, if the belief itself is mistaken.

Years ago, I heard an interesting illustration, which I pass along for your consideration.  Whether or not it happened exactly like this does not matter; it is certainly realistic.

An on-call doctor is awakened at 3:00 a.m. by a call from a nurse at a nursing home.  He hasn’t been able to rest well for days.  The nurse who has called him tells him that one of their residents is unable to sleep, and is striking out at everyone around her.  The doctor listens, considers, and orders one 50 mg. dose of a strong sedative.  The nurse notices how sleepy the doctor sounds.  She doesn’t think that the dosage sounds right.  She goes to her Physician Desk Reference, and discovers that a strong dosage of this drug in .05 mgs.

She calls the doctor back to double check the dosage.  The doctor is now fully awake.  “Oh my God!” he exclaims.  “Thank you!  50 mgs. would have killed the patient!”

Sometimes, sincerity is not enough.

However, knowing the truth and believing the truth is not enough either.  The question that we Christians need to ask is not “Are they Christians (whoever “they” are)?”  Rather, the question we all need to ask is, “Am I living as a Christian right now?”

Unfleshed truth is falsehood.

Now, none of us gets this right all the time.  Still, that is our goal—or, at least, it ought to be.  To live out the Christian faith day by day and moment by moment is what we are called to do.  To be forgiven is a wonderful thing, but the question that cuts like a knife is this: Am I living as a forgiven person?

Lest you (and I) despair, however, it needs to be recognized that there is only One person who has ever fully, consistently lived out the Christian life.  That person was Jesus Christ.  Nevertheless, he called people to follow Him.  I believe that He still does.

Years ago, there was a skit that asked a simple question.  If you were accused of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

Perhaps the question is whether there would even be enough evidence to indict us.

God, please show me a real Christian when I look in the mirror!