To be sure, each of us understands the importance of practicing what we preach (cf. Rom. 2:21). But, we must also believe what we preach. You may remind someone struggling with loneliness that the Lord is always with them (Heb. 13:5), but do you believe that to be true when you struggle with loneliness? You may comfort a brother working through financial stress by reminding him of Matthew 6:33, but do you find comfort in that passage when you endure financial problems?
Paul wrote, “And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed and therefore I spoke,” we also believe and therefore speak” (2 Cor. 4:13). He had a settled conviction that what he proclaimed was true, and that faith both pushed and comforted him in his most trying moments. Like him, if we believe what we preach we will not give up (2 Cor. 4:1). Though it may injure us for a time, no amount of discouragement will bring our service to its end. We will not engage in secret sin (2 Cor. 4:2). The reality of the coming judgment will not just be something we say to motivate others, it will serve as our motivation as well. Believing what we preach means we will not exalt ourselves (2 Cor. 4:5). Some men preach the gospel for what they can get out of it (cf. Phil. 1:15), but not a man who truly believes what the gospel proclaims. If we believe what we preach we will endure persecution (2 Cor. 4:7-10). It is easy to talk about faith under fire but when the furnace is lit too many run and hide. We will treasure the spiritual above the physical (2 Cor. 4:16-18) because we will be convinced that this world is not our home.
Do you have a firm and settled conviction that what you proclaim is true? When your faith is put to the test, will you be able to think back on what you have said to others in the same situation and find comfort in those things yourself? Do you believe what you preach?