The church has imported the words of the world, "actions speak louder than words". The Lord revealed to me that this is false teaching for the Church. Rather, the Lord told me, "righteous acts, free from hypocrisy, gives credibility to your words and gives you a platform from which to speak the life giving word of God".

The difference lies in the words of Jesus:

Matthew 5:13-16

¹⁴"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; ¹⁵nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house.

¹⁶"Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

Those in the church are running the risk of being thrown out and trampled by men because they have lost their flavor. You see many, in the church have opted for only trying to be light, to be a good example, and therefor be less politically incorrect. Yet this is not what Jesus commanded us to do:

Mark 16:15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation."

Matthew 28:19-20 ¹⁹"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

Acts 1:8 "but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth."

He didn't say, "just be light (be a righteous and Godly example)", nor did he say, "just be salt (share the gospel)", He told us to be salt and light. Salt that flavors (with the word of God) and light (Christ lived out in our lives) that people can clearly see because it has been set on a high hill where it cannot be hidden. He also told us that we are to let our light (righteous and Godly conduct in Christ) shine before men in such a way as that when they see our works they will not glorify us, but rather, they will glorify God who is in heaven. Yet, how do they know to glorify God? If you are righteous, kind, loving, uncompromising in Christ, not indulging in the things of this world and to temptations which lead to death through sin, won't they just say, "wow, you should meet Bob, he is such an amazing guy, or you should see how nice Jan is, what a sweety."

This should not be the only effect of how we live. While it's true that some will likely think well of us for some righteous conduct we display, but lest we think that all will love us for our stance for Christ, Jesus made it clear that we will be hated by all for some of the things we tell them about Christ. In the words of Jesus:

Mark 13:13 "You will be hated by all because of My name, but the one who endures to the end, he will be saved."

In fact, if everyone is speaking well of you, you should be worried. Jesus warned us about this problem:

Luke 6:26 "Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way."

There is something about the way you present yourself that doesn't bring glory to you, but rather to God.

The difference truly comes down to preaching the gospel and sharing the truths of scripture as you live righteously, in Christ, before men and God. People will come to know that you do not take credit for what they see in you, but rather, you tell them the truth, that apart from God, nobody can do anything truly righteous or praiseworthy, but with God all things are possible. You yourself will recognize that all acts that have not got the right heart and have not been done for God in the service of fellow man will perish, as wood hay and straw:

1 Corinthians 3:10-15 But each one should be careful how he builds. ¹¹For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹²If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. ¹⁴If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. ¹⁵If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

James teaches us that faith without works is dead:

James 2:14-26 ¹⁴What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? ¹⁵Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

¹⁸But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

¹⁹You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

²⁰You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? ²¹Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²²You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God's friend. ²⁴You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.

²⁵In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? ²⁶As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

So, it is correct to say that true and saving faith is demonstrated by works, but we are also to preach the word of God. Some say that preaching is not for everyone, only for pastors, teachers and evangelists, but Christ made no such distinction. He told us that we are to confess Him openly before men, or He will not confess us before His Father. It is clear, we are to preach and teach people warning them about about their sin which leads to death, judgement, wrath and hell. And, yes, we are to teach them about the loving nature of our God that made a way for sinners, like us, to come into and maintain a living relationship with God the Father, through Jesus the Son of God, by grace, through faith, demonstrated by repentance, leading unto good works.

Therefor, let us never have good works apart from life giving words of truth from God's word. Let us be faithful watchmen, faithful witnesses, and true representatives of the Living God, people who's lives have been dramatically transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, through relationship with Jesus Christ, by whom we are reconciled to the Father.

So as I said before, some say, "actions speak louder than words", but I say "actions give credibility to words"