Years ago, I was teaching the last class of the semester to a group of college graduates. One student asked me, “In a few sentences, what parting words would you give to challenge us in our Christian walks?” After thinking for a while, I shared the following:

Alexander the Great had a deserter brought before him. The sentence for any deserter in battle was immediate death. Before the man was executed, Alexander asked him his name. The man replied, “My name is Alexander.” Alexander the Great then said, “You will be pardoned under one condition—either change your ways or change your name.”

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I looked Matt, the recent college graduate who asked the question, right in the eyes and said, “You claim to be a Christian. I have no reason at all to question your claim. But I do have five words for you and your classmates: Do justice to that Name.”

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The most difficult thing for any of us to see is a believer claiming one name—that of Christ—and living under another name—that of the world. As you seek to know Christ and Him crucified, you have to constantly ask yourself if you are wearing the name “Christian” well.

Christians exchanging one name for another, or even one mask for another depending on the setting, is nothing new. As Jesus walked this earth, and as His Church was growing in its infancy, plays were being performed with actors playing numerous roles. Instead of changing wardrobes or costumes, the actors would simply change masks—in essence, they would change their faces. While on stage, actors would constantly change masks depending on the script. Against this backdrop, new meaning is brought to the expression “being two-faced.”

Additionally, the Greek word for actor is the root from which we get the English word “hypocrite.” This background brings to life Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:5: “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye!”

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To be an actor, to be a hypocrite, is literally to be a “pretender.” I’m convinced one of the biggest problems with American Christians—and really throughout Christian history—is that we default to being pretenders. Make no mistake about it: that’s extremely confusing and hurtful to the outside world.

To make this practical, if I were to poll five of your closest associates at work, which statement would best define you?

“John does justice to that name.”

or

“John professes to know God, but by his deeds he denies Him.”

I promise you, I pose that exact same question to myself regularly, because I know nothing—and I mean nothing—stalls our witness more than a “do as I say, not as I do” mentality. Our preaching and our practice must line up. Can you imagine commanding those closest to you to “practice” everything they’ve seen you do—even when you didn’t realize they were watching?

For all intents and purposes, I’ve heard it said many followers of Christ function as practical atheists—meaning we don’t consistently apply or practice the Word of God in our day-to-day lives.

That’s why we need godly examples before us—not perfect ones, but persistent ones—like Ezra the scribe. Just one verse is all it takes to give us a model to follow:

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To Let this be a reminder to you (and me) today: Do justice to that name.

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Jesus said, "For those who have ears to hear, let them hear."