How Will We Be Known? by B. Johnson

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How Will We Be Known?

“Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right” (Pro 20:11).
Whether a child or a man, we are known by our deeds. Obviously our deeds would include our words.
“Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned” (Matt 12:33-37).
Man’s heart may be known by his words. If a man’s words are honest/dishonest, kind/cruel, loving/hateful, we can know the man.
We can tell whether a child is honest or not in little things. “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?” (Luke 16:10-12).
One main exception to this rule is hypocrisy. “In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (Luke 12:1).
We must watch for men who hide their real thoughts. There are many Pharisees in the world today. “That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive” (Ephesians 4:14). These men intentionally hide their real thoughts.
God fashions all hearts alike, and then considers what men do with those hearts. “The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men. From the place of his habitation he looketh upon all the inhabitants of the earth. He fashioneth their hearts alike; he considereth all their works” (Ps 33:13-15).
The face of man shows what the heart is like . “As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man” (Prov 27:19).
Beth Johnson

The Scripture quotations in this article are from
The King James Version.

Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)