Half Truths and Whole Lives

Right now, our Bible study is working through Adam Hamilton’s Half Truths. The title alone is a good reminder that sometimes what we say in church circles isn’t completely wrong—but it isn’t completely right either. I had my own run-in with a half truth recently. I heard a preacher say that when you become a Christian, people will see a visible difference in you. On the surface, that sounds right. After all, Paul tells us that we are “new creations in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:17). But the more I thought about it, the more I realized it’s not quite that simple.

In the Old Testament, many of Israel’s laws were designed to set God’s people apart from the nations around them. Sometimes that distinction was visible—things like diet or even hairstyles. But when we get to the New Testament, we find that people didn’t always recognize God’s presence, even when he was standing right in front of them. Jesus didn’t “look different.” John the Baptist had to point him out, Judas had to identify him with a kiss, and the disciples often struggled to see who he truly was.

What did Jesus say would make his followers recognizable? “They will know you by your love for one another” (John 13:35). Not by a certain physical trait, not by a glow around our heads, but by our actions, our compassion, and our willingness to serve.

This is what John Wesley called holiness of heart and life. Our faith is not just something we believe, tucked away privately; it is something that reshapes the way we live. As Paul reminds us, we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). But James balances this truth by saying that “faith without works is dead” (James 2:26).

So, is there a visible difference when we follow Christ? Perhaps—but maybe not in the way that preacher suggested. The difference isn’t a new look, but a new love. It’s not something others will automatically “see” when we walk into a room, but something they will experience when we love, forgive, serve, and care for them in Christ’s name. That’s more than a half truth. That’s the whole gospel.

May God hold you,
Rev Chris Hester