MH page 469

There is an eloquence far more powerful than the eloquence of words in the quiet, consistent life of a pure, true Christian. What a man is has more influence than what he says.

A quiet, consistent Christian life exerts more influence than mere words. The paragraph teaches a moral and relational principle about the power of personal example over verbal persuasion.

The officers who were sent to Jesus came back with the report that never man spoke as He spoke. But the reason for this was that never man lived as He lived. Had His life been other than it was, He could not have spoken as He did. His words bore with them a convincing power, because they came from a heart pure and holy, full of love and sympathy, benevolence and truth.

Jesus's impactful speech flowed from His pure life, character, and inner holiness. The text attributes Jesus's rhetorical and spiritual impact to His divine character and inner nature.

It is our own character and experience that determine our influence upon others. In order to convince others of the power of Christ's grace, we must know its power in our own hearts and lives. The gospel we present for the saving of souls must be the gospel by which our own souls are saved. Only through a living faith in Christ as a personal Saviour is it possible to make our influence felt in a skeptical world. If we would draw sinners out of the swift-running current, our own feet must be firmly set upon the Rock, Christ Jesus.

Effective witness for Christ requires personal experience of His grace and a living faith. This is a spiritual teaching regarding the prerequisite of personal faith for effective religious influence.