All Those Hypocrites
If you’ve been a Christian for any length of time, you know what the number one complaint about the church is from those on the outside. “Yeah, I might consider going to church if it wasn’t for all those hypocrites.” Often the remark is made about a specific congregation where they know several people, who they consider to be hypocritical. What are we to think about that statement?
My first response to such a comment has been, “You are absolutely right, there are too many hypocrites in the church, I agree.” But then I might follow up with a question, “Why do you think that is true?”
On one occasion as Jesus challenged the Pharisees and Scribes, he said, “So, for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, ‘This people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me, in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men’” (Matt. 15:6-9). From this we can gather that to be a hypocrite means we pretend to follow God, but in reality we follow self or the rules of men.
Have you ever seen that within a church? Ever seen it in yourself? Yes, there are hypocrites in the church. Each of us must guard to be sure we are not one ourselves. Let’s look closer.
There is nothing automatic that makes us a mature, virtuous Christian when we initially decide to follow Jesus. It involves a process, a process we must lend ourselves to. Many are those who become Christian and then go into float mode. They want salvation, but “Isn’t it by grace, I don’t have to work for it do I?” Indeed, we are saved by grace through faith, we don’t deserve it, but to say it does not involve work is to be naïve. “Faith without works is dead” James tells us. Real faith is intentional, it truly follows Jesus, which is the definition of being a disciple. So, this is one reason you find hypocrites in the church, there are too many “Christians” who simply disengage from the discipleship process.
Another thing that happens relates to background. Some people grow up in a non-Christian home yet have parents who practice good values and teach them to their children. If such a person becomes a Christian, some of the virtuous growth process is easy, they had a head start. On the other hand, some people grow up in a very non-caring, non-value-based home, and if such a person becomes a Christian, they can have a long road of changing values and learning the beliefs and practices of a Christ-follower. In this latter case, these people may be sincere Christians, but still may be hypocritical at times.
And then there are those who pretend to be Christian. For whatever reason (maybe parental expectations) they are in the habit of attending church, but they have never truly made a commitment to Jesus as Lord. Whether they attend for social connections, to impress people in the community, or something else, bottom line is they are not disciples of Jesus, and their values are not necessarily Christian values. But they are in church, and if hypocritical, they are being seen by the critical outsiders.
There are, unfortunately, those who have been believers for years, who SHOULD be mature as a Christian, but who are not, who are lukewarm, and in fact, are hypocritical. The critic has a point with this group, they are a smear on how the church looks to those on the outside. Jesus says in Revelation 3:16 he wants to spit them out!
Finally, I can be a hypocrite at times. I’m thinking you can too. We all have the potential to fall back into bad habits or practices that go against our stated beliefs. The goal is to be honest and sincere in practicing the values of God we have accepted. None of us are perfect. But we can attend church where the commands of God are taught and where we are encouraged to practice them. And hopefully minimize the overall impact of hypocrisy as the world watches us. This is where all Christians need to be, in a church that provides the tools of discipleship.
Cross Point: “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck of dust our of your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:5).
My first response to such a comment has been, “You are absolutely right, there are too many hypocrites in the church, I agree.” But then I might follow up with a question, “Why do you think that is true?”
On one occasion as Jesus challenged the Pharisees and Scribes, he said, “So, for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, ‘This people honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me, in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men’” (Matt. 15:6-9). From this we can gather that to be a hypocrite means we pretend to follow God, but in reality we follow self or the rules of men.
Have you ever seen that within a church? Ever seen it in yourself? Yes, there are hypocrites in the church. Each of us must guard to be sure we are not one ourselves. Let’s look closer.
There is nothing automatic that makes us a mature, virtuous Christian when we initially decide to follow Jesus. It involves a process, a process we must lend ourselves to. Many are those who become Christian and then go into float mode. They want salvation, but “Isn’t it by grace, I don’t have to work for it do I?” Indeed, we are saved by grace through faith, we don’t deserve it, but to say it does not involve work is to be naïve. “Faith without works is dead” James tells us. Real faith is intentional, it truly follows Jesus, which is the definition of being a disciple. So, this is one reason you find hypocrites in the church, there are too many “Christians” who simply disengage from the discipleship process.
Another thing that happens relates to background. Some people grow up in a non-Christian home yet have parents who practice good values and teach them to their children. If such a person becomes a Christian, some of the virtuous growth process is easy, they had a head start. On the other hand, some people grow up in a very non-caring, non-value-based home, and if such a person becomes a Christian, they can have a long road of changing values and learning the beliefs and practices of a Christ-follower. In this latter case, these people may be sincere Christians, but still may be hypocritical at times.
And then there are those who pretend to be Christian. For whatever reason (maybe parental expectations) they are in the habit of attending church, but they have never truly made a commitment to Jesus as Lord. Whether they attend for social connections, to impress people in the community, or something else, bottom line is they are not disciples of Jesus, and their values are not necessarily Christian values. But they are in church, and if hypocritical, they are being seen by the critical outsiders.
There are, unfortunately, those who have been believers for years, who SHOULD be mature as a Christian, but who are not, who are lukewarm, and in fact, are hypocritical. The critic has a point with this group, they are a smear on how the church looks to those on the outside. Jesus says in Revelation 3:16 he wants to spit them out!
Finally, I can be a hypocrite at times. I’m thinking you can too. We all have the potential to fall back into bad habits or practices that go against our stated beliefs. The goal is to be honest and sincere in practicing the values of God we have accepted. None of us are perfect. But we can attend church where the commands of God are taught and where we are encouraged to practice them. And hopefully minimize the overall impact of hypocrisy as the world watches us. This is where all Christians need to be, in a church that provides the tools of discipleship.
Cross Point: “You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck of dust our of your brother’s eye” (Matthew 7:5).
Posted in Cross Points