Issue 765 – Hypocrites – June 4, 2022
“All you Christians think you’re better than everyone else,” she snapped. “You’re all a bunch of hypocrites.”
It’s a criticism I’ve heard many times. There’s some validity to it, but it misses the entire point. Many Christians think they are better than others, but they too miss the point.
Being a Christian isn’t about being “good” or nice.” Being a Christian isn’t about doing good works or going to church. It’s not even about being holy or religious.
Hopefully, over time, being a faithful follower of Christ will make you a better person, possibly even a nicer human being. It will quite possibly lead you to do good works and kind things. It will likely draw you to church. The holiness comes from Him, and I pray you never get “religious,” and by that, I mean more wrapped up in the traditions and rituals than in your walking with the Lord by faith.
The first thing it takes to be a Christian is realizing that you don’t have it all together. It’s about coming to know that you aren’t good or nice or holy in the eyes of God. It’s to recognize that your best efforts on their own are but filthy rags in the eyes of God.
We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. There is no one who calls upon your name, who rouses himself to take hold of you; for you have hidden your face from us, and have made us melt in the hand of our iniquities.
Isaiah 64:6-7
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. Romans 5:6-11
When you know that the best you can do on your own fails so miserably, it’s pretty hard to look down on someone else. Our only hope is in Christ. Throwing ourselves at his feet for mercy is the only chance we have. If you do, you forget where you’ve been.
Now in terms of being hypocrites, that’s an interesting one. For a long time, I would have said yes, we’re often hypocrites. Until recently, when I took the time to look up what the word hypocrite means. I’ve misunderstood what the term means all my life, and I’ve realized that the vast majority of people I have met misunderstand it as well.
A hypocrite is “a person who professes beliefs and opinions that he does not hold.” It’s not a person who believes one thing but then does another. For example, many drug addicts will tell you that drug usage is unhealthy while still being addicted. They are not professing beliefs they do not hold. They genuinely believe that drug use isn’t healthy, but they struggle with addiction. That’s not the same thing as being a hypocrite.
True born-again Christians believe what the Bible teaches them. We strive to be Christ-like and often fail dismally. That’s our sin nature at work, not our hypocrisy. It is not hypocrisy when we recognize that we’re fallen people, incapable of making it on our own, and turn to Christ and then fall in sin. We do believe what we profess even if we’re not capable of living up to His standard.
God’s standard can never be reached by Christians (or anyone else) by its very nature. Striving to meet it but not making it isn’t hypocritical; it’s a simple fact of life.
On the other hand, if you claim to believe Scripture and be a Christian but do not and are not, you are a hypocrite because you profess beliefs that you do not hold.
As a Christian, are you better than someone else? No, you are simply a sinner saved by grace. As a Christian, if you sin, are you a hypocrite? No, you cannot live up to the standard of perfection that God requires. That’s why we need Jesus. We can’t do it alone.
Until next time, remember that we’re simply saved sinners with the goal of helping other sinners find the same freedom we have in Christ.
Hallelu Yah (Praise God)
Be blessed.
Kevin.
Gleanings From The Word.
Experience an extraordinary God in ordinary life.
Soli Deo Gloria (for the glory of God alone.)
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Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the English Standard Version (ESV). Spelling modified to Canadian English as required.
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