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 Yes, as a Matter of Fact - We Are Hypocrites!
by Ray Starks, 6/1/04
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Has this ever happened to you?—You are excited about what the Lord has done and is doing in your life and excited about attending a church that is full of people who feel the same way as you, so your enthusiasm is motivating you to share your excitement with someone else. After explaining your joy to this person, they dash you on the rocks with a statement like, “Hey, I would never be a Christian. I mean, look at all the hypocrites in the church.”
I’ve lost count of how many times that response has been used when I talk to people about the Lord. As a matter of fact, ever since people have been called disciples of Christ and met in His name, someone has claimed “foul” and rejected Christianity because of what they perceive to be blatant hypocrisy on the part of Christians. Hypocrisy can be simply defined as “people who profess what they don’t possess,” and that’s how churched people are perceived—phony, empty, and hollow to the core.
So what do we do? If we think about their statement, we really could come up with a half a dozen names of people that we worship with who fit that definition of hypocrites. And if we’re really honest, we could even see ourselves periodically fitting that definition as well. As a matter of fact—it is true.
May I suggest some responses when you get hit with the “hypocrisy” resistance?
1) “Hey there’s always room for one more.”
I know this sounds harsh, but it really is being honest. What person do you know that is perfect—that his words always match his actions? All of us struggle with that harmony and it shouldn’t be a point of embarrassment. But when someone talks of faults of others, we need to remember that it’s really just an excuse for that person to deny his own need for change. He’s no different than the rest of us who’ve resisted Christ for years. We were like him until we surrendered to God and came to our senses. He needs to know that we are not an exclusive club but that there is always room for one more sinner looking for grace.
2) “Since when do you allow hypocrisy to determine your affiliation and participation in anything?”
Periodically we hear through the media about medical quacks that have hurt and killed people with their inability to heal; some of them didn’t even attend med school—but that hasn’t stopped us from running to our doctor when we are sick. What about the news reports of hamburger contaminated with E. coli—have we stopped eating Big Macs? We’ve all heard of Benedict Arnold or Jonathan Pollard being very public phony, hypocritical Americans—and yet we haven’t moved from the country. And where would we go anyway? With what faith would we align ourselves? Are there not hypocritical Hindus, Muslims, and Buddhists? Even non-believers have been heard to say, “Thank God, I’m an atheist!” (Think about it.)
3) “You’re right—the church is not perfect, but Christ is. Place your eyes on Him.”
I’m the first to tell you that I am not perfect and I know that Edge is not full of perfect people. So to hear someone slam people of Edge (including myself), I’m neither shocked nor defensive. It is true, we all struggle with getting our walk to match our talk. It’s a growth thing and we are all working through it. There is always too much hypocrisy in the church and there always has been—but it’s certainly not being condoned. Perfect churches are not filled with perfect people. Perfect churches are where imperfect people can find Jesus Christ and learn to grow more into His perfect image along side others desiring to do the same. In this context, you can see that Edge really is a perfect church.
No one can escape the charge of “hypocrite”—no one except Jesus Himself. He is the only One who has lived up to God’s standards; the only One who has perfectly lived what He preached. Only through Jesus Christ can we escape the penalty due us because of our hypocrisy. Because we are free from the penalty, it allows us to live transparent lives and become real and honest people; and often that can look like hypocrisy to the outside eye.
Ruth Bell Graham (wife of Billy) once countered a young student from India who used the “hypocrisy” argument with the following statement: “I am not offering you Christians, I am offering you Christ.” Maybe this is the best answer of all.
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