image from Facebook
Recently, a good FB friend, Bart, shared that he and his wife are leaving their church. Too many hypocrites, gossips, people who don’t live like Jesus. I get that; many have left churches for similar reasons. But we face a tension. None of us are perfect, as these words written to followers of Jesus affirm, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23). So, if we proclaim we follow Jesus and sin, are we hypocrites? If only perfect people are allowed in church, how many of us would qualify?
But Bart had a good point. One church discovered that a prominent member had been involved in serious immorality that he bragged about. The elders discovered that many in the community knew and wondered how the church could ignore that—viewing the church as hypocritical. Webster calls hypocrisy “a false appearance of virtue or religion.”
Or, hypocrites are sinners who have no desire to change their behavior. They want the image, not the reality. Genuine followers know they’re not sinless, but want to sin less. So how do we navigate how “A perfect God has chosen to use imperfect people to bring other imperfect people to the perfect God”? A couple of tips.
First, we acknowledge our own brokenness, issues, and sins. Paul gave us a prime example, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst” (1 Timothy 1:15). I love the line “Jesus loves us as we are enough to not leave us as we are.” The solution to hypocrisy: we don’t pretend to be better than we are. And, we strive to be better than we were. Flawed, yes, but growing in godliness.
Second, we give others the same freedom to not be perfect that we give ourselves. We provide support and help, not accusation. Jesus’ statement haunts me, “But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:15). The positive aspect of this is, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently” (Galatians 6:1). Sad how many of us find it easy to condemn and judge, when we’re told to restore. The mark of genuine followers: we yearn to sin less, and welcome when others approach us.
What about those who won’t listen, who show no interest in acknowledging and dealing with their sins? “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you…A man has his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have been filled with grief and have put out of your fellowship the man who did this?” (1 Corinthians 5:1-2). The goal, to protect the church and restore the person.
And yes, sometimes leaving a church is a good thing, but that’s another issue. The church truly should be a hospital for sinners who want to sin less. No hypocrites that way, just those who need to grow.
Kick Starting the Application
Do you have some issues with not living up to God’s standards? Are you willing to face and deal with them? Can you give others the same grace you embrace?