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"He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord."
Psalm 33:5
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Hypocrisy, Heathens, and Rejecting the Gospel
Hypocrisy, Heathens, and Rejecting the Gospel
Have you ever been talking to somebody about Christianity, and they say something along these lines: “I know Christians…and I would follow Jesus if it wasn’t for them. But they are hypocrites.” This oft used excuse to not surrender to Jesus Christ is thrown all over the place…and we hear it all of the time in church. How many times has somebody in your church’s leadership stood before the congregation and declared, “People who hear the gospel are not being born-again because of how we are acting,”? How many times have you seen an atheist say or blog about how they were raised in the church, and they know the gospel, but those Christians they know personally…they are just too hypocritical, so they will not turn to Christ?I have heard all of those statements and arguments, and I am convinced that none of them are valid, true, or biblical. You show me a person who claims to not turn to the gospel because of “people in the church” and I will show you a person who is either: 1) prideful, or 2) lacking in understanding of the true gospel.
Let’s begin with the atheist. Psalm 14:1 says, “The fool has said in his own heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; there is no one who does good.” First, notice that the atheist, the agnostic, and the one who rebels and rejects the gospel, says in his own heart there is no God. An atheist cannot be forced into being an atheist. Nor can an agnostic an agnostic. They hold that belief because they choose (in their corruption and sinfulness) to say in their own heart, to tell themselves, “God is [probably] not real.”
Another verse reads, “The wicked in their haughtiness [pride] of his countenance, does not seek Him. All his thoughts are, ‘There is no God,’” (Psalm 10:4). Again, responsibility lies on the individual. Their pride keeps them from surrendering to the gospel.
Imagine a man has a rare form of cancer. He may live for five years, or he may live for fifty. Some doctors have given him false hope in certain medications, but they all fall through. “Run five miles a day!” They tell him…but to no avail. If something does not change, and fast, this cancer is going to claim the man’s life. Miraculously, a doctor approaches the man and says he has the only cure. The sick man is shown medical documentation that proves the cure will work. The doctor professes that he had the exact same cancer until he took this incredible cure…and now the illness is completely gone. The doctor then hands the man a vile holding the sweet cure. The man puts the vile to his lips, and closes his eyes as he prepares to drink the substance that will assure him life and deliverance from his sickness.
Suddenly, he realizes something. The doctor actually hit his car a year earlier and then drove off! “I could never forget that face!” In a rage he throws the vile to the floor, shattering it and splattering the cure all over the place. As he stomps off he screams, “I do not want your cure! You hit my car!” A week later, the cancer claims the man’s life.
Do you think that is logical? OK, the man has a right to be upset that the doctor hit his car and then drove away…but would a man in his right mind really rather die than take the only cure that can cure him? Mankind is sick. They have a disease called sin and the result of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and eternity in hell (1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Revelation 21:8). The only cure is Jesus Christ (John 14:6; 1 Timothy 2:5). Yes, there are hypocrites within the Church. Yes, it is important we walk in love and shine the light of Christ (this is not optional). Yes, our actions can hurt our testimony. But how, dear Christian, can it possibly keep somebody from turning to the Savior of mankind?
How can a person be willing to give up spending eternity with the God who created the universe (Genesis 1:1) and the God who loved them and gave Himself up for them (Romans 5:8) because of a hypocrite? How can a person reject the free gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23) because they feel somebody wronged them in the past? How can a person say they would rather be bitter toward a hypocrite than have the truth set them free (John 8:32; Galatians 5:1), and be finally freed from sins shackles (Romans 6:7; Romans 8:2)? How can hypocrisy lead somebody to reject so great a salvation (Hebrews 2:3)?
Do not get me wrong, faith without works is dead (James 2:26). And I have said numerous times people who do good works without sharing the gospel, and people who share the gospel without doing good works, are both equally harmful to the Kingdom. Christina hypocrisy has caused pain and has hurt the testimony of the Church and the gospel…I get it. But Christian, we must stop acting like this is a valid excuse to reject salvation. It is not. And when a sinner pulls this card, there is a deeper heart issue. Something else is going on.
We must help people through the pain that hypocritical Christians have caused, but remember that the gem that is the gospel outshines the pains of our past. Whenever a person tells me they have a problem with the Church, I always tell them there are hypocrites everywhere. But remind them that the Bible says that there is none good, and bring it right back to Jesus.