The Problem of Hypocrisy

It seems the church has a PR problem. When people are asked their perception of the church one of the most frequently mentioned traits is hypocrisy.

There seems to be three reasons for this response.

One, people want an excuse to not be involved in the church.

Two, people misunderstand the church and what the church teaches.

Three, the church is hypocritical.

It is on the third one I want to focus because there in nothing the church can do about the first one. And if we deal with this third one it will help solve the second one.

So is the church hypocritical? The answer to that question is - Yes!

The church is the people. The question then really is are Christians hypocritical? The answer is of course we are. All people are hypocritical at times. Hypocrisy is simply saying one thing and doing another and we all at times do that. Hypocrisy is also not living out what you say you believe which is more serous, but again something we are all guility of at times. Is it more crictical for Christians to not be hypocritical and live out what we say we believe? Yes, it is. It also critical that we live out what God teaches us in His Word.

You may be asking why? Why is it more critical for Christians to live out their beliefs? It is simple. What we believe as Christians and how we live it out affects a person now and for eternity. If I say I am a Republican but vote for a Democrat it might affection an election but little else. If I say I believe that will go to watch someone play a baseball game and don't I might hurt their feelings but little else. If I say I believe in God but live like I don't than I could affect many people' s perception of God and thus their eternal existence.

It is very important for Christians to live out what they say they believe. How do we do that? I believe that there are three anidotes to hypocrisy.

One anidote is integerity. We live with integerity by living out what the Bible teaches and thus what we say we believe. You can't be a Christian without believe that the Bible is God's Word and the authority in telling us how to live. If we as Christians would live out the truth of God's Word and thus reflect the truth of God to the world we would not be guility of hypocrisy.

The second anidote is purity. Purity means the desire to live holy and with integrity. We will never live with integrity unless we desire to. Purity allows us not only to live out the truth of God's Word but to also have a godly motivation in doing it. Purity allows us to really see not only that we care about them but that God loves them.

The third atidote is transparency. Transparency means that when I blow it and am guility of hypocrisy (and I will be) I will admit it. When a person sins the first thing God tells us to do is confess it and repent of it. Transparency means that I don't have to try and pretend that I have it all together. I can admit my struggles, my failures, even my sins. Transparency means I am Real not fake. People aren't looking for perfect. They are looking for real.

Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls helps deal with the problem of hypocrisy because integrity, purity and transparency are components of Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls.

Without Hypocrisy Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls.
                                          Joe