Theology for Everybody: RomansSample

Have you ever heard someone say, “I know too many hypocritical believers”? Paul addresses this second common objection to Christianity in Romans chapter 3. A person outside the church may complain, “I know people who go to church, pray, and read the Bible, but I don’t see any real change in their lives. They’re no better than I am.” As I discussed in Romans chapter 2, the ancient word for hypocrite was used for actors performing on stage in a play. Since each person performing played multiple roles, they would use masks to cover their faces. The result was that you never really knew who a person was since all you could see was the role they were playing. Among Jesus’ disciples, the biggest hypocrite was Judas. For three years, he played the role of the faithful disciple to Jesus, but that was all a mask he used for theft and betrayal.

Paul’s response to the hypocrisy objection is simple and helpful with two big ideas. First, some people are faithful to God, while others are unfaithful. Just because someone says they are a believer yet acts in unbelief does not in any way reflect poorly upon God or indicate He has failed. All Christians are unfaithful at some point in their lives, but it has zero effect on God’s faithfulness. Paul writes in 2 Timothy 2:13, “If we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.”

This leads to Paul’s second response: God is faithful to His Word. All humanity is headed toward a final day of judgment. True believers were judged for salvation at the cross of Jesus in the past and will be judged for their eternal rewards at the judgment seat of Jesus in the future. Jesus will judge unbelievers with their eternal sentencing to hell. All God’s judgment is according to His Word, without any hypocrisy. Therefore, since God is faithful to His Word, He is only and altogether good, whether people who claim to follow His Word are faithful to it or not. Since God is not a hypocrite, we should not worry about the eternal fate of others as much as we should check our own lives to see if we are ready to stand before God’s judgment.

Today’s Reflection

Is there any area of your life where you profess belief in God’s Word but are acting hypocritically and not practicing it?