The Benefit of Doubt: How Confronting Your Deepest Questions Can Lead to a Richer FaithSample

Why Are Christians Such Hypocrites?

Instead of being known for love, as Jesus commanded, His followers can sometimes be known more for who they hate and what they’re against. For example:

• Jesus commanded us to love our enemies, but today people claiming to be His followers relentlessly attack their enemies on social media.
• Jesus taught that we are to be peacemakers, but Christians today scream hate-filled words at their protests and rallies.
• Jesus said that the one without sin could cast a stone, leading the people who wanted to punish a guilty woman to drop their weapons. Today, Christians quickly and easily pick up “stones” and throw them at the guilty and, sometimes, the innocent.

Maybe you’ve been confused, hurt, disappointed, or disillusioned by followers of Jesus whose lives don’t look anything like His. If so, you’re not alone. Turns out Jesus didn’t like it when people claimed one thing and lived another. He really didn’t like it.

If you’ve been frustrated, turned off, or disgusted by Christians who say one thing and do another, Jesus is with you.

Jesus never spoke more harshly about anyone than those He called “hypocrites.” In Matthew 23, we find seven times that Jesus said “woe to you” to the religious leaders who claimed to live in holiness, but were actually self-absorbed, self-glorifying men who did “not practice what they preach.”

Jesus condemned hypocrites, yet many people today who claim to follow Him could be described that way. Why do so many Christians get it wrong?

Let me offer three reasons.

1. Some who claim Christ are not really Christians. These people may attend church, go to Bible studies, and share Bible verses on social media but have never truly put their faith in Jesus.
2. Some people who misrepresent Jesus are Christians but they’re still brand new or very young in their spiritual development. They may have not yet learned right from wrong and how to make better choices.
3. Others are Christians who are imperfect and in process. To be clear, that’s the rest of us. You and me. Every day, even with Jesus in our lives, we can make bad choices and say bad things. When we do mess up, that doesn’t necessarily mean we’re hypocrites. We genuinely love Jesus, but in a weak moment might tell a lie or speak harsh words.

We all sin, and being aware of our sin can help us show grace toward others who fall short. So let’s be slow to label people hypocrites and remember that God loves everyone, including you, me, and the worst hypocrites.

I understand the biggest complaint against the church may be that it’s full of narrow-minded hypocrites. I don’t want that to be true, but the greatest hurts I have experienced personally have been from church-going, judgmental hypocrites.

Some in the church say one thing and then do another. Some have abused their power. Some can be arrogant, harsh, and unloving.

It is ugly. And that’s not Jesus. There is no excuse.

If your faith is struggling because of hypocritical Christians, can I encourage you to look to Jesus? Not the hypocrites, not the people, just Jesus.

Look at how He lived and loved, confronted hypocrisy, showed compassion to the least of these, and defended the abused and the oppressed. Look at how people who were turned off by religion were drawn to Jesus, and how people who were sinful or broken wanted to be around Him.

People will fail you. Jesus won’t. So can I encourage you to build your faith on Jesus instead of fallen people?

Trust in Him. Rest in Him. Jesus will never let you down.