Hypocrisy: A Modern Poison for Today's Church

Imagine having a personal trainer who posts on social media pictures of massive gains, workout routines, diet plans, testimonies of health, etc...

Now imagine going to McDonald's and running into that personal trainer slobbin down three Big Macs.

"He's probably on a cheat day" you think to yourself.

Okay. Well pretend you go to McDonald's again and again for three days after that (there's a reason you need a personal trainer lol) and each day you see the same personal trainer scarfing down those greasy meals. He still looks great, but he's eating junk and going against the public image he tries to keep up, but because he is able to look good while succumbing to the #1 meal with a large fry, so you follow in his footsteps. Fast forward a couple of years, and you find out that the same personal trainer died of a heart attack due to high cholesterol linked to bad dieting. He died swole, but so were his arteries. AND YOU ARE NEXT! All because someone of influence showed in their actions that it was okay to pursue opposite ideals and passions and you followed them.

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Much like how the personal trainer in the story lived a double lifestyle that ultimately led to his death and the downfall of those who looked up to him. Many modern Christians are doing the same thing when it comes to their spiritual health. Not only is it hurting them, but it also negatively affects those who know them as Christ-followers. This is especially tragic when the influencer is in a place of leadership in the church.

The biggest threat to the Great Commission and the spread of the Gospel is not the lack of belief. Nor is it persecution or restriction. The greatest threat lies within the community of Christ, and that is the rapidly growing acceptance of hypocritical lifestyles. To be a hypocritical "Christian" is to willingly pursue sin without repentance all while claiming Christ as your savior. The facade of Christianity in the modern world has led us to see people who claim to be believers in Christ, but live lifestyles that counter such claims. Hypocritical Christians not only hurt the spread of the Gospel with watered-down doctrine, but they also pervert the image of Christ in us. This perversion is both blasphemous and misguiding.

"But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. “Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!" Mathew 18: 6-7

This segment in Mathew isn't just speaking of actual Children, but more so nonbelievers and Christians who seek biblical guidance and examples. Christ being a father figure, we are all his "Children" in a sense. To say you are a Christian, and then willingly sin, is to set a false example that can lead others to do the same. One of the saddest realities I have personally witnessed in the Church is seeing worship leaders, group leaders, and even pastors represent Christ with their words and on social media, and then turn around and go against God's Biblical guidance willingly. Some may keep their sinful lifestyles hidden, and some are open to its significance in their life. Either way, it is wrong, and the truth always comes to the surface. I went to a Christian university and knew pastoral majors who would lead bible studies and worship, then go drinking and sleeping around on the same night. This type of behavior disgusted me and eventually was one of the factors that led me to leave that university. And unfortunately, I have seen it now in the modern church as well.

Now I know what you may be thinking "How can he judge them? We all struggle with sin. No one person is perfect."

1. As believers we are called to keep each other accountable to God's word, this is righteous judgment and guidance.

2. Yes everyone sins, but not everyone lives a sinful lifestyle. Lifestyles change with repentance. If there is no change, there is no repentance.

Claiming Christ in us, but not living as if he were is a poisonous image that can be spread. False doctrine is not only spread by the words of man, but also by his actions.

"Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." Mathew 7:21-23 BUT THERE IS HOPE

The spiritual personal trainer may have died living a double lifestyle, and you may have even followed in his footsteps for a time, but there is a simple resolution to curing the illness of hypocrisy. In the health world, science can prove or disprove claims made by personal trainers and health gurus by using factual evidence. As Christians, our factual evidence to how one should live is layed out in God's word aka THE BIBLE. Following God's perfect manuscript not only helps us stay accountable in our spiritual health but also helps ensure a pure spread of doctrine to the lost.