I'm a hypocrite. And so are you. If it's about performance, everyone who says he's a Christian is a hypocrite to the extent that he does not obey all of the commands of the scriptures. And there are a lot of them. The Old Testament laws were so extensive and so impossible to keep that only a few people were ever able to do it and not for long. Then Jesus came and made it worse for us by preaching more impossibilities: "Sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor."(Luke 12:33) Who does that? "If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out."(Mark 9:47) I know lots of guys whose eyes have caused them to sin, but I don't know anybody who obeyed the Lord at this point (and I'm not suggesting it now).
A few days ago a friend of mine shared this quote on Facebook: "HYPOCRITES: Blaming every law abiding gun owner for the deaths of children, while supporting abortion." I immediately commented, "We are all hypocrites" and then deleted it without typing the rest of my response: "Hypocrites: People who say they are Pro-Life and then support the killing of enemies in far away places (or coming through the bathroom window), forgetting that Jesus said to "Love your enemies."(Matthew 5:43-48) Did anybody here support the killing of Osama bin Laden? Jesus said, "Do not resist an evil person."(Matt.5:39) Sorry, that makes you a hypocrite. We all like to select the scriptural commands that we will observe, and then ignore the ones we don't like.
And we vote that way in national elections too, those of us who still vote. Democrats are inclined to help the poor through social programs, and Jesus likes that (the New Testament Church practiced a form of sanctified socialism). But they support the killing of unborn children. Republicans won't help the poor, but they want to protect the unborn. Both parties love to kill terrorists - who go directly to hell when killed, since they have no knowledge of Christ - even though both the Old and the New Testaments forbid murder. It's easier to kill terrorists than to convert them; war is easier than missions - despite the Great Commission.(Matt:28:19)
There are hundreds of points at which we are all in non-compliance with the commands of scripture. And that's why we need a Savior. There are over six hundred commandments in the Old Testament Law, most of which we are completely unaware, let alone trying to obey them (ie: If you wear a garment of blended fabric, you are breaking the Law). And the New Testament is full of orders which we don't fulfill.
"Our righteousness is as filthy rags"(Isaiah 64:6) and that's why we need the cross. Because we have no chance without the cross. There is no way on earth that we can behave well enough, be righteous enough, keep all the rules or always vote for the right guy in every election. But that doesn't seem to stop us from trying.
"Our righteousness is as filthy rags"(Isaiah 64:6) and that's why we need the cross. Because we have no chance without the cross. There is no way on earth that we can behave well enough, be righteous enough, keep all the rules or always vote for the right guy in every election. But that doesn't seem to stop us from trying.
The cross doesn't seem to be enough. There is this everlasting legalistic duty that we all feel that we must perform, this elusive perfection to which God calls us (along with our local preacher who calls us to do better every Sunday morning). If we can't live up to God's standard, why do we keep trying? We have a Savior, so why keep attempting self-righteousness?
So this is one of the great hypocrisies of Christianity: We claim that salvation is free to all, based on belief in Jesus (John 3:16) and that it's all about what Christ has done for us on the cross. But then we live and act and preach as though we must earn our salvation through good behavior and righteous living. And if somebody doesn't behave well enough or supports the wrong political platform, we take away his salvation.
So which is it? Galatians 2:8 says we are saved by grace through faith, not of works (behavior) lest anyone boast. The whole point of the cross is that none of us can behave well enough to earn our salvation. If self-righteousness were possible, why did God need to send us a Savior?
I think the biggest hypocrisy of which anyone is guilty is judging, another point at which we are disobedient to Christ who said, "Do not judge."(Matt:7:1) The reason I think the Lord prohibited this is that judging makes us god. Can a Democrat be a Christian? Only God knows. Is a Marine who kills an enemy soldier going to go to heaven? Only God knows. Is a gay who believes in Jesus really a Christian? I don't know, and neither do you. Is an overweight believer really saved? If not, 60% of Christians in America are out of luck, as the Bible prohibits overeating and in fact says you should put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony. (Proverbs 23:2)
Because we are not God and because we are all guilty, we should stop judging. Our only job as believers is to love. We may be tough on sin in our own lives, but it is not our job to be tough on anyone else. That's God's job. We should just trust in the grace of God for our own salvation and for the salvation of everybody else. We are not God; we should stop acting like it. As an acquaintance and exiled pastor, Anthony Ferrell, says, "Judging is the very essence of gracelessness and goes counter to the grain of the Cross."
And I need to stop letting inflammatory Facebook posts get the best of me, dang it! At least this time I had the sense to move my arguments from Facebook to my own blog.
Do you believe there's any need to earn salvation through Godly behavior? If someone doesn't behave in a Christian manner or support the right party, are they still saved? If you deny Christ by not "sharing" that cheesy Facebook status, will He really deny you in heaven?
