It’s only an excuse aimed at avoiding personal responsibility, but we occasionally hear the charge that “there are hypocrites in the church.” To deny such a charge would be fruitless considering the fact that churches are made up of fallible people, including some who may seek the fellowship of faithful Christians for nefarious reasons.
The Jerusalem church had hypocrisy among them as illustrated by the story of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5). I have no doubt that this story, including God’s punishment, is part of the inspired history to serve as a warning for all generations.
Sincere Christians may not always have the ability to see through the hypocrisy of others and, even when it is suspected, hope that spiritual growth will eventually result in sincere repentance.
Hypocrisy is a sin, but it can be forgiven. Indeed, all of us have likely been guilty of it. The apostle Paul had to confront it in the life of Peter regarding his dealings with Gentiles in the presence of Judaizers (Gal. 2:11-13).
It seems there have even been some hypocrites who preached Christ from envy or selfish ambition, hoping to cause trouble for the apostle Paul (Phil. 1:15-16). Though he was not defending the hypocrisy, he recognized its presence among them.
The parable of the tares (Matt. 13:24-30) and Jesus’ application (vv. 36-43) suggest that Satan will plant some of his sons among the sons of the kingdom who will not be “weeded out” until the “harvest” at the end of the age. So, we should not be shocked by their presence among us. Counterfeits are only found among things and places of value.
There are hypocrites in every walk of life. However, seldom do we hear of people leaving their employment simply because of a hypocritical employer or the presence of a few co-workers who don’t take their jobs seriously. And notably, few people refuse to support their favorite sports team just because of fair-weather fans.
It might be wise to take note of the fact that a couple of stinking skunks didn’t drive Noah and his family out of the ark.
- Think on These Things, July-Sept. 2023