Hypocrisy

Hypocrisy. I’ve been thinking a lot about this since it was brought up in a conversation today. It is such a struggle. People try to follow God and do what’s right, but then they turn it into pride. (Acting like they’re “sooo good” for doing the right things). Another sin, just as bad as not doing the “good deed” in the first place. People suck. (just wait, I’ll explain as you read on :). We still screw up in so many ways, whether we are poor or rich, with regard to money or spirituality. Jesus said, “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.” (Matthew 19:24). Poor people may need food or basic things for survival! They may have nowhere else to turn, so they seek God’s help. Rich people often, (whether intentionally or not), think they’ve got their lives under control and don’t really need Jesus in their day-to-day lives. A LIE. I understand now partially why some people may be turned off to the Church and not want to have anything to do with it. I’m so sorry. No matter how stinkin hard we church-goers try to be good or look good or do all the right things, we still mess up. Sometimes we don’t notice our continual sin because we might be “doing” the right things, while still acting proud or selfish or ignoring big sins right in front of us.


The Bible, God’s written words to us, tells us how we ought to live our lives. Trying to live as Christ did (humbly, as a servant to others, lovingly, honest) is the way God designed us to live. However, no matter how hard we try, we will still screw it up. We can never attain the perfect, humble, giving, selfless godly life while we are on earth. So why do we even try? Why do people go to church and then go on sinning? Or why do others go to church even when they realize this, that they’ll keep sinning?


The passage that continues in Matthew 19 after the verse I mentioned above, (“It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God”), shows Peter and the other disciples of Jesus asking Him the same questions:

25 When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?” 26 Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” 27 Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?” 28 Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, [Christ’s second coming, I believe], you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

Amen to that – “With man this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.” Praise the Lord. There’s a way out of this sin we’re stuck in. But nothing we can do can save us from it. We’ll still fall down. And it doesn’t matter if you stole/murdered or just told a little white lie or looked lustfully at someone. Any sin puts a stain on us that we ourselves cannot fix. People who go to church or condemn bad things may think they are super righteous. But not on their own. (“With man [attaining the Kingdom of God, or eternal life, living perfectly in God’s sight] is impossible, but with God, all things are possible.”) Sooo if it’s possible for God to allow me to be righteous in His sight, a sinner, a person who sometimes falls into self-righteousness and thinks I’m good enough and can do it yet still falls into sin every day and fails...how in the world does that work?

Paul states the Truth in 2 Corinthians 5:21 – “He made Him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in Him, we might become the righteousness of God.”

God made Christ come to earth and be sin, take on all the world’s sins (of the past, present, and future), for us, so that we would have no more sin in us and be righteous in God’s sight. Amen! He died for our sins so we could be forgiven and made holy. But wait a second. If that is true, why do we still sin after we’ve believed and received Jesus Christ as our Savior, the one who paid the price for sin, for our guilt for all our mess-ups, so we should be free and alive and redeemed and perfect!? Right? Nope. Unfortunately, the world is still broken. WE ARE STILL HUMAN. We still sin, no matter if we are Christians or not. HOWEVER, after Christ rose from the dead and left us to ascend into heaven and be seated at the right hand of God’s ENORMOUS THRONE in Heaven, He did a miraculous thing. He became EVEN CLOSER to us. He sent the Holy Spirit, God in the Spirit, to live among us and INSIDE and THROUGH each of us every day. God lives in us, if we only SURRENDER to Him and LET HIM HAVE OUR BROKEN LIVES so that they can be REDEEMED! Only in Christ can we be made new. Forgiven and holy.

We still sin. I know. Shoot. So what do we do? Answer: Accept that Christ’s sacrifice covers for our sins. Believe it in the deepest part of your heart. We live dark, sinful lives without purpose and will die eternally if we don’t accept Christ’s life (sacrifice) given for us. ‘With man, salvation (getting to be forgiven and getting to heaven) is impossible.’ Impossible! ‘But with God, all things are possible!’ He did the impossible. Dying for sins, conquering death, and rising from the dead so we too can be seen as sinless (as our sins were already condemned for by Jesus, we’ve already finished the punishment/sentence for the sin), and we can rise above our sin eternally. Yes, we will still sin. BUT if we admit our mistakes and shortcomings to God, humbly repenting of our sins, that is: surrendering our pride, (our thought that we can save ourselves and be fine and be in control on our own, which is a lie and will only lead to our own destruction), CHRIST’S SPIRIT lives in us. God looks at us, looks at our sinful lives … and doesn’t see our sin! Miracle, right? He sees Jesus in us, and Jesus lived the perfect, sinless life, (then taking on all the sin of the world and conquering it by beating death and rising again—paying the ultimate price for sin so that we are no longer slaves to it or bound by our own sin but we are forgiven and free!), so since Jesus lived the perfect sinless life, and He lives in us, God sees us as righteous in Him and accepts us into His Kingdom, now and for eternity in Heaven. AMEN!!!

All of 2 Corinthians 5 relates to this. It’s deep, and I don’t think I fully grasp all of it yet, but read it and see what you think. (See below). In response to being saved from our own sin by Jesus Christ, we should want to give Him ALL the thanks and praise we possibly can and live our lives to show others Christ’s LOVE and RECONCILIATION so they too can live full, abundant lives now and have eternal life. (John 10:10 “The thief came only to steal, kill, and destroy; I [Jesus] came that they [people] may have life, and have it abundantly.” Here and now.) When God fills us, it is amazing. When we are weak and trapped in sin, He saves us from that. He makes us new and leads us on paths of righteousness and truth. You feel good again. You feel loved and worth it, because God loved you enough to die for you so that He could be with you forever, because He wants to see you forever!!! He helps us turn from the sin that so easily entangles us and run with perseverance toward God (Hebrews 12:1-2). When you watch people who follow God earnestly with their whole hearts, they will slowly become more like Jesus acted and you will see fruit (good things come forth from that) in their lives. It will take time, and they will still mess up and sin, turning back to their old human nature unintentionally, but God forgives every time and they keep moving forward. (2 Corinthians 5:17).

2 Corinthians 5
Our Heavenly Dwelling
1 Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. 2 Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, 3 because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. 4 For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. 5 Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 We live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

The Ministry of Reconciliation
11 Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. 12 We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. 13 If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. 14 For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. 15 And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Wow. I know I am going to start praying daily that I will be more HUMBLE and know that I am a messed up, sinful person because of my mortality in the flesh. BUT! I will also live in Hope, because I know that Christ died so that I don’t have to, and His Spirit lives in me and forgives me and makes me new and holy in God’s sight. ONLY by Christ can human beings be holy. In Him, we can live joyful, full lives as God originally intended for us to before the beginning of time, before the Fall of Man when sin first entered the world. We are VALUABLE, LOVED, WORTHY children of God because He LOVES us enough to create us in the first place and then SACRIFICED EVERYTHING, watched His own Son die BRUTALLY when He was INNOCENT so that the whole world could be restored to God. Talk about an EPIC story. And it’s TRUE. And it’s the best news for us, EVER.

So please, be patient with those who strive to follow God but fall short and still sin and think they’re perfect on their own or look down upon others. Even be patient with the people who don’t yet truly KNOW JESUS in their hearts but are still trying to earn their salvation, because our humble love for them will show them who Christ is and maybe even help lead them to repent and truly surrender to God and let Him save them, if He grows in them and brings them to that Truth. I PRAY that He does! Use us, God! We are weak, but we know that YOU can be STRONG in us and do ANYTHING! Romans 8:28, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Philippians 4:13!

God is sooo good. Living for Him is the best decision I ever made. Not the easiest, no, and I’m still nowhere near perfect and never will be, apart from Christ in me, but He can do anything through us, everything good comes from God (James 1:17), and all things will eventually work together for God’s Greatest Good for those who love God and are called according to His Purposes (Rom. 8:28). Wow. He is sooo good. Examine your life. Are you being a hypocrite in any way? I know that I am. I say that I trust Jesus in everything, yet I don’t give money freely to help the poor or weary or those in need. I like my comfortable life. Ugh. Heck, if I lost my laptop, I’d be worried and upset because I have so many papers and things saved on it. How materialistic!! I surely don’t need a laptop to live for God! Try to focus on what’s truly lasting and important, (I know I need to!), (2 Corinthians 4 rocks too!) and try to see others (whether they have no idea who God is and are living in sin or are living for God but still fall into sin, as we all do) with God’s loving, forgiving eyes instead of our own judgmental eyes. Love people. Be humble. Christ did. It changes the world.

There is soooo much more to life. Live for Christ. It’s the most fulfilling EVER. No matter how weak you are, Christ is strong in You. I hope God spoke through this post, because who am I to speak Truth, apart from the Spirit of God speaking through me? Thank You, Jesus. You are everything! Amen.

So, how do we conquer hypocrisy? By the GRACE of GOD alone. Ask Him to help you. He’ll never give you more than you can handle (1 Corinthians 10:13). Be humble, listen to others who have a complaint against you and humbly examine your own life to see if you need to make a change, pray Psalm 139 to God … (“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”) (verses 23-24) … and if He reveals a sinful area of your life to you, repent of your sins, turn from them and ask for forgiveness for them, and then intentionally make a change in your life so that you will no longer intentionally do that sin. Love people. Be patient. Listen to instruction and weigh it against God’s word to see if it’s Truthful and if it is, live by it.

2 Corinthians 4:5-18 (sooo Truthful)
5 “For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.
13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak, 14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence. 15 All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

I didn’t have a hidden motive for writing this tonight, and I probably talked in circles or rambled on at times; I certainly don’t have all the right words, and I’m not a perfect “Bible scholar”. I just felt God put it on my heart to share this tonight, and I really have a LOVE for people and Christ has a WAY GREEEAAATER LOVE for everyone, and I really just want everyone to know how much they are loved despite the brokenness of some churches and all people sometimes. God’s love overcomes. He brought Scripture passages to my mind, and I hope sincerely that He spoke something into your heart. I believe that there’s a reason you read this tonight. Be made new. Share this blog post with others if you want, or more importantly, share God’s word with them. Share Christ with them. He longs to know and be with all His children. :) Good night. Thank you. All Glory to God forever. He is Lord of All.