UnChristian-Hyprocrisy
UnChristian: Hyprocisy
This morning, I would like to start a new sermon series that will take us on a very unique journey. What’s unique is the perspective from which our topic is approached. We’re going to be taking a look at Christianity from an outsider’s point of view. In other words, how do people outside the church see Christians and Christianity? Some of the findings won’t be surprising at all, but many of them will, hopefully, challenge you to see those outside the church in a new light, and cause you to possibly re-evaluate some of your thoughts and behaviors. Ultimately, my hope is that, by understanding how people outside the church view Christianity, we’ll all be more effective in sharing the greatest story ever told.
Reaching out and LIVING the Christian life have been regular sermon topics and areas of discussion within our Sunday School classes and small groups for the past year in particular. As I’ve talked with some of you about these topics, a frequent comment that emerges is that people seem so resistant to Christianity nowadays. Have you experienced this? Why do you think this is the case?
A focus on self, technology and an apparent disinterest in spiritual things seem to be the answers most frequently given for people’s rejection of Christianity, but what if these things weren’t really the issue at all? What if the reason why many people reject Christianity is because of YOU and ME? In other words, what if it’s Christians that are the main hindrance for people accepting Christ/Christianity?
Findings released by The Barna Group, a major Christian research organization, indicate that it’s not Jesus that so many people have a problem with, but with Christians, and how Christianity is lived out by them. Ten years ago, only 15% of Americans had a negative view of Christianity. As of last year, that is up to 38%. Christianity has a serious image problem, which is why I felt it important for us to honestly look at how other people see us.
Our Sunday School class has just finished a lengthy study of many of the various major religions and cults. One of the interesting things that emerged from this study was some of the responses, or attitudes, towards these other faiths. Laughter, funny remarks and the shaking of heads in response to some of the various beliefs were relatively common, which is why we had to keep reminding ourselves of the REASON we were studying these faiths in the first place: So we can better understand where these people are coming from.
The danger this class revealed to me was the tendency for us to become arrogant. WE have it all together. WE have the answers. Everyone ELSE is just nuts. How can they possibly believe THAT? This is a major reason why so many people are turned off by Christians. Who wants to be viewed or treated like that? NOBODY. So, we need to learn how others see us, in order to remove, or minimize the barriers keeping people from seeing and accepting Christ.
Six prevalent perceptions emerged from the Barna Group’s research that describe how outsiders, particularly those 16-29years old (the upcoming generations), view Christianity. SLIDE Hypocritical, Get Saved!, Antihomosexual, Sheltered, Too Political and Judgmental.
Today, we’re going to deal with the one we’ve ALL heard before: Christians are hypocritical. I’ve shared with you before that this is one of those statements that ALWAYS seems to come up when I’m talking with someone about being a Christian, and that it usually throws them off when I agree with them. People don’t expect you to agree with them when they’re putting a negative label on them, but the truth still stands: What better place is there for people who are struggling to live out what they believe, than in church, where others are struggling with the same thing? However, the question you and I still must face is WHY this is such a huge issue.
EVERYONE struggles through life, regardless of what faith they hold to, so why is it that Christians in particular are singled out as being hypocritical? I believe the answer is found in the accusation itself. Hypocrisy is saying one thing and doing another; having a double standard. People outside of the church are telling us that we’re not LIVING what we “preach”. We’re quick to say what is right and wrong, but that doesn’t necessarily translate over in to how WE behave.
For example, Victoria, a 24yr old single mom, says, “Everyone in my church gave me advice about how to raise my son, but a lot of the time they seemed to be reminding me that I have no husband- and besides, most of them were not following their own advice. It made it hard to care what they said.”
Jake, 32yrs old, says, “My former pastor used to teach baptism by immersion, then he got a better job with the Presbyterians and now teaches baptism can be done by sprinkling. What you believe depends on where the paycheck is coming from, I guess.”
Preston, 23yrs old, is a Mormon. In regards to his Christian friends, he says, “The message about talking to Mormons with love seems hollow. Especially when I’ve heard them joking about us. It would be like exclaiming you’ll feed the starving in Ethiopia but then laugh about how scrawny they are…I don’t find either very funny.[1]
You may not have done any of these things, but where are the areas in your life that don’t line up with what you KNOW is right? Notice I didn’t ask IF there were areas in your life that don’t line up with scripture. If you are truly growing in your relationship with Christ, the Holy Spirit will be showing you areas that need work. I know there are areas in my life that the Holy Spirit is showing me need some tweaking, and I’m asking God earnestly to help me with those … and then he’ll show me some more, it‘s a constant process. The problem comes in when we project an image of perfection; an image that we’ve got things figured out; that we have all the answers because we’re Christian.
People see right through our efforts to hide what’s REALLY going on, and they slap a HYPOCRITICAL stamp on us. Not to make any excuses, but this is not a new problem. READ Matt 23:13-15 (“Woe to you, teachers of religion and Christians, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.” “Woe to you, teachers of religion and Christians, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.), 23-33 (substitute with religion & Christian).
Obviously, I made a change to the translation of the text to make a point. As Christians, are we really that much different than the Pharisees? The Pharisees were a devoted group of followers who held to the strictest interpretations of the Law. They made sure they were always seen obeying and being faithful to the Law. In today’s terms, these are the people who were at church any time the doors were opened. They’re the ones who always put on a happy face, and tell you how ‘great’ everything is, even though you know different. They’re the ones that are quick to give advice, but don’t follow their own advice when they’re faced with a similar problem. People outside the church see a ‘disconnect’ between what Christians say they believe and how they act. How do we overcome this barrier?
Jesus is the solution to this problem. What is behind many-not all, but many- charges and accusations against the character and integrity of Christians is the demand for perfection in the life of anyone who claims to be a Christian and urges others to consider Christianity as well. Of course, this is not an accurate understanding of what it means to be a Christian. Yet, the world holds us to it, because we hold ourselves, and others, to it. We fall prey to the charge of hypocrisy because we have reduced spirituality to a list of moral benchmarks, a list of do’s and don’ts, and then we add a good dose of judgmentalism for additional flavoring. The only way to regain our footing is to remind ourselves, and others, that an authentic Christian is simply someone who has made the decision to believe in Jesus as his forgiver and then attempt to follow Him as their leader.
At its core, Christianity is about following Christ. In every situation, Christians should be pointing people to Jesus instead of a list of rules; that’s what got the Pharisees in trouble. They were focused on the RULES instead of GOD. Jesus taught that spiritual maturity is demonstrated in a life as an OUTCOME of the condition of the person’s heart and soul; that behavior FOLLOWS belief.[2]
Do you believe living together before marriage is OK? What about gambling, sex outside of marriage or getting drunk? The bible says that ALL of these things are wrong yet 59% of born-again CHRISTIANS (23-41) say it’s morally acceptable to live together before marriage. The same holds true for gambling (58%), sex outside of marriage (44%) and getting drunk (35%).
Our BEHAVIOR tells people what we believe. These statistics prove that Christians DESERVE the label of hypocrite. The only solution I see is two-fold. The first being what we’ve already said: We need to point people to Christ, and emphasize that it’s a personal relationship with Him that really counts. The second is TRANSPARENCY. READ Rom 12:2-3 (Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.).
You and I, as Christians, need to be transparent to those around us. When people outside of the church begin to see us as REAL people, with REAL struggles, and that we’re turning to Jesus for help and guidance, the transforming message of Christ will TRULY begin to shine through. People will be more open to the message when they see us LIVING out what we say we believe. People will begin to see us as AUTHENTIC Christ followers.
Philip Yancey, in his book, What’s So Amazing About Grace?, made this statement: “Having spent time around ‘sinners’ and also around purported saints, I have a hunch why Jesus spent so much time with the former group: I think he preferred their company. Because the sinners were honest about themselves and had no pretense, Jesus could deal with them. In contrast, the saints put on airs, judged him and sought to catch him in a moral trap. In the end, it was the saints, not the sinners, who arrested Jesus.”[3]
Do you point people to a life in Christ that bursts with freedom, love, restoration, purity and transparency, or to one of bondage and illusion?
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[1] Kinnaman, David, UnChristian: What A New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2007), p42-43.
[2] Ibid., p54
[3] Ibid., p60.