YES, THERE ARE HYPOCRITES IN THE CHURCH!



One of the common reasons used, when talking to people about coming to church and giving their lives to Jesus, is, “The church is full of hypocrites.” Having been in the church, as a Christian, for the last 34 years, I can say that I have seen hypocrites in the church. There are those who want you to believe that they are Christians when they aren’t. According to Webster’s New World Dictionary the word “hypocrite” means “one who pretends to be pious, virtuous, etc. without really being so”. In other words they are acting – trying to make you believe they are someone they are not. I talked to an Audi car salesman once who told me the reason that he went to a specific church was to get clients. This was an upper class congregation. He was only acting a part in order to take advantage of others.



Why do we use this as an excuse for coming to church and becoming a Christian? Are there not those in every aspect of life that try to pretend to be someone they are not? There are those that work for certain companies that pretend they are dedicated and loyal employees but aren’t, they are only acting. There are those that are married and pretend to be in love and have a great marriage when in fact they are only acting trying to make others believe something that isn’t true to be true. In our own lives are there not areas that we hide by pretending to be something other than we really are? We are acting trying to convince others that we are better than we are or that we have it together. In Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary, it defines “hypocrite as “One who feigns (to represent by a false appearance) to be other and better than he is…” If this is so then I expect that in every area of life there are hypocrites. And if this is so, why do we participate in any area of life? If we are going to use the excuse (There are hypocrites in the church) for not going to church and becoming a Christian why not apply this to all other areas of life? Why only apply it to going to church and becoming a Christian? What is the purpose of living if there are hypocrites in life? Why participate in life if there are hypocrites?



Yes, there are hypocrites in the church but that doesn’t mean everyone is one. There are those who come to church for the right reasons. They have discovered their need of God and have come to His house in order to find out who He is and how to know Him. While in church they are learning the ways of God (how and why God does what He does) and how to walk in His paths (how to walk where He is walking so that together they can walk and have intimate times of relationship). Yes, they may be struggling with who they are and issues in their life but they have come to the right place and are finding answers. The bottom line is “Christians aren’t perfect they’re forgiven”. Just because one becomes a Christian doesn’t mean that they don’t have problems and they never again make mistakes. They become Christians because they don’t want to remain where they are at and are looking to the God of the Bible for His answers to their life.



Stop using “There are hypocrites in the church” as an excuse and make a choice to get past whatever excuses you have been using and come to church and get you life right with God through His Son Jesus.

If we can be of help, let us know.



Pastor Jeff Kelly