October 19, 2014

What About All the Hypocrites in the Church?

Pastor: Jeff Bedwell Series: You Asked for It Scripture: Matthew 23:25–23:28

What about All of the Hypocrites in the Church?
Matthew 23:25-28

“I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” Mahatma Gandhi

Definition of a Hypocrite:

  1. a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion
  2. a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings

Some Observations to Consider

1. Jesus Condemns hypocrisy (see also Matthew 6)

“You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said: This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” (Matthew 15:7–9, ESV)

2. There are Some hypocrites in the church (see also Acts 5:1-10)

“But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was about to betray him), said, “Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief, and having charge of the moneybag he used to help himself to what was put into it.” (John 12:4–6, ESV)

“For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.” (2 Corinthians 11:13–14, ESV)

3. Not All Christians are hypocrites.

  • There are Fake/False followers of Jesus Christ

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 7:21, ESV)

  • There are many Faulty followers of Jesus Christ who are seeking to grow more and more into Faithful followers of Jesus Christ (see Romans 7)

“Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:12–14, ESV)

  • All Christians are Sinners; not all Christians are Hypocrites
  • Admitting that I am a sinner is a prerequisite to becoming a Christian

4. Christ is not a hypocrite

“Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?” (John 8:46, ESV)

“He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.” (1 Peter 2:22, ESV)

“You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.” (1 John 3:5, ESV)

The Bible teaches us about a Perfect Christ who gave himself for Imperfect people

5. The presence of hypocrites does not Nullify the truthfulness of Christianity

The existence of a Counterfeit does not negate the reality of the Genuine

“He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ” (Matthew 13:28–30, ESV)

Authentic followers of Jesus Christ are not Perfect; they have experienced Forgiveness through the only One who was perfect, Jesus Christ.

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God,” (1 Peter 3:18, ESV)

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8–9, ESV)

For Reflection and Response:

  • Am I truly a follower of Jesus Christ? (2 Corinthians 13:5)
  • Is my life growing in Christlikeness? Am I more and more accurately reflecting the life of Jesus Christ through my life? (2 Peter 3:18 & Romans 8:29)
  • Is there anything in my life that could be an unnecessary stumbling block to another coming to faith or walking in obedience to Jesus Christ? (Romans 14:13)
  • Knowing that one of the greatest antidotes to hypocrisy is openness, transparency and honesty; is there anyone in my life that I can be “real” with? Anyone who can help me to grow more fully into Christ-likeness? Am I helping anyone else grow in this way? (James 5:16)

other sermons in this series

Nov 30

2014

How Can I Give Thanks in All Circumstances?

Pastor: Jeff Bedwell Scripture: Colossians 3:15–3:17 Series: You Asked for It

Nov 23

2014

Who Are You to Judge?

Pastor: Jeff Bedwell Scripture: Matthew 7:1–7:6 Series: You Asked for It

Nov 16

2014