Why Does There Seem to Be So Many Hypocritical Christians?

We’ve all heard it before, especially in the South.  “I don’t want anything to do with the church because so many of them are hypocrites.  I don’t go to church and I live a better life than they do.”  It’s a difficult if not impossible charge to dispute.  There are many who claim the name of Christ whose example does not match what they profess to believe.  The problem of hypocrisy in the church is real, and it is one of the chief issues facing local churches, particularly those in the Deep South.

Why do so many Christians seem to be hypocritical?  Here are three short answers.

Christians are Christians by Grace and not by Their Works
It is important to remember that Christians do not believe that God rewards those who are good in this life.  When you read the Bible, you quickly begin to realize that there is no such thing as a person who is “good” in and of themselves.  We all bear God’s image, but we have all sinned and stand guilty before God for our sins.  It is only through faith in Jesus, who gave His life for us and was raised from the dead, that people are declared right with God and forgiven of their sins.  Since this is by faith alone, it is not by good works and so Christians who carry themselves with a sense of moral superiority are betraying the very Gospel that they claim to believe.

Christians Are a Work in Progress and Have not Arrived
One thing that the Bible teaches about Christians is that they are in a constant state of growth and change.  A person who is a Christian has not arrived spiritually, but will continue to wrestle with sin and have areas where they need to grow.  They stand forgiven before God and right with Him, but their practice has a way to go before it matches their position before God.  A Christian who acts like they have already arrived at where they should be is betraying the Gospel that they claim to believe.
This is not an excuse for Christians to wallow in sin and hypocrisy.  You should not be surprised when you meet a Christian who struggles with sin, but they should also be people who are repenting and growing.  The evidence that they are Christians is not in one moment, but how their life changes over the course of years.  There will bad moments, but you should see their character changing and growing as you observe them through time.

Some People Think They Are Christians, But They Are Not
This is probably the most difficult of the truths about this, but it is a real problem.  The Bible makes it clear that there will be those who claim the name of Christ who aren’t really Christians.  Many well-meaning pastors who want to help people have unwittingly created methods that make it easy for people to think that they have become Christians when there has been no real change of heart.  Becoming a Christian is not a matter of going to church on Sunday or repeating a prayer, it is a complete inward change of heart and life through faith alone in Jesus.  Unfortunately, much of the seeming hypocrisy in churches comes from those who claim to be Christians when they do not have the inward reality.