Christian Foundations

October 24, 2007

And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

--Matthew 4:19

There are many, many reasons why people reject Jesus Christ. And one of the most popular excuses people give for rejecting Him is because of hypocrisy in the Church.

Yes, there are hypocrites in the Church of Jesus Christ. Think about it. Jesus had 12 disciples and one of them was even a hypocrite! So yes, there are—unfortunately—people who say they are Christians, and yet don’t live like Christians.

But did you ever consider that the devil may put a hypocrite in your path just to keep you from Jesus Christ? The devil can do that. Let me help you understand why.

Have you ever considered that when people want to counterfeit something, they don’t counterfeit gum wrappers? They counterfeit $20 bills, $100 bills…something that’s real! So for people to counterfeit the Christian faith….and for the devil to put those counterfeits in your path…only indicates that Christianity is real!

Again, the fact that there are hypocrites in the Church doesn’t lessen the credibility of the Christian faith. You need to make a distinction between sin and hypocrisy. All Christians sin.

But not all sinful Christians are hypocrites. Just because a Christian may sin doesn’t mean that Christianity is phony. And…look again at today’s verse. Jesus said, “Follow me.” He didn’t say, “Follow that person” or “Follow that church.” He said, “Follow me”!

Jesus Christ isn’t a hypocrite. When you follow Jesus Christ, you’re following Someone who always keeps His promises…and you’re following Someone who never sinned.

So Christianity doesn’t stand or fall by the way a so-called Christian may act. Christian faith is in Jesus Christ! I hope this encourages you in your faith today.

The fact that there are hypocrites in the church doesn’t lessen the credibility of the Christian faith.