There are many people who live their lives in a desperate search for human approval and applause. They discern their dignity and worth, not from God, (who is in effect a stranger to them), but from what other human beings think of them. This was how I lived before I surrendered my life to Jesus. It is so bad to know that some of us who tried to get approval from our so-called friends and relations end torturing ourselves in one way or the other by allowing them to bully us, take decisions for us and most times killing the gifts and talents in some of us. I can say for sure that the end of a hypocrite ends in shame, thank God I was saved. Well, I pray if you are one better think twice and make a U-turn before it’s too late. Do you notice the way Jesus describes the heart of hypocrisy: Jesus said to his disciples: “Take care not to perform righteous deeds in order that people may see them…” (Matthew 6:1). The Lord goes on to say that they blow a trumpet so that others will see them giving alms, they pray ostentatiously so that others may see they are praying, and they alter their appearance so that others may see they are fasting. Spiritual hypocrisy is a dangerous and deadly sin. The hypocrisy of professing Christians has served as an excuse for the people of the world to say, “The church is full of hypocrites.” It is so sad that even the hypocrisy of Christian leaders has caused many believers to stumble. The truth must be told. Remember how Jesus condemned the religious leaders during His time on earth because of their hypocrisy.

Are all Christians hypocrites? Not at all! In fact, the history of the Christian church is filled with examples of selflessness, courage, moral action and reform and many other positive influences on the world. These are not the acts of hypocrites, but of sincere believers transformed by the resurrected Christ and moved by the Holy Spirit to “do to others what you would have them do to you” (Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31). Yes, I know what you are about to say next…..what then is happening today? My simple answer is Bible prophecy is fulfilling just as written in Book of 2 Timothy 3.

I am a work in progress and bear in mind that the church (members) is a work in progress. Like a cathedral that may take decades or centuries to complete, the process is long and arduous, but someday it will be complete and stand as a beautiful testimony to the power of Christ to transform lives for the better. Remember, too, that only some professing Christians act hypocritically. What about all those who do not? What about all those who consistently live out the love of Christ in the world? Is it that the world is blind toward these ones that live out Christ love and are always quick to see fault in the lives of Christian babes and judge them? Well, until the church and all followers of Christ are glorified, there will, unfortunately, be hypocrites in the church. We must also remember that biblically speaking, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24). In other words, no one is perfect and all are dependent on Christ for redemption, salvation, and growth in spiritual maturity. On the one hand, Christians should not act hypocritically, lest we provide critics with a flimsy reason to reject the gospel message. On the other hand, critics should know better than to attempt to throw out Christianity and all of Christ’s claims on the basis of the hypocrisy objection.