Whether someone has labeled you as one or you've thought about calling others one, it is likely that all of us have at one time asked ourselves, "Am I a hypocrite?" It's not the kind of question that we can easily shrug off, because shrugging it off seems to cement the label's application. So, let's you and I take this time now to get to the bottom of this question from a Biblical perspective: Am I a hypocrite?
In our modern times most people apply the term hypocrite to those who say one thing and do another, or those who proudly support a belief but not all of the facets associated with that belief. This understanding of what it means to be a hypocrite is not entirely Biblical. In the Bible it is Jesus, Himself, who ascribes the term "hypocrite" to many different people, so it would be right to consult who He labels a hypocrite, and determine from what He says whether the label should also apply to us or not.
One of the first times Jesus directly referred to a group of people as "hypocrites" is in the book of Matthew in chapter 7 from verses 3 to 5 where Jesus preached the following:
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye."
So, who are the hypocrites to whom Jesus is referring? The hypocrites are the ones who seek to correct others, without first examining the correction they need. If you have a log in your own eye, you can't help someone get a small speck out of their own eye. You can't rightly judge what other people need in order to live better, when you have failed to judge (let alone even examine) what you need to live better. This is what Jesus means, when He says, "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you," (Matthew 7:1-2). There are plenty more examples throughout the gospels wherein Jesus encounters a group of people who judge others but not themselves and He calls them hypocrites (Mattew 6:4-6, 15:1-7, 22:17-21, and Luke 13:14-16 to name a few). If you are going to judge others (which according to John 7:24 you should absolutely do with right judgement), you should apply that same judgement to yourself. If you don't, then Jesus would call you a hypocrite.
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| Paul Watson, an activist and environmentalist, along with many others in the world claims that everybody is a hypocrite, but this is not a Biblical truth. |
So now with a Biblical understanding, we bring the question back to ourselves, "Am I a hypocrite?" Do you say that people who love God will follow His commandments (John 14:15)? Do you as someone who loves God struggle to follow God's commandments and often fall into the temptations of sin (Romans 7:18)? Does doing that make you a hypocrite? The answer is: No. Following God and striving to imitate Jesus, while constantly failing to meet this standard and sinning daily does not make you a hypocrite. You are not a hypocrite because of your sin. In fact, claiming that you, as a Christian, do sin and yet continue to strive to follow Christ is one of the most non-hypocritical things you can do. For it is written, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us," (1 John 1:8). So, if you say you follow Christ and yet also admit that you sin and need forgiveness for your sins, you are not being a hypocrite. You are being a true follower of Christ (Ephesians 2:1-5).
Every day I wrestle with the voices
That keep telling me I'm not right
But that's alright
'Cause I hear a voice and He calls me redeemed
When others say I'll never be enough
And greater is the One living inside of me
Than he who is living in the world
In the world
- MercyMe
Remember that you do not have to be a perfect example for Christ. You are supposed to point others to Him through your good deeds and your weaknesses. You should do the good that God has given you to do, so that you will "let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven," (Matthew 5:16). You should also confess your sins to other Christians to let them know where you struggle and also that they may pray for you (James 5:16). When we admit our weaknesses to God and other believers, knowing that only God can keep us from sin, we will truly hear our Lord say, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness," (2 Corinthians 12:9).
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| Remember, Christian, that you should judge yourself according to God's judgement,and God judges you to be righteous and redeemed, because you have believed in Him (1 Corinthians 1:30). |
Sources
- The Bible (New International Version)
- Open Bible Info: Sinful Nature
- Got Questions: Do We Sin Daily?
- MercyMe: Greater
