Hypocrisy

Hypocrisy

Hypocrisy and the practice of it. Nobody likes it. You don’t like it. I don’t like it. Jesus didn’t like it (Matt. 6:1-24, 23:11-33). Even those who practice it must not really like it, as they so often seem to be some of the most consistently angry, bitter, and miserable people in the world.

hypocrisy run

Where can you go to avoid hypocrisy?

Hypocrisy itself means to wear a mask, to pretend to be something that one is really not, often in order to personally benefit from the deception. Perhaps you may have heard someone who used to attend church regularly say that they stopped going because of the hypocrites there. The fact is that, yes, sadly, there are indeed hypocrites in the church. There always have been. There were hypocrites in the first century church (Acts 5:1-10; 2 Cor. 11:13-15; 3 Jn. 9-10). There were hypocrites among her preachers (Phil. 1:15-17). In fact, we are informed by the Lord that there always will be hypocrites amongst religious leaders (2 Ptr. 2:1-3; 1 Tim. 4:1-5). We are, however, also assured that He will personally deal with all such come judgment day, punishing them ever so severely for their hypocrisy (Matt. 13:41-43, 23:31-36, 24:45-51; Rom. 2:1-11).

Having established these foundational facts regarding hypocrisy, let us now turn our attention to the true focus of today’s article: How can one tell, when those who make the statement that they stopped attending (or never started attending church in the first place) because of all the hypocrites there, if that is the real reason why they do not attend, or if that is just an excuse they are using because they’d rather please and live for themselves, than to obey and live for the Lord? The answer is actually quite simple.

If one is being truly honest and sincere in their statement that the reason they refuse to attend the worship assemblies of the church anymore is because of hypocrites in the church, then they should be just as consistent in their outright rejection of any other venue wherein such hypocrisy is present as well. In other words, they should no longer allow themselves to go shopping for food or anything else – because there are hypocrites in the stores. They will no longer be able to go to work, but should immediately quit their jobs – because there is surely hypocrisy in the work place as well. They will never again attend any sporting event of any kind – because of the hypocrites present there. Neither can they ever attend any family, social, political, or any other event ever again where other people are present either – because wherever you have people, you will inevitably have some level of hypocrisy found present in some.

The only way to legitimately guarantee the absence of hypocrisy, is to avoid all other people at all cost… or is it? You see, when one who professes to either love, follow, or even believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of the living God, suddenly decides to disobey His commandment NOT to forsake the assembly of the church for which He was willing to pour out His very life’s blood (see: Hebs. 10:19-39), are they not still, by sitting home alone, completely and totally surrounded and overwhelmed by the sin of their own hypocrisy? Consider for a moment: To follow Jesus is to obey His commands (Jn. 14:15-21). To obey His commands is to NOT forsake the assembly (Heb. 10:23-25). Therefore, is it not the absolute height of hypocrisy for one who claims to know andfollow Jesus, to yet disobey Him by forsaking the assembly of His church? Scripture certainly seems to so say.

So what is the answer then? How do we properly deal with and avoid the ever-present sin of hypocrisy in the assembly – or anywhere else for that matter? The answer is incredibly simple: Let us do exactly what Jesus did. (WWJD?) First off, He certainly did not stop associating with Peter, James, John and the rest of the apostles, simply because one of their number – Judas – was a complete and total hypocrite. And make no mistake about it, Jesus knew that about Judas from the very beginning. He knew that Judas was both a “devil” (Jn. 6:70), and a “thief” (Jn. 12:4-6), and that he was simply posing as a faithful disciple for whatever personal gain he might possibly be able to get out of it. In fact, so incredibly convincing was Judas in his hypocrisy, that even after three and a half years of very close, intimate, social and spiritual interaction with and amongst Jesus’ closest disciples, none of his peers ever even suspected what an incredibly fake, false, self-serving and hypocritical tool of Satan he truly was (Mk. 14:17-19; Jn. 13:18-30).

Secondly and most importantly however, is precisely how Jesus did deal with Judas’ hypocrisy instead (as He set the perfect example for how we should go about dealing with the ever-present sin of hypocrisy within the groups we frequent as well – and particularly when it comes to our assembling with the saints). Jesus never abandoned assembling with them, but instead, determined to be there and teach by both word, deed, and especially His example, exactly what a life completely devoid of hypocrisy truly looks like so that others could see and emulate it. That is what those who truly want to avoid hypocrisy in the church will do; while those who are simply using the hypocrisy of others as an excuse to avoid assembling with and serving them, will simply and sinfully continue to sit at home, completely submerged in their own self-imposed style thereof.

Which are you? We’ll see on Sunday…

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Thank You Lord for Older Christians

Thank You Lord for Older Christians

Forgive me, for sometimes I do not think about how hard it is for you to come to worship. I take for granted things like putting on clothes and driving to the church building. I rarely think about how much pain you endure in getting in and out of a car or sitting on a hard church pew.

While you may fret about whether your hair is too thin or whether you are too slow, I want you to know what I see. I see love—love in a form that Jesus wants me to see it. Words cannot adequately describe your beautiful warm smile and the love you show for everyone in our church family. Your hugs are like being wrapped in a blanket of love—something I desperately need in the hustle and bustle world we live in today. I see a person who has weathered many years and truly knows the things that are important in life—a lesson that I’m still learning.

older christians

Shining hearts are hidden within the cloak of years.

I suspect when you look in a mirror you see an old person—someone who feels the aches and pains of many years. But that’s not what I see. I see someone who I long to see sitting in “your pew” every Sunday.

You see age-spots on wrinkled hands that sometimes tremble.
I see the caring hands that reveal years of hard work, and gentle hands that have held many children, grandchildren, and maybe even great-grandchildren.

You see someone who can’t hear well and whose voice sounds rougher with each passing year.
I see someone who sounds just like my grandparents—a sound that I treasure in my heart.

You see someone who shuffles down the aisle and is slow.
I see someone who may need an arm for support and someone who is teaching me a good lesson on patience.

You see someone whose hair is thin and white.
I see someone whose hair reveals years of wisdom.

You see someone who you think will not be missed if you are not there on Sunday.
I see a pillar of our church family—someone who makes everything feel just right.

You see someone whose clothes may be out of style.
I see someone who has amazing stories of what life used to be like.

You see someone who can’t cook as well anymore.
I see someone whose pies and cakes are legendary at fellowship meals—and maybe someone who is now giving me an opportunity to provide meals for them.

You see someone whose memory doesn’t work as well.
I see someone whose very presence edifies and encourages me.

You see someone whose has aches and pains, and feels old and tired.
I see a Christian soldier who still puts on the whole armor of God and is showing me what living faithfully until death really means.

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Bible Contradictions Question

Bible Contradictions Question

A co-worker tells me he doesn’t believe in the Bible because there are so many contradictions in it.  What should I tell him?

(The following directly comes from the Apologetics Press two-volume book by Eric Lyons, The Anvil Rings.  I highly recommend it as a study that deals with supposed contradictions within the Bible.  It contains much more information needed to know to answer the charge of supposed scriptural contradictions than what I have listed below.)

First, ask him if he has an “innocent until proven guilty” attitude toward the Bible.  A teacher cannot justifiably assume that a student who makes a perfect score on a test without studying for it in fact cheated.  He may have received all the information elsewhere at another time, or perhaps he learned everything well enough that he didn’t need to study at home.  He may have even got lucky and guessed correctly on the questions he didn’t know.  In our daily lives we generally consider a person to be truthful until we have evidence that he or she has lied.  The same rule should apply when we read a historical document or a book, including the Bible.

Bible Contradictions

Many things on their face seem to be contradictions. Yet, context and study show this not to be the case.

Next, ask him if he allows possibilities to suffice as solutions for supposed contradictions.  If we believe the Bible is innocent until proven guilty, then any possible answer should be good enough to nullify the charge of error and contradiction.  Not just any answer, but any possible answer.  When you study the Bible and come across passages that may seem contradictory, you don’t necessarily have to pin down the exact solution in order to show their truthfulness.  You need only show the possibility of a harmonization between passages that appear to conflict in order to negate the force of the charge that a Bible contradiction really exists.

For example, who was present when David at the showbread?  Christ says Abiathar (Mark 2:25-26), while Samuel says Ahimelech (1 Sam. 21:1).  Did Jesus contradict Samuel?  Not necessarily.  Perhaps the two names belonged to the same man (like Peter who was also called Simon Peter, Simon, and Cephas.)  Perhaps Jesus didn’t mean that Abiathar personally ministered to David, but that the event with David and the showbread occurred in his lifetime (“in the days of”).  Notice also that Samuel refers to a priest named Ahimelech, while Christ mentions a high priest named Abiathar.  A priest was not the same as a high priest, so two different men in two different offices could have been mentioned in both accounts.  Any of these possibilities suffice to negate the charge of a contradiction.

Also, ask him if he understands that a genuine contradiction must refer to the same person, place, or thing in the same sense in the same time but in different ways.  One of the main problems in a discussion concerning alleged contradictions is that most people do not understand what constitutes a genuine contradiction.  Nothing can both be and not be.  A door may be open, or a door may be shut, but the same door may not be both open and shut at the same time.  With reference to the door, shut and open are opposites, but they are not contradictory unless it be affirmed that they characterize the same object at the same time.  So it is very important that one recognizes that mere opposites or differences do not necessitate a contradiction.  For there to be a bona fide contradiction, one must be referring to the same person, place, or thing in the same sense at the same time, but in different ways.

Suppose someone says, “Terry Anthony is rich,” and “Terry Anthony is poor.”  Do those two statements contradict each other?  Not necessarily.  How do you know the same Terry Anthony is under consideration in both statements?  Maybe Terry Anthony in Texas is rich, but Terry Anthony in Tennessee is poor.  The same person, place, or thing must be under consideration.  Plus, the same time period must be under consideration.  Terry Anthony could have a fortune in his youth but then lost it all in a stock-market crash.  At one time he was rich, but now he is poor.  Also, the statements must be talking about the same sense.  Terry Anthony could be the richest man alive, but he is poor if he is not following God.  On the other hand, he could have no money whatsoever yet still be rich in spiritual blessings.

Keeping these principles in mind, it’s easy to see that Luke did not contradict himself by describing the death of James in Acts 12 only to describe James as a church leader in Acts 15…because the James in Acts 12 is a different James than the one in Acts 15.  Likewise, the ark of Genesis 6 is not the same ark of Joshua 3.  God seeing that everything he made was very good (Gen. 1) does not contradict him being sorry that he had made man (Gen. 6), because the events of Genesis 6 took place hundreds of years after the events of Genesis 1.

Finally, ask him if he understands that supplementation does not equal contradiction.  Suppose you are telling a story about how you and a friend went to a Braves game.  You mention what great defense the Braves played, and your friend talks about their clutch hits in the final innings of the game.  Is there a contradiction because your friend talks about their offense but you mention only their defense?  No, he is simply adding to (supplementing) your story to make it more complete.  That happens in the Bible a lot.  Matthew 27:57-60 says Joseph put Jesus in the tomb, while John 19:38-40 says Joseph AND Nicodemus did so.  Contradiction?  No, because John is simply supplementing Matthew’s account.

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Men of Valor

Men of Valor

There is a description of several groups within the genealogies of Israel which deserve our focused consideration. Several are recognized for posterity as being “mighty men of valor.”

While many men will live such lives as to garner no real lasting impression on subsequent generations this shouldn’t be the case with the children of God. If our time spent here on the earth is lived in such a way to bear any kind of lasting influence at all just what kind of influence will it be and just how will we be remembered?

Valor Men

Do you press forward or shrink back? Do you stand or step aside?

Every generation of the Lord’s church needs those men (and women), young and old alike, who will take a stand for the truth… Mighty men of valor. What kind of influence, what legacy, what inspiration, what remembrance will our lives have when we cross over into eternity? What we do today may well determine the answer that questions.

Be strong, be patient, be loving, be deter-mined, be obedient, and be faithful!

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Go the Extra Mile

Go the Extra Mile

Near the entrance of Gethsemane, He left eight of the apostles and then took Peter, James and John closer to the place where He was to pray. He left this “inner circle” and “…went a little further, and fell on His face, and prayed” (Matt. 26:39, KJV). He went further than others—He always did—and told us to do the same.

Extra Mile

Thanks to God for the wonderful example of His Son.

In the Sermon on the Mount, He talked about going beyond where others would go. When compelled by a Roman soldier to carry supplies for a mile, Jesus said we should go a greater distance and carry it two (Matt. 5:41). If someone thinks he needs our tunic, Jesus said we should go the greater distance and give him our outer garment as well. He went further, and so should we.

Think of the application this has in every area of our lives. When we see how the world lives with its measure of morality, we should do more. The ungodly do good to those who do good to them, but Christians return blessing for cursing, good for ill treatment and prayers for those who prey on us (Matt. 5:44). He went further, and so should we!

Christian husbands and wives need to go further in the way they treat their mates than anyone else on this earth. Agape love does not wait until a spouse treats them with kindness. Christians go further, and they go further first! Christian parents go further with how they deal with their children than those in the world. Our children’s friends should see how we treat our children and be jealous! Christian children go further in honoring their parents than their friends at school do to their parents. Remember that Jesus went further and so should we!

Christians go further in the workplace than their fellow workers. The Bible uses the term “eyeservice” to describe those who work only when the eyes of their employers see them. Christians do not give eye-service—they go further (Eph. 6:6). They also work just as diligently for good bosses as they do for unkind ones (1 Pet. 2:18). Our Lord went further, and so should we.

Now, take this principle and make it part of your life and part of the life in your family. Going further than others expect will change you and will brighten the light you shine. It will also shock those around you. They likely have never met someone who goes the extra mile. Perhaps they will even see you as part of a church that practices this lifestyle and be led to become part of this great family.

Why not take a moment right now and think of what you did yesterday or today where you could have done more? Do not ever forget. He went further and so should we!

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