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I Don’t Go to Church Because of All the Hypocrites

Who wants to go to church with a bunch of holy fakers? Everyone knows what they are doing, then they show up on Sunday morning like they are all saints.

Well, yes, I have to admit we do, fortunately, have hypocrites in my church. We also adulterers, homosexuals, drinkers, smokers, fornicators, liars, cheaters, drug dealers and a whole long list of other sins. In fact, the group that I meet with looks an awful lot like the church at Corinth that Paul writes about in 1 Cor 6:9-11.

Don’t you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don’t fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality, or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people—none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God. Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

The beautiful part of that picture is the cleansed part. We used to be all of those vile things. We used to be people who “Christians” would turn their noses up at. But praise be to God that, while the holy fakers turned away, Jesus received us with open arms. Today we have the privilege to stand before God washed and holy. It is not because of anything that we have done- really! If I or any single member of my church stood on their own merits, we’d all be miserably lost.

The only reason that my son went to lunch yesterday with a man who used to run drugs from Arizona to Ohio, is because that man was washed by the blood of Jesus. The only way that a former drug addict is teaching children’s bible classes is because she was given new life in Jesus. The only reason that a prideful, lust-filled man can now proclaim the gospel of Jesus to our flock is because he was sanctified. The only way that a rebellious fornicator can now lead children’s groups, teach women, and raise a heritage for God is because Jesus told me He believed in me when no body else did.

To my Christian friends reading this today, this is one of the most important reasons for taking off your masks.  You can check out last weeks, post on Taking off Your Mask if you want read more. If we keep it real we can’t be accused of  faking it. We can’t be a stumbling block to non-believers if we point out our weaknesses and sins first.

In fact, Paul used his sin as credibility for the very work he was doing in the Kingdom.

This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners”—and I am the worst of them all. But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life. 1 Tim.1:15-16

Friends, the first step in “being the church” is giving full credit to the savior of the church (Eph. 5:23). Remember that without Him you would be nothing. Remember the same message that was given to the church at Corinth, “You who have been called by God to be his own holy people. He made you holy by means of Christ Jesus, just as he did for all people everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord and ours.”

Tomorrow I’ll be writing about how each member of Christ’s church can use their gifts to His glory. Til then…

Jun 5, 2012Serena
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Do I Have to Go to Church?If We are the Body What Should Christ's Church Look Like?
Comments: 5
  1. Jason Smith
    10 years ago

    Amen sister! IT is always SO important to remember what the Lord has cleansed us from and so helpful to make confessions of these things as we share the gospel with the lost. Praise God that God’s mercy that was given to us can be used as an example to share with others (1 Tim 1:16). If he can save rebellious criminals like us, he can save those we share the gospel with! Thanks for the article Serena.

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  2. Auburn
    10 years ago

    I agree that this all goes back to “the mask”. In Chillicothe you all are so blessed. Your group, (and there are others out there) have true joy in Christ’s saving power and rely on His blood to cleanse their sins. They trust, so the mask is not as present. I do understand now after living where I do, the hypocrite argument and why others get frustrated. In this area, its difficult to trust. Masks are on in full force. Guards are up. Its hard to break through. There is an expectation to look a certain way. Speak a certain way. There is a lot of postureing. Christians aren’t about the practice of openly revealing sin in their life, although we know we all are struggling with something, right? It is the culture here. You either adapt to it or your out. It has taken me a long time to accept that this IS the way things are in this area. Sharing weakness and sin with one another is only done with close, close friends privately and only the true “weak ones” confess there sins publicly. I am not trying to bash any one group. Christians here are kind and generous and if you visited, you would feel very welcome. Among many (not all) there exists a fear to be open with one another. Fear of looking too weak, losing status, or ruining your reputation. I guess my question is how would you handle a situation like this? If you came from a spirit filled church like Chillicothe into what I described above, how would you handle it? I’m out of ideas. Thanks so much for your insight. I always enjoy reading your blog. 🙂

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    • Serena
      10 years ago

      God has led me to a place where I don’t really care what other people think. If someone looks down on me because of my past or present struggles I really don’t care. I’m at a place with God that I know I’m good with Him and He is using my weaknesses to encourage other women who have been where I was or women who are dealing with the stresses that I’m dealing with today. If I put all my junk on the table there is not much anyone can do to burn me.

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      • Auburn
        10 years ago

        Thanks for your response. I guess thats my problem then. I do care. When I was in the world, I didn’t care about anyone, anything, or what I did. When I became a Christian I was in my early 20’s. I then began to care about what people thought, I guess to my detriment. It got worse after we moved here and “layed ourselves out there” and got burned. I guess it’s how you react to tough situations in life, and this one has been difficult for me to overcome. I pray that in the future God will help me recover and heal. In the end we all need and rely on HIm, like you wrote. As long as I can focus on that I believe He will lead me to where I need to be. I need His grace.

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        • Serena
          10 years ago

          Serve only the LORD your God and fear him alone. Dt 13:4
          If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Rom 8:31

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Serena
10 years ago 5 Comments Christian Lifehypocrites, taking off your mask931
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