Which are you? Hypocrite or Sinner?

What have you done this week?  Lie, cheat someone, insult someone in anger, take God’s name in vain?

What a bunch of sorry hypocrites we are!   At least that’s what the world often says about Christians.  In fact, one reason why non-believers stay out of church is because our behavior doesn’t seem to match our beliefs.

The good news is that God's love is not based on our behavior but on His character. He is love and therefore He made a way that we could be saved.

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

No church is perfect and no church is full of perfect people. In fact, church is where all these imperfect people go to get closer to Jesus because you know you need Him in your life.

You acknowledge you are a sinner, but you desire a closer relationship to Jesus.  We all struggle with sin, but when we trust in Jesus for salvation and seek His forgiveness, we can find rest.

He took our sins away.  He suffered for us, taking on the wrath of God as he took on the sins of the world.  Not only that, but by putting our faith in Jesus, He gives us a helper, the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit lives in us, giving us power to resist sin and obey God’s word.

What a blessing it is to love and be loved by the God of all creation! Our lives must be changed because of it.  

We must grow closer in our relationship with Jesus and try live in a way that brings glory to Him. As C.S. Lewis said, “When we Christians behave badly, or fail to behave well, we are making Christianity unbelievable to the rest of the outside world.”
 
That’s not the kind of witness we are called to give.

So are we Christians hypocrites?  No, we are sinners, but we are forgiven by God who loves us.  We’re saved by God who seeks our love.

How do we show our love to God?  Through changed lives, obedience to his word, by serving and loving others. The Bible describes it as “producing fruit.”

All of this made possible through what Jesus did on the cross. The shedding of His blood, Him taking away our sins, His resurrection as our living Lord.

We are given this incredible opportunity to have a relationship with Him for eternity.  Let’s make the example of our lives our loudest testimony!