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How Come Some Christians Are Such Hypocrites?
The media has been filled with stories of ministers who have been charged with molesting young children, church leaders who have embezzled funds from church accounts, and pastors caught in adulterous affairs. Scores of religious celebrities and leaders have been exposed in recent years for sexual or financial impropriety. But its not just Christians that disappoint us, but institutions as well. As a result, more and more seekers are saying,
“Spirituality, yes. Church, no.”
When those who claim to follow Christ are immoral, inflexible, strange, uptight, unloving, judgmental or hypocritical, it casts shadows on the faith itself. And when our experience with Christian community involves being bored, or even worse, burned, it is tempting to walk away from Christianity altogether. Yet disappointed people who continue their exploration of the Christian faith have often done so after realizing that it is God who is perfect, not people.
While somewhat trite, the phrase, “Christians are not perfect, just forgiven,” is important to remember. An authentic Christian is not someone who is perfect, just someone who has come to God for forgiveness and a relationship.
Adapted from James Emery White, A Search for the Spiritual (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1998). Used by permission from James Emery White, Mecklenburg Community Church.
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