The document discusses the issue of hypocrisy among Christians. It defines hypocrisy and examines what the Bible says about it. While Jesus condemned hypocrisy, not all sin is hypocrisy and no Christian is perfect. Hypocrites are pretenders who do not truly believe. Though some Christians act hypocritically, one should judge Christianity by what Jesus taught rather than the actions of a few. Personal faith in Christ is what matters, not other people's behavior.

1. Why do we need to be a Christian if
the Church is full of Christian
Hypocrite?
Apologetic Response by Santosh Mote and Lebez Maharjan
Doctor of Philosophy
Ph.D. -3nd Semester
Submitted to Prof. Hahn Meerha, Ph.D.
Hoseo University, (UGST)

2. Hypocritical Christians?
In the Sermon on the Mount of Olives, Jesus talked a lot about people
who were hypocrites. In fact, the topic of hypocrisy took up a major
amount of Jesus' preaching. So, why is it that those who claim to follow
Him are so often hypocritical?
Introduction
One of the major complaints non-believers level against Christianity is
that the churches are full of hypocrites. This page examines what Jesus
and the Bible have to say about hypocrisy among those who claim to be
Christians.

3. The dictionary definition of hypocrisy is:
hy·poc·ri·sy [hi-pok-ruh-see]
 a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious
beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess.
 a pretense of having some desirable or publicly approved
attitude.
 an act or instance of hypocrisy.
What is hypocrisy?

4. What is hypocrisy?
The English word “Hypocrisy’ comes from the Greek word
‘hypokrisis’ originally meant “acting” and so it has come to
be used in English for pretending or claiming to be better than
one really is. It is an act or practice of pretending to be what
one is not; the false assumption of an appearance of virtue or
religion and goodness. Similarly it’s a semblance of having
desirable..------attitude, beliefs, principles etc. that one does
not actually possess.
Thus Hypocrisy is acting. It is doing, being, thinking, or acting
other than what you truly believe. You are simply pretending
what you are not.

5. The Bible calls hypocrisy a sin. There are two forms hypocrisy can take: that
of professing belief in something and then acting in a manner contrary to that
belief, and that of looking down on others when we ourselves are flawed,(Isaiah
29:13, Mt 15:8-9, 23:27, 33).
What does Bible says about Hypocrisy?
In Old Testament,
Prophet Isaiah condemned the hypocrisy: “The Lord says, ‘These
people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their
lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up
only of rules taught by men’” (Isaiah 29:13; Ezekiel 33:31-33).

6. In New Testament,
Jesus said that it is a sin those who practiced hypocrisy would be sent to hell,
indicating that they were really non-believers (Mt. 23:13-29). In other books of
the New Testament, Paul associate hypocrisy with such things as evil, lying,
perverting the gospel, envy and slander, and jealousy and selfish ambition. (Gal
2:13-14, 1 Pet 2:1) James contrasts the evil of hypocrisy with the "wisdom from
above," which is characterized as being "pure, peaceable, gentle, reasonable,
full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering." (James 3:14-17)
What does Bible says about Hypocrisy?

7. What did Jesus say about hypocrisy and hypocrites?
 Jesus describes hypocrisy as a state of a person who introduces
himself to being an actor on a stage, because he does not know God
the Father.
 He condemned to them who live their life in a desperate search for
human approval and applause.
 They seek honor and praise and everything they do is done for people
to see.
 They discern their dignity and worth, not from God, (who is in effect a
stranger to them), but from what other human beings think of them.
 They are willing to adapt themselves often in dramatic ways to win
approval.Jesus said that it is a sin those who practiced hypocrisy would be sent to hell, indicating
that they were really non-believers (Mt. 23:13-29).

8. list of some of the hypocrisy that Jesus condemned
Hypocrite
 Gives to the poor to be recognized by others (Mt 6:2)
 Prays in public to be recognized as "God's man" (Mt 6:5)
 Lets everybody know you are fasting to get recognition by others (Mt 6:16)
 Complains about other's behavior when yours is even worse (Mt7:5; Lk 6:42)
 Pretendsto honor God through lip service only (Mt 15:7-9)
 Deceives people from knowing God (Mt23:13).
 Represses the poor and widows (Mt 23:14)
 Gives Tithing (giving to the church), but neglecting justice and mercy (Mt23:23)
 Does everything for show, while really being self-indulgent and unrighteous (23:29, 34)

9. • Names of hypocrites given by Jesus Christ
 Sons of Hell (Mt 23:15)
 Blind guides ( Mt 23 16)
 Blind fools (Mt 23:17)
 Blind man ( 23:19)
 Whitewashed tombs (Mt 23:27)
 Snakes (Mt 23:33)
 Broods of vipers (Mt: 23:33)
• Phanuel Muverengwi. The Faces of Hypocrisy in the Christian Church. Bloomington:
AuthorHouse, 2011), Page 118

10. • We cannot agree that the Church is full of hypocrite but we must agree that
there are some. There is alsomany genuine believers in the Church.
Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, or Tares
According to many commentaries and sermons, Jesus told in the Parable of the
Wheat and the Weeds, or Tares have attempted to use this story as an illustration
of the condition of the church, noting that there are both true believers (the
wheat) and false professors (the weeds) in both the church at large and individual
local churches(Matthew 13:36-43).
People go to the Church with many motifs. Some people go to the Church for social, business, and
family reasons. They make a pretext of faith and go through the religious motions once a week, but
the spirituality in their lives is zero. Sometime even genuine believers fall prey to the pretense of
being more righteous than they are. A yearning for acceptance can cause Christians to put on a
pretext of spirituality for fear that their Christian friends would reject them if they were more honest
about their lives. Other becomes hypocritical in their behavior because they want to impress people
and become the center of attention (Mt 6:1-5).
Is all believers are hypocrites?

11. One of the False assumption that non-believers make is that Christian claims to be perfect to
they are not. Some non-Christians put Christians in a lose- lose situation. On the one hand,
they impose a double standard, expecting Christians to behave on a level that they
themselves never think of attaining. On the other hand, they are offended by righteous
behavior because of their inward sense of guilt. When their Christian friends behave in a
godly manner, they assume it must be a show and equate piety with pretense.
False Assumption-1
But ethical behavior does not have to mean self- righteousness; one can be moral without
being moralistic. In fact, a true Christian should be the first to admit that he is not perfect in
his practice. Christians do not claim to be sinless, but they do claim to be perfectly forgiven.
It is clear from such passages as Romans 7:14-25; Phil 3:12-16 that Christians have not
arrived at a state of complete Christlike. We will fail, but this does not invalidate Christianity, it
simply means that for a time we withdrew from our walk with Christ.
Kenneth Boa, Larry Moody, I'm Glad You Asked. (Colorado: David Cook, 1982), Page 197.

12. Another false assumption is that all sin is hypocrisy, if this
were true, a Christian who openly acknowledge that his
behavior is far from perfect would nevertheless become a
hypocrite every time he sins. It is much more reasonable
to say that while all hypocrisy is sin, not all sin is
hypocrisy. Sin is s general term, and hypocrisy, like theft
and sander, is a particular species of sin. Thus, while all
Christian sin (1 John 1:8, 10), not all Christian are
hypocrites.
False Assumption-2

13. So why are so many Christian’s hypocrites?
Because we are all sinners. Obviously people have Jesus and used him
to justify their own immorality, but Jesus himself condemns them. We
all either try to hide our bad sides or we to make them look good.
Some even go so far as to cloak their Sinful Ways in Christian jargon
and activities. But deep inside we all know that we fill short Of living
the way we know we should. NO one can escape the charge of
''hypocrite"—no one except Jesus himself. He is the only one who has
lived up to God's standards; the only one who has perfectly lived what
he preached And it is only through rusting in the work Of Christ that we
can escape the penalty due our hypocrisy—separation from God and
eternal death. By living within the security Of Christ's love, we are freed
to peel off masks and to become real, honest people.

14. • Conclusion
Christians are often accused of being hypocrites. However, the Bible clearly
indicates that those who practice hypocrisy really aren't Christians at all, but will
be judged to be non-believers and sent to hell. If you are a non-believer, this is
a good reason to consider the Christian faith, since you don't want to end up in
hell with all the hypocrites. Having attended many Christian churches, I can
assure you that the pretenders are few and far between. One should judge
Christianity not on the basis of what the fakers do, but on the basis of what
Jesus taught and how He lived.

15. • Conclusion
Of course, not everyone who claims to be a Christian is truly a Christian. Perhaps all
or most of the famous hypocrites among Christians were in fact pretenders and
deceivers. To this day, prominent Christian leaders have fallen into terrible sins.
Financial and sexual scandals sometimes seem to plague the Christian community.
However, instead of taking the actions of a few and using them to denigrate the whole
community of Christians, we need to ask whether all those who claim to be Christians
really are. Numerous biblical passages confirm that those who truly belong to Christ
will exhibit the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Jesus’ parable of the seed and
the soils in Matthew 13 makes it clear that not all professions of faith in Him are
genuine. Sadly, many who profess to belong to Him will be stunned one day to hear
Him say to them, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matthew 7:23).

16. • Conclusion
Christian faith is not a communion or collective faith or any kind of rules regulation or
any ethical work. It is entirely personal. You are accountable yourself before God for
your salvation (Romans 14:12). We cannot have personal relationship with God
without believing him. Bible says there is no salvation without believing Christ (Acts
4:12) which is free gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9). Therefore, there is no excuse.
The reality of Scripture is that every person, Christian and non-Christian, is accountable
before a sovereign God (see Rom. 3:9-19) and will one day have to bow before Christ (Phil.
2:9-11). Jesus said, “From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and
from the one who has been entrusted with much, even more will be asked” (Luke 12:48b).
Many reject this declaration of Scripture by all manner of human rationalizations and bias,
but their rejection cannot alter the reality of accountability.

17. Thank you.
Have a Great Weekend!