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The title of this sermon is Why So Many Phony Christians? by Aaron Burgess
 This sermon is provided by FlockFinder com
Sermon Topic: Apologetics
Sermon Synopsis: This sermon answers the question of the critics who claim there are too many hypocrites in the church! What can we say to answer that question. More like, what should be do.
Sermon Text:     Why So Many Phony Christians?
Various Passages

I recently talked to someone in our church about her father. He is a Christian but he refuses to go to church anymore. You know what his excuse for not going is, “Everybody there’s a hypocrite,” he says. They are so phony. They live one way all week and another on Sundays.”

One of the biggest excuses the world uses to rationalize why they don’t come to church or are not Christians is the hypocrite excuse. “I don’t go to church because it’s full of hypocrites. Who needs church if the people in it are no more genuine than the people outside it?” There is probably no greater a curse on the church than that of hypocritical, phony Christians. The world is not so much turned off by what we preach. They are turned off by the fact, we don’t practice what we preach. Dave Faust says, “Whatever else you can say about our current culture, one thing’s for sure: our friends and neighbors can smell a phony a mile away.”

A worker in the medical profession wrote to Dear Abby to ask advice in dealing with a cranky coworker who constantly cursed and complained about the patients and the working conditions at job. The writer, who signed her letter, “Up to Here,” was especially bothered by her coworker’s claim to be a faithful Christian. She wrote, “Her conversations are peppered with ‘the Lord this’ and ‘the Lord that.’ But I have a great difficulty understanding the inconsistencies between her proposed faith and her actions. Although I am not a member of a church, I wouldn’t treat a dog the way this pious churchgoer treats people…In my experience those who thump their Bibles the loudest would benefit more by being thumped over the head by them.”

Nothing turns the world off to Christ more than phony, hypocritical Christians. The non believer often asks, “Why are there so many hypocrites in the church.” If their religion is real, why doesn’t it show up in how they act. It’s a reasonable question isn’t it?

I. WHAT IS A HYPOCRITE?
The word hypocrite comes from a Greek word meaning “an actor, one who wears a mask.” In Greek theatres an actor might wear a mask of comedy in one scene and then in the next scene a mask of tragedy. One actor, two faces. A hypocrite therefore is a play actor who regularly wears a mask to fake a relationship with God they do not have and do not desire. The hypocrite looks good on the outside but is rotten to core on the inside. A hypocrite is someone who does not practice what they preach. He is a counterfeit. At first glance he looks real but after further investigation he is found to be phony. Someone defined a hypocrite as a person who complains about all the violence and profanity on his VCR.

The hypocrite portrays to be something he really is not. Like that Crystal Light lemonade mix that uses artificial flavoring. It advertises itself as lemonade but there are no lemons in it.

A hypocrite, in the same way, claims to have Christ but there is no Christ in him. The hypocrite is artificial. He acts one way when he thinks someone’s watching but then another way when he is alone.

Robert Redford was walking one day through a hotel lobby. A woman saw him and followed him to the elevator. "Are you the real Robert Redford?" she asked him with great excitement. As the doors of the elevator closed, he replied, "Only when I am alone!" The hypocrite is one way in public, another when he or she is alone.

A rather pompous-looking deacon was endeavoring to impress upon a class of young boys the importance of living the Christian life. So he asked them, "Why do people call me a Christian?” After a moment’s pause, one youngster raised his hand and said, "Sir, maybe it’s because they don’t know you." A hypocrite appears godly but once people get to know them they find out they are not for real.

II. HYPOCRISY IN BIBLE’S TIMES
Now hypocrisy amongst God’s people is no new phenomenon. Hypocrisy was a problem that plagued the Israelites in the Old Testament. In Jeremiah 7 the prophet Jeremiah warned God’s people about their hypocrisy. According to Jeremiah the Israelites failed to implement justice in their business dealings; they oppressed the weak and disadvantaged, they murdered the innocent; they practiced idolatry; they stole from each other; they committed adultery and lied under oath. Having committed these abominations the people then came to the temple of God satisfied that God would continue to bless them. “We are safe – safe to do all these detestable things,” they said. (Jeremiah 7:10). They believed that they would be unaffected by their actions as long as they worshipped in the temple. Hypocrisy.

In the book of Isaiah the 58th chapter, Isaiah the prophet rebuked Israel for practicing fake religion. The Israelites were misusing the spiritual discipline of fasting for their own personal gain. While they appeared so holy in their fasting, they exploited their laborers and they used fasting to call attention to themselves. They were hypocrites, doing religious things like fasting but only for selfish gain.

In the New Testament Jesus was very concerned with the hypocrisy of the Pharisees, the religious leaders in his day. The Pharisees did a similar thing to what Isaiah condemned. They appeared so religious, they liked to discuss the Bible and be seen in public praying and fasting and giving their money to the temple. But Jesus knew what kind of people they were on the inside. Jesus told the Pharisees that they just gave lip service to God. He told them that “they honored God with their lips, but their hearts were far from Him.” (Matthew 15:8).

One time Jesus flat out confronted the Pharisees for their phoniness. He said to them, “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” (Matthew 23:27-28). Jesus told the Pharisees that because of their hypocrisy God “would assign them to the place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 24:51).

The book of James warned against Christians who were hypocrites. “With the tongue they praised God but with the same tongue they curse men who have been made in God’s image. My brothers this should not be done.” (James 3:9). 1 Peter 2:1 instructs all Christians to “rid themselves of all deceit and hypocrisy.”

III. ANSWER FOR THE CRITICS
Well, what do we as Christians do to answer the person who accuses the church of hypocrisy? How do we reply to the question, why are there so many hypocritical Christians? First I think we need to DEFINE WHAT A HYPOCRITE IS. Many have a wrong understanding of what a hypocrite is. A hypocrite is not simply someone who makes mistakes. A hypocrite is someone who deliberately wears a mask to hide his real self. A hypocrite does not really intend to do the right thing. And we must make a distinction between the hypocrite and a Christian who is just inconsistent.

An inconsistent Christian is transparent and well intentioned but does not follow through. The Pharisees were not just inconsistent they were hypocrites because they did not intend to change.

Now it is true that all Christians are often inconsistent. And that is generally what the world means when they call us hypocrites. But most of us aren’t hypocrites. We are genuinely trying to follow Christ, we just do stupid things. But we are hypocrites, we are just people who mess up.

Another thing we can do to answer the person who accuses the church of hypocrisy is CLARIFY WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A CHRISTIAN. The world has the notion that Christians are claiming to be perfect people who never break the rules and are always looking down their noses at people who don’t act like they do. But when one becomes a Christian he or she is not saying they are perfect. In fact, to be a Christian one must admit they are not perfect. The true definition of a Christian is one who admits he is a sinner and is trying by the grace of God to do better.

And Christians who claim to be without sin are not true Christians. 1 John 1:8 says, “If a Christian claims to be without sin, he is deceiving himself.” Jesus said of the Pharisees that they believe they were sinless but they were just fooling themselves. A true Christian admits he is a sinner.

And we should be transparent with people about what we really like. Some Christians try to conceal their mistakes from the world. They think that the way to influence others is to leave the impression that they never fall and they have all the answers. So they go around with a pious attitude and self-righteous expression. But the result is phoniness that turns people off. They lose credibility – they’re not real.

And that is why we must clarify what it means to be a Christian. Because a genuine Christian will admit he is not perfect. The apostle Paul did. In 1 Timothy 1:15 Paul writes about himself, “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst.” Paul said I am the worst of sinners. In Romans 7:24 he said, “What a wretched man I am.”

And the truth is that the church is full of sinners and people who mess up. Zig Ziglar said that he invited a friend to go to church with him. The man answered, “Well, I’d like to go. But the church is so full of hypocrites.” Ziglar replied, “That’s okay. There’s always room for one more.” And there is a sense in which the church is filled with inconsistent people. But the world is full of inconsistent people too. And we need to admit our inconsistencies.

Most importantly, we can answer the person who accuses the church of hypocrisy by LIVING LIVES OF INTEGRITY. St. Frances of Assisi once said, “Preach the gospel and if necessary use words.” And the best way to answer this question about hypocrisy is to live genuine lives worthy of Jesus Christ. We cannot be phony Christians who nullify our witness by our deeds. William Barclay once said, “A man’s message will always be viewed in context with his character.” In other terms, your message don’t mean squat if your actions don’t follow suit. Titus 1:16 says, “They claim to know God, but by their actions deny Him.”

And we cannot be phony Christians who turn the world off because we fake our relationship with God. Non-believers can smell a fake. A new missionary recruit went to Venezuela for the first time. He was struggling with the language and didn’t understand a whole lot of what was going on. He went to visit a local church but having arrived late, the church was already packed. The only pew left was the one on the front row.

He would be in front of everybody in the church. And so as not to make a fool of himself, he decided to pick someone out of the crowd to imitate. He chose to follow the man sitting next to him on the front pew. As they sang, the man clapped his hands, so the missionary recruit clapped too. When the man stood up to pray, the missionary recruit stood up too. When the man sat down, he sat down. During the preaching, the recruit didn’t understand a thing. He just sat there and tried to look just like that man in the front pew. The man nodded his head and he did too.
Then he perceived that the preacher was giving announcements. People clapped, so he looked to see if the man was clapping. He was, and so the recruit clapped too. Then the preacher said some words that he didn’t understand and he saw the man next to him stand up. So he stood up too. Suddenly a hush fell over the entire congregation. A few people gasped. He looked around and saw that nobody else was standing. So he sat down.

After the service ended, the preacher stood at the door shaking the hands of those who were leaving. When the missionary recruit stretched out his hand to greet the preacher, the preacher said, in English: "I take it you don’t speak Spanish." The missionary recruit replied: "No I don’t. It’s that obvious?" "Well yes," said the preacher, "I announced that the Rodriguez family had a newborn baby boy and would the proud father please stand up.”

And to be truthful, the church is sadly filled with many people like that missionary who are faking it. Just going through the motions. And the world can tell we aren’t genuine and they can tell by our actions that we don’t really know Jesus. They aren’t fooled. The old saying applies, "You may fool all of the people some of the time; you can fool some of the people all of the time; but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time."

The famous author Mark Twain said that hypocritical Church leaders were largely to blame for his becoming hostile to the Bible and the Christian faith. As he grew up, he knew elders and deacons who owned slaves and abused them. He heard men using foul language and saw them practice dishonesty during the week after speaking piously in church on Sunday. He listened to ministers use the Bible to justify slavery. Although he saw genuine love for the Lord Jesus in some people, including his mother and his wife, he was so disturbed by the bad teaching and poor example of church leaders, that he became bitter toward the things of God.

How sad. And we must be aware that our deeds affect the lost. 1 Peter 1:21 says, “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

A few years back the Coca Cola Bottling Company decided to start a new campaign to sell Coca Cola. They called it the “Real Thing.” Because they found that people are searching for authenticity. And the world is looking to see if we are the “The Real Thing.” Authentic followers of Christ.

The best way to answer the question, “Why are there so many phony Christians?” Is for us to simply live lives of authenticity and character. And show them that there are some Christians who are for real. That is why Titus 2 instructs us, “In everything set the world an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about you.” (Titus 2:7-8).
-------------------------------------------------
Thank you to Aaron Burgess
and www.sermoncentral.com for sharing this sermon with the whole body of Christ, so that
everyone may be blessed.

Scripture reference: Titus 1, Matthew 15, Matthew 24, James 3
Sermon length: 31-45 minutes (14605 characters
Intended audience: General Congregation Style: Serious


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What in the World is God Doing? by Phil Morgan The King Lives - Easter 2005 by Glenn Newton
Stop Look Listen by Tony Clarke The Arrogance of Christianity by David Petticre