Why religious people are hypocrites

American Christianity paid lip service to love and acceptance, but thrives on fear and oppression. American Christianity became nothing when it promoted salvation by grace through a middle-eastern refugee who was arrested, incarcerated, tortured, and given the death penalty under Roman law, but refused to address a broken justice system infested with police brutality, unjust incarceration rates, state-sponsored torture, and the immorality of capital punishment.

American Christendom was founded upon the genocide of Indigenous nations, and the few who survived were enslaved, along with those brought in from the African continent and from what is now known as Central and South America. The patriotism American Christianity often exudes within its houses of worship is a revisionist lie that celebrates generations of white supremacy and the brutal suppression of others.

We have sinned far beyond our comprehension and in ways we cannot begin to fathom. So we must humbly listen to those whom Christendom has devastated—both Christians and non-Christians alike. The American Church must validate their pain, and accept our horrific failures. Religiosity, theology, nationalism, and patriotism were used to cloak our atrocities, and the truth-tellers and prophets were silenced or ignored.

These are the awful legacies of Christianity within the United States. Of course, there are—and always were—Christian communities that selflessly loved and served others. Historically, despite being the most victimized by systems of oppression designed by white and patriarchal Christendom, people of color have long exuded the sacrificial love and authoritative resistance of Jesus.

Strands of Christian communities did the right thing even when the majority did not. Martin Luther King Jr. Mineo Katagiri are just a few examples of Christ-followers faithfully loving God—and others—when so many would not. We must always look to Jesus as the example of perfect love. This is what love really means. Commitment that neglects people is hypocrisy. The church leaders seek religious prominence instead of humble service. Church leaders who feed off the attention of others will face the temptation to raise their own names above that of Christ.

Serving people in a way that glorifies God requires humility. The church hides double standards with artificial religious rules. Well-intentioned rule-followers can be swept into hypocrisy. Artificial rules can hide double standards, but they also confuse the message of the gospel. The church kills the heart of worship with a religious presentation. What Abel gave to God was an acceptable offering because it reflected the true heart of worship. What Cain gave to God was not acceptable because it was a religious presentation.

And what happened next? The hypocritical brother killed the worshiping brother. The heart of worship is complete surrender to King Jesus, not a religious presentation.

The church adds to the gospel to burden people. Religion becomes a barrier to salvation when the church adds rules to the gospel as a prerequisite for salvation. Nothing is more hypocritical than burdening people with the false gospel of legalism. When salvation is a moving target, the church becomes a vehicle for oppression.

One of the main antidotes to hypocrisy is a culture of repentance. When people live out repentance, hypocrisy becomes much less of a problem in the church. Frankly, on this side of heaven, a perfect church would be a crushing burden.

You would ruin it the moment you joined! You need a perfect Savior. The church is called to be authentic. Jesus had harsh words to say to hypocrites and so there is no place for hypocrisy in the lives of those who claim to follow him. But we are all sinners and fail at times. Christians will disappoint, but Jesus won't. What have you been thinking about? Download MP3.