What Should We Know?
Sermon Ideas From Friends and Family
Sermon 1 April 6th 2008 Friend and Neighbour Sunday
Damage From Hypocrisy and Judgmentalism
A few months ago I asked our congregation to ask their friends and neighbours what type of sermon they thought would be helpful. From the answers that came in I have divided up two general sermons and we will do some specific topics as well.
A number of comments came in from our friends and neighbours that spoke of why people that we know do not go to church or trust people who go to church. This message is intended to be a reminder that our words, actions, and inactivity impact the path that people take to find the Lord. As we have said before people connect to the Lord through people!
So, what do you think were some of the reasons that people said that they are turned off of church and church people? What can we do that may keep people away from the Lord?
Today we will look at two main complaints: hypocrisy and judgmentalism. We want to learn how to avoid both of these traps for two main reasons. One reason that we need to be aware of the damage of hypocrisy and judgmentalism is because they can keep people from a relationship with Jesus. A second reason to avoid the damage of hypocrisy and judgmentalism is because both hypocrisy and judgmentalism are condemned in the Bible. Just like our friends and neighbours, God is turned off by hypocrisy and judgmentalism.
Let’s begin by learning about hypocrisy:
Francis Bacon said: A bad man is worse when he pretends to be a saint.
And Oswald Chambers said: The world is glad of an excuse not to listen to the gospel message, and the inconsistencies of Christians is the excuse.
It seems to me that there are two types of hypocrisy. The Greek word means to play act with an idea of wearing a mask; so this is the type of hypocrisy that occurs when we work at appearing to others in one way and acting in another way or an opposite way. This is the type of person that speaks kindly to your face and gossips behind your back. Another type of hypocrisy is when we preach a standard that we are not following. This is the believer who judges and condemns the sins of others while feeling that their sins are of a lesser wrong. Have you ever been negatively impacted by these types of hypocrisy? Has anyone brought this sin to your attention?
There are a number of passages about hypocrisy (24 times in the NIV)
There is a description of hypocrisy in Matthew 15:7-9 which says: You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: MT 15:8 " `These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 9 They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.' "
They talk the talk but do not…
1 Timothy 4:2 connects hypocrisy with a seared conscience and false teaching. Matthew 24:51 shows us that this is a serious sin that will lead us to be separated from God.
In 1st Peter 2:1-3 Peter calls us to "rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. 2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, 3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good."
Matthew 6:2, 5, 16 condemns having an appearance of being spiritual by giving, praying, and fasting to be honored by others.
Matthew 23 records 7 Woes to the Pharisees because of their hypocrisy. The very first woe reminds us of how hypocrisy can impact the kingdom:
MT 23:13
"Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.This passage is a strong warning that wearing a mask of religion without a changed heart will keep you and others out of heaven.
Another danger of hypocrisy is that it can be contagious. It is easier to have the appearance of a resurrected changed life and fit into the standards that others set than it is to really commit to Jesus being your Lord and leader of your day to day life. Once we start with the mask we may use it to cover more areas of our lives but God knows the truth. The hypocrisy can grow and in Luke 12:1-3 Jesus warns his disciples:
"Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 3 What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.
So how can we avoid the sin of hypocrisy?
Be genuine and fall in love with God. As followers of Christ who are saved by grace we need to avoid acting "Christian" and make a true commitment to Christ as the leader of our lives. We need to be honest with people about how God has changed us and how He is in the process of changing us. Hypocrisy is handled with truth; even when it shows our ugliness.
The second major condemnation against the church and her people is when we are judgmental.
Matthew 7:1-5 is a passage that draws attention to hypocrisy and judgmentalism and it reads:
MT 7:1
"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3 "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, `Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.What do I mean by judgmentalism? What I mean by that term is the tendency of Christians to police the morality of others in an arrogant and disconnected way. Judgmentalism is an attitude that is often called "holier than thou."
Jesus demonstrated the opposite nature of judgmentalism. He caught the Pharisees demonstrating this attitude and called them to repent.
The first use of the word "sinners" in the NT as translated in the NIV is Matthew 9:10-13 and in this account we find Jesus speaking against the judgmental attitude of the Pharisees:
MT 9:10
While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples. 11 When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and `sinners'?" MT 9:12 On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 13 But go and learn what this means: `I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."Sometimes we think that we can define who is a sinner and who is not but that distinction is not for us to make; God alone sets the standard. Romans 5:8 reminds all of us that: But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. We are all sinners and we serve a God who does not show favoritism (Romans 2:11).
Just as it can be a mental snag to think that we can be the ones who define who is a sinner and who is not, it is also a snag to think that just because God loves sinners He encourages sin. Let’s read what is said in Galatians 2:17 "If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not!
The same false logic comes up in Romans 3:5-6 which says: But if our unrighteousness brings out God's righteousness more clearly, what shall we say? That God is unjust in bringing his wrath on us? (I am using a human argument.) 6 Certainly not! If that were so, how could God judge the world? God’s wrath and His judgment will come because of our sin (Ephesians 5:5-6).
What we find when we read through the gospels and see Jesus interacting with people is that Jesus shows us the "how" and the "why" in loving the sinner and hating the sin. It is often the Pharisees who receive the most direct condemnation since they had the word of God and did not follow the character and intent of God. Jesus did not promote sin nor did He berate and demine the sinner.
How can we love the sinner and hate the sin? When we see the sins of our friends and family it is best when we wait for an invitation to speak and when we speak we need to show from the Bible how sin causes separation and difficulty and how God’s way is a better way. We should not just share our opinion of things we need to show truth from the word of God because it is the word of God that is the standard that will judge all of us according to John 12:47-48.
So how can we avoid the trap of being judgmental? Three choices can really help us in this area. One is to have a real relationship with God that involves surrender to His word personally. Another factor that helps us with being judgmental is to see our lives as God sees them and to extend the grace that God has given to us. A third thing that helps us overcome the tendency to be judgmental is to develop deep relationships with people so that we can speak the truth of God’s word in love.
Satan is the accuser and he wants the church to be ineffective so he encourages us to be hypocritical and judgmental and we fall for it more than we should and for that we need to apologize to the people who have been impacted negatively by our sins. These are sins that we need to held accountable for because of how they impact the kingdom and many people have been turned away from God because of people who go to church.
God is against the sins of hypocrisy and judgmentalism and as we align ourselves with His character and His word our impact on our friends, families, and community will be blessed as we give God the glory for the great things He has done through us, in us, and despite us.
We are here to know God and make Him known. We are fellow sinners who have connected to Christ who is at work changing our lives. We want to offer you the blessings that we have received. We are beggars showing other beggars where to get the bread of life and we invite you to join us in the journey.
Next week we look at the things that our friends and families want us to do in order to have a positive impact in their lives.