Hypocrites - It Takes One to Know One

In light of so many people today hiding behind a host of excuses for not attending a local church, comes the combative subject of "hypocrites."

The timing could not have been more "On." As the text alert sounded on my phone today, I read where one of our HGC leaders texted me a picture which punctuated the following message:

"Some people say, 'I don't want to go to church with all those hypocrites.' Well, you can go to church w/ them, OR you can go to hell w/ them."

Let's take a moment to define "hypocrite" before we issue claim to being an authority on the subject.

"Hypocrite" is defined as one who portrays having virtues, morals, or religious beliefs that they do not actually possess. A few synonyms for "hypocrite" are cheater, faker, deceiver, actor, fraud, poser, and backslider.

When looking into the Scriptures, one NOT ATTENDING church, (dishonoring the Word - Hebrews 10:25) can also be viewed through the lens of all of these same synonyms. So, what is the real culprit for conveniently missing out on the blessing of getting plugged into a "community of faith" (the local church)!?! Concluding that "not going to church with the hypocrites" is acceptable, clearly violates God's command to "assemble together." Without a doubt, God knew the composition of THE Church,...His Church, would consist of men, women, boys, and girls, who would need to depend upon His Love, and the love of, and the love for, one another, and that this "loving" would be communicated and experienced by honoring God and actively embracing His scriptural mandate to join together with other believers in a consistent gathering of worship.

Jesus delivered it directly and emphatically to those who were struggling with a critical, crippling spirit, in the Gospel of John, "to him/her who is without sin, let them cast the first stone" (John 8:7). You see, regardless of who we are, where we've been, or what we've done, our Lord loves us and desires to have a personal relationship with us. He knew we would have moments of difficulty, infused with temptation, instigated by our enemy, the devil, whose aim is to steal, kill, and destroy. We must be careful to not point a finger at someone else, becoming an expert at keeping their score, while we become oblivious to our own shortcomings. The church is not for perfect people. No, the church was established for imperfect people in need of a loving, merciful, and gracious savior, Jesus Christ. When coming together, we are encouraged by the strength and determination we observe and absorb from one another.

So, rather than labeling someone else, let's take a timeout to start linking together every opportunity we have to experience the beauty of God's intention in sending His Son, Jesus, for the purpose of seeking to save every one of us that is lost without Him.

I am all for keeping it simple, keeping it real, and keeping it together...

"We all need one another; We are Stronger Together!"