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| Jesus talks to the pharisees |
In this blog post, I'm not going to deal with the big failures in church history, such as the Crusades, Inquisition, religious wars between protestants and Catholics, the antisemitism of Martin Luther (the 16th century reformer, not MLK Junior!), etc. Even lately in the news we've heard about more sex abuse in the Catholic church, not to mention the scandal in a certain protestant mega church where most of the staff resigned in shame because they turned a blind eye to the lead pastor's sins.
Anyway, these big hypocrisies don't really test my faith much. They are huge failures in Christian history and I understand that it's a major reason that many people dismiss Christianity and refuse to come to faith. I'm baffled and I don't have a good excuse for these blunders. I don't have a nice, tight apologetic defense when it comes to the big failures of the church. I've read a few books on Christian apologetics and I've never read a great explanation for why Christians screw up--other than the fact that we all are cursed with a sin nature. All I can do is say I'm sorry for the evil that has been done in the name of Christ and I can pray that I personally will behave better.
I can also ask God to show me how I, Tom Nash, can respond to hypocrisy. First of all, God doesn't want me to turn from Him because of the failures of others. Rather, He wants me to turn to Him and seek a close walk with Him. Part of that walk may involve forgiving the hypocrites. Yes, it's Christianity 101 for me to forgive anyone who has hurt me. Also, God wants me to pray for my enemies and even those who annoy me a little bit.
Somehow, I'm able to separate my own faith from the big failures of the church. Perhaps it's because saving faith and sustaining faith are a gift from God. The Holy Spirit instills faith in our hearts and will sustain us during the worst trials. Faith is supernatural.
I'm more bothered by those leaders in my neck of the woods who don't quite rise to my expectations. Before I criticize them too much, I have to admit that I tend to fall short of producing much fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control). Also, it's important to mention that there are many Christian leaders who are quite spiritually mature. Some Christians are less hypocritical than others. All of us are hypocrites to some degree or another.
I'm not a hypocrite because I sin. I'm a hypocrite when I try to make myself look better than I really am. A really bad type of hypocrisy is when I expect someone to possess a character trait that I don't possess. Do I practice what I preach? Do I expect people to remove specks from their eyes when I've got a log in my eye? I hope these blog posts don't come across as pushing some unreachable standard that only Jesus can attain.
When a person accepts Christ, God accepts them the way they are. All believers are under construction. If a Christian is a house, then some are just beginning to have their foundation built. Others are in the framing stage. Others are getting the fine touches of finish work. None of us will be complete until we get to heaven.
Another thing to consider is the fact that each Christian has their own unique strengths and weaknesses. The big temptation in my life is different than the big temptation in your life. It's another reason we should be very hesitant when judging someone else.
God exists. He is loving and all-powerful. He wants a close relationship with you. This is true whether Christians behave or misbehave. Blessings.
I would venture that what we "think" we know about Trump is only what the media tell us. I think that the reasons for voting for him, in the presidential elections, are many - not just his stand on abortion. Whether he is personally a moral man or not, he espouses many viewpoints on social, economic and political topics that are very much in line with those of evangelicals. As a parallel, I offer: Philippians 1:17-19 New International Version:
ReplyDelete"17 The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. 18 But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice."
Likewise, whether Trump is a moral man or otherwise, views that many evangelicals hold dear are acted upon. We might like to think that God uses only "good, moral, Godly" men for his purposes. If such were the case, we'd have to eliminate the murderer and adulterer, King David, from God's plans for His people. If Mr. Trump claimed to be a Christian, we would be required, per 1 Corinthians 5:13, to take issue with any unChristian behaviors he might exhibit.
1 Corinthians 5:11-13 New International Version (NIV)
"11 But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister[a] but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people."
"12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”[b]"
However, I have not heard Trump claim that he is a Christian. Even if he had, we would, as a church, need to "call him out," but not necessarily to "throw away the baby with the bathwater."
Indeed, many evangelicals, myself included, viewed the presidential election as a choice between a worldly, non-Christian with conservative views and an outright evil leftist.
Thanks Bill. I have a theory that Trump may be a Samson-like character. Samson's moral character was problematic (sleeping with a prostitute), yet God specifically chose him to deliver Israel. Perhaps God's purposes are being fulfilled through Trump.
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