In the US, statistics say that we have approximately 280 million people who "profess" some sort of religion (including Christianity), and about 20 million who are atheists or agnostics. Those figures seem to indicate that America is mostly a religious/Christian country.
Now, looking at it from God’s vantage point—if that is even possible—what would God say on the spiritual condition of our great country? First, I must say this: According to the New Testament (NT)—the book through which God and Christ speak—those who say they are Christians, and at the same time, do not live according to what is taught therein, are religious hypocrites.
I am not sure how many readers are aware of how Christ feels and treats people who claim to be Christians but whose lives are centered on self-promotion. Well, though He loves them by desiring the best for them, He treats them with disdain. Please check Matthew, Chapter 23 to see what kind of language He uses to describe religious hypocrites.
And yet, throughout the complete NT, Christ has not one bad word to say against the Roman Empire or its people, who, most likely, were all atheists. Why was that? First, they did not blaspheme our God, His Name or purpose by their ungodly lives since they didn’t acknowledge Him as God or Lord (boss). Yet, Christ did not approve of their ungodly conduct. What He did was to ignore them, as if they were not His business, at least during the three years of His worldly ministry.
What does this tell us about how God regards the people in the US? The 20 million nonbelievers, although they don’t believe much, if anything, which is written in Scripture, are condemned to spend eternity in a place of torment. Again, since they don’t believe that, it doesn’t bother them one bit. They say, "This life is it. Religion and God are only fairytales meant for those who can’t stand up on their own two feet, and therefore need an invisible crutch to take them through this dog-eat-dog world."
Now, concerning the other 280 million, they mostly are the ones who have devastated and continue to devastate God. Some will ask, "How so?" The reason being, the vast majority who profess Christ as their Lord do not obey His instructions as the way to eternal life. By the lives they live, they disgrace the name of God and Christ. In other words, hypocrites shame Him. And even worse than that, because of their ungodly lives, atheists feel religion is a scam, thus keeping them from becoming disciples of Christ. That is where the real atrocities of hypocrisy come into play.
Therefore, hypocrisy is worse than atheism. Unknowingly, hypocrites are destroying the chances of millions of atheists and their children from becoming genuine Christians. You see, atheist or not, their ungodly lives are keeping others from becoming Christians to any great degree. Fake Christians are keeping atheists from joining forces with God. Therefore, Christian hypocrites are the active enemies of God, more so than atheists.
To accuse people who go to church and live decent lives of being hypocrites is accusing them of an egregious blasphemy, like calling them traitors, bastards, whores and dozens of other shameful and disgraceful names. That may be the reason the word “hypocrite” is not used in Christian circles to any great degree. It could be said that it is a fighting word.
How could anyone come to the conclusion that they themselves are hypocrites? The way conditions are in Christianity nowadays, it might be one of the most difficult conclusions to come to, since we love to put our best face forward in our religious devotion. As intelligent as humans are, it is a crying shame we can’t see the truth when it is right before our eyes.
I do know this: If a person was really sincere in finding out the answer, if they spent a little time in reading the New Testament every day in conjunction with this blog, they would quickly know the correct answer. To do something about it is where the difficulty would come in. The only possible way would be if they were inspired by the Holy Spirit. And to get the Spirit to inspire anyone would take honesty of heart. Then, it still would be difficult to change their ways when it comes to religion. Believe it or not, I am still changing, seems like every day. We never get to a point where God can’t teach us some new principles which will better our relationship with Him.
The reason it will be difficult is because, all our lives we have been controlled by our human nature, and what our human nature desires is contrary to what God’s Spirit desires. Remember, it feels good to do what naturally comes easy, while doing what God’s Spirit wants, most often, will be a challenge. I write about that principle quite often in this blog. Then, if some can’t—or better yet, don't want—to change because of the high price—not monetary—it would be better to leave their lives of hypocrisy and enjoy themselves in this world than to be cheated of the "good" things this world offers and the good life in the hereafter. At least this way they won’t bring any more shame and disgrace to God and Christ and their religion: Christianity.
In closing, I am certain that this topic of hypocrisy in the Christian church isn’t a pleasant topic to read or discuss, because many may be affected. Of course, if some are not aware of what is expected of them once they accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, all the above words will sound like hogwash. All I can say is, don’t prejudge this post. I guarantee with my life that what is written is in accordance with Godly logic and the NT. Test me. Leave me a comment if what is written is not in sync with Scripture.
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