The Dangers of Hypocrisy

Have you ever experienced the transformative effect of the church door? My guess is that you have, even though you might not be aware of it. Let me explain what I mean by listing a few examples.

Imagine a married couple. They are not doing well in their marriage. They frequently fight and are easily annoyed by each other. As so often happens, they are leaving the house for church later than the husband planned because the wife needed a bit more time to clean up the breakfast mess that her husband left behind when he got ready to leave. He is already sitting in the car, with the engine running, and as soon as she closes the car door he hits the road at full speed. She tells him in a not-so-kind voice to respect the speed limit, to which he responds in an equally annoyed voice that he would if she were ready and in the car at the agreed-upon time. After all, the dishes could be done later. Then they arrive at church. And as they walk through the door, they hold hands and smile.

Or imagine a single man. He hates being single. Life is just not going well for him. His job is not what he had hoped for when he finished college. He is generally unhappy and grumpy, as you can tell when you look at him. But then he walks through the church door and his facial expression changes. I could go on and give you more examples. Or you might be able to add your own story to it.

The fact is that the church door often has a transformative effect. This might be a really good thing. It might be that when we go through the church door, we are reminded of the God who loves us, who is so wonderfully patient and forgiving toward all who trust in Christ as their Lord and Savior. As we walk through the door, we might just realize anew that God has promised that He will work all things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28). Clearly, sometimes God transforms our way of thinking and our attitude as we come to church. This is great.

But far too often, the change that happens at the church door is nothing but hypocrisy. This might sound a bit harsh, but think about it—as we put on our holy smiles, we pretend that all is good. We pretend that our marriages are strong and happy. And we pretend that we are not struggling with living in a fallen world. Looking around at church, you might wonder if there is anyone who needs a Savior. And then we sing happy songs in which we tell God that we love Him and Him alone and that we worship Him all the time with our whole lives. Praise God that we are not like the unhappy, dysfunctional, angry people that can be found only outside the church door.

Sometimes there are people who stumble into such happy churches who are not aware of the transformative effect of the church door. They come in as needy people, not smiling, not happy, but longing for a place where they can come as sinners who are in desperate need of forgiveness. Such people need others who will not judge them but who will point them to the Friend of sinners and the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort (2 Cor. 1:3). Such people need others who sing to and with them songs such as Martin Luther’s hymn based on Psalm 130, “From Depths of Woe.” Do you know such people? Are you one of them?

Don’t misunderstand me: I’m not advocating gloomy churches. I’m all for true gospel joy. But true gospel joy grows best out of an awareness of the reality of living as fallen people in a fallen world and the realization of how dependent we are on the forgiveness and the true transformation that the gospel offers. Churches that display a rather superficial joy will often drive away those who are broken, or else these people will learn to blend in. Then they will also put on a happy smile as they walk through the church door, but inwardly, they are suffering. They wonder if they are the only broken and struggling people in the midst of all these happy Christians who seem to have it all together. They fall prey to the kind of hypocrisy that is far too common in many churches.

Remember Jesus’ parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector in the temple:

“The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:11–14)

Let us make sure that our churches are marked by the honesty and humility of the tax collector. We do this as we openly share our struggles and confess our sins. We weep over our sins and comfort others who weep over their sins. We link arms with the particularly weak and poor and heavy laden. We seek each other’s help to hold us accountable as we fight against sin. And we seek each other’s help and biblical counsel, hoping and trusting that through the power of God in us, true change is possible. As broken sinners, we long to hear the gospel of our great Savior. After all, Jesus did not come for those who are well and righteous. He came for sinners (Mark 2:17). To be clear, there are no righteous people (Rom. 3:10). There are only self-righteous pretenders. Let’s make sure that our churches are not gatherings of people who by their pretending communicate that they don’t need Jesus.

Where, if not at church, can we be honest about our struggles and our sins? After all, the church is the gathering of those who know that they need a Savior and who rejoice that the Savior has come to seek and save those who were once utterly lost. This world is full of fake smiles, of smoke and mirrors and pretending. But the church should not be like the world around it. As Christians, we gather as a people that rejoices in God’s undeserved grace and that trusts that our great God and Savior will one day bring an end to all sin, suffering, and sadness.

Churches that have this kind of honesty and joy have doors that will display a very different transformative effect. The transformation will no longer happen as we walk in, putting on fake smiles and pretending that all is good. No, such churches have doors that display the transformative effect as people leave. Those who came in self-righteous, angry, sad, and hopeless will walk out humbled yet full of new hope and joy, knowing that because of Christ, all will ultimately be well. Then the couple that came in angry with each other will seek each other’s forgiveness as they have been assured of Christ’s much greater forgiveness of them. The disappointed and sad single man will leave encouraged to look to what is yet unseen with new hope for a glorious future. Add to this your own story.