Has anyone ever called you a hypocrite? Are you afraid they will? Do you understand the difference between hypocrisy and inconsistency?
A person would be hard pressed to find someone who has never heard church goers or others who claim to be religious referred to as hypocrites. Of course these charges are not new. Jesus refers to Pharisees and Sadducees as hypocrites throughout the Gospels. Further, you possibly have heard individuals in your family, at your school, at your work, or in your community refer to Christians generally as hypocrites as well.
We admit that some who claim Christ do not live like Christ. But, is this the definition of a hypocrite or simply a function of inconsistency?
What is a hypocrite?
The original word we understand as hypocrite referred to an actor who played a role on stage. A pretender. Someone who takes on the persona of another in order to act on a stage for an audience. When referenced in the Bible, it refers to someone who claims a particular allegiance or level of devotion to God, yet the person is a pretender. The individual plays a part. John MacArthur writes, “An actor attempts to play a convincing role on the stage, pretending to be someone that he is not. So do religious deceivers.”[1]
What is the difference between a hypocrite and simple inconsistency?
Whereas a hypocrite plays a part, we refer to someone as inconsistent when that person generally desires to follow Christ but does so imperfectly. In other words, instead of living sinlessly, the person struggles on one or many levels with daily sin. This struggle reflects a heart that desires to follow God sincerely; however, the presence of sin still exists.
The Apostle Paul relates to his own struggles in Romans 7 when in a very honest contemplation he explains: “For I don’t understand what I am doing. For I do not do what I want—instead, I do what I hate” (Rom 7:15). He continues, “For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but I do the very evil I do not want!” (Rom 7:18-19).
Paul admits even as an Apostle, he still battles against the flesh – not as a hypocrite but as an inconsistent struggler.
What will it be for you? Hypocrisy versus Inconsistency
As this new day and week gets started, what will it be for you? Will you strive to honor God, live consistent with your claim to follow Jesus, and depend upon the Holy Spirit’s enabling grace as you go about your daily living? Or, will you speak a good game in order to impress those around you, play a spiritual role, and live as a pretender?
May we commit again today to live for the glory of God with as little inconsistency as possible today and this week.
[1] John MacArthur, Luke 11–17, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2013), 112.
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