Over the last couple of years we have been reading comments that people have made on our blog posts, and many folks are uncomfortable with letting loose of a certain standard and can't seem to get over this freedom of from the law that we are promoting. Some of you are probably thinking the same thing at this point. 

Your rationale goes something like this: "But, if we aren't good examples to others, we'll be seen as hypocrites and no one will want to be a Christian because everyone will think we are so pathetic. This is why the bible says not to be conformed to the pattern of this world. We are to look different." 

We should look different by...not sinning? By not involving ourselves in culture? Granted, most of these stories we've shared took place more than a decade ago, with the exception of Matt's drunken stupor, and God has been continually maturing us through the years. Not an easy task. The key issue here is that we were all Christians during the times of these real stories. I bet there's a bunch of stories you would not want anyone to know about you, mainly because you were a Christian at the time. Like Matt said in his story, it's easy for us to say, "This was in my past," but this isn't always the case. 

This should make you think about the number of times that you hypocritically write some one off as a Christian because they aren't acting like one. You may respond with reciting the scripture that says, "You'll know a tree by its fruit." I'd respond to you by asking, "Doesn't it take time for fruit to grow? What about when it is just a little bud and hardly noticeable?" I'd also caution you to reflect on the sins that we rarely talk about as Christians. Ones that you perhaps let yourself off the hook from continually. Do you worry? God says not to. Do you gossip? God says not to. Do you seek to meet the needs of your neighbor? God says to. Do you pray continually? God says to. 

I certainly agree with you that one will know a tree by it's fruit, but I'd caution you to remember that we will never stop sinning as long as we have our fleshly body/nature. Thus, no matter how fruitful one is, there will always be time where rotten food is mixed in with the good. I'd also caution you to remember that it's Jesus who grows the fruit. This very truth should deter us from keeping our eyes on people and fix our eyes on Jesus.

The word says that, "He is the author and perfector of our faith." This means that He gives our faith birth, leaving us no room to take credit, and He perfects our faith, so we can't even take credit for that either. If we cannot take credit for our spiritual growth and maturity, why are we so hard on other Christians who are struggling with theirs? If God is perfecting your faith, this doesn't make you a good person. You are still a bad person that God is conditioning to be more like him. Thus, you are absolutely no different from your brother in Christ who is at an earlier stage of development than you. 

So, since when were Christians not hypocrites? Since when were we not pathetic? Look at Steve Fee, Jim Baker, King David, and Peter. I've never found a Christian that preached against sin and didn't sin. Let's start with me. I encourage people not to have idols yet I struggle with idol worship - sports, food, buying music, my image, and money just to name of few. I counsel men to love their wives and I fall short of being a loving husband. I talk about the dangers of pride and sometimes I lose the battle myself against this deadly foe. 

Let's just be blunt. The very definition of hypocrite fits every Christian. And that's not a bad thing. Sinful people being saved by a sinless savior brings glory to Jesus and last time I checked, we are only supposed to be pointing to His glory anyway. 

The only "bad form" of hypocrisy, so to speak, is when someone says, "I don't struggle," or, "I am a really awesome person," or, "Look at my works," or tries to be seen as holier and then thou and simultaneously never says things like, "Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner," or, "What a wretch I am," or, "God's strength is made perfect in my weakness."

Our stories are real and you have real stories too, but many of you just won't talk about them. All three of us, Matt, Toby, and Joey, struggle with pride for sure. However, we set out to never walk around with the notion that we have our stuff together. One of our deepest desires is to change our sinful habits. We try not to take credit when we make positive changes. We never claim to be without sin. We apologize, but probably not as often as we should. We talk about how sinful we are. We talk a lot about our great savior. We often verbalize our complete dependence on God. We have changed and are changing still. 
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God gives grace to the humble and, for Christians, humility means admitting our utter dependence on Him. This, I'm sure, is more what God was talking about when He says, "Don't conform any longer to the pattern of this world."