Hypocrite

Romans 2:12-24

¹²For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law.

¹³For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified.

¹⁴For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law.

¹⁵They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them

¹⁶on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

¹⁷But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God

¹⁸and know his will and approve what is excellent, because you are instructed from the law;

¹⁹and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness,

²⁰an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—

²¹you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? While you preach against stealing, do you steal?

²²You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples?

²³You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law.

²⁴For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”

²⁵For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision.

²⁶So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?

²⁷Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law.

²⁸For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical.

²⁹But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

There are times as a Christian when I just have to hang my head and say, “please don’t help me.” I think specifically of televangelists who are publicly shamed by immoral lifestyles or believers who use violence to make a point for Jesus. Every Christian in America was chagrined when televangelists Jimmy Swaggart and Jim Bakker crashed and burned back in the 1980’s. I hung my head in sorrow over the abortion clinic bombing in Florida in 1985. These actions don’t do much for the name of Christ and give credence to those who think we are frauds. Stopping the scourge that is abortion is good thing. Bombing a clinic is not. Spreading the name of Jesus via television can be a good thing. Using your platform to gain wealth, live immorally, and pursue power is not. Christianity certainly has its monumental failures. Even 1,000 years ago the office of the Pope was filled with corruption and terrible atrocities that plagued the Catholic Church for centuries. We’re just as much sinners as everyone else. But when the world sees us sin the whole church suffers.

In our reading for today, Paul deals first with those who have never heard the Law of God. He affirms for us that every person born knows there is a God and knows the difference between right and wrong. It would appear we (and they) will be judged on the basis of what they knew. We leave that in God’s hands.

Then Paul speaks to those of us who have been blessed to know Him through His revealed Word. We are responsible for what we know as well. When we live outside of His will our witness shouts to the world about God and about who we are as well. Because we are all sinful beings we tend to dwell on the

negative. When a pastor fails morally it makes the news. If a plumber has an affair or embezzles money you won’t hear about it. And let’s make it even more personal. If you have a Christian bumper sticker on your car and cut off a guy on the interstate – well, let’s face it – it’s a bad witness. It gives people a reason to think you’re a hypocrite. And you know what – they’re right. We are all hypocrites.

The cliché says “the church is full of hypocrites”. And it’s true. None of us is pure and we know it. But the world doesn’t usually want to know the rest of the story. Yes, we’re impure and sinners. But we are also believers in the only remedy for that problem. We trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior. We are hypocrites who are forgiven. And here’s where the passage that we studied yesterday comes into play. Remember? God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance. It certainly isn’t our publicly sinful self that will lead others to know Jesus. It will be our kindness and grace that will show the world who God is and what He has done for us. It will be the fact that we embrace His redemptive work because of our sin and hypocrisy that will shine for others. Yup – I’m a hypocrite. But I’m a forgiven hypocrite.