Tag: hypocrisy

Paul Confronts Peter: A Lesson in Moral Courage

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JEFF TURNER

In a remarkable display of moral courage, the apostle Paul once publicly confronted his fellow apostle Peter over hypocritical behavior – a moment so significant it was documented in the letter to the Galatians. This confrontation perfectly illustrated Jesus’s teaching in Matthew 18:15, “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you.” While Paul’s approach was more public due to Peter’s leadership role, it followed the principle of addressing sin directly.

Paul’s actions weren’t born of personal animosity but stemmed from this biblical mandate for accountability. He demonstrated that spiritual leadership carries heightened responsibility, a principle he later emphasized in his guidance to Timothy about public rebuke of church elders.

Perhaps most instructive was Peter’s response. Despite his prominent position as a leading apostle, he showed true spiritual maturity by accepting the correction gracefully. This interaction highlights a crucial truth about religious leadership: those who guide others must be prepared for their lives to serve as open books, subject to scrutiny and, when necessary, public correction for the benefit of the broader community.

Daily thought: Is the church full of hypocrites?

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EDITED CONGREGATION

Is the church full of hypocrites?  Absolutely!  Go to any church and you’ll find liars, adulterers and a list of sins so long I won’t even try to name them all.  Being a Christian does not mean never having sinned.  In fact, it means the opposite: it means knowing that everyone needs remission of sins. To be clear, remission is the act of deliverance from sin.   By definition, a Christian is one delivered from sin.  Because of this, all Christians are sinners, but they have been redeemed.

Being redeemed does not mean that Christians do not struggle with temptation to sin again.  Jesus told us not to puff up our chest and dare the devil to give us his best temptation. He said to ask that God deliver us from temptation.  Christians do struggle with sin, and this includes hypocrisy.

When someone asks, “is the Church full of hypocrites,” I sometimes wonder if they are actually asking if the people in the church are hypocrites BECAUSE they are Christians.  Of course not!  Hypocrisy is found among atheists, Buddhists, communists.  In short, it is a flaw in the human character. When critics point out there are hypocrites in church, it is kind of like the old joke where someone yells, “we’re all gonna die!” in a manner that insinuates something terrible is about to happen, when they are actually just saying that death is a certainty for everyone.  Christians are not hypocrites because they are Christians, they are imperfect people who acknowledge their imperfection.

Can you name any group as large as Christians, according to NPR around 2.2 billion, that does not have members involved in all of the above mentioned sins?   Perhaps rather than ask if this group or that group sins, we should ask what do men need because of their sins?

What do you think?