Post by Les Brewer on Sept 13, 2012 7:46:00 GMT
Kurt Hayman
I know too Many hypocrites by Steve Ridgell
That statement is one of the great defenses against following Jesus. How can Jesus be the real thing if so many of his followers live just like everyone else? Please let me be clear here. I know there are real hypocrites in church. There are people who claim to be Christians, but have no intention of following Jesus. They say one thing while intending to do something very different. They are hypocrites, not Jesus followers. And I acknowledge there are Jesus followers who do things in their lives that are not what Jesus wants. But they are not hypocrites because that is not their intention. But I understand why it might confuse someone.
Sometimes people confuse who we were with who we are. Christians get more like Jesus over time. We treat people better, and we grow in our faith and practice. Christians decide to follow Jesus and we proclaim that publicly when we are baptized. But we spend the rest of ...our lives growing into what Jesus wants. So do not think that who we were is who we are.
Do not think that what we do is always who we are. Sometimes we Christians do something we should not have done. Or we fail to do something we should have done. That is not who we are. It is not our lifestyle. People think that a Christian commits a sin, then his Christian activities are living a lie. But for those living for Jesus, it is the sin that is the lie in our lives. The reality is Jesus. So do not confuse a sinful act with a sinful lifestyle.
But, what about the Christians who still have a lifestyle full of sin? Are they hypocrites? Do they invalidate the claims of Jesus? Not at all. Talk to one of us. You will find that we do not want to live contrary to Jesus. We are praying and working to change our actions to reflect our heart. And if you think our lives are still a mess, we know how much worse they would be without Jesus.
Yes, we Christians sin. But we are not hypocrites. Talk to us. We sin, we repent, we commit that with God's help we will become more like Jesus. And every day we become more like Jesus. Over time our life begins to reflect that. Yours can too.
I know too Many hypocrites by Steve Ridgell
That statement is one of the great defenses against following Jesus. How can Jesus be the real thing if so many of his followers live just like everyone else? Please let me be clear here. I know there are real hypocrites in church. There are people who claim to be Christians, but have no intention of following Jesus. They say one thing while intending to do something very different. They are hypocrites, not Jesus followers. And I acknowledge there are Jesus followers who do things in their lives that are not what Jesus wants. But they are not hypocrites because that is not their intention. But I understand why it might confuse someone.
Sometimes people confuse who we were with who we are. Christians get more like Jesus over time. We treat people better, and we grow in our faith and practice. Christians decide to follow Jesus and we proclaim that publicly when we are baptized. But we spend the rest of ...our lives growing into what Jesus wants. So do not think that who we were is who we are.
Do not think that what we do is always who we are. Sometimes we Christians do something we should not have done. Or we fail to do something we should have done. That is not who we are. It is not our lifestyle. People think that a Christian commits a sin, then his Christian activities are living a lie. But for those living for Jesus, it is the sin that is the lie in our lives. The reality is Jesus. So do not confuse a sinful act with a sinful lifestyle.
But, what about the Christians who still have a lifestyle full of sin? Are they hypocrites? Do they invalidate the claims of Jesus? Not at all. Talk to one of us. You will find that we do not want to live contrary to Jesus. We are praying and working to change our actions to reflect our heart. And if you think our lives are still a mess, we know how much worse they would be without Jesus.
Yes, we Christians sin. But we are not hypocrites. Talk to us. We sin, we repent, we commit that with God's help we will become more like Jesus. And every day we become more like Jesus. Over time our life begins to reflect that. Yours can too.
