“All Christians are Hypocrites”, and Why I’m Not Religious Anymore

Religion and the internet.

Name a more controversial duo.

I was browsing one of my favorite subreddits yesterday when I was reminded of that troublesome pairing. There was a post describing a young man’s difficult choice and how his religion led him to make it. He was a fellow Christian whose stance I agreed with, but I knew he’d get torn apart for it.

The comments were predictably full of “that’s impractical”, “he’s been indoctrinated”, “don’t force your beliefs on us” type of responses—all of which are common to those who share unpopular beliefs.

I’m numb to that noise now so I just kept scrolling, but it wasn’t long before I saw the one statement that never fails to confuse me:

“All Christians are hypocrites.”

Look, I’m a Reddit lurker, not an active user, so I didn’t take time to respond then. Comments, tweets, and gossip are cheap anyway. And the last thing I wanted was a page-long debate with a keyboard warrior.

I just so happen to cover theology here on a site built for discussion like this though. So if you’re reading this Mister “3lit3_sh0tz27”, this one’s for you.

They Are Who We Thought They Were

“All Christians are hypocrites.”

That statement confuses me because it stems from a misunderstanding of what Christianity is.

From what I gather by experience with non-religious friends, loved ones, and in this case, random people on the internet, Christianity—and religion in general—is about being a good person.

This in turn means that everyone who claims the faith must do good at all times in order for it to be valid. But while there is good reasoning in this logic, it’s too black-and-white to be fully true.

For one, the Christian faith isn’t about being a good person. It’s about recognizing that you aren’t one, and finding the life-saving, yet currently imperfect solution to that problem. (I say “currently imperfect” since Christians still do wrong—hence the hypocrite label.)

Even if Christians were to do good at all times though, their idea of good would inevitably clash with that of the culture, and this would lead to the faith’s dismissal even if no wrong occurred.

But if we stick to the notion that Christianity should be dismissed because its followers act contrarily to their claims, we must first go to the source to see what those claims actually are.

Because if you’re looking for biblical evidence that says Christians never do wrong, you’re out of luck:

For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.

So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. (Rom. 7:18-21 NIV)

These verses describe the apostle Paul’s struggle with sin in his life. And if the man who wrote a large chunk of the New Testament admitted he was a “hypocrite”, it’s no surprise that other Christians face the same problem.

Ecclesiastes also presented this truth in the Old Testament:

Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins. (Eccles. 7:20 NASB)

And the apostle John followed with the same idea:

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:8 NIV)

No matter how clean some Christians appear or how outspoken they are, they will always contend with a form of evil in their life.

So since this problem is common among all Christians—even the ones who should know better—you’d think God would be angry at us all the time. At least that’s how most people think of God: as a harsh, unforgiving, ban-you-to-hell-because-of-what-you-did-in-second-grade Person. But these next verses from the book of Psalms paint a different picture:

Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. (Psalm 103:13-14 NASB)

God knows everything about our fragile makeup and the condition of our nature—He has compassion on us because of it.

He knows the Christian life involves doing the unnatural. And He knows we would never succeed without His help.

Those are two of the many reasons why He’s patient with us “hypocrites.”

Now of course, we shouldn’t use the reality of our sin nature as an excuse (Rom. 6:1-2). “Christians” who habitually sin may just be proving their lack of genuine faith (1 John 3:9 ESV, 1 John 2:19 ESV).

But the sin nature’s existence leads to very real effects. And when the goal is to literally be perfect (Matt. 5:48), it’s understandable how all of us fall short of the mark (Rom. 3:23).

So if your criticism is that all Christians are hypocrites, the Bible pretty much says, “You’re not wrong.”

But another frustrating point about this critique is that hypocrisy is everywhere, not just inside the church:

• Do you think the girl you met in the club is the same person without her makeup?
• Do you think people’s lives are as perfect as they are on Instagram?
• Do you think all these rappers have as much money as their lyrics suggest?

Hypocrites are everywhere. So the real question is, which ones do want to meet?

The sin nature present in all humans is what makes Christians hypocrites. The only difference is we’re given the desire and the strength to contain it.

It’s possible for others to share that desire to do good, but they won’t have the strength to consistently carry it out. Or to echo the words of Jesus Himself, “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak” (Matt. 26:41 NIV).

And this is why Scripture says, “Without faith, it is impossible to please Him” (Heb. 11:6).

“…But I’m Not Religious”

Now besides the whole hypocrite argument, I see more and more people are just tired of religion in general.

They hear about Jesus and the Bible and all they can think about are the dry church services their parents dragged them to as kids.

That’s why the “spiritual but not religious” sentiment is so popular these days. We all want the healing our fallen nature longs for (Is. 53:5), but we don’t want the accountability, the organization, or the books that religion brings.

So we try to meditate our way to happiness. We obsess over “positive energy.” Or we decipher what “the Universe” is doing.

And I get that.

I get that because I know we all secretly want the same thing.

We want the happiness without the rules, the love without the monotony, and the satisfaction without the restriction.

That’s why it’s so common to hear this:

“I like what you’re saying, but I’m not religious.”

And you know my answer to that?

“Cool. I’m not either.”

I traded in my “religion” for something much more valuable: a relationship.

So now I’m not a guy who blindly follows outdated rules, I’m not a man who denies himself pleasure for the sake of it, and I’m not just a reader of a Book that’s thousands of years old…

I’m a friend of God.

Yes, I had to be schooled in Christianity to learn the X’s and O’s. And yes, I still study Scripture to learn more about what it says and to grow in my faith. But it wasn’t until I applied my knowledge that the relationship really grew. That was when I became a doer of the Word and not just a hearer only (James 1:22).

So now all those “fairytales” don’t sound quite as outlandish. They’re more believable now than they ever were when I was a kid.

You know why?

Because I’ve experienced it.

And because of my actions, other people have too.

They may not be able to explain it. They can’t quite put their finger on it. But they can’t doubt what they’ve seen with their own eyes.

Yeah, I consider myself a smart guy. I made good grades in college and I contribute at a good job, but I know there’s no way I did some of this stuff on my own:

• How else does a dude recover from a public meltdown at school, turn the enemies he made into friends, and then have them cheer his name in that same auditorium?
• How else does he catch a virus the night before hitting up a girl who would’ve ruined his life?
• How else does he stumble upon the very activity his pastor said he’d do 15 years earlier?

It’s too many coincidences to be a coincidence. And that’s without me mentioning the other signs that would take far too long to explain.

That’s why I don’t get mad when people tell me I’ve been indoctrinated or that my beliefs aren’t logical. Because you know what they’re really saying?

“I haven’t experienced it.”

There’s no way you could experience something this good and have anything bad to say about it.

This is why I stress the importance of a relationship with God—it’s so much different than the common idea of religion:

• Religion forces you to follow rules and tradition for no apparent reason. A relationship makes you act a certain way because you love the other person.
• Religion builds walls between people who don’t agree with how life should be lived. A relationship builds bridges because you’re eager to tell how awesome the other person is.
• Religion gets old quickly and it’s tiresome to stick to. A relationship constantly develops as its members become nearly identical.

It’s a relationship with Someone who’s proven His love time and time again. And even when He allows me to go through some horrible stuff, I know He still has the both of our best interests at heart (Rom. 8:28 NASB).

That’s why I love my faith.

A lot of people get into religion to gain the moral high ground or to manifest their ideal life. But truth be told, the Bible wasn’t written to make America great again or to show you how to live your best life now…

It was written to point you to the Author.  

And if you know Him, you have everything.

I know what He likes (Psalm 33:5) and what He doesn’t like (Prov. 6:16-19). So I act accordingly.

I don’t act this way because I’m a Conservative—I couldn’t care less about politics. I don’t do it because I’m trying to save the world with my keyboard either.

I do it because I know Him. And He’s good.

I’ve heard people say Christians are crazy for believing the stuff we do. But I’ve always felt moral atheists were the ones who haven’t thought through it all.

Because if there is no God, and if there is no eternal consequence for your actions, then why try so hard to be good?

What, for people to like you? So they can think you’re a good person?

Please.

If I didn’t believe in a loving God who cares about His creation, I’d be every bit of the monster I was falsely painted as.

Sure, I’d still have to worry about the law, but there’s ways around that. There’s a ton of immoral stuff that’s perfectly legal anyway.

So why not humiliate every person you hate? Why not sleep with as many people as possible? Why not do any and everything to get your own satisfaction?

You’d be the only one who mattered. You wouldn’t be accountable to anyone else.

I know I’d just be doing what came naturally to me. And to be honest, it would feel pretty good.

“But what about society?!”

Who cares about society?

I’d have my few years here to live it up and then I’d be gone. The quality of your grandchildren’s lives would mean nothing to me.

But thank God it’s not like that. 

He cares too much to just watch us cause havoc.

He knows our inclinations. He knows our weaknesses. And somehow, He still thinks we’re worth the effort.

That’s the God I know.

I hope you get to know Him too.

Always Have An Answer

I said it before and I’ll say it again:

Comments, tweets, and gossip are cheap.

If you can’t express an opinion or defend your argument with more effort, it must not be important. But hopefully my work here will be worthwhile.

I truly do love my faith and I can’t imagine my life without it. That’s why I always discuss it here—because I know it will help you.

So as always, please be respectful with any comments, questions, or concerns (stuff like this can get out of hand real quick).

And if you have anything that provokes enough thought, you might see another 2,000-word response soon.

-Drew

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• Ben White
• Priscilla du Preez
• KEEM IBARRA
• Kevin Pire
• Tony Eight Media

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