A Call To All Hypocrites Series

You can listen to this sermon at https://www.npbc.org.au/podcasts/media

1 John 1:5-2:2

“A Call To All Hypocrites”

In this sermon series we will continually see how John is connecting his teaching to the main them found in 1 John 5:13

13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

As believers, which most of us are, we sit in this space where we seek to live faithfully as believers. At the same time we face an accusation that is regularly stated.

Christians are hypocrites!

And there are times … too many times … when the accusation seems well deserved.

Years ago there was a publication called the Christian Business Directory.

It was famous … or should I say infamous.

Too often I would hear people say that they had been so burnt by businesses listed in the directory that they used the Directory as a guide for who NOT to call.

The accusation was clear. Some Christians who were listed in the Directory were hypocrites.

Hypocrites.

It is an accusation which reflects the reality that, as Christians, we do not live a consistent Christian witness.

We say we want to be one sort of person … a Christ follower …

… who is loving and compassionate.

… who has a reign over their tongue.

… who is patient and full of hope.

Yet, in reality, we are a different person …

We are quick to judge and lack empathy.

We gossip and speak behind the backs of others.

We have a short fuse and is full of doubts.

You hypocrite!

It isn’t just an accusation directed by others to yourself.

We are well aware of our own personal hypocrisy.

You know what you are like when you think no-one is looking … at least when no other Christians are looking. There are so many inconsistencies. You often lose the battle. Sometimes it is spiritually ugly.

And the thoughts that you think. In 2 Corinthians 10:5 Paul says that “we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” Your thoughts are not captive and obedient … they are running wild completely off any sort of leash.

You don’t need others to tell you. It is self-evident.

I am a hypocrite.

In the struggle against sin … you know the truth.

But … well sometimes we don’t like to be confronted by the truth.

Or … we don’t really want to make the changes necessary to move away from the hypocrisy.

In fact, there are parts of the hypocrisy that we kind of like.

So we start to develop different versions of ourselves.

… The Sunday go-to-church version.

… The Monday I’m-at-work version.

… The Wednesday at-Connect Group version.

… The Friday with-my-secular-friends version.

When the Sunday version of you meets the Friday version of you, the Sunday version looks to the ground and shakes their head and says … “Hypocrite!”

And, if we are hypocrites, can we know that we have eternal life?

So, are you a hypocrite? Let’s find out because Scripture calls out to hypocrites.

The calling is found in 1 John 1:5-2:2

1:5 This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.

8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His Word is not in us.

2:1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

These verses are calling out to all hypocrites.

The word hypocrite, comes from the Greek word “hypokrites” … which literally translated means “an interpreter from underneath.” It was used to describe actors in ancient Greek and Roman theatre who wore large masks to show which character they were playing. Actors interpreted the story from underneath their masks.

The actor was one person. The mask was a totally different person which the actor wanted to portray to the audience.