Summary:
If they think their actions make them worthy of God’s love or that they are better than you, they are hypocrites! If they communicate that good deeds or religious activities will justify a person before God, they don’t understand the basic message of the Bible. God makes it clear that none of us meet His standard of “good enough” (we have a root focus on “self”). According to the Bible, doing good things is how a person should respond to love, not how they earn it.
A little more:
The message of the Bible is that we are all imperfect and this world is a place for us to see that and learn from it. God is doing as we do with our children. We nurture them AND we give them freedom. We watch them grow and encourage them along the way. We encourage them to listen….. Some will grow in wisdom and some will make many foolish decisions. But, either way, we love them because we parent out of love, not based on their good deeds. No matter how perfect the parent does their job, their offspring still end up imperfect because of their free will. But hopefully they listen and feel loved and decide to trust loving and wiser parents.
You probably think that you have things down pretty good and you are not a hypocrite as we mostly tend to self-evaluate against our own values framework. Things might come out differently if using someone else’s framework. Then there is God’s framework which looks at our heart attitudes and how much we actually love others in practice.
Summary: So, are Christians hypocrites? Yes, some are hypocrites. Are some Christians clueless? Yes, some are clueless. In some ways, you likely are also… Does that make God imperfect? No, it means He gives us choice and provides loving guidance. Perfect parenting cannot guarantee a perfect child. It is up to us, God’s children, to listen, trust and act accordingly.
Bible references:
- Romans 3:23-24 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus
- Romans 11:6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.
- 1 John 3:16 We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.