Posted on 01/24/2015 4:44:59 AM PST by Kaslin
All you then have to do is keep out of his mind the question, “If I, being what I am, can consider that I am in some sense a Christian, why should the different vices of those people in the next pew prove that their religion is mere hypocrisy and convention?” – C.S. Lewis
Moses murdered an Egyptian and hid his body in the sand. David had a loyal soldier killed in battle to cover up his infidelity with the man’s wife. Peter denied Christ three times before the cock crowed even though he knew He was the Messiah.
These were great men, champions of Christianity, heroes for the ages – and yet they were flawed and weak. Do you really think the Christians we look up to today are any better? Maybe they are, but I suspect if we knew the secret sins of people like Billy Graham, Rick Warren, and Mother Teresa, then we wouldn’t have as high an opinion of their character. However, that says more about us than it does about them because there was only one perfect man who walked the earth and the rest of us have feet of clay. Sinning comes with the territory and all of us do it. That’s why we’ve been told to, “Love the sinner, hate the sin.”
Of course, it’s not always so simple. It’s easy to think of a person who does something bad as someone bad – and that’s often not the case. As John Watson said, “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” People get depressed, exhausted, hurt, confused and lost. In their pain, sometimes they sin to try to fill that hole in themselves even though they know what they’re doing is wrong.
Ever listened to someone telling you about cheating on her spouse, heard about how bad her home life is and think, “I don’t condone cheating, but I’m not sure I blame her?” Have you been told about something a person did that was undeniably wrong, but you’ve thought, “That’s a tough situation and I’m not sure I would have done anything differently?” So often, I’ve heard someone tell me about something awful he’s done and thought, “There but for the grace of God go I.”
What do you do in the face of that kind of ambiguity? How do you handle it when you’re talking to a good and decent person who has done something bad?
Too often, the modern response has been to steer clear of the whole dilemma by waving off any and all standards of moral behavior. After all, if you have no standards, then how can you be accused of not living up to them when you fall short? If everything is permissible, then how can you be condemned for being a hypocrite?
The problem with that sort of thinking is that it’s trying to live to God’s standards that carves us into better human beings. If we have no standards, then it’s easy to be content to roll around in the sewer. If we make our own standards, then being what we are, we’ll make them very lax in the areas where we’re weak. Only by trying to live up to tough standards set by a Higher Power can we really achieve our greatest potential as human beings and become everything we ought to be.
That doesn’t mean it’s simple. Going down that road means that we sometimes are unable to excuse the behavior of people we care about or people who are hurting. It can also cause turmoil when good people we admire don’t live up to their moral code and there are consequences for their behavior. You can’t follow the pastor who’s having an affair, agree with the friend who’s stealing from his job to pay his bills, or cheer on the politician who’s lying to achieve his goals.
The whole process is messy, ugly, uneven and, yes, sometimes even hypocritical, but it’s what it takes for us to grow. If it requires a bit of hypocrisy now and again for flawed, broken creatures like us to try to serve our fellow man the way God intended, then that’s a small price to pay.
Moses and David were not champions of Christianity.
Excellent point. Without an authoritative moral guide, I think we all have a tendency to determine that what we want to do right now is "right."
God is in charge. God forgives the sinner. God sent His Son to take the sins of each individual and the sins of each individual were crucified with Christ Jesus. It is odd God forgives it is ones fellow Christians that cannot forgive and forget. It is Christians that have the tendency to shot their own wounded. So david and moses sinned through murder - they ask for forgiveness of their sins. Peter was told by Christ Jesus that he would deny him three times, Peter stated no he would not but did anyhow. Look at Judas Iscariot he sold Christ for 30 pieces of silver than hung himself. Did Peter, David, or Moses take their own life because of the magnitude of their sins. No out of their weakness God used them mightily to do His work.
Yes, I thought that was an awkward phrase, Perhaps “true Men of God” would have been better. But, to the author’s defense, no one is perfect and we just try as best we can.
> Moses and David were not champions of Christianity
I disagree. Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s covenant. However, the Old Testament heroes were aware of that covenant, though obviously they did not know what form it would take at the time, though the prophets foretold how it might. Their faith was rendered unto them as righteousness before God. That they sit with God today means that they championed a faith that God would fulfill His promise. And He did through Jesus Christ.
Great column, thank you :-)
You are welcome
I agree
God forgives us sinners if we ask for forgiveness with seriousness
John 20:29 Revised Standard Version (RSV)
29 Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe.”
I put Moses and David in this category. And think of the transfiguration. Moses and Elijah were with God as jesus was revealed in His glory.
Correct .. because Christianity did not exist before Christ death. It was Jesus who ushered in Christianity.
The Bible is a history of the continual revelation of humans concerning the things of GOD.
It’s not an awkward phrase. It is incorrect.
You are free to disagree, but you and the author would still be wrong.
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hypocrite
hypocrite
[hip-uh-krit]
noun
1. a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, especially a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.
2. a person who feigns some desirable or publicly approved attitude, especially one whose private life, opinions, or statements belie his or her public statements.
The word “hypocrite” is often used in a manner inconsistent with its origin (meaning “actor”) and its connotation (that the claimed beliefs are only acted and are insincere). While most Christians from time to time act in a manner that is not in accord with Christian beliefs, this is not evidence of hypocrisy, just human imperfection. I think we are far too intimidated by the words “hypocrisy” and “hypocrite”. We need to stand up and say: “No, I am not a hypocrite, just imperfect. That is why we all need Jesus in our lives.”
The question becomes....
Will we tear apart good, decent men in the primaries again?
Will we let the left dig into our candidate’s past and dredge up some semi-muck to crucify them? Will we drive those nails in ourselves forgetting the very words from this article?
God often takes the least among us and makes them leaders. The left is scared to death that one day we’ll realize that grace from God. The day we stop condemning candidates for their flaws and act as God with grace, we will find the next leader of our nation.
“God forgives us sinners if we ask for forgiveness with seriousness”
This is the point which is being eliminated slowly over time, just like our liberties in this country -
it’s called REPENTANCE.
Our relationships with God and our salvation swings on repentance. Yet that word, that act is being swept out of Christianity these days. It is hardly taught any more. We all want to hear about forgiveness, but don’t want to hear about repentance.
There is nothing that frees a soul to God’s love and joy like repentance. It’s there that God wipes the slate clean and awesome things happen.
Thank you for your clarifying post. It did my heart good!
If by “champions of Christianity” you understand “men who championed Christianity”, of course they weren’t. What the author meant is “men whom Christianity holds up as champions”, and that both the Holy Prophet Moses, the Lawgiver, and the Holy Prophet and Psalmist David, the King (to give them the full titles under which we Orthodox commemorate them on their saints days — yes, we have saints days for the saints under the Old Covenant) most assuredly are.
There are dozens of events in Moses life which the Church sees as prefiguring Christ or events in His earthly ministry.
David is held up as the exemplar of repentance. Psalm 50 (Psalm 51 for those of you who favor the numbering from the Masorete), composed after his rebuke by the Holy Prophet Nathan for as a hymnographer wrote “joining adultery with murder”, is the only Psalm said in its entirety in the Divine Liturgy (in the priest’s prayers, so most people don’t hear it), and occurs in both the Third Hour and both Small and Great Compline.
This Godly standards of Christians issue is a game with the un-godly. They love to point out the sins, hence hypocrisy, of the “Godly” while they themselves quite openly enjoy the total debauchery of their lifestyles as they have no Heavenly standard to live up to.
That’s why Paul implores us to live blamelessly. And when, not if, we do fail, we confess privately for our private sin, and publicly for our public sin, and REPENT!
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