How do you respond to "Christians are hypocrites"?

friend of said:

When sharing the faith every so often as we are called to do it can't be uncommon to encounter the phrase "I'm not a Christian because all Christians are hypocrites" or something similar.

How do you refocus the conversation away from negativity and back on promoting the gospel in a positive way?

For myself, I have to nod and agree and respect that they feel this way before going on about my own experience with the gospel and how it's completely changed my life, hoping that they will respect in kind.

How do you demonstrate to acquaintances that Christians aren't all hypocrites?

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Maybe this might help you think of something...
The True Cure for Hypocrisy

friend of said:

When sharing the faith every so often as we are called to do it can't be uncommon to encounter the phrase "I'm not a Christian because all Christians are hypocrites" or something similar.

How do you refocus the conversation away from negativity and back on promoting the gospel in a positive way?

For myself, I have to nod and agree and respect that they feel this way before going on about my own experience with the gospel and how it's completely changed my life, hoping that they will respect in kind.

How do you demonstrate to acquaintances that Christians aren't all hypocrites?

Click to expand...

I say “Please forgive me. I will try to do better.”

I think one reason we appear hypocritical (and are, in fact) is that the standard is set so high that we can’t help but fail to meet it. We are all in a process of spiritual growth, but I at least want to appear and to be at a higher level than I am at.

friend of said:

How do you respond to "Christians are hypocrites"?

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"God won't let you hide behind another's perceived faithlessness."

Everyone's a hypocrite. Unless we are extremely loose and have no moral code whatsoever, there will always be times that we fail to live up to what we profess, no matter what creed we follow.

I don't skirt the comment. I'll ask them to share their experiences and I listen. Sometimes I've experienced the same. It isn't a question of moving the discussion back to a positive place but meeting the person where they are here and now. It is impossible to predict what will follow. But I believe it's better to be heard than ignored. Their next encounter may fare better because of our discussion.

My view of a hypocrite is a "pretender." I think we ought to immediately apologize for our specific shortcomings and strive to overcome them.

Jesus said:

21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. 22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? 23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. 24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father's which sent me.
John 14:21-24

Ask yourself if you really love Jesus.

friend of said:

Thanks for the link. This part was really good. But I'm wondering how to impart this to others who are skeptical of Christianity when I'm evangelizing. What should I say to sum this up? "Christians aren't perfect"? It seems like the skeptics and critics of Christianity really expect perfection from us.


The third man wants to avoid hypocrisy in his life, but at the same time, he has a deep sense of his own imperfection. So he takes on no air in infallibility, but sets out to be genuine. His genuineness soon becomes apparent to others. He does not claim perfection, but he strives for perfection. As he worships God, he does not claim to be perfect as a worshipper, but when the singing begins he gives his heart to what he's doing; when the prayer is led, he listens and makes the prayer his prayer; during the supper he meditates on the suffering of the Lord; and throughout the sermon he participates in a study of God's word; if his mind wanders, he brings it back; and when the worship period ends, he asks God to forgive him for his failure and to accept his worship in spite of his imperfection. When he goes to his job, he does not claim perfection among his fellow workers, but they know that he will try to give eight hours of work for eight hours of pay; that he is trustworthy; that he is pure in speech and life; and that if he is ever overcome by pressure around him to sin, he will humbly seek the forgiveness of those who have been wronged.

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Yes, they do apply one persons guilt to the entire group of Christians. I suppose the first step would be having the person realize that they cannot apply sins of one, two, three, whatever, to the entire groups as a whole. In which case you can say that atheists, agnostics, etc are hypocrites as well, if they wish to use such logic.

Maybe involve such scripture as Romans 3:23 or even 1 John 1. Also the parables of the seeds that fell upon each different ground (see also Matt 7:13-14 and 21-23) to show them that not all who claim to be christian, are chirstian. We know them by their fruits, right?

Really, all you can do is reveal logic to them in this sense, and if they are moved by your logic positively, all you can do is use scripture. It's up to them if they wish to hear. It would behoove you and any Christian to pray for them to open up their hearts to the message brought as well.

It takes WAY more faith to be an Atheist or agnostic. They believe in theories that cannot be proven, have no stable ground to debate with, and are outright against the science they hold so dear for their proof. (ie Law of Causality, biogenesis, 1st and 2nd laws of thermodynamics, etc)

Well... talk about what Christ HAS is doing for YOU!

I like what Nadia Bolz-Weber used to say to newcomers at All Sinners and Saints Lutheran Church, "Welcome...we are the church and we will disappoint you."

We're all flawed human beings trying to do our best and sometimes failing. That is sometimes going to look like hypocrisy.

If you let someone know that you are a Christian you are from that point forward acting as if an ambassador of Christ so please try to be your best self because I had times in my life where I told others that I was a Christian and my behavior did not show it and I now recognized this is very very bad and you dont want to ever turn a person away from Christ. I suggest you show upmost humility and respect around others who know you as being Christian being that God entrusted you with his word of saving faith. Remember that God will hold those people accountable who use his name in and unloving or profane way and declare themselves Christians yet act in a way that disparages him. Be respectful to everyone and be humble even under insult! those two things I know that helped me as I wish to share the gospel with others.

friend of said:

When sharing the faith every so often as we are called to do it can't be uncommon to encounter the phrase "I'm not a Christian because all Christians are hypocrites" or something similar.

How do you refocus the conversation away from negativity and back on promoting the gospel in a positive way?

For myself, I have to nod and agree and respect that they feel this way before going on about my own experience with the gospel and how it's completely changed my life, hoping that they will respect in kind.

How do you demonstrate to acquaintances that Christians aren't all hypocrites?

Click to expand...

Seems you're on the right track.

By clearly living out "love your neighbor as yourself" we can show what the real thing is. To sympathetically listen is one part of love. I'd totally agree with someone wanting to avoid hypocrisy. I'd say, "Christ tells us to love one another."

friend of said:

Right, but this answer isn't going to suffice a skeptic. They're just going to take it as you brushing them off.

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To the skeptic, one might inquire with them about the nature of truth. For example, does the truth of the laws of nature, or the primary laws of logic depend on anybody's ability to be logically consistent and cogent at all times? Well no. So how do we account for non-material, eternal, universal, necessary laws of logic? Other examples could be given and this one could be better explained, but you get the idea.

If we needed to have perfect obedience before we could teach to repent from our sin, then none of us would be able to share the Gospel, so a key component of hypocrisy is insincerity where we hold ourselves to a different standard than we hold for others. Christians do not become sinless on the day that we accept Christ, but rather we are works in progress that will not be completed until he who began a good work in us is faithful to complete it on the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6). In Titus 2:11-14, our salvation is described as being trained by grace to do what is godly, righteous, and good, and to renounce doing what is ungodly, so again it is an ongoing process, and we're all going to make mistakes. The the issue is not that Christians are perfect people, but that we are people who sincerely repent when we do sin.

friend of said:

When sharing the faith every so often as we are called to do it can't be uncommon to encounter the phrase "I'm not a Christian because all Christians are hypocrites" or something similar.

How do you refocus the conversation away from negativity and back on promoting the gospel in a positive way?

For myself, I have to nod and agree and respect that they feel this way before going on about my own experience with the gospel and how it's completely changed my life, hoping that they will respect in kind.

How do you demonstrate to acquaintances that Christians aren't all hypocrites?

Click to expand...

I reply, "of course. We are all hypocrites in that we set our goal to be better people and better Christians all the time. And we fall short. But we strive to be better. If we aren't hypocrites in this sense, we are wasting our time."

I'm not better than another Christian or even a hypocrite because any good that I've done or do is the result of God working in me.

friend of said:

Thanks for the link. This part was really good. But I'm wondering how to impart this to others who are skeptical of Christianity when I'm evangelizing. What should I say to sum this up? "Christians aren't perfect"? It seems like the skeptics and critics of Christianity really expect perfection from us.


The third man wants to avoid hypocrisy in his life, but at the same time, he has a deep sense of his own imperfection. So he takes on no air in infallibility, but sets out to be genuine. His genuineness soon becomes apparent to others. He does not claim perfection, but he strives for perfection. As he worships God, he does not claim to be perfect as a worshipper, but when the singing begins he gives his heart to what he's doing; when the prayer is led, he listens and makes the prayer his prayer; during the supper he meditates on the suffering of the Lord; and throughout the sermon he participates in a study of God's word; if his mind wanders, he brings it back; and when the worship period ends, he asks God to forgive him for his failure and to accept his worship in spite of his imperfection. When he goes to his job, he does not claim perfection among his fellow workers, but they know that he will try to give eight hours of work for eight hours of pay; that he is trustworthy; that he is pure in speech and life; and that if he is ever overcome by pressure around him to sin, he will humbly seek the forgiveness of those who have been wronged.

Click to expand...

Everything should point to HIM.. by taking the focus off Jesus and onto man, they are attempting to avoid hearing Truth..

Put it back on Jesus, say "yes man is faulty that is why we need a savior.. if you want to see the perfect life lived look at His life" and follow it up by sharing something from Jesus' life in the Bible..

The focus must always be Christ, whenever someone moves away from Christ, put the spotlight right back on Him..