We’re All Hypocrites – (at one point or another)

(click on the pick to listen to it) All of us have ideas of who Jesus is …. Some of them are right and some of them are wrong.
A little 8-year-old named Danny Dutton of Chula Vista wrote this when asked on a homework assignment who Jesus was:
Jesus is God’s Son. He used to do all the hard work like walking on water and performing miracles and trying to teach the people who didn’t want to learn about God. They finally got tired of Him preaching to them and they crucified Him. But He was good and kind like His Father and He told His Father that they didn’t know what they were doing and to forgive them and God said OK. His Dad (God) appreciated everything that He had dome and all His hard work on earth so He told Him He didn’t have to go out on the road anymore, He could stay in heaven. So He did. And now He helps His Dad out by listening to prayers and seeing things which are important for God to take care of and which ones He can take care of Himself without having to bother God. Like a secretary only more important. You can pray anytime you want and they are sure to hear you because they got it worked out so one of them is on duty all the time.

Several years ago, I met with a young man who just happened to stop by the church and wanted to talk. I told him that Jesus loved him so much that He went to the cross and died for him. I remember his response, he said, “I have never heard of that Jesus before.” And this past Summer at our local water park where we hold our annual outreach event, the people who worked behind the desk didn’t know that Jesus died on a cross.

Not everyone knows who Jesus is.

Before Jesus comes on to the scene in the New Testament, people were stressed out and worn out trying to please God. They were so busy trying to do good in order to be good they couldn’t see how good life was. They were trying to follow all the ridiculous laws (which was humanly impossible) set up by the religious leaders to let people know how well they were doing at pleasing God. As you could imagine they couldn’t enjoy God because they never quite measured up.  They always needed a little more holiness and  a few more good deeds before God could accept them. They were basically wearing themselves out. Before Jesus came onto the scene they saw God as a legislator, a judge, a law-enforcer, a cosmic policeman who was obsessed with keeping people in line.

It is in this context that Jesus says this:

Matthew 11:28-30 – “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

To put it in a nutshell – he was telling them I have come to make life easier. When Jesus said, I am going to make your life easier – people probably gasped! The people were sick and tired of failing to please God. They could never measure up. Serving God, to them, was hard work.

If following Jesus is hard work for you or you feel like you are always failing God – then you are probably not following Jesus.
If you are straining to live a holy life and you keep failing then you are probably not following Jesus.
If you are constantly worried about your own sin or about everybody else’s sin – then you are probably not following Jesus.
If you are trying hard not to sin – then you are probably not following Jesus.
If you are trying hard to be good – then you are probably not following Jesus.

These are the things that wear us out. These are things that convince us we are not good enough for God. These are the things keep us worried. These are the things that burden us down. These are the things that keep us emotionally and mentally exhausted. These are the things that keep us from following Jesus. If following Jesus isn’t making your life easier – well – you are probably not following Jesus. 

Being in a relationship with Christ is not an added burden. The reason why our relationship with Jesus becomes such a burden is because we make the relationship with Jesus about us. When it’s about us we try harder to please God. When it’s about us we work harder for God. When it’s about us we get busier for God.

God has never asked us to try harder, work harder, or get busier. He simply says, come to me and find rest. I will make your life easier.  A lot of people think that when Jesus came to make life easier, He will give them the house they need. He will give them the amount of money they need. He will provide the right job. He will provide all the resources we need to make life easier. That’s not what Jesus meant by making your life easier.

What’s going to make your life easier is realizing is that Jesus is the point! He is all you need. We will never be at rest as long as we are carrying the burden of trying to please God by our good deeds. It is impossible and it is unnecessary. Jesus was the only who could, and he has already done it, so we need to learn to rest in his completed work. When you enter into a relationship with Jesus you learn to rest.  Meaning, you know there is no way you can be holy without being in relationship with Jesus. You know there is no way you can meet the requirements of perfection set up by the religious leaders.  Jesus has already met all the requirements – you don’t have to. This is why we feel like a failure in our walk with Jesus most of the time. We just can’t measure up. We can’t perform well enough. We can’t do enough.

The bottom line is we are all hypocrites. We all fail in our walk with Jesus. All Christians everywhere are hypocrites. We say we need to pray more – but we don’t. We say we need to spend more time in the Word – but we don’t. We say we need to serve more – but we don’t. We say we will tithe to the church some time – but we don’t. Let’s be honest, if our talk doesn’t match our walk or our walk doesn’t match our talk then you are a hypocrite. Sorry to be a kill joy – but we all knows it true. Every church should be renamed and include the word hypocrites in the title.

I’ll never forget the pastor I worked with for 12 years, who I had a great admiration for, shared a story about when he went into Wal-mart looking for a certain kind screw. Well, he found the screw he needed in a package that had the whole parts assembly. He didn’t need the whole part – he just needed the screw.  He opened up the package neatly. Took the screw. And put the package back on the hanger. And walked out of the store. I could remember thinking, “No way!”, “He couldn’t have done that” – he’s the most holy man I know!

All of us have been hypocrites at some point on our journey. One important note here: When you turn 80 you stop being a hypocrite because I have been told that at the age of 80 you know everything.

I know plenty of Christians who beat themselves up daily because they can’t measure up, or can’t do enough, or don’t pray enough, or don’t read their Bible enough. This  is just as sinful as those who choose not to follow Jesus. It is called a false humility. It is what I call constipated Christianity. These people are always grumpy. They never experience joy. They are so worried about their own sin or about everybody else’s sin – that they can’t enjoy life. They are always under conviction and hardly ever experience the joy of the Lord. Who wants to be around spiritually constipated, grumpy, joyless, Christians? These kinds of people would do God a favor by not advertising they are a Christian. They need to take the bumper stickers off their car that say how much they love Jesus.

But this doesn’t mean we are not worthy of being Christ –followers. It simply means we need to be honest about who are and realize that Jesus went to the cross and died for that and we no longer have to be a slave to it.

Romans 6:6 tells us,

“We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.”

God knew the people Israel could never keep the whole law. That’s why he instituted an elaborate system of sacrifices from the very beginning. The law was not meant to perfect people, just to lead them toward God.

He is wanting us to come to the end of ourselves so we can discover the grace that He freely offers through Jesus. God knew that we would never measure up. God knew we would try to please him. God knew we would try to work hard. Forgiveness, compassion, and mercy lead us back to Him. When we put our faith in Him, we are made righteous. You will be no more righteous in 20 years than the first day you put your faith in him. We spend a lot of time and energy trying to make ourselves look righteous and be righteous. We spend a lot of time trying to be more righteous than others. We look at other Christians who have failed and say, “I’m more righteous than they are.” We look at other Christians who are doing things we disagree with and say “I’m glad I’m not like that sinner.” The end result of this kind of righteousness  is that we become self-righteous or spiritually constipated. 

Your faith journey is about growing from the inside out. In others words, as you follow Jesus you become selfless. John 3:30 reminds us that “he must become greater and we must become less”. This is the journey of every believer. God is simply wanting us to become obsessed with Jesus. Not be obsessed with perfecting ourselves, or trying to measure up, or do more because we think that as soon as we do God will love us more.

You will never be more righteous than you are today – just let him become greater.