A Church Where Even Hyprocrites Are Welcome

“An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbor: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered.” (Proverbs 11:9).
No one wants to be a hypocrite, yet if we are honest, we have all been a hypocrite at one time or another. The word “hypocrite” comes from the Greek word hupokrites, which means “an actor under an assumed character; stage player.” (Strong’s). In Greek plays, men portrayed all of the characters, both male and female. They wore masks for each character since one man might act out several different parts in the play. Unfortunately, church life can also be a full-scale production with Christians wearing various masks as they play out their different roles. Believers are often afraid to expose their hurts, struggles and temptations for fear of being judged or condemned as somehow “less than Christian.” We have a tendency in the church to kill off our wounded, instead of nursing them back to spiritual health. When a brother struggles, do we come to his aid, or do we gossip, back-bite, and kick him while he is down? Hypocrites! How can we condemn a man when we are guilty of sin ourselves? Are any of us without sin, that we may cast the first stone? Men of God, our churches are full of the walking wounded, who need the healing touch of the Great Physician and nurturing care from the body of Christ in order to fully recover. If we really want to do the Lord’s work, we will make our churches accessible to the wounded and hurting. We must either provide a safe haven for believers to be genuine and to confront unresolved issues that hinder their walk with the Lord, or we can continue to be hypocrites, wear our happy Christian masks and allow the show to go on.