When I first began preparing for Sunday, I imagined myself speaking to someone who struggles with the faith because of the hypocrisy they perceive in the Church and among Christians. However, as I continued to reflect, it occurred to me that there will be a second audience for this sermon: all of us in the church, whose actions and attitudes erect barriers that prevent others from faith and the knowledge of God’s love for them. What are we in the church to do when, despite our best efforts, we actually become obstacles separating others from God?
My sermon
will be grounded in a passage from the Gospel of John, 7:53-8:11, which is the
story of “Jesus and the Woman Caught in Adultery.” I think that this scripture will be very
instructive, in terms of seeing how Jesus confronts religious hypocrisy.
In
preparing for the message on Sunday, I have been impressed by some observations
made by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons in their book, unChristian[1], based upon
opinion surveys which they conducted. Kinnaman and Lyons asked adult Christians to
identify the most important priorities for living a Christian life. The most popular response to this question,
with 35%, was “Lifestyle—doing the right thing, being good, not sinning.” Ironically, Kinnaman and Lyons observe that
in another survey, which they conducted among non-Christians, only 15% of these
respondents indicated that they could see a lifestyle difference between their
Christian friends and others.
Kinnaman
and Lyons conclude by observing that Christians “…lives are a poor
advertisement for these standards.
We [Christians] have set the game
board to register lifestyle points; then we are surprised to be trapped by our
own mistakes. The truth is [Christians] have invited the hypocrite image.”
I think
that Kinnaman and Lyons are on to something.
Although Christians should try to pattern their lives in such a way that
others see Christ reflected in their actions and attitudes, the truth is that
we remain finite, sinful human beings.
We make mistakes; we have the wrong attitude; we forget to love; and,
yes, we act like hypocrites. However, as
the old saying goes, “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.” For me, the most important thing about being
a Christian is not lifestyle. Rather, it
is knowing that God loves me, even though I am a sinner and I can be quite the
pompous hypocrite at times. I am a
Christian because this love enables me to flourish and be happier than I could
ever be on my own. But, in response to
God’s love for me, I love God and my neighbor and God’s Creation. Hopefully, my response of love to God results
in a lifestyle that is ethical and without too much hypocrisy.
This sermon is the fourth in a
series, called: “Confronting Our
Doubts.” For a complete listing of the
series, see my first post below. Through
confronting issues that raise doubts, I believe that we can gain deeper
understanding and a stronger faith. I
hope that this sermon will stimulate deeper reflection and understanding.
Feel free to post your comments on this blog. If you live in the Meriden-area and do not
have a regular church home, please consider attending Meriden United Methodist Church
this Sunday. Meriden UMC is located at
the corner of Dawson and Main. Our
worship service starts on Sundays at 10 am.
Everyone is welcome and accepted because God loves us all.
[1]
David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons, unChristian
(Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books,
2007), Chapter 3-“Hypocritical.”
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