Here is a verse I used to here often as a young child but I hardly hear anymore. As a man in Christ one is supposed to be a new creature. Old, bad habits are supposed to pass away. Good, better habits should make this old person new. A nice, positive outlook for God's child but one that much of the world had great difficulty agreeing with. If one does not measure up to this statement by the Lord: "all things are become new", the person is typically called a hypocrite. Let's stretch this command from Jesus out a little bit:
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here! II Corinthians 5:16-17 NIV
"So for now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view." Jesus tells us not to regard anyone from a worldly point of view. So does Jesus apply the word "hypocrite" as a typical person living in the planet earth would?
As a frequent commentator on online journal and articles, typically yahoo.com, I have read the words "hypocrite" on a frequent and just about daily basis. Myself have even had these words fired verbally to my face. Much of the accusations of hypocrisy comes from not even knowing the person, just simply blaming Christians for actions and wars committed by Romans, Americans, Israel, Confederate slave owners, Republicans, tens, hundreds, even thousands of years ago. The commentator assumes that these are all the same Christian as what Jesus previously defined in the Bible.
16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation II Corinthians 5:16-19 NIV.
Jesus answers all of these accusers by earlier stating that "from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view." That means that when President Obama bashes Christians for standing up against gay weddings by calling them Hypocrites, while ignoring the thousands of Christians being slaughtered by Muslims in countries like Nigeria, Somalia, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, and many others, we don't regard Christianity from his point of view. We don't allow people who praise gay marriages define who is and who is not a Christian. We don't allow people who openly disregard the punishment Christian Nigerians, Christians from Cameroon, and Niger are taking from Boko Haram to define who we are or who we are supposed to be as Christians. Those people are not themselves Christians and are trying to define Christianity outside of the Word of God which Jesus described as a Big No, No.
Jesus took great punishment from the world while He was walking the earth. He took brutal beatings and verbal abuse from the very same Boko Haram, Liberal - Christian taunting folks who don't themselves desire to obey the Bible but in return expect perfection from Christian people. Jesus loves us but in the same way He loves us, He expects the best from us.
60 Peter replied, “Man, I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times.”
62 And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Luke 22:60-62 New International Version (NIV)Jesus knew Peter's heart. The world would have called Peter a hypocrite. Jesus did not see Peter in a worldly point of view. It is time for Christians to take a long break from listening to the Oprah Winfrey's, Cyndi Lauper's, Bill Nye the Science Guy, and Madonna's. Writers from the Huffington Post who have made a career out of taunting Christianity, those people writing those articles don't know Jesus. "Obama?", well I will leave that comment for somebody else. Read our Bibles. Jesus will tell you what a real Christian is and who are the true hypocrites. And that is all we need.
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