Hypocritical believers can distort our perception of God and weaken our faith in him.
Each Sunday, sanctuaries are filled with pastors, priests, and parishioners who struggle with the same weaknesses and exhibit the same destructive behaviors as those who never attend church.
Legalistic believers exalt themselves and judge others without mercy. Callous believers live selfishly and ignore those in need. Misguided believers abuse their faith to justify all manner of evil.
The church, as an institution, has been too tolerant of hate and bigotry within its ranks and too slow to rid itself of immoral leaders.
We should not be surprised by this reality.
The Bible does not hide the flaws of its heroes, a group that includes murderers, adulterers, human rights abusers, prostitutes, and traitors. Several New Testament books address problems in the early church that persist to this day.
Here is what we need to keep in mind.
The misbehavior of reborn believers is extraneous to the Bible’s integrity and its relevance to us.
Think of it this way.
The unlawful conduct of police officers and judges does not nullify the criminal statutes they violate. These ordinances still apply to us.
Likewise, the hypocrisy of reborn believers does not invalidate the Bible’s moral, ethical, and theological truths. They still apply to us.
Here is the bottom line.
God is always worthy of our worship, even when his followers are unworthy of our admiration.
