A reflection

In my time, I've done a bit of reading in the area of Christian apologetics, and even though I'm not particularly gifted as an evangelist, I've also tried to share my faith with those outside the church. In doing this, people often put up a range of objections to Christianity. One of the most common ones you hear is that Christians are hypocrites.

This is a gross generalisation. Some of them are, but most of them aren't. Sometimes people who make such statements are making a valid observation. Even if they're not Christian themselves, they have some notion of what being a Christian means, and the standards that Christians are supposed to follow. They correctly see that those who claim to be Christian often fail to uphold these standards. Frequently we see high profile Christian leaders whose moral failings are widely publicised in the media. We also see church members whose moral failings are kept more private, by and large, even if the consequences are often the same.

This is a reminder that Christians don't follow other Christians; they follow Jesus Christ. He is our example, and the one we must answer to. The issue comes down to this. Never mind what other Christians do, who are after all, still flawed human beings. Even if some Christians are hypocrites, or whatever else they may be labelled as, irrespective of this, every individual still needs to consider where they stand before God. At some point, you need to personally consider the claims of Jesus upon your life, if you haven't already. In other words, even if some Christians are hypocrites, this doesn't mean you're off the hook with God.