Does Hypocrisy Among Christians Excuse Unbelief?

Among the most common gripes that missionaries and evangelists hear from unbelievers are “Churches are full of hypocrites” and “Christians don’t practice what they preach!” Sadly, their accusations are more accurate than we care to admit. They often use that as an excuse to avoid us in the Church and ignore what we have to say about Christ.

We cannot blame unbelievers for not wanting to associate with hypocrites, but hypocrisy among Christians does not lend anybody an excuse to reject the gospel! There are at least two things we should do if a lost person ever confronts us with that excuse:
(1) Practice what we preach, and we will show that person that not all Christians are hypocrites.
(2) Explain that not all churchgoers are true Christians, just as people don't become cars after entering a garage.

Quackery in the medical profession does not stop people from seeing a real doctor when they need one. People still continue to eat even after they have had food poisoning, simply because they need to eat. Likewise, hypocrisy in the Church does not even dent a sinner’s need for a Savior in Jesus Christ! Furthermore, professional sports are not among life’s basic necessities, yet avid fans still attend the events despite the drugs and scandals that plague the profession.

Most importantly, Christianity does not revolve around Christians who are not perfect, but around Christ who is perfect (Matt. 27:3-4; John 7:16-18; 8:29, 46; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 1:8-9; 2:10; 4:15; 7:26-28; 1 Pet. 1:18-19; 2:22-23; 1 John 3:5)! Most likely, He preached more words against hypocrisy than anyone else in world history (Matt 6:2, 5, 16; 7:5; 15:7; 16:3; 22:18; 23:13-15, 28-29; 24:51; Mark 7:6; 12:15; Luke 6:42; 11:44; 12:1, 56; 13:15).

Although hypocrisy in the Church is no excuse to reject Christ, it still drives people away from the Church and Christ. That behooves me to restate point #1: We must practice what we preach! Remember, even when we are not actively witnessing, our lives are. Let's give the world at least one less reason to view Christians as hypocrites.