Christian Living

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     “Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?” (Romans 2:21) In this chapter, the apostle Paul, under divine inspiration, addresses his Jewish audience who boasted in their obedience and law-keeping as proof of their right standing with God. So zealous were they, that they considered themselves teachers of foolish and ignorant Gentiles, and would not pass up an opportunity to preach against law-breaking. The problem was they were guilty of the same sins they railed against, so much so, that God places the blame on them for the reason his name was blasphemed. Today, there are zealous Christians who will not hesitate to teach against materialism, immorality, pride, drunkenness, and rebellion, and the need to repent, yet the question remains, “Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself?”
     If you are a preacher or teacher who wants to see other professing Christians and unbelievers convicted by their sins, to see the error of their ways, and to repent, do you desire the same for yourself? Do you say with David, "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" (Psalm 139:23-24) or are you overly preoccupied with the sins of unbelievers and phony Christians, that your own sins don't concern you as much? You can use the following diagnostic questions to determine if you love to teach others, but not yourself.
     When you teach about being heavenly minded, the need to seek the kingdom of God and his righteousness, the need to trust in Christ alone, and to be focused on eternal things, do you instead get wrapped up in earthly, transient politics, place your hopes in a political candidate, and think that passing of right laws will make America worthy of God’s blessings? When you teach against having sex with someone other than one's spouse or having sex with one's boyfriend or girlfriend, are you guilty of the sin of internet pornography? When you see an attractive woman, do you imagine sensual things in your mind? Do you watch lewd images on your computer and phone screens when no one is around even though you teach others about the omniscience and omnipresence of God?
      When you teach against worshipping a false god and false religions, do you put sports and movies above God at times? Do you have more concern over a baseball, basketball, or football game than you do with whether you went to Sunday worship with a pure heart? Do you show more emotion in a stadium than in public worship? Is your singing dull with your head down and your hands in your pockets when you are supposed to be praising God, but in the air with loud shouts when your favorite teams scores? Do you spend more time Facebooking than you do in prayer and communion with God?
     When you teach against pursuing the American dream, having a huge house, and a fat 401k, do you indulge in consistently having nice clothes, a nice car, a nice watch, playing the lottery, etc.? Do you waste money on unnecessary trips and having a good time, overindulging in food and drink? Do you buy the latest gadgets all the time when you could be helping a fellow Christian who is in need?
     When you teach on having faith in Christ, do you doubt God? When you teach about the fruit of the Spirit, do you consistently lack patience, love, and joy? When you teach about the importance of trusting God do you overeat, drink, smoke, in order to deal with stress? When you teach about obedience from the heart, do you disobey God when He calls you to do something that makes you feel uncomfortable? When you teach about having right doctrine, are you proud that you have it, or are you humble and lament the fact that you don't know God as you should? When you teach about having a new life in Christ, do you still hang on to anger, are overly critical, have a gossiping tongue, and are lazy?
     If you have found that you are guilty of hypocrisy in teaching others and not yourself (and we can all admit to this to one degree or another), then repent! Repent of judging others and giving yourself a free pass! Repent of being more zealous for the repentance of unbelievers and Christians whom you don't think match up to your standards, and start being more zealous about your own repentance. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ died for your hypocrisy and secret sins on the cross, and rose again, so that when you turn and trust in Him again, he will cleanse you from all sin and make you consistent in teaching other and empower you to practice what you teach.

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