MamaArcher's Blog

Holiness and Hypocrisy

There have been many times since my husband entered into the ministry field that we have endured our share of grief. There have been tremendous blessings also. Any pastor or pastor’s wife, if honest, will tell you that the ministry field even though it is filled with blessing also comes with an abundance of sorrow. There are many reasons for this but I only want to tackle one of them in this posting.
Ministers are held to a higher standard, which they absolutely should be, it is a biblical truth. However, ministers and their wives are still sinners saved by the grace of God Almighty alone.

I heard a sermon several years ago which dealt with the sin of idolatry. The idol spoken of was that of other people’s opinions. There is a John Calvin quote which has stuck with me to this day.

“Every one of us is, even from his mother’s womb, a master craftsman of idols”.
John Calvin

One area in which men tend to form idols is with their leaders. Leaders are to be looked up to; we all need good role models. The problem arises when we focus more on the messenger of God than on God himself. There, of course, needs to be balance. I have seen both extremes; some have no honor or respect for the ministerial position yet others expect their ministers to be perfect. We are to hold God’s ministers in high regard, only remember they are not God. When ministers are given the proper respect and honor due their position without being held to an unattainable standard they can flourish in the ministry placed upon them by the Lord without the added sorrow of unattainable perfection.

In my readings this week I came across an amazing quote. I want to share that here today.

Ministers are noteworthy of their calling. All preachers are vulnerable to the charge of hypocrisy. In fact, the more faithful preachers are to the Word of God in their preaching, the more liable they are to the charge of hypocrisy. Why? Because the more faithful people are to the Word of God, the higher the message is they will preach. The higher the message, the further they will be from obeying it themselves.
I cringe inside when I speak in churches about the holiness of God. I can anticipate the responses of the people. They leave the sanctuary convinced they have just been in the presence of a holy man. Because they hear me preach about holiness, they assume I must be as holy as the message I preach. That’s when I want to cry, “Woe is me.”
It’s dangerous to assume that because a person is drawn to holiness in his study that he is thereby a holy man. There is irony here. I am sure the reason I have a deep hunger to learn of the holiness of God is precisely because I am not holy. I am a profane man- a man who spends more time out of the temple than in it. But I have had just enough of a taste of the majesty of God to want more. I know what it means to be a forgiven man and what it means to be sent on a mission. My soul cries for more. My soul needs more.
R.C. Sproul Sr., The Holiness of God