Hypocrites in the church?

A complaint we often hear from those outside the church is why are there so many hypocrites in the church? The answer comes down to intent. 

Since ¹those of us within the church are given a clear standard of conduct we feel compelled to conform our behavior to this standard, if only in appearance because of peer pressure. However, if we are ¹not in Christ and not compelled by his love, this is the wrong reason to conform. We may be kind, thoughtful, and loving on the outside but in truth are "behaving ourselves" not to honor God but simply to fit into the prescribed and ²expected behavior of the church community.

When we do, we bring honor only to ourselves in the eyes of others. As Christ said, we have our reward i.e. the praise of men vs God. God, however, has absolutely nothing to do with this. This becomes apparent when real love requiring sacrifice is called for by someone who claims to be a believer and it's not there. This was the very same issue with the Pharisees. They did things to be seen of men not to honor God.

This is the core reason there are those within the church who are hypocrites. 

It is not necessarily unique to the church, however. All groups, associations, and memberships have hypocrites within their ranks. They are not there for the mission or vision of the organization but for their own purpose to impress others. It may have nothing to do with what an individual church teaches and everything to do with the individuals within the church. It actually may indicate that many churchgoers are not true believers at all or at least not looking to Christ as their primary source of love, identity, meaning, and purpose. 

For a discussion on "cultural Christians" vs true believers click here. 
______________________________________________________________

¹I distinguish between churchgoers and true followers of Christ not only because we can observe the difference in the values, attitudes, and actions, but also because Christ makes this distinction with the following three teachings.

...by their fruits -- the kind of fruit -- you will know them.

The parable of the wheat and weeds (tares)

Christ declaring he never knew some who had done many works "in his name."

²And when we do conform externally, we become proud and self-righteous, demanding others also conform while "looking down on them" when they don't. When in fact our conformity isn't true obedience from the heart but for show. Self-righteous folks, like anyone else, are still a mess on the inside, self-righteousness itself is an indication.