Name one thing which is considered to be one of, if not the most damaging chink in Christianity’s armor and I suspect you may get 9 out of 10 saying, “Hypocrisy.” Many lives have been derailed by exposure to someone who claimed to be what they were not or how they acted.

Hypocrisy is nothing new. While we tend to have blinders on at times, it is no should be no surprise hypocrisy was part of the early church as well.  “Well, of course,” you say. “Remember Ananias and Sapphira?” That pops to our mind readily. But not so readily is the guilt of the early leaders. Men who were “pillars” (Gal.2: 6 & 9) were also guilty. In fact Paul is pretty blunt in his assessment of Peter in  Galatians 2: 11-14. Paul was not a mess-around type of guy, especially when it came to the Gospel and telling the story to all.

Grace is for all people, all races, all nationalities, all persuasions. In the early church that meant Jew and Gentile alike.  The problem which developed determines how much you wanted to hold to tradition or be a “grace-giver.” Peter chose to hide. Paul chose to be up front.

We can learn several lessons from this small passage of Scripture (which I plan to share Sunday morning):

• Anyone can fall, even those who seem to have it all together.
• Right doctrine without right behavior always produces hypocrisy.
• Truth is more important than outward beauty and peace.

Paul once told Timothy to “Watch your life and teaching closely.” (I Tm.4:16) It doesn’t matter who it is. Hypocrisy strikes all walks of life. All ages. All professions.

Sometimes grace rebukes. Ask Peter.

Your prayers are appreciated.