Hypocrit Christians

I recently received a communication that called me a hypocrite.

My first response was, yes, I am a hypocrite. I sometimes do opposite of what I profess. I stumble. I sometimes do, as Paul said in Romans 7:15 - I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.

But actually, that is not hypocrasy, at least as the word is defined.

Hypocrasy has an element of not doing what one believes, but it is actually pretending to believe something and doing the opposite of that. Hypocrasy involves not the action, but the belief.

So, for me to be hypocrite, I would have to profess something that I do not believe and then act in an opposite way.

So, after this introspection, I am not a hypocrite. I am a sinner. I have sinned and will sin until the Lord returns, but I strive to live as I believe though I fail. I am inconsistent. I fail to live as I profess. I make poor decisions. I succomb to temptation.

The real hypocrite is someone who professes with their mouth but does not believe in their heart.

Since a true Christian is one who believes in their heart and professes with their mouth the Christ is Lord (Romans 10:9), then a true christian cannot be a hypocrite even though they sin.

A false Christian, one whose profession is from the head and not the heart, even though they live as they profess, they are hypocrites.

If we profess Christ, we must first search our heart if it is turned to Christ, submitting to Him, and seeking His glorification and pleasure above our own.