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DAY 15
Grace
“If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling
ourselves and not living in the truth.”
1 JOHN 1:8
I think the word “hypocrite” is misused a lot. For example, if you happen
to be hammering away on something and suddenly miss the nail and hit
your thumb, you might scream a word that you shouldn’t. And if anyone
hears you, whether that person is a believer or not, he or she might call
you a hypocrite. But are you really a hypocrite?
I don’t think so. I think you are a human who had a pretty painful experience
and who responded in the most honest way possible. If anything, I
think that response gives a clear indication of our sin nature, and need for
a savior. But I don’t think it makes you a hypocrite.
I am not excusing sin; We are all sinners. And Christians do still sin,
unfortunately. The Bible says, “If we claim we have no sin, we are only
fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to
him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
wickedness” (1 John 1:8–9).
It is only a matter of time until we will fall short in some way, shape, or
form. We will say the wrong thing. We won’t do the right thing. But that
doesn’t make us hypocrites; that just makes us flawed.
A hypocrite is different. Originally, the word “hypocrite” simply meant
“actor.” In the dramas of early Greece, an actor would hold a mask in front