Why Hypocrisy in the Church Is Destroying Faith (And How to Fix It)

Hypocrisy in the Church has quietly destroyed more faith than atheism, suffering, or doubt.

In this episode of Behind the Mike Podcast, Mike Stone speaks directly to anyone who has been hurt, betrayed, disappointed, or wounded by Christians, pastors, spiritual leaders, or church culture.

If someone’s sin shook your faith… maybe your faith was standing on them instead of Christ.

🔥 In this message, you’ll learn:
• Why hypocrisy hurts so deeply
• What Jesus actually said about hypocrites
• Why spiritual betrayal feels like abandonment
• How to heal from church hurt
• Six biblical steps to rebuild your faith
• Why Christians fail—but Jesus never does

Whether you've been wounded by leaders, friends, family, or the church itself… there is hope.

Don’t walk away from Jesus because of someone who wasn’t acting like Him.

📖 Scripture referenced: Matthew 23, Luke 12:1, Titus 1:16, Hebrews 12:1–2

If this encourages you, please share it with someone who’s struggling.
Keep seeking Truth. Keep walking by faith. Keep your eyes on Jesus.

#ChurchHurt #Christianity #HypocrisyInTheChurch #Faith #BibleTeaching #BehindTheMikePodcast #mikestone

CHAPTERS:
00:00 – Why Hypocrisy Is Destroying Faith
00:56 – When Christians Don’t Act Like Christ
02:10 – Why Hypocrisy Feels Like Betrayal
03:13 – What Jesus Said About Hypocrites
04:11 – Why Spiritual Hurt Cuts So Deep
05:19 – Christians Fail, But Jesus Doesn’t
06:16 – Don’t Walk Away Because of People
07:43 – Abuse, Manipulation, and Real Church Hurt
08:23 – Jesus Faced Betrayal Too
08:55 – Six Biblical Steps to Heal
09:59 – A Final Word to the Wounded
10:37 – Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus
11:47 – Final Encouragement & Closing

Transcript

0:00

Hey, welcome back to Behind the Mike Podcast. I'm Mike Stone, and today I want to talk about something that I believe has quietly poisoned more faith in our country than atheism, more than college philosophy classes, more than suffering, and more than unanswered prayer. What could that possibly be? I want to talk about hypocrisy, not hypocrisy that's out there. I see that's in the church. People who claim the name of Jesus but treat others nothing like Jesus. And if we're being honest, most people who walk away from Christianity really don't walk away from Christ. They walk away from Christians. You have the pastor who falls morally Christian celebrity who blows up their witness, a parent who preaches grace but lives with bitterness. Maybe a friend who quotes scripture on Facebook but curses you in the front yard. When that happens, suddenly your whole faith starts to feel fragile. So today I want to talk about something that may save someone's relationship with Jesus. Don't lose your faith over someone else's hypocrisy, because if someone's failure can shake your faith, your faith may have been standing on them instead of Christ. Let's dig in. Well, one of the hardest pills to swallow is this. And I believe it's very true. We expect Christians to be Christian. What we expect from them is love and kindness and humility and honesty and compassion. We expect maturity, spiritual depth, integrity. And when we don't see that, when we see the opposite, it feels like betrayal. Why? Because when someone claims the name of Jesus, we associate them with Jesus. And whether we realize it or not, we start expecting them to act like Jesus. So when they don't, well, it hits harder than a stranger. Sin wounds deeper than an enemies insult, and it confuses us spiritually because the person who wounded you was supposed to be the one who reflected Christ. Some of you know exactly what I'm talking about. Some of you were raised by Christians who didn't act like Christ. Some of you were hurt by a church that talked about love but really practiced control. Some of you followed leaders who preached the truth but live lies, and for many. Hypocrisy becomes the final straw. So what did Jesus actually say about about the hypocrites? Here's something that we forget. Jesus talked more about hypocrisy than almost any other sin. We know that he was gentle with centers. He was compassionate with the broken. He was patient with the doubting, but hypocrite. He confronted them with surgical precision. We look at Matthew 23. Jesus calls the Pharisees“whitewashed tombs” beautiful on the outside but rotting on the inside.

Luke 12: 3:37

1, He says, beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. I just finished reading Titus. Titus

1: 3:47

16 says they “claim to know God, but they deny him by their actions.” In other words, Jesus did not ignore hypocrisy, exposed it. He opposed it, and he even predicted it. So look, if you've been hurt by hypocrites. Jesus is not the one who did it. He's the one who warned you about them. Why does hypocrisy hurt so deeply? Well, in my research for this podcast, I've learned that psychologically, hypocrisy hurts because it feels like betrayal. Spiritually, hypocrisy hurts because we tend to tether people to God. When a Christian wounds you, your heart subconsciously assumes that God cosigned it. When a church disappoint you, it feels like God abandoned you. When a believer mistreat you, the enemy starts whispering, see, God doesn't care. See, this is all fake. See? Walk away. But listen, the character of Christians is not the character of Christ. Christians sin. Christians fail and Christians hurt people. Jesus doesn't. It's good to remember that Christianity is not built on the perfection of Christians. It's built on the perfection of Christ. The resurrection is the foundation of your faith, not the behavior of religious people. So if a surgeon makes a mistake, you don't stop believing in medicine. Or if a mechanic lies to you. You don't stop believing in cars. If an ambassador misrepresents your country, the country is still real. So listen carefully. A hypocrite in the church does not invalidate Jesus. It exposes their need for him. And in fact, if anything, I see proves what Scripture says, that we're all sinners. We all fall short, and we are desperately in need of grace. Now here's the big one. Don't let their faults take you down to when someone hurts you, disappoint you, or wounds you. The natural temptation is just to retreat. Just to pull away. Withdraw from church. Isolate yourself from community. Stop serving. Stop reading. Stop praying. But here's the truth. If you walk away from Jesus because of someone who wasn't acting like Jesus, they win. You lose. They don't suddenly start living righteously because you gave up. They don't feel conviction because you stopped going to church, and they certainly don't become holy because you unplugged from God. All that happens is you drift away from the one who never failed you. So don't give someone else the power over your eternity. Let's step back a second, because hypocrisy is is not always small. Some of you listening right now have been genuinely abused by the church. Emotionally, spiritually. Relationally. Some of you were manipulated, controlled. Judged. Silenced. Shamed. Maybe you sat under narcissistic leadership. Some of you were hurt by people who claimed God's authority, but certainly didn't represent God's heart. I want you to hear this. What happened to you matters. It was wrong. Jesus sees it and he'll deal with it. But please don't confuse the pain that you experienced in the church with the nature of the one who built the church. You've heard it said that hurt people, hurt people, but healed people heal people. There are healthy churches, there are godly leaders, and there are communities that reflect Jesus beautifully. You may need some time. You may need counseling. You may need space to heal. But don't let the wound keep you from the one who can heal it. Think about this. Jesus experienced more betrayal from his own followers than any of us ever will. Judas betrayed him. Peter denied him. Thomas didn't believe him. The disciples abandoned him and the crowds, they turned on him. But Jesus did not lose faith in the father because of his followers. He remained faithful even when everyone around him failed. And look, if Jesus didn't walk away from God because of people, then neither should you. So how do we deal with this? Well. I'm going to give you six very quick biblical steps that you can take. Number one, separate Jesus from his followers. Don't let people blur your picture of who Jesus Christ is. Number two, remember that perfection was never the point. You may have also heard the church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints. And that's so true. And we forget that. Number three, let your pain drive you toward God, not away. Turn disappointment into prayer and your anger into honesty. Number four forgive, but don't minimize. Forgiveness is simply letting God handle justice so you can heal. Number five find community that looks like Jesus. Not every church will be your home, but God will lead you to the right one. And number six, anchor your faith in truth, not in personalities. Pastors change. Friends fail. Leaders fall. Jesus doesn't. So let me close by saying this if you've been hurt by Christians, I am truly sorry. Truly sorry. But don't lose your faith over someone else's hypocrisy. Don't let someone else's sin rob you of God's presence. Don't let someone else's failure define your future. Don't let someone who misrepresented Jesus keep you from knowing Jesus. If your eyes are on people, you're going to lose heart. If your eyes are on churches, you're going to get frustrated. If your eyes are on Christians, you'll be disappointed. But if your eyes are on Jesus, you will be anchored. He has never failed you. He never will. He still invites you to come. Wounds, doubts, scars and all. And he still heals. I want to wrap up with a scripture just to kind of wrap up everything that we've talked about here, and it comes from Hebrews

chapter 12: 11:09

1-2, and it says,“Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us. Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” I want to thank you for joining us today, and if this helped you, please share it with someone who's struggling. And as always, keep seeking truth. Keep walking by faith and keep your eyes on Jesus.