Have you ever wondered that? Most people think that churches should be full of “perfect Christians” but the truth is that those have never existed. Even Jesus’ disciples failed and fell and cursed and lied at some point, even while He was still with them. It may not be recorded in the Bible but the fact is they were human just as we are. Yes, we are made in God’s image, and when we become Christians, His Holy Spirit comes to live in our hearts but we still fail miserably in our day-to-day lives.

Because we have to “crucify our old ways daily“, that is what it means when Jesus said to take up your cross and follow Me. Our “old ways” may have been crucified to some degree but like Lazarus, they get up from their “grave” and come back in our minds to bring our “old ways” to mind again which may begin our mistakes and failures to the front so everyone will see them. That is exactly what Satan wants to happen! When you fail or sin even a little bit and someone sees it or hears it, as far as they are concerned you don’t qualify as a Christian anymore. Just one time can ruin your witness regardless of the transgression.

Satan and his demons bring all of your failures back into your mind. Even when you were not a Christian and had not asked Jesus to come into your heart, your sins and failures are there to derail your pathway and make you stumble. The devil will use those failures to make you think that you aren’t worthy of God’s love and you are not worthy of the salvation that Jesus paid for on the cross. He has done it to many people in the thousands of years since the Garden and he is very good at it.

Yes, the church has many hypocrites sitting in the pews every Sunday. Some of them know Jesus as their Savior and some of them only know about Him. The preacher can’t tell the difference when he stands up to preach because they all look like they are listening to the sermon. Some are thinking about fishing, some are reading along with him in the Bible, some are thinking about the fence that needs fixing in their pasture. Some of them are worried about someone who is sick in their family or about what they are having for lunch today. The truth is that the only Person Who knows which person or persons belong to Jesus is God Himself.

Make sure of your relationship with Jesus. Get to know God by reading and studying His Word, asking Him to make it clear, and to give you understanding while you read it.