Thread: The Holier Than Thou Syndrome in Christianity
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The Holier Than Thou Syndrome in Christianity
Posted : 15 Aug, 2014 05:00 PM
The Holier Than Thou Syndrome in Christianity
Some Christians speak mighty things.
Their majestic words make it seem as though they have the power to read and judge the heart of another Christian. They tend to speak for God Almighty about whether somebody is really saved or not; whether the person is a true believer or not; and whether, in fact, the person is worshipping Him - that is: the God Almighty, in spirit and in truth.
Some of these Christians, obviously with all honesty in their heart, do not seem to see any possibility that someone who is not a full member of their denomination, or someone who disagrees with them in any way or someone with whom they disagree (even if the person is a member of their church), could be a true Heaven-bound born-again child of God. These Christians also seem to be more gifted than others in knowing who is a hypocrite and who is a true believer.
They spend a lot of time observing and pointing out the discrepancies in the beliefs and/or lives of other professed Christians.
In the days Christ was here physically, He decried the attitude of the Jews who prided themselves with the fact God had revealed the light unto them. The Jews were a chosen nation, but rather than humble themselves with thanks and adoration of the Almighty's magnanimity, they were overtaken by pride and looked down upon other nations who were still in darkness. They despised and dismissed those nations as Gentiles -- heathens.
Today, we understand that God chose the Jews as a means to bring the ultimate light of His salvation unto the world through Jesus Christ. We cherish the marvelous light and grace we have freely received through Jesus Christ, our Lord. The problem is that many Christians seem to see themselves as having received more light than others, and they may have taken some kind of pride in it. The tendency is to feel or act holier or doing better than others in the Christian race.
Yet, no Christian ever openly admits that he or she probably has a "holier than thou" or "I know better than you" attitude towards another person or group of persons - Christian or non-Christian. Nor is it easy to find a Christian who readily admits that that he or she feels that he or she is better than other Christians - or professed Christians.
But that's exactly what many of their words portray.
Their words exude a certain level of conceit with their supposedly sound Christian standing -- and with the amount "grace" they have received. Some pray to God to help the other so-called Christians or sinners to come to believe the truth as they see it, i.e., what they themselves believe in. They might pray to God to move mightily on the other people's heart to start acting or worshipping the way they think the other people should act and worship as Christians.
In point of fact, with many Christian leaders now having chains of higher university degrees such as PhD, MBA, MPA, MA, MS, MDiv, MTh, JD, DDiv, DTh and others, most Christian churches and many of their members do not believe that they could have any doctrinal error at all. Yet, many of these denominations modify their beliefs (or practices) from time to time, and never accept that they may have been wrong in the past, even with the very doctrines they modified. They find very intelligent and creative ways of minimizing their error. For example, some will say that they change their doctrines and practices as God reveals more light - not that they might have been wrong the past. These Christians who are supposedly doctrinally infallible see other professed Christians (even sometimes people of the same denomination with the slightest differences from their faith) as not being true Christians or as being counterfeit Christians who are spreading or living the lies of false religion.
They abhor such people.
They regard them as the enemies of the true Gospel of Christ and avoid them like plague (wondering what light should have to do with darkness). For them to show any form of tolerance or kindness to such people becomes a great Christian accomplishment on their part -- a saintly action that may warrant testifying to, at a Church gathering. Normally, they would only be willing to accept the "fake Christians" when they - that is, the "false worshippers" are ready for "the truth."
Many Christians even have more tolerance for non-Christians than they do for those they perceive as fake Christians who have clung to erroneous beliefs or systems of worship.
Some enjoy; are eager to; take pride in; or are quick to point out the false teachings of other churches. In fact, they earnestly search for those false teachings in order to attack (or most likely in their minds, in order to seek to correct) the erroneous teachings or beliefs of the other groups. When they are engaged in a discussion (that usually becomes an argument - or sometimes a vicious, fierce contest), they present very good cases like a good lawyer presents in a courtroom as to why the other people are wrong; why the other people are not true Christians -- and in extreme cases, why they cannot enter the kingdom of God unless they turn from their false beliefs. Eager to prove their point, or to win the contest in a more decisive way next time, they read the Bible hard and look for, or wait for opportunities for more debates where they'll show they are right. They may call it witnessing.
Let no one get the wrong message here. Christianity is not an anything-goes affair. We should never approach God's Word with a liberal attitude. God has laid out His ways in the Bible. It took Jesus Christ leaving His divinity in heaven, and coming down here to assume our sinful position, which is degraded by sin, and laying down His life for us in the most excruciating and humiliating manner. The salvation of a single soul was that serious for God. Now that he is gone to prepare a place for us, the Holy Sprit abides with us, as we seek Him. He leads us through our tumultuous passage through this evil world. He teaches us all things.
For us, the gospel is a matter of life and death -- eternal life and eternal death for that matter. As such, it is right, and indeed, it is commanded, that we study the teachings of the Bible closely so as to know and be able to defend what we believe. We are commanded to search into "the deep things of God" so far as they are revealed in Scripture (1 Corinthians 2:10). It is right to reach out to others with the knowledge that we have received and to seek to correct others when they err. To do this is to be a true apostle and a witness for Christ. That's the great commission. But it must be done with Godly humility. The sole goal should be to win a soul for Christ. Our purpose should never be to deride anyone or to impress others by representing ourselves as Bible experts.
To appear to be the definitive authority on the Word of God ought to be a scary role for anyone to assume.
There is an unfortunate problem in the Christian community, whereby a certain pride is mingled with the consideration of Bible truth. As such, many people feel defeated and humiliated if they cannot present themselves as being capable of explaining every portion of Scripture to others. It's too degrading to them not to prove that they understand all the inspired Words of God. Consequently, when they present strong arguments about a doctrine, they feel it's ungodly or hardening of the heart for the hearers or readers not to totally trust and accept their analyses - being that the other people ought to know and respect them as powerful and well-learned men and women of God.
As ministers, pastors, elders, good, baptized church members, who have been in the faith for decades and probably labored and won many souls for Christ, some Christians feel a great sense of accomplishment and expect a certain level of respect and recognition when they speak or write. Truly, they may have deeply studied the Word of God and their books may be top-sellers. As a result, they are unwilling to seek and wait patiently until God shall see it fit to reveal to them, any possible truth which they might have missed and may have probably preached to others over the years. Worse, these people cannot fathom being in a position to learn from others. When they hear a sermon, they're more interested in assessing how well the preacher performs, and not what they can learn from that preacher's discourse - except maybe, a new, powerful preaching style.
Although they may call themselves students of the Bible to appear humble to others, they may actually consider themselves teachers of the Bible.
The Bible warns he that thinks he stands to be careful, lest he falls. It's better to surrender to God in honest humility, so that He will lead.
To be humbled in spirit for many believers, will sometimes be difficult, if not more, than to be humbled in heart!!! Trust me my sister, I understand more than you can imagine in what you've exclaimed!!
Choosing our battles, though The Lord says they're His not ours, still needs when necessary, to be done in Godly wisdom, counsel and with much prayer! But most importantly being lead and guided by His Spirit!! Stay comforted and blessed in Him child of God.
The word "holy" (qodesh H-6944) does not mean "better", it merely means "sanctified" or "set-apart". To be separated from the world, this is what "holy" means. How can you for one second propose that it means "to be in some sort of competition pertaining to degrees of greatness or purity"..?
It does not mean that someone thinks that they are better, mightier, or greater, than someone else.
Thank you Joy for your sharing sound wisdom on the subject matter of the article�Yes!!!�the battle is the LORD�s�Eph 6:10-19�Stay a Blessing to be a Blessing!!!...
For Tony�the author of the article states�
Yet, no Christian ever openly admits that he or she probably has a "holier than thou" or "I know better than you" attitude towards another person or group of persons - Christian or non-Christian. Nor is it easy to find a Christian who readily admits that that he or she feels that he or she is better than other Christians - or professed Christians.
*** You�ve proved yourself�there is nothing more to say�
George � Good catch on the �God has laid out His ways in the Bible. It took Jesus Christ leaving His divinity in heaven, and coming down here to assume our sinful position��I agree with you�Jesus Never Stopped being Deity�and I am so Grateful that He came from Heaven �Spiritual� to earth �physical� to do the Fathers will�
Yepper Missy,Am so glad that GOD Almighty would willing slay His Son at the hands of His creation,the ones made to being His image bearer.
I above anyone else deserved the complete judgement of GOD Almighty against me sinful soul,yet He has had stupendous mercy towards me .
I had been the object of His wrath,doomed for eternity under judgement before He had given me faith into His Son Yeshua.
Messiah makes a friend of ABBA,bringing me out from under the judgement of GOD, into a relationship one of making me an ADOPTED son GOD Almighty
ALL of this by His Grace through faith in Messiah Yeshua
Had Messiah been able to remove His Deity,to become a man,then He would have died as that JUST a MAN.
Awesome,and beyond comprehension in this life,GOD Almighty; GOD the SON takes upon Himself flesh and blood,yet never does He give up being who He is GOD Almighty,Jehovah Shalom,Jehovah Rapha,Jehovah Nissi, El Shaddai,El Gibbor, El Roi.
In order to fulfill the prophesies of the Father concerning His Messiah.
In order to be the ONLY Atoning sacrifice to Justify man before GOD Almighty,and to justify GOD Almighty in His dealings with sinful man.
Shared ~ Had Messiah been able to remove His Deity,to become a man,then He would have died as that JUST a MAN.
Awesome,and beyond comprehension in this life,GOD Almighty; GOD the SON takes upon Himself flesh and blood,yet never does He give up being who He is GOD Almighty,Jehovah Shalom,Jehovah Rapha,Jehovah Nissi, El Shaddai,El Gibbor, El Roi.
In order to fulfill the prophesies of the Father concerning His Messiah.
In order to be the ONLY Atoning sacrifice to Justify man before GOD Almighty,and to justify GOD Almighty in His dealings with sinful man.
*** No need to add to this...couldn't agree more Goerge...Amen!...AMEN!!! X <>< O
