One does not often know another’s heart and soul, their past, or their present situation. It is easy to accuse someone of hypocrisy when they commit a sin that goes clearly against Christian principles. However, they may be at a point in their spiritual transformation where they have come a long way from the amount or magnitude at which they used to sin.
Everyone in life is on a journey, or process of transformation. It is important to look at people in light of where they come from. That doesn’t mean that where someone stands is exactly where they should be, only that they are indeed making progress, or yielding fruit. On the other hand, there are people who call themselves Christians yet live a completely blasphemous lifestyle, and are not in fact Christians at all. Those kinds of people certainly contribute to giving Christians and Christianity a bad reputation.
You cannot, however, look at a Christian who sins and call him a hypocrite. First examine what he does with that sin. Another point worth pointing out is that for those who are Christians, yet sin, their sin is not representative of their position. One difference that may exist between someone who follows Christ and one who doesn’t is that when a Christian sins, they are repentant. That is, they are deeply convicted, sorrowful, and sorry for what they did, AND they put forth every effort to minimize further sin. The presence and effects of repentance is one of the results and evidences (or fruits) of salvation.
