Matthew 23:25-27 (AB)
"Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees,
pretenders (hypocrites)! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the plate,
but within they are full of extortion (prey, spoil, plunder) and grasping
self-indulgence. You blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and of
the plate, so that the outside may be clean also. Woe to you, scribes and
Pharisees, pretenders (hypocrites)! For you are like tombs that have been
whitewashed, which look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of dead
men's bones and everything impure. Just
so, you also outwardly seem to people to be just and upright but inside you are
full of pretense and lawlessness and iniquity.”
The word hypocrite in the Greek means “actor” or “stage player”, one who
pretends. You are a hypocrite when you
say one thing, but do another or when you do things that you tell others you
don’t do. A hypocrite is someone who
claims to be a follower of God, but in reality is only of follower of his/her
own will; i.e. an unbeliever. Ralph
Waldo Emerson had an interesting view of a hypocrite—“no one is a hypocrite
when by himself, but he becomes one when a second person enters”.
In the gospels the Pharisees were labeled by Jesus as the model of
hypocrisy because they claimed to be godly and righteous, but were evil within,
filled with pride and superiority and other selfish attitudes that Jesus saw
right through. Jesus made some extremely
disparaging remarks to people who considered themselves “pillars of the church”. The Pharisees were greatly offended and it
cost Jesus His life, yet the sin of hypocrisy was/is so offensive and sinful
that Jesus will willing to die to expose it.
The sin of hypocrisy resides in anyone who pretends to be someone he/she
is not. Signs of hypocrisy include--
§ Doing things in public (e.g. praying, fasting, giving) to be recognized
by others (Matthew 6:2,5,15; Matthew 23:14,23-27)
§ Judging others harshly when you are doing the same thing (Matthew 7:1)
§
Honoring God by words only, not by deeds (Matthew
15:7-9)
§
Deceiving others from knowing God (Matthew 23:13)
§
Being so hypocritical that others follow you by also
being hypocritical (Matthew 23:15)
§
See also Romans 12:9, I Timothy 4:2, I Peter 2:1,
Galatians 2:13-14, and James 3:14-17 where other writers of the Scriptures described
and condemned hypocrisy.
David Roth said that a hypocrite knows that what he is doing is evil, but
since he wants no one to know of his evil, he hides it and deceives others into
thinking that he is innocent. His life
is bearable by means of his ability to hide behind a façade of good
appearances. Yet the sad irony of a
hypocrite is that while he tries to deceive others, he ends up deceiving
himself. He will not deceive the
Lord---“For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he gain much, if God
takes away his life” (Job 27:8).
You have to be on guard against hypocrisy. Hypocrisy can send you to hell, just read and
reflect on Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:21-23 and Matthew 24:51. That’s why a Christian is always to “examine
yourself” (Luke 12:1, II Corinthians 13:5) and be part of Christian fellowship
where any potential inclinations to hypocrisy can be exposed, confessed and
forgiven. Yet it is also true that while
hypocrisy is a sin, not all sin is hypocrisy.
The church is full of sinners, but not full of hypocrites as the
unbelieving world would have you believe.
You’ve heard the response to someone who says that he/she doesn’t go to
church because church is full of hypocrites---“well, if that’s the way you
feel, there’s always room for one more”.
If you are one of those skeptics, don’t let this view prevent you from
responding to a deep inner call within your soul to go to church. Sincere Christian people are not hypocrites,
but we all are sinners and need a Savior.
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