How Do You Deal With Hypocrisy?
Good Morning Friends,
From the minute Jesus began His public ministry he had conflicts with the legalistic group who reduced what it meant to be a Jew into the 613 mitzvot…365 of things not to do and 248 things to do. But the rules put an unnecessary hedge around what might be a sin and unnecessarily limited behavior. Their actions had less to do about repenting than one-upmanship and making others kowtow to their authority as religious leader. About a year into His Galilean ministry while Jesus was helping people to live life abundantly, the Pharisees and Sadducees were making plans to have Jesus killed for making them look bad. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus threw fuel on the fire by attacking their character. He said they only obeyed these rules to make them appear better than the people who did not. Jesus claimed that their behavior was about power and had little to do with an honest confession of sin. They were just acting like they loved God and wanted to lead people to God. But their heart was not in it. They were playing a part, pretending to be what they knew in their hearts they were not. How Do You Deal With Hypocrisy?
Scripture: Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of everyone of you for one another is increasing. Therefore we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your steadfastness and faith during all your persecutions and the afflictions that you are enduring. This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, and is intended to make you worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering. To this end we always pray for you, asking that our God will make you worthy of his call and will fulfill by his power every good resolve and work of faith, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 1:1-5, 11-12 (NRSV)
“But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you lock people out of the kingdom of heaven. For you do not go in yourselves, and when others are going in, you stop them. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cross sea and land to make a single convert, and you make the new convert twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the sanctuary is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gold of the sanctuary is bound by the oath.’ You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the sanctuary that has made the gold sacred? And you say, ‘Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing, but whoever swears by the gift that is on the altar is bound by the oath.’ How blind you are! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? So whoever swears by the altar, swears by it and by everything on it; and whoever swears by the sanctuary, swears by it and by the one who dwells in it; and whoever swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by the one who is seated upon it.
Matthew 23:13-22 (NRSV)
Message: Jesus’ warning to the scribes and Pharisees is relevant for the church today. I think we all know that those who oversee religious activities are far from perfect, but some mistakes are worse than others. It is great to stand at the door of heaven with the keys of the kingdom, but not such a good thing to slam the door in others’ faces and lock the door when people are honestly seeking a way to heaven. We are not to turn people away from the faith. We are not to be blind guides if we want to faithfully teach what Jesus taught. So, we are not to strain out a gnat and swallow a camel. This behavior does not glorify God. In the alternative we are to get specific about how we are going to exalt God. We are to love people more and not get lost in the details and this goes for church leaders too. Still, the responsibility is serious and not to be treated frivolously. We need to lead people to Christ. But we are to have clean hearts on the inside not what just looks good, living God’s way of life not the world’s way of death. WE are to be good examples. And we are to ask God to fill our mouths with wisdom that exalts God. We are to experience joy in a way that glorifies Christ. Our actions of service and sacrifice are to glorify God. We are to be encouragers of the faith. Friends, a hypocrite can be the best argument against salvation, leading people to doubt whereas a true believer can strengthen the resolve of others to love in a way the glorifies Jesus both in our life and even our death.
Pray we admit our own hypocrisy. Pray we not let hypocrites keep us from the joy of heaven. Pray we realize that we are not responsible for weeding out the field, for not everyone is a hypocrite in a way that damages the harvest. Pray we surround ourselves with good Christian examples. Pray we realize that doing what we should do even though we do not want to, is not really hypocrisy. Pray we see the value of Christ. Pray we become more God-centered, Christ-exalting, Spirit-dependent, Gospel-rooted, Truth-tethered, Soul-satisfying, Grace-inspiring, Mission-pursuing Christians.
Blessings,
John Lawson
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