THE SIN OF HYPOCRISY

I don't know if you've ever thought about it, but the word "Hypocrite" was a word Jesus loved to use to describe the religious people in His day. Seventeen times in the New Testament, Jesus responds to the Pharisees as "Hypocrites." And, three times we find Jesus personally calling a man a "hypocrite" to his face. For Jesus, he had no problem calling people what they were-hypocrites!

So, what exactly is a "hypocrite?"

Answer: "It's someone who pretends to be something they are not."

That's the simplest defintion. When I think of hypocrites, I immediately think of ACTORS, because an actor is someone who pretends to be something he is not. His entire life is full of pretending, and he is praised for how well he portrays someone or something other than himself.

Sadly, in our modern society, actors are some of the most well-paid individuals and their profession is the most highly sought after. This should give you a little insight into the depravity of our day, and the mindset of the people. They would rather pretend to be something they are not, then to just be themselves.

As we study the scriptures, we find a hypocrite "puts on a show" for finacial gain, or to deceive others into thinking he is something different than he actually is. This is the Sin of Hypocrisy, and is what the Pharisees were guilty of. It's also what modern-day Pharisees do as well.

As we look at the life of the Pharisees of old, we find their greatest flaw was that of trying to appear righteous when they were not. They were "acting." And, they did so for a reason. They wanted others to respect, esteem, and follow them. However, they didn't want to be what they were supposed to be (righeous and holy), so they put on a show for others to make them think they were really good people, worthy of endorsing and obeying.

I'm sure if you went back in time to Jesus' day and visited the neighborhood and asked the people what they thought of the Priest, they'd probably say things like, "Oh, Rabbi Labinowitz is a very pious man! He is very consecrated and devoted to his religion. He's a priest who knows his law and follows it to the letter."

But if you actually visited the Rabbi's house, you'd probaby find a different story. In fact, if you could sit down and actually talk with the Rabbi's wife, I'm sure she'd tell you much to the contrary. As you listen to her describing what he's really like, you'd probably come away with an entirely different perspective of the man, realizing he's not perfect, and is a sinner like everyone else, but none the less someone who is trying to follow his religion the best way he knows how.

But what if you could have asked Jesus about the Rabbi? How different his answer would have been. For Jesus not only sees him from without, but he sees within him, and he knows the Rabbi's hypocrisy not only decieves the people, but can damn them as well. And Jesus would then warn you to stay away from the religious faker entirely, as his path leads straight to the gates of hell!

Why would Jesus be so against a man who claims to be a religious leader for so many? The answer lies within the scriptures themselves. Looking at the six times Jesus calls the Pharisees hypocrites in Matthew 23 we find an interesting thing:

Mat 23:13 But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
Mat 23:14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, HYPOCRITES! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.
Mat 23:15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, HYPOCRITES! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
Mat 23:23 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, HYPOCRITES! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.
Mat 23:25 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, HYPOCRITES! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.
Mat 23:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, HYPOCRITES! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
Mat 23:28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
Mat 23:29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, HYPOCRITES! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous.

In these verses we find the sins of the Hypocrite. Jesus lamblasts the Pharisees because of their:

1. Shutting up the kingdom of Heaven against men (i.e. their false and damnable teachings) Mt. 23:13

2. Devouring Widows' Houses (i.e. their love of money) Mt. 23:14

3. Proselyting and making Children of Hell (i.e. corrupting the youth) Mt. 23:15

4. Omit Judgment, Mercy, and Faith (i.e. They have no compassion on others) Mt. 23:23

5. Full of extoriton and excess (i.e. They black mail others into doing their bidding) Mt. 23:25

6. They build the tombs of the prophets and garnish them (i.e. they praise men more than God) Mt. 23:28

Now, before going any further, let me state something that is very troubling to me: "These same sins that Jesus rebukes the Hypocritical Pharisees for, I find very prominate within the modern Fundamentalist Movement today!"

I'm going to be nice, or as nice as I can be. I'm not saying that all Fundamentalists are "Hypocrites!" Nor am I saying they are all "damned" and on their way to Hell. But I am saying, and as loudly and dogmatically as I can, and to anyone that will listen, that modern Fundamentalism is headed the way of the Pharisees, as it too is guilty of many of the very same things that Jesus preached against to the Pharisees.

For example, it's common place today among many many Fundamentalist ministers to:

1. Preach Another Gospel. (One of doing something, instead of simply resting upon what Christ has already done).

2. Persue finacial gain and use their positions of authority to amass riches.

3. Proselyte and pervert many young people in their Fundamentalist schools, teaching them doctrines and traditions foreign to the scriptures, making them "groupies" instead of men of God who put Jesus first.

4. Persecute, ridicule, and attack others who do not do things their way.

5. Pressure others through "blackmail" to do what they desire.

6. Praise other men exalting them beyond measure, instead of simply praising God.

Now maybe you don't see things like this happening in your church or Bible School. If not, then praise the Lord! But if you are in the ministry, you see this happening all the time. Men, who claim to be ministers, gain control and have set themselves up as Governors, who amass to themselves more political power through corrupt and perverse means. They might look like great men of God without, but inside they are Jesus said, "Full of Hypocrisy, iniquity (Mt. 23:28), and all uncleaness (Mt. 23:37)."

If you haven't met such men, don't worry. You probably soon will. For in these last days, they are showing themselves more and more. Before Jesus came the first time, they were well in positions of authority and protected by their fellow men. And when Jesus comes again, I'm sure they will be here just as they were before.

We are also living in a day and age in which these HYPOCRITES are becoming political. They are joining the world and beginning to adopt the traditions and teachings of the world. And very soon, I believe, the world is going to start pushing and persecuting true Christians. When this happens, you'll start to see who the real hypocrites are, as they will do just what the Pharisees of old did: They will join the powers that be against Jesus and his disciples, and persecute them!

Are you a hypocrite? Are you guilty of the sins of hypocrisy? It's not to late to Repent!

Before Jesus came on the scene, John the Baptist came and preached "Repent!" And you know the story, the only people who didn't repent were the Pharisees; the HYPOCRITES. How about you? Are you one of them?