Hypocrisy

“I am told that Christians do not love each other. I am very sorry if that be true, but I rather doubt it, for I suspect that those who do not love each other are not Christians.”

CHARLES SPURGEON

Kirk Cameron’s Comment

As a teenager, religious hypocrites on TV were a major reason why I thought Christianity was a joke. Then I learned that there will be no hypocrites in heaven.

Questions & Objections

Lesson

One of the greatest hindrances to people coming to Christ is the view that the church is “full of hypocrites.” Some maintain that it is full to the brim; others will admit that there are genuine Christians in the church among the false. Whatever the case, those who present this argument usually do so because they themselves love the darkness and hate the light. While they may have a genuine grievance about the issue, the hypocrisy of others will not be a legitimate excuse for them on the Day of Judgment.

Hypocrite comes from the Greek word for “actor,” or pretender. Hypocrisy is “the practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold.” Hypocrites may show up at a church building, but in reality there are no hypocrites in the Church. In its ignorance, the world thinks that the Church is the building, and that those who sit within its confines are Christians. However, the Church is the Body of Christ, which consists only of true believers; hypocrites are “pretenders” who sit among God’s people. They dwell as goats among the Lord’s sheep, bad fish among the good, tares among wheat until the day God separates them.

It is interesting to note that the human body will reject any foreign transplant—even down to the single root of a transplanted hair. The false convert (the hypocrite) is not part of the Body of Christ. He has never truly repented, and because of his sin he is therefore rejected as part of the Body. God knows those who love Him, and the Bible warns that all hypocrites—those merely pretending to be Christians—will end up in hell (Matthew 24:51).

The root of hypocrisy is idolatry, which easily takes root in the soil of a sinful heart. The false convert has created a god that he doesn’t fear. The tree that grows from the root bears fruit that is visible for all to see. That’s why we are cautioned to examine ourselves to ensure that we are in the faith, that Jesus Christ lives in us (2 Corinthians 13:5). Jesus said, “Every good tree brings forth good fruit” (Matthew 7:17). We must follow Paul’s example and strive to be devout, just, and blameless in the sight of a sinful world (1 Thessalonians 2:10). God forbid that any soul should stumble because he sees what he perceives to be hypocrisy in our lives. Do our coworkers ever hear us laughing at a smutty joke? Have we been seen going into an “adult” movie? Is there anger or bitterness, or any bad fruit in our lives for the world to see? Then we must lay the axe to the root.

If there is any pretense in anything we do, we evidently don’t fear God. Our concept of His character is erroneous, and we must therefore cultivate a biblical understanding from which we will acquire a proper fear of God.

Judas Iscariot was a hypocrite, a pretender. He had no idea who Jesus was. He complained that an act of sacrificial worship was a waste of money; the expensive ointment with which a woman anointed Jesus should have been sold and the money given to the poor. Jesus of Nazareth just wasn’t worth such extravagance. In his estimation, He was worth only thirty pieces of silver.

The Bible tells us that Judas was lying when he said that he cared for the poor. He was actually a thief, and so lacked a healthy fear of God that he was stealing money from the collection bag (see John 12:6).

It’s interesting to note that the world hates hypocrisy in the church. They detest the “pretender.” Does that mean that they want the Christian to be genuine? Do they want us to be true and faithful in our witness and therefore speak of sin, righteousness, and judgment? Do they want us to live in holiness rather than in compromise? Does the world really want us to speak up against pornography, greed, adultery, abortion, homosexuality, fornication, and other sins they so love? In their eyes we are damned if we do, and damned if we don’t.

Feathers for Arrows

The way bank officials train tellers to recognize counterfeit bills is to have them study the genuine article. When they see the false, they can spot it because their eye is trained to know the real thing. The real thing in Christianity is someone who is faithful, kind, loving, good, without hypocrisy, gentle, humble, patient, self-controlled, and who speaks the truth in love.

So the next time you’re watching TV and see a black-hatted, Abraham Lincoln–style bearded, booze-sodden, Old-English-speaking, Bible-quoting hypocrite plunge a pitchfork into his neighbor’s back “in the name of the Lord,” ask yourself, “Is this a genuine Christian? Does he love his neighbor as himself? Is he kind, gentle, good, generous, self-controlled? Does he love his enemies? Does he do good to those who spitefully use him?” If not, then what you see is another non-Christian who is pretending to be a Christian.

Questions

1. Why do unbelievers argue that the church is full of hypocrites?
2. What is “hypocrisy”?
3. Why are there no hypocrites in the Church?
4. What will be the final end of hypocrites?
5. What is the root of hypocrisy? Explain.
6. Why should we examine ourselves?

Answers to these review questions are provided in the back of the printed book / source PDF.

Memory Verse

“You hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people draws near to me with their mouth, and honors me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.”

Matthew 15:7, 8

Last Words

James Buchanan (1791–1868), fifteenth President of the U.S., retired from office and lived in quiet obscurity until his death. His last words were: “O Lord Almighty, as Thou wilt.”

James Buchanan