Hypocrites.
Jesus didn't, and doesn't, like hypocrites.
Let's read through these verses, we have time- this is after all - Bible study, right? We need to catch the big picture here about Jesus' view on hypocrites because He doesn't want us to be they are.
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Mat 6:2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Mat 6:5 And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Mat 7:5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
Mat 15:7 Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying,
Mat 15:8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
Mat 15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
Mat 16:3 And in the morning, It will be foul weather to day: for the sky is red and lowring. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times?
Mat 22:18 But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, Why tempt ye me, ye hypocrites?
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 23:24 Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel.
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 23:26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also.
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,
Mat 24:51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Luk 6:42 Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.
Luk 11:44 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.
Luk 12:56 Ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky and of the earth; but how is it that ye do not discern this time?
Luk 13:15 The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?
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Webster's definition of a hypocrite is this--
Hypocrite
HYP'OCRITE, n.
1. One who feigns to be what he is not; one who has the form of godliness without the power, or who assumes an appearance of piety and virtue, when he is destitute of true religion.
2. A dissembler; one who assumes a false appearance.
An online dictionary defines it this way--
hyp·o·crite
[hip-uh-krit]
Show IPA
–noun
1.
a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, especially a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.
2.
a person who feigns some desirable or publicly approved attitude, especially one whose private life, opinions, or statements belie his or her public statements.
Pasted from
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Pretending to be something you're not. How often do people pretend to be something they're not? How often do people smile on the outside but inside they're full of disdain for those they are smiling at. People might put on a happy face and feel sad, but that's not the kind of pretending we're talking about. Hypocrites - those who assume a false appearance of virtue when they have no true virtue in them. The deceitful. Those who harm others - not necessarily in a physical manner- and not necessarily with the others even realizing they're being harmed. A liar. Yes, being a hypocrite is being a liar. Often hypocrites are able to fool many people with their false demeanor. In fact there are people who are hypocrites all their lives - making a living that way and never being discovered.
Not a single hypocrite exists that can hide from the knowing of our God.
Jesus saw through hypocrite after hypocrite as He lived upon earth and He wasn't afraid to let them know that He knew them for what they really were.
Do you believe you have ever been a hypocrite? Seriously. I ask this because as we struggle in our day to day lives to be followers of our Savior and we come up short sometimes it's very easy to believe we are being hypocrites rather than those struggling against principalities and powers, fighting the good fight. Satan wants us to believe we are hypocrites so that we are filled with self-loathing and give up. In fact some people might turn around and call us hypocrites because our walk with Christ doesn't fulfill their imagined scenario of a Christian life. Just recently someone questioned my life with Christ in the context of my not doing *enough*, not *giving my all*. This person who did this obviously doesn't realize that even if a person does a tiny bit outwardly it's not up to them to judge another's walk with Christ based on their own experience. When we start judging others, when we start trying to hold up examples as to how a *real* Christian would be, then we put ourselves somewhere we are never meant to go. Many who are Christians outwardly, many who hold up the image of an amazing Christian - studying, helping the poor, praying, witnessing- you name it they're doing it, many of those are the very same hypocrites our Savior is talking about. Even a person who is caught up in a life of outward sin might have a closer walk with our Savior than one who seems to be living their life perfectly. That person struggling with sin may be genuinely fighting the fight they've been given to fight so that when all is said and done they'll be in the kingdom with our Savior. The point being… we need to love, not condemn. We need to live that love not be hypocritical even with ourselves.
Jesus said this--
Mat 6:16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites...
Jesus doesn't want us to be as hypocrites are and He goes on to tell us more.
Mat 6:16 Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Mat 6:17 But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face;
Mat 6:18 That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.
Don't put on an outward show of piety. We are not doing ourselves any favors by *pretending*. We can put on the appearance of a pious person and it will fool people- it will, but God knows.
We are to live our lives without pretense knowing that no matter how we look it's what's inside our hearts before God that matters. The pretenders, the hypocrites, the liars have their reward. God wants us to be rewarded openly by Him because He knows the good we do in secret doing that good for no outward reward.
So what if people look at you and don't ever imagine you have a life as they imagine you should have. You're not living your life to be rewarded by another's acknowledgement that you fit their idea of a follower of Christ. You're living your life to be acknowledged by our Savior and our Savior only.
By the grace of our Savior may we be His and His alone in all we do. If we are being hypocritical may we have this revealed to us so that we can beg for forgiveness and be truly God's. In His love!
Amen.
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