Be careful not to do your "acts of righteousness" before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.... And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.... When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. (Matt. 6:1, 5, 16)How does the Bible define hypocrites? A hypocrite wants to appear good without becoming good. Underneath this appearance, there is also false teaching: "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are" (Matt. 23:15).
Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the tassels on their garments long. (Matt. 23:5)
The world’s use of the term hypocrite agrees with Jesus’ use of the term, with this exception: Jesus identified the hypocrites to their faces. The world will accuse all Christians of being hypocrites. They do not want to admit there are some non-hypocrites in the church. If they did admit that, it would ruin their excuse for not becoming a Christian.
One day over 50 years ago, I was in the Lamplighter, our bookstore at the University of Maryland. A college student came in, wandered around a bit, and decided to tell me why he was not a Christian. Our conversation went something like this:
Student: “I am not a Christian because of the Conquistadors, Crusaders, Inquisitors, and hypocrites.”
Me: “I agree with you on all of these people, and I am a Christian. I don't see the connection.”
He looked at me as if I had not heard what he had said. Why did I not understand?
I said, “Tell me, were the Conquistadors Christians?”
“No, they weren’t Christians!”
“Were the Crusaders Christians?”
“No, they weren’t Christians!”
“Were the Inquisitors Christians?”
“No, they weren’t Christians!”
“Are the hypocrites Christians?”
“No, they're not Christians!”
“This is a marvelous thing. You just told me that you are not a Christian because of four kinds of non-Christians. That does not make sense at all! That is like rejecting concrete because Styrofoam doesn't act like concrete. Tell me, have you heard of a counterfeit $10 bill?”
“Yes.”
“Why do people counterfeit $10 bills?”
“Because the real bill is worth ten dollars, and the counterfeit is worth nothing.”
“Have you ever heard of counterfeit brown paper?”
“No.”
“Why don't people counterfeit brown paper?”
“Because it isn't worth it.”
“That's right! There has to be a ‘real’ that is worth something before anyone will make a counterfeit. Suppose you were cheated out of $20 by exchanging a good $20 bill for two counterfeit $10 bills. You would be angry. You would get so angry you would reject U.S. currency from then on! Right? No. That would be foolish. Just the fact there is fake money proves there is a real thing that is worth something.
"You have seen some counterfeit Christians; that should tell you there are real Christians out there that these hypocrites are attempting to counterfeit. What should you do? You should find a real Christian, one who is filled with love, joy, peace, and patience and clearly confesses the Lord Jesus Christ. Examine him. If, after doing that, you wish to reject Christianity because of the real thing, then that is at least honest, if not very smart. Better yet, examine Jesus and reject Him because of Him.”
Later that evening, this particular man received Jesus as Lord and Savior.
The hypocrite who wants to appear good without becoming good is a person who is pretending to be a Christian. The unbeliever who objects to this takes credit for not being a “pretend Christian.” However, he does not realize that he will end up in the same lake of fire as that hypocrite. They both need to repent to the One who will save hypocrite sinners and non-hypocrite sinners.
Comments