There are hypocrites in every church. Sadly, I have seen firsthand someone live a lie but still be allowed to preach in churches. Despite all the evidence against him, men turn a blind eye to the devastation he has caused and allow him to tell their congregation how to live. This is a reality in far too many places, unfortunately.
Jesus was also well-acquainted with hypocrisy. He was there the day the highest created being fell from his position as the worship leader of Heaven. Had humans been created, shock would have reverberated throughout their congregation as the one they thought was devoted to God was really only devoted to himself.
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning!
how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God:
I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. Isaiah 14:12-15
Hypocrisy comes from a Greek word meaning “actors performing under a mask.” (https://biblehub.com/greek/5273.htm) Hypocrisy began with Satan in Heaven pretending to be surrendered to God while inwardly scheming for a way to be worshipped and adored as a god. When he tempted Eve in the Garden, he banked on the fact that humans would want the same thing.
5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. Genesis 3:5
Ever since that fateful day when Adam and Eve fell for Satan’s half-truth, humans have worked to make their own goodness the standard. When God gave Moses the Law, it was meant not only to give men God’s standard but also to reveal how far short people’s idea of good fell in comparison to God’s perfection.
23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Romans 3:23
This is the point of Jesus’ sermon on the Mount. God’s standard is far above human standards of goodness. Even the religious leaders who had God’s Law memorized tried to make it easier to follow by their traditions. Jesus said in Matthew 15:3-9 that the scribes and Pharisees were eliminating God’s command of caring for their parents by instead giving money to the temple. Jesus often called the religious leaders hypocrites because this was their way of keeping the Law. They added traditions that canceled out the intention of God’s Laws. Jesus, however, came to perfectly fulfill God’s Law.
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:17-20
Warren Wiersbe highlights verse 20 as the theme verse of Jesus’s entire sermon in his commentary on Matthew. (Be Loyal, 38). When the fulfillment of God’s Law came in the flesh through Jesus, the religious leaders did not even recognize Him. They, like Satan, had their own glory in mind. While they performed the rituals of God’s Law on the outside, their hearts were far from Him.
It is very easy to see the hypocrisy of the religious leaders in Jesus’ day, and it is often easy to see blatant hypocrisy in churches today. But Jesus did not want His followers to just find hypocrisy in others. Rather, His point was to find it and cast it out of each individual heart.
Jesus did not want His disciples to only know and teach His truth. He also expected them to do (act on, obey, follow through) His Words. Within the next few verses of Matthew 5, He gives very specific examples of what that will look like. It is convicting and challenging.
Those of us who live with the Spirit in our lives, working to make us more like Jesus, have it much easier than those who were trying to do it without His help. However, we also have greater responsibility. God’s Word is available in its entirety both in print and online. When we stand before Him to give an account, we will have no excuse for not teaching AND doing everything His Word says to do.
- One’s upbringing will not be an excuse.
- Hypocrisy in spiritual leadership will not be an excuse.
- Financial limitations will not be an excuse.
- How one is treated by those around them will not be an excuse.
- “I didn’t know” will also not be an excuse.
For those who have placed their faith in Jesus, every secret thing will be brought into the light. Sin will find you out. Jesus will not overlook the believer who looks at pornography when no one is around. He will not ignore gossip or gluttony, or the one choosing to have a sexual relationship outside of a marriage relationship. He also will not overlook those who enable sin to continue unabated within the church or family. He demands repentance, not pretense. His mercy is only available to the one who confesses and forsakes sin.
13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper:
but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy. Proverbs 28:13
Take heart, believer. Hypocrisy has a time limit. When we keep our hearts tuned with Jesus, walking with Him, and obeying what His Word says, we will overcome this world. Don’t quit because of the hypocrites. Jesus knows who they are.
His Song in the Night 