Hypocrites

Matthew 21: 28 – 32

Hypocrites

28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ 29 He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. 30 Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ but he did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to Him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.

In speaking with a person about fellowshipping with other Christians a person said to me, ‘I do not go to church. It is too full of hypocrites.’ I told him that he should come to church anyhow. One more hypocrite won’t hurt. One of the major complaints non-believers’ level against Christianity is that the churches are full of hypocrites.

So, to start out we need to understand exactly what we are talking about. What is hypocrisy? It is a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, that one does not really possess.

The Holy Son of God had a lot to say about hypocrisy and hypocrites. Since He didn’t mince any words on the subject, but directly confronted the religious hypocrites of His day, they hated Him intensely – eventually having Him arrested on trumped up charges. Here is a list of some of the hypocrisy that He spoke against:

. Giving to the poor to be recognized by others

. Praying in public to be recognized as God’s man

. Complaining about another person’s behavior when theirs was even worse.

. Testing other people to try to make yourself look superior

. Deceiving people from knowing God

. Repressing the poor and widows

. Teaching others to be hypocrites like them.

. Doing everything for show, while really being self-indulgent and unrighteous

. Able to analyze the weather but unable to distinguish between right and wrong.

Our Lord Jesus indicated that those who practiced hypocrisy would be sent to hell, indicating that they were non-believers. Our Precious Holy Spirit throughout His Word in our bibles associate’s hypocrisy with such things as evil, lying, perverting the gospel, envy and slander, jealousy and selfish ambitions.

I want us all to stop and think about what I am about to say. It is this point. Christians are often accused of being hypocrites. However, the Bible clearly indicates that those who practice hypocrisy really aren’t Christians at all. But will be judged to be non-believers and will be sentenced to Hell.

The scariest scripture I have every read comes from our Lord’s mouth in chapter 7 of Matthew’s Gospel, “13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it. 15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them. 21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!”

In our study through the Gospel of Matthew we had just covered the religious leaders confronting our Lord Jesus as to His Authority. In other words, they tried to trap Him in front of the crowd of people. Our Holy Master turned the tables on them by answering their question with a question. The bottom line was that the phony religious men were the ones who were caught in their very trap. Today we are going to learn through a Parable of our Lord where He Is going to expand on these hypocrites’ ways.