Hypocrisy
A Sermon on Romans 2:17-24
In his book, The Jesus I Never Knew, Philip Yancey tells a story about a Bible study he was teaching on the person of Christ. The class began discussing how the hypocritical legalism of the church turned off non-believers. Then they began to ‘swap war stories,’ and Yancey shared his own tale of Moody Bible Institute in the early 1970’s. They banned all facial hair on the male students, as well as any hair below the ears. Every day the students would file past a large painting of the institute founder, Dwight L. Moody, breaker of all the rules.
As he told his story, all but one man laughed. Greg became angry and spoke up in an indignant rage. "I feel like walking out of this place," he said,… "You criticize others for being Pharisees. I’ll tell you who the real Pharisees are. They’re you [he pointed at me] and the rest of you people in this class. You think you’re so high and mighty and mature. I became a Christian because of Moody Church. You find a group to look down on, to feel more spiritual than, and you talk about them behind their backs. That’s what a Pharisee does. You’re all Pharisees."
Yancey writes: “I glanced at the clock, hoping for a reprieve. No such luck. It showed fifteen minutes of class time remaining. I waited for a flash of inspiration, but none came. The silence grew louder. I felt embarrassed and trapped.”
We’re all guilty of hypocrisy on one level or another. If we look at the hypocrisy of others, we often neglect to see it in ourselves. We’re human and we fail to live up to the standards we set for others.
Today we continue our journey through the book of Romans. If you have your Bibles with you, why don’t you take them out and turn to the second chapter of the Book of Romans.
Hypocrisy
Here Paul addresses our tendency toward hypocrisy. We’ll begin at verse 17. Paul writes:
Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; 18 if you know his will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; 19 if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth-- 21 you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? (Romans 2:17-24, NIV)
Preaching to the kids
When we read these words, isn’t it easy to apply them to other people? I mean, as a mom, I can’t tell you how often I’ve wanted to preach this sermon to my children.
Now you, if you call yourself a Blader, and you rely on the rules of this house; if you know Mom’s will – and God’s [and hopefully they’re the same] – and approve of it because you are instructed by these laws and convinced that you are a guide to the blind and a teacher of siblings – you who teach others do you not teach yourself? You who would preach against stealing, do you steal? You who say people should not hit others, do you hit? You who abhor selfish acts of non-sharing, do you hoard your toys?
But one of the hardest things about preaching a sermon like that is that you have to apply it to yourself too. Because the words don’t mean much if they can’t look at my life and at least see a glimpse of it in practice.
My dad used to have a saying when I was growing up. “Do as I say, not as I do.” I remember thinking at an early age there was something terribly wrong with that logic. When I was older, I called him on it once and countered with a proverb of my own: “Practice what you preach, Dad!” - - not that it got me anywhere.
Jew and Gentile
Now as we look at Paul’s letter to the Romans, he was talking to the Jews at this point: he says, “If you call yourself a Jew.”
Paul levels his charge against those who have God’s law. These are the benefits on which they stand:
Pride in their Jewish race.
Reliance on and approval of the law.
Pride in their relationship with God.
Knowledge of God’s will.
Ability to guide and instruct others.
Possession of knowledge and truth.
And Paul’s charge is that though they have all these things, they do not pay attention to what they teach. “You who teach others, do you not teach yourself?” Paul charges. They used the law to show that they had a right relationship with God, and yet that is the law they violated.
They were not practicing what they preached. And it wasn’t that Paul expected them to succeed in being sinless according to the law. Paul wanted them to open their eyes and realize that they were sinners in need of God’s salvation.
Paul certainly takes his time getting to that point. It isn’t until the end of chapter 3 that he begins to touch on the righteousness that comes by faith. But here he is laying the groundwork. Paul spends a lot of time in his letter making sure that both the Jews and the Gentiles realize that they are sinners.
In chapter one, Paul spoke to the Gentiles who did not have the law. They too needed God’s salvation, and they also had no excuse. Indeed, Paul says in Romans 1:19, that
… what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities-- his eternal power and divine nature-- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. (Romans 1:19-21, NIV)
Even the wicked of the world should know God’s qualities and power. Paul even says in verse 21 that they knew God, but they did not glorify Him or thank Him.
The Jews were a special people because God revealed His laws to them through Moses. But the Gentiles had no excuse either because He revealed Himself in creation. No one here today has an excuse for not seeing their need. God has revealed Himself to us in our world and through His Scriptures. And we all have sinned and fallen short of His glory.
I think we all tend to resist this idea that what we do is sinful, especially in our world of anything goes. And if we do admit our wrong, we say “I made a mistake.” We don’t say “I sinned.” We don’t like to think of ourselves as sinners and we don’t like to think we deserve punishment, so we find ways to justify our actions. But if we don’t see ourselves as sinners, then the concept of justification by grace through faith doesn’t carry a whole lot of weight with us, does it? If we can’t see ourselves as sinners, then how is this good news?
As Kevin preached last week from Romans 1:16: “[the gospel] is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”
Before we can appreciate salvation, we have to understand our sin. And then the only way for us to find forgiveness of our sin and salvation from death is to put our faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and give Him our lives. And as we give our lives to Him, our walk needs to match our talk. Our hypocrisy comes because we know what is right and have no excuse, yet we do wrong anyway, and without remorse.
What is Hypocrisy?
In the Greek, a ‘hypocrite’ was a stage actor. They wore a mask to hide their true identity and pretend to be a character they were not. They had two faces, if not more, and thus we think of a hypocrite as being ‘two-faced.’
Such a person was not considered appropriate as a public figure. Their skill at impersonating others made them untrustworthy politicians. That doesn’t seem to have stopped anyone in our day from running for public office.
When we claim to be Christians, and believe that we are a guide for the blind and a light for those in darkness, and yet we do not let the light of Christ shine through us, and our own eyes cannot see, then the world looks upon us as hypocrites.
The question is: what is our true self, and what is the mask? Do we wear a Christian mask to hide a sinner – or do we wear a sinner’s mask and hide our true identity in Christ? At different stages in our lives, it may even be possible that we have done both.
Maybe we are living a life of sin, and we know it is wrong. We might even be willing to admit it and tell others, “Don’t do as I do, do as I say.” But our calling is to go beyond recognition of our sin to repentance and a forgiven life.
Others of us may know Christ as our Savior, yet we are afraid to let others know. We let them think we are just like them, and then Christ does not shine in us. We have no witness in this world if we do not think that our salvation from sin through faith in Christ is Good News worth sharing and living.
Hypocrisy Dishonors God
If we look at our lives and find there is hypocrisy there, whatever form it takes, we need to realize the effects it has. Now while it is true that our hypocrisy can hurt us and our relationships with other people, Paul’s focus in this text is the effect of our hypocrisy on God.
In our day we think of sin with more of a victim mentality. Sin is when people get hurt and abused and cheated – not when God is dishonored. True – sin does affect mankind – but we sometimes forget that it affects God. Sin is falling short of the glory of God. Sin is not holding His glory as a valuable treasure. Sin is anything that dishonors God. And according to Paul, our hypocrisy dishonors God. Paul writes in verse 23:
You who brag about the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? (Romans 2:23, NIV)
That’s a rhetorical question. Of course you do! Whether your pride is in the law and yet you break it, or your pleasure is in your sin and yet you hide it by bragging about the law, such a two-faced nature brings no honor to God.
We as Christians may try to rely on our Sunday attendance or our weekly Bible study or our nightly prayer session and point to it as a means of justifying ourselves. The things we expect good Christians to do can become our law in a way. But if we brag about these things, and we do not let them instruct the rest of our living, then in our hypocrisy we too dishonor God.
It isn’t that the Law was a bad thing, or that going to church and prayer group are bad things, but Paul is charging that while the Law pointed to truth, the Jews did not use the Law correctly. To quote John Piper, “Love uses truth to bless others; but sin uses truth to exalt self. Both use truth; both can use the Bible. But only one is really taught by the truth and taught by the Bible.”[1]
Romans 1:21 says that the Gentiles knew God and they did not honor Him as God. The Jews were doing the same thing. They knew even more. A clearer truth had been revealed to them, but they did not let it change their lives and use it to bless others. Instead they used the Law to exalt themselves. Could it be possible that as Christians we continue in this error?
Whether we are true Christians who have not yet fully embraced obedience to Christ, or unrepentant sinners pretending to live a Christian life, we dishonor God. We’re all in this boat from time to time – we’re all sinners who fall short of the glory of God.
But let me be clear on one point: What makes us a hypocrite isn’t our failings, but the fact that we hide them and deny them. We become hypocrites when we put on a mask to cover our true selves – whatever self that might be. On the flip side, though, if we honestly admit our errors and our sin, honestly admit that we cannot justify ourselves, even that act can bring great glory to God.
Hypocrisy Destroys our Witness
In addition to dishonoring God, hypocrisy also has a way of destroying our witness to the unbeliever. And that doesn’t just make us look like bad Christians – it makes God look bad. As Paul writes in verse 24:
As it is written: "God’s name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you." (Romans 2:24, NIV)
In Ezekiel, chapter 36 (vss 17ff), the Lord tells how the people of Israel were disobedient in the land that He had given to them. Because of this, He scattered them among the nations and judged them according to their ways. Everywhere they went, the profaned God’s holy name and people said of them, “These are the LORD’s people, and yet they had to leave his land” (Ezekiel 36:20, NIV)
They claimed to be God’s people, yet they did not honor Him with their ways. The nations saw through their mask and as a result, thought little of their God. When we put on a mask either to hide our sin or to hide the light of Christ, God’s reputation suffers. Our witness for His sake is destroyed. We exchange the glory of God for something far less valuable.
Our hypocrisy can destroy all our attempts at trying to do good. I read a great quote by Brennan Manning the other day. He said, “The single greatest cause of atheism in the world today is Christians, who acknowledge Jesus with their lips but walk out of the church doors and deny Him with their lifestyle. That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.” God’s name is blasphemed in this world because of Christians who act like that.
Why People Call Me a Christian
There is a story about a pompous, self-righteous Sunday School teacher who was known for having a great knowledge of the Bible. He was teaching the youth one Sunday and he asked them, “Why do you think people call me a Christian?”
After a brief silence, one boy slowly raised his hand. After being called upon, he courageously replied, “Probably because they don’t know you.”
People like that don’t just hurt themselves. They hurt God too. So what should we do instead? We should strive to be authentic people. We should check to make sure our walk matches our talk.
Mr. Rogers
I grew up watching Mr. Rogers Neighborhood. Authenticity was one of the things that made Mr. Rogers so successful. Near the end of his career, he began to need to wear contact lenses and wear heavier makeup to cover up the wrinkles. It was then that he knew it was time to wave his final good-bye, because he could no longer offer himself as he was. And that is one of the things we loved so much about Mr. Rogers. His walk matched his talk.
When we can be that kind of people, then we bring honor and glory to our God. It is not beyond our grasp. It just requires that we be willing to take a risk.
Nehemiah
There was a time when Jerusalem had been destroyed, and though there was much opposition, Nehemiah rallied the people to rebuild her walls. They, along with God, had been in disgrace in the eyes of the nations. And they, along with God, began to rebuild. Earlier we sang, “Help us, O Lord, to build up the wall that Your Name may be honored again.” Nehemiah wanted to rebuild the walls of the city that represented His God.
Today, God’s temple is not just a building – it is our bodies. We are the temple of His Holy Spirit. Hypocrisy tears down those walls and destroys His temple. Instead, we need to tear down the walls of hypocrisy and rebuild His temple in a way that will bring honor to His Name again. And with God’s help, that is possible.
Philip Yancey
Do you remember the incident in Philip Yancey’s Bible study group? As Greg confronted the group about their hypocrisy, Yancey was convicted by his charge. But it wasn’t Yancey who diffused the situation.
A man named Bob spoke softly, “I’m glad you didn’t walk out, Greg. We need you here,” he said, “I’d like to tell you why I came to this church.” He then proceeded to explain how he started coming to Alcoholics Anonymous and decided to give the church a chance. Since they welcomed AA, they couldn’t be too bad, he figured. Though he admitted it was threatening to be around people whose lives were together, he found that people reached out to him, and it was in that church that he met Jesus.
All the hypocrisy in that room melted as people took off their masks and recognized that they all had common ground as sinners with an equal and desperate need for God.
We all struggle with the masks we keep in our closets. We pull them out and look them over and decide which one to wear. Sometimes we automatically put them on out of habit and don’t even realize it anymore. But what we really need to do is throw them all away and let Christ be seen in us.
It can be threatening to be real sometimes. But if we want to live for God’s glory, we need to be real. Let’s ask the Lord this morning to forgive us and set us free from the hypocrisy that we let into our lives.
© 5/13/07, Sue Blader, from the Sermon Series, ‘The Epistle to the Romans’
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Sources:
1) Bible Works 5, Revision 2, (Bigfork, Montana: Hermeneutika Computer Bible Research Software, 2001).
2) Clarence L. Bence, Romans: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, (Indianapolis, IN: Wesleyan Publishing House), 1996.
3) Stuart Olyott, Welwyn Commentary Series: The Gospel as it really is, Romans simply explained (Webster, New York: Evangelical Press USA), 2006.
4) John Piper, “The Effect of Hypocrisy, Part 1,” http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/BySeries/2/1069_The_Effect_of_ Hypocrisy_Part_1/
5) John Piper, “The Effect of Hypocrisy, Part 2,” http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Sermons/ByScripture/10/1070_The_Effect_of_ Hypocrisy_Part_2/
6) Redland Baptist Church, Breaking Free: Seven Deadly Sins, March 13, 2005, http://www.redlandbaptist.org/sermons/sermon20050313.htm - Brennan Manning quote; why people call me a Christian, Mr. Rogers illustrations
7) Philip Yancey, The Jesus I Never Knew, (Zondervan Corp.), 2002, Chapter 8
8) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypocrite
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[1] Piper, Hypocrisy part 2
