Help for the Hypocrite
Matthew 23:23-28
Have you ever caught a salesperson in a lie? They tell you how much you need their car or product and how it will change your image, maybe even change your life! News channels often include investigative reporting on fraudulent, hypocritical business people, showing how they say one thing and do another. I wonder what kind of a story they would uncover if they installed hidden cameras in the church. What would the secret tape look like if they also shot some film when churchgoers were in their cars, at their jobs, and in their homes?
It’d be quite a story, wouldn’t it? I can see the headlines now...Christians Who Play Charades or Pretenders in the Pews. It would confirm what many already believe -- that the church is full of hypocrites. It’s difficult to believe Christianity is true when so many of its followers lead such contradictory lives.
Somebody once told a pastor that he doesn’t go to church because there are so many hypocrites there. The pastor responded by saying, “Oh, don’t let that stop you. There’s always room for one more.”
We grow tired of people saying one thing and living something that’s completely opposite. According to the dictionary, a hypocrite is “a person who pretends to have beliefs or practices which he or she does not actually possess.” As used in the Bible, the term comes from ancient Greek theater, where one actor would often play two parts. When saying something humorous, he would hold up a mask with a smiley face; when playing a tragic part, he would hold up a mask with a sad face. A good actor could imitate the speech, mannerisms, and conduct of the character he was portraying. The word literally means, “One who hides behind a mask.”
One hot day when they had guests for dinner, a mother asked her four-year-old boy named Johnny to say the blessing for the meal. Johnny didn’t really want to and complained, “Mom, I don’t know what to say!” The mother sweetly replied, in front of her guests, “Oh, just say what you hear me say.” Obediently, Johnny bowed his head and mumbled, “Oh Lord, why did I invite these people over on such a hot day?”
Perhaps one of the reasons why there are hypocrites in churches is because not all church people are Christians. Going to church will not automatically change anyone’s behavior. People go for all sorts of reasons -- maybe out of habit or ritual, maybe to seek the truth, or perhaps to just network with other people.
Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going into a garage makes you a car. We have to live with the possibility that what some people perceive as hypocrisy in the church is in fact, the result of mistaken identity. Some people are no more Christians than I’m Asian just because I happen to love Chinese food. Some people just look like they’re Christians because they get up on Sundays and go to a place called a church.
Actually, this should take some pressure off those who might be checking Christianity out. You’re not expected to act like a Christian if you’re not one yet. As you seek and ask questions, don’t get all caught up in what you should do, or shouldn’t do. Once you surrender your life to Christ, He’ll begin changing you from the inside out. You don’t have to manufacture Christian behavior on your own. He’ll give you the desire and the power to change -- after you receive Christ into your life.
So some people in the church are not really Christians in the first place. That leads to another question. Why does it appear that so many true Christians are hypocrites? I think it results from some confusion about what a real Christian is. In fact, as we better understand what a true Christian is, we’ll have a better understanding of what a hypocrite is. I’d like to offer 3 distinctives of genuine Christians. These characteristics deal with the present, the past, and the future.
3 Distinctives of genuine Christians
1. Real Christians Are Forgiven Sinners. Perhaps you’ve seen the bumper sticker that reads, “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.” The Bible never says that Christ followers are perfect. It does say that those who surrender their lives to Him will be perfectly forgiven.
There’s a difference between being a sinner and being a hypocrite. There’s an unspoken assumption that a Christian is someone who doesn’t sin. Nothing could be further from the truth. In reality, it’s just the opposite.
1 John 1:8 puts it very clearly: “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” A hypocrite, or one who wears a mask, claims to be free from faults. A Christian, on the other hand, freely admits the fact that he or she is a sinner. The next verse, 1 John 1:9 describes the difference between a hypocrite and an honest sinner: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” A forgiven sinner consistently seeks cleansing from sin.
To look at the church and see sinners is one thing. To label the church as full of hypocrites is another thing. The church is not a hall for super saints, but a hospital for sick sinners.
It’s not about being good. It’s about being forgiven. I find it comforting to know that we all mess up. One of the greatest Christians who ever lived was the Apostle Paul. Do you think he thought of himself as spiritually invincible? No way. He knew who he was. He writes about it in 1 Timothy 1:15: “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners -- of whom I am the worst.” Notice that he doesn’t say he was a sinner; he says that he still is!
Since Christians are not perfect, it follows that churches are not full of perfect people. We’re a church full of forgiven failures. When you think about it, the church is the only organization around where a public admission of sinfulness is a requirement for membership. This place is for sinners. And, if you have the courage to admit that you’re one of us, you’re welcome here.
2. Real Christians Are Not What They Used To Be.
Some of you may look at a Christian and wonder why they behave a certain way. After all, a real Christian shouldn’t lose his temper, right? Or, a genuine Christian shouldn’t struggle with alcohol, right? Or, a true Christian shouldn’t swear, right? You might even think to yourself, “If that’s the best God can do, forget it. I expect more out of Christians.”
Instead of focusing on how far people fall short, why not think about how far they’ve come? For instance, even though I have a long way to go in several areas of my life, I am a totally different person today than I was before I became a Christian. We’re in process, even though we have a long way to go, we’re not what we used to be. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” Those of you who have surrendered your lives to Christ have become someone new; you’re not what you used to be!
3. Real Christians Are Becoming What They Will Be. Let’s focus now on the future. A real Christian is a forgiven sinner who has been changed from how they used to be. But there’s more to the story. As Paul Harvey would say, “Let me give you the rest of the story.” A real Christian will be transformed completely and will become perfect one day. And that’s not going to happen in this life, but at death, when we will be radically changed and spend eternity with Christ.
In the meantime, God through the Holy Spirit provides some divine housecleaning in our lives. When we mess up, He prompts us to confess it. He gives us the courage and humility to ask for forgiveness. He gives us the power to live the way the Bible teaches. He develops the character of Christ within us and causes the fruit of the Spirit to ripen in our lives.
As authentic Christ followers, we experience forgiveness of sin and life-change as we surrender to Jesus on a daily basis. Philippians 1:6 says, “Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” That’s why being a Christian gives me hope: God’s not finished with me yet. I’m in process. I’m not what I used to be and I’m becoming what I will be.
You see, there’s a dissonance in all our lives between what we know is right and the way we’re currently living. Most of us seek to present an image of ourselves that is better than we really are. In that sense, we’re all hypocrites. As a Christian however, I have some inside information that keeps me from being discouraged with the reality of this discrepancy in my life. I know that God is at work narrowing the gap between what I should be and what I am, between how I should be living and how I am living. As such, there’s no need for cover-ups. I’m freed from hypocrisy. I can take my mask off… and you can too!
Hope for Hypocrites
Having said all that, is there any hope for hypocrites? What if you’re a hypocrite? What should you do?
The late John Stott said this about hypocrisy: “Hypocrisy is hideous. What cancer is to the body, hypocrisy is to the church. It’s a killing agent. Unfortunately, hypocrisy is also addictive. And even though Jesus reserved His most severe words of condemnation for the hypocrite, we still seem to prefer that lifestyle to truth and authenticity.” ( “Sermon on the Mount”)
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus sternly denounced the sin of hypocrisy. In fact, he reserved his harshest criticism for those who are hypocrites. If you’re bothered by spiritual counterfeits, you have some good company. Jesus lashed out at mask-wearers 20 different times in the Gospels. Listen to a few verses from the Gospel of Matthew:
Matthew 6:2: “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets to be honored by men…”
Matthew 6:5: “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…”
Matthew 6:16: “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting...”
Matthew 7:5: “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Matthew 15:7-8: “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.’”
Some of the harshest words Jesus ever spoke were directed toward professional religious pretenders. In just one speech, in Matthew 23, He called them:
• Hypocrites (7 times)
• Fools (2 times)
• Blind Guides (5 times)
• Serpents and Brood of Vipers (1 time)
In Matthew 23:23-28, after describing the disease of deceit, Jesus also gives 2 cures for counterfeits. He gives hope to hypocrites. Let’s look at them.
1. Focus on what really matters. Take a look at verses 23-24: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices-mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law- justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.”
The word “woe” can be translated “cursed be…” and is the exact opposite of what we read in the Beatitudes, “Blessed be…” Jesus curses counterfeits. These religious actors were obsessed with the trivial. We could say that they majored on the minors. The Old Testament Law did not explicitly require a tithe on spices, even though the Pharisees spent an inordinate amount of time debating among themselves whether to give 10% of their cumin to the Lord.
Because they were so focused on the smaller things, Jesus points out that they neglected that which was most important – justice, mercy, and faithfulness. Micah 6:8: “He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Have you ever noticed that legalists are often sticklers for details but blind to the great principles of Scripture?
I love the imagery Jesus uses to show them how blind they are. Wanting to avoid the impurity caused by a dead insect in their drink, they would strain out a bug before it would die in order to avoid being declared unclean. Interestingly, many people considered gnats exempt from causing impurity, but the Pharisees didn’t want to take any chances. Jesus charges that they would put a camel, which was the largest land animal in Palestine and ritually unclean, in a cup and gulp him down.
Their attention to detail was fine but they had missed the main point. If you want to avoid being a hypocrite, guard yourself against majoring on the minors. What is really important? Don’t get so caught up in the minutia that you miss the majestic.
2. Work on the inner person. Vv. 25-26: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.”
In this section Jesus speaks about the danger of externalizing religion. It’s so easy to focus on religious routines that we forget the necessity of cultivating a love relationship with Jesus. Instead of facing our own foibles, some of us only express the external.
The Pharisees were like a cup that looked really clean on the outside but on the inside it was full of greed and self-indulgence. If you want to be cured from living a counterfeit life, then pay attention to your inner life. Keep your insides clean. Focus more on the internal than the external. In order to make sure He made His point, Jesus uses one more image that is one of the strongest He ever used.
Notice verses 27-28: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”
The Feast of Passover was just around the corner. In order to spruce up the city, all the gravestones and tombs were painted white. This wasn’t just to make thing look nice, it had a much deeper significance. The Pharisees knew that nothing spread ritual impurity as severely as a corpse. Numbers 19:11 says that anyone who touched a dead body was unclean for a week. The Pharisees believed that one could be rendered religiously dirty and thus ostracized from the Passover celebration if even one’s shadow would touch a tombstone. That’s why they were painted white so they could avoid them.
Jesus continues by saying that these hypocrites were actually full of dead men’s bones! This would have greatly offended them. They were so set on avoiding things that would render them contaminated that they missed the whole point! They were not only internally dirty; they were also dead on the inside. What really counts, as far as God is concerned, is what a person is within. It’s possible to look good on the outside and yet in actuality be morally dirty and spiritually dead. When viewed from outward appearances, the hypocrite looks good. He plays the part. The problem is on the inside where wickedness and evil thoughts reign supreme.
Fellow hypocrite, do you need some hope today? Do you want to change? Do you want to insulate yourself from the tendency to focus only on the external? Are you ready to take off your mask and be authentic, perhaps for the first time? Then, focus on what really matters and work on the inner person!
It’s interesting that while Jesus is hard on hypocrites, He never condemns sinners. John 3:17 says that, “The Son did not come into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” In fact, Jesus embraces those who own up to their mistakes and moral failures. We think we need to put on a mask and act religious in order to gain God’s favor. Jesus says, “Take off the mask. Be real. Own up for your rebellion. If you do, I will forgive you.”
Are you playing spiritual charades? Stop it right now. You’re not fooling anyone. People can see your hypocrisy and they’re turned off by it. In fact, there may be some non-Christians who have written off the church and God because of the way you’ve been acting. It’s time to come clean, Christian. It’s time to walk the talk and to live what you say you believe. The way you live your life is important.
If you’re investigating Christianity, and you see imperfect Christians, I encourage you not to make a decision on the basis of the unfinished product -- make your decision on the basis of the person of Christ. He can impact your present by forgiving you for your sins. He can make changes in your life now so that you are not what you used to be. And, he will help you become what you will be by steadily chipping away at your rough spots and changing you from the inside out.
I’ve heard people say that they’d be more interested in following Christ if there weren’t so many hypocrites. They don’t seem to realize that if a hypocrite is standing between them and God, then the hypocrite is closer to God than they are!
I wonder if you’re wearing a mask this morning. Are you trying to pretend that you have it all together, when deep inside you know you can’t keep up the act much longer? The cure for hypocrisy is not to change anything on the outside. It’s not a matter of doing more things, of trying to get more religious. That just perpetuates the wearing of masks. If you want to change, if you want to truly become someone you’ve never been before, the change has to take place on the inside.
In one of his meetings, D.L. Moody was explaining to his audience the truth that we cannot bring about spiritual changes in our lives by our own strength. He demonstrated the principal like this: “Tell me,” he said to his audience, “how can I get the air out of the tumbler I have in my hand?” One man said, “Suck it out with a pump.” But Moody replied, “That would create a vacuum and shatter it.” Finally after many suggestions, he picked up a pitcher and quietly filled the glass with water. “There,” he said, “all the air is now removed.” He then explained that victory for the child of God does not come by working hard to eliminate sinful habits, but rather by allowing Christ to take full possession.
When we are filled with Jesus, we find there isn’t room left for anything false. Stop playing Christian charades. Stand before Him and admit that you’re a sinner. When you do, He’ll forgive you and set you on your way to becoming all that He created you to be.
Join the ranks of forgiven sinners. There’s a greater temptation for hypocrisy if you don’t have a way to deal with the sin in your life. You see, if you don’t know you’re forgiven, you’ll spend the rest of your life trying to cover it up. Ask Christ to forgive you and change you and He’ll “cover” your sins.
Then, when people look at your life, they’ll find something more newsworthy than a holy hypocrite. They will see someone who has the courage to take off his or her mask and be real -- now that will be a story!
-Portions of this sermon adapted from Rev. Brian Bill, sermoncentral.com.
