Charity, prayer and fasting are all legitimate spiritual activities that should typify the child of God. Tragically in Jesus day, individuals hi-jacked and perverted the very means of grace by turning them into one-act plays in order to garner religious applause from an undiscerning audience. In rather chilling terms, Jesus thrice says that if they are merely playing to human audiences for the express purpose of receiving man’s accolades, then in terms of eternal rewards they have already received their just recompense and should therefore expect nothing in the here after.
To understand the nature and character of these individuals, Jesus describes them using two distinct Greek terms. The first is HUPOKRITAI which is universally translated as hypocrite. The term comes from the Greek theatre and is roughly equivalent to the English term stage actor. A stage actor both then and now is a hireling that can effectively pretend to be anyone he or she chooses to be. An actor can be a nobleman one night, a beggar the next show, a lover or a fighter. Rarely does the audience actually know the true nature and character of the actors on stage.
The second term is THEOTHAYMAI. This is a verbal form that Jesus uses to describe the actions of the HUPOKRITAI. The term can be translated roughly to be seen, or to be observed and also comes from the Greek theatre. It contains an element that the thing being observed is doing so as some sort of spectacle. Whether the religious exercise is charity, prayer or fasting, the hypocrite is calculating, deliberate, purposeful and intentional in his efforts to present a pious outward fascade.The reason is purely self-centered. Religious charlotry in the name of God is good business and often would provide a very comfortable living as well as social prominence.
The challenge that such people pose is that they know full well what their actions represent. They are intelligent and well versed in Scripture and Doctrine. Were you to quiz them it would not shock anyone that their theological answers would pass muster by any standard of Church Confession. They know the Gospel, understand the Truth and can articulate that truth as well as any sincere believer.
The problem is that they do not believe the Truth. The Church is a place from which personal goals, individual agendas and self-fulfilling ideals can be exploited for individual gain or profit. Churches are filled by loving, caring and trusting people. It can be a place to fill one’s business contact list or it can be a place to achieve some degree of social prominence. Whatever drives the hypocrite to live within a confessing community it is not because their is a love for the Lord Jesus or a desire to see His Church grow. There is no spiritual rebirth, no regeneration no conversion.
So what does this all mean when the Church is accused of hypocrisy? A truly born again person can never be accused of hypocrisy. By way of spirit rebirth, affections have been changed. Old affections have been mortified. There is a new heart and a new passion to serve the Lord Jesus. It does not mean that a born again Christian is free from error.
The testimony of Scripture is clear on this. True believers can and do fail. They can sin; fall into temptation; make mistakes and use poor judgment thereby giving the Gospel a black eye. However, a true believer when confronted with his or her sin, is quick to repent, confess and learn to avoid these errors in the future. Christians can and are often inconsistent in their spiritual walk. But being inconsistent is not hypocrisy. There is no deliberate motive to justify error nor to excuse it. It ought not to be this way but there are lots of reasons why this is so:
1. The Fallen Nature: Although we are redeemed until the future state of glorification struggling against sin will be a life long effort.
2. New Christian: Whether one comes to Christ at age 5 or 50, one cannot be expected to know let alone practice the full scope of the Bible. This takes time and patience. Along the way, mistakes will occur. Again, this is inconsistency not deliberate manipulation.
3. Immature Christian: Some people grow in the faith via leaps and bounds. Others seem to take 5 steps forward and 4.99999999 steps backwards. Growth is an arduous and painful process but growth is taking place nevertheless.
4. Personal Blindspots: We all have them. These are areas of personal conduct and behavior to which we are totally oblivious. These are perhaps the hardest to weed out and require the loving patience of our friends, family and pastors to point our personal foibles.
Christians ought not be inconsistent in their walk with God. The fact is all of us are. When we do sin we need to deal with it quickly and repentantly with a spirit of brokenness and sorrow. Not only have we caused grief to others, our greatest affront is of course to God. Against Him and Him alone have we sinned to paraphrase King David. Our motivation to do the right thing is born of a devotion to God, caring not a whit about personal gain.
However, the charge of hypocrisy can still be leveled at the local church. The thing to remember is who is it that is leveling the charge? If you excommunicate a member or invoke church discipline after following the stipulations laid out in Matthew 18, you may very well be labeled as a hypocrite. Do not let that deter you from doing what is right.I have taken pains to explain that while Christians maybe inconsistent they are certainly not hypocrites. I have described a hypocrite in the terms that the Lord Jesus used. A fraud, charlatan, actor and a willful liar.
Have I just described you? Are you one of those people who is a member in good standing of a local assembly and can articulate the creeds and confessions verbatum? Have you lip synched a profession of faith years ago just to gain access to the Christian community? Do you know the Gospel and its implications but secretly reject Jesus as Lord and Savior? Is the Bible nothing more than a collection of fables in your mind? Is the Church simply another resource for you to exploit?
Have I just described you? Then please have the courage of your convictions and resign your membership from the local church. Your pastor will be grateful for your honesty and will no doubt continue to express his love and care for you.
