Question 1

What does God think about hypocrisy?

Accepted Answer

Psalm 50:16-17God says to the wicked: “Why bother reciting my decrees and pretending to obey my covenant? For you refuse my discipline and treat my words like trash.”Isaiah 1:15“When you lift up your hands in prayer, I will not look. Though you offer many prayers, I will not listen, for your hands are covered with the blood of innocent victims.”God is angry when people pretend to be good in order to gain something for themselves. God has chosen to do his work through people. So when people pretend to do good things for God but are obviously being deceitful, God gets a bad name.Proverbs 28:9God detests the prayers of a person who ignores the law.Amos 5:21“I hate all your show and pretense—the hypocrisy of your religious festivals and solemn assemblies.”God hates religious hypocrisy because it demonstrates a heart that is selfish rather than sincere.Isaiah 29:13So the Lord says, “These people say they are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.”Malachi 1:7-9“You have shown contempt by offering defiled sacrifices on my altar. Then you ask, ‘How have we defiled the sacrifices?’ You defile them by saying the altar of the Lord deserves no respect. When you give blind animals as sacrifices, isn’t that wrong? And isn’t it wrong to offer animals that are crippled and diseased? Try giving gifts like that to your governor, and see how pleased he is!” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Go ahead, beg God to be merciful to you! But when you bring that kind of offering, why should he show you any favor at all?” asks the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.Acts 5:1-6There was a certain man named Ananias who, with his wife, Sapphira, sold some property. He brought part of the money to the apostles, claiming it was the full amount. With his wife’s consent, he kept the rest. Then Peter said, “Ananias, why have you let Satan fill your heart? You lied to the Holy Spirit, and you kept some of the money for yourself. The property was yours to sell or not sell, as you wished. And after selling it, the money was also yours to give away. How could you do a thing like this? You weren’t lying to us but to God!” As soon as Ananias heard these words, he fell to the floor and died. Everyone who heard about it was terrified. Then some young men got up, wrapped him in a sheet, and took him out and buried him.God cannot be tricked or flattered. The worst and most foolish form of hypocrisy involves trying to lie to God.Matthew 16:6, 12“Watch out!” Jesus warned them. “Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” . . . Then at last they understood that he wasn’t speaking about the yeast in bread, but about the deceptive teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.Matthew 21:12-13Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out all the people buying and selling animals for sacrifice. He knocked over the tables of the money changers and the chairs of those selling doves. He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be called a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves!”Matthew 23:2-8, 13-15, 23-28“The teachers of religious law and the Pharisees are the official interpreters of the law of Moses. So practice and obey whatever they tell you, but don’t follow their example. For they don’t practice what they teach. They crush people with impossible religious demands and never lift a finger to ease the burden. Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called ‘Rabbi.’ Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters. . . . What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people’s faces. You won’t go in yourselves, and you don’t let others enter either. What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are! . . . What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel! What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are filthy—full of greed and self-indulgence! You blind Pharisee! First wash the inside of the cup and the dish, and then the outside will become clean, too. What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity. Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness.”Luke 18:10-14“Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”Luke 20:46-47“Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be severely punished.”Few hypocrites are more famous than the religious leaders of Jesus day—the Pharisees and the Sadducees—and Jesus didn’t hold back from denouncing their hypocrisy. He went so far as to call these hypocrites “child of hell (Matthew 23:15)” Hypocrisy is not a minor sin. It is rooted in pride, encourages other sins, blinds us to God’s truth, slanders God’s character, and actively leads others away from God. Hypocrites either inspire hypocrisy in others, or they give others a distaste for Christianity and for God. We should be on watch against even hints of hypocrisy in our lives.

Question 2

How should I respond when others are hypocritical?

Accepted Answer

Psalm 26:4I do not spend time with liars or go along with hypocrites.We should be careful not to spend too much time with obviously hypocritical people because it is easy to pick up their attitudes and habits.Galatians 2:11-13When Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile Christians, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. As a result, other Jewish Christians followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.Galatians 6:1Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.James 5:19-20My dear brothers and sisters, if someone among you wanders away from the truth and is brought back, you can be sure that whoever brings the sinner back will save that person from death and bring about the forgiveness of many sins.When our brothers and sisters in Christ are acting hypocritically, sometimes confrontation is necessary. Hypocrisy has a tendency to spread, and it becomes a danger to other believers. In that case, confrontation becomes the most loving course of action. When we confront others, we should do so in love and gentleness, rather than in pride. Otherwise, we miss the point.

Question 3

How do I avoid being a hypocrite?

Accepted Answer

Matthew 5:23-24“So if you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.”1 Corinthians 11:27-28So anyone who eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord unworthily is guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. That is why you should examine yourself before eating the bread and drinking the cup.To avoid being hypocrites, we must address the wrongs in our lives before representing God in front of others, which includes all aspects of worship in our faith communities.James 3:17The wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.To avoid being hypocrites, we need God’s Spirit to give us wisdom and true sincerity.James 4:8Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world.Sincerely following God will help us get rid of hypocrisy in our lives.1 John 1:9If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.1 John 2:3-4We can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth.Confession without a change of behavior is a spiritual charade. It is hypocrisy to confess a sin and then deliberately continue in it. We can easily glibly ask God’s forgiveness with no real repentance. So to avoid being hypocrites, we shouldn’t cheerfully claim God’s promise in 1 John 1:9 without reading 1 John 2:3-6. Confession without a change in direction is ineffective. It is an attempt to escape punishment without really setting out to please God.Matthew 7:1-5“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged. And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.”Galatians 6:1Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.Helping others confront their sins is good. If, however, we have not confronted our own sins, we are in no position to help others. Spouting advice we have neglected to follow ourselves is hypocritical.Matthew 25:44-45“Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’ And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’”1 John 2:9If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness.1 John 3:17-19If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God.1 John 4:20If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see?Claiming to love God while hating a brother or sister in Christ is hypocrisy. How can we love Christ while hating someone he died for? How can we sing of God’s forgiveness while holding a grudge against a worshiper sitting next to us? How can we claim to offer God everything while refusing to help his children in need?

Question 4

What are the consequences of hypocrisy in my life?

Accepted Answer

1 Samuel 24:16-22When David had finished speaking, Saul called back, “Is that really you, my son David?” Then he began to cry. And he said to David, “You are a better man than I am, for you have repaid me good for evil. Yes, you have been amazingly kind to me today, for when the Lord put me in a place where you could have killed me, you didn’t do it. Who else would let his enemy get away when he had him in his power? May the Lord reward you well for the kindness you have shown me today. . . .” but David and his men went back to their stronghold.Hypocrisy costs us credibility and the trust of others. Saul’s apparent contrition did not convince David. Instead, David returned to a safe place far from Saul. Wisdom realizes that those who display hypocrisy will always lose credibility and trust.Acts 19:15-16One time when they [the seven sons of Sceva] tried it, the evil spirit replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?” Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered.Hypocrites will try the latest fad to make themselves look good. The seven sons of Sceva, Jewish exorcists, tried to cast out demons in Jesus’ name without having genuine faith in Jesus—and paid for it dearly. Pretending to know God, without genuine commitment, is dangerous.

Question 5

In what ways does hypocrisy hurt a leader?

Accepted Answer

1 Samuel 13:11-14Samuel said, “What is this you have done?” Saul replied, “I saw my men scattering from me, and you didn’t arrive when you said you would, and the Philistines are at Micmash ready for battle. So I said, ‘The Philistines are ready to march against us at Gilgal, and I haven’t even asked for the Lord’s help!’ So I felt compelled to offer the burnt offering myself before you came.” “How foolish!” Samuel exclaimed. “You have not kept the command the Lord your God gave you. Had you kept it, the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom must end, for the Lord has sought out a man after his own heart. The Lord has already appointed him to be the leader of his people, because you have not kept the Lord’s command.”Hypocrisy can cost leaders everything. Saul was rejected as king of Israel because of his hypocrisy. He claimed to honor God but was simply watching out for himself. Wise leaders are genuine leaders.Matthew 23:15“What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you cross land and sea to make one convert, and then you turn that person into twice the child of hell you yourselves are!”Galatians 2:11-13When Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. When he first arrived, he ate with the Gentile Christians, who were not circumcised. But afterward, when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore. He was afraid of criticism from these people who insisted on the necessity of circumcision. As a result, other Jewish Christians followed Peter’s hypocrisy, and even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy.Hypocrisy spreads like a disease. As Peter learned from Paul, Christian leaders should learn from constructive criticism and strive to be genuine. Otherwise, their followers will pay the price.