Hypocrites: Pretenders
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before others to be seen by them; otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. So, whenever you do tzedakah (give to the poor), do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, so that they may be glorified by men. Amen, I tell you, they have their reward in full! But when you do tzedakah (give to the poor), do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your tzedakah (giving) may be in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, shall reward you. “When you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Amen, I tell you, they have their reward in full!” (Matthew 6:1-5 TLV).
Lately I have been hearing those in the ministry refer to themselves as “Hypocrites”, because they denote that they also sin and fall short to the glory of God. Yes, I have also heard many times that some people won't attend church because of the hypocrites that attend. So, let's delve into the word “hypocrite”.
The word Hypocrite comes from the Greek language, which means to be a stage player, an actor, or someone that pretends. Well that describes Hollywood real quick! So, what about the rest of us?
When I was a young boy up to my late teens, if you knew me, you could say I had an active imagination. I would watch George Reeves playing Superman and because my mother sewed, she made me a cape so I could pretend to be Superman. But then there was Adam West who played Batman and again I wanted to pretend I was Batman. That was a young boy pretending to be such a character, even though he wasn't the real thing. In the 1970's I watched a lot of television. One show in my late teens that caught my attention was Starsky and Hutch. They were cool and the character of Starsky was my favorite, so I would look for ways to wear clothes like this character, yet again, I was not him. Then in 1980 a new show came on that was the rave of that time. It was Magnum PI. The cool guy in Hawaii. Yes, most guys wanted to wear those Hawaiian shirts, don a mustache, and drive a red Ferrari and I too was one of them. However, the problem was, I wasn't him nor had a car like him, far from it. So again, I pretended to give the appearance, but my characteristics were not remotely close. The point here is, I was pretending to be something I wasn't. Now that you have had a good laugh, let's continue to the meat of this piece.
So, why did Jesus refer to the word “hypocrite”? Could it be, that the hearts and lives of those who claimed to be religious were fake aka pretenders? So, how does one distinguish the difference? Understand, no one is perfect, and many use the phrase, “I am not perfect, only Jesus was”. They are correct, but many use it as an excuse to continue to practice sin. The Apostle Paul speaks about that in Romans 6.
Yes, the churches are full of hypocrite, but so are many outside those buildings. The problem is many believe as long as they regularly show up for church or serve in a certain position, they are righteous. Yet, Jesus was addressing the religious leaders. They proclaimed God's Word, but their life outside the view of others was no different than the pagans. They did good works so it would be noticed, but it was all for show. Have you heard someone say, they do not cuss in a church, but outside their mouths are full of filthy language? They think that if you are in a church building you are in God's temple, yet again the Apostle Paul says God does not dwell in what is made of wood and brick (Acts 7:48), but in those who are born-again (1st Corinthians 3:16-17). So, if you are His temple, why would you live contrary to His ways? There are those who believe that if you say a prayer with the preacher and acknowledge Jesus as Savior, you are good to go and continue to live just as you always have, because of the ideology of “once saved always saved”. Without repentance there is no salvation (2nd Corinthians 7:10).
Mere words spoken will not save you, but realizing you are a sinner destined for Hell, and by turning away from your sins by admitting and recognizing that Jesus is Lord, one can receive the gift of Salvation (Romans 10:9-10).
Many think they are better than those who don't regularly attend church, yet Jesus told the Church of Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-7 to repent because they have forgotten their first love when they first were saved. Hypocrites believe they're good with God because they act religious around those in church, but their life outside those church walls bear no resemblance to what they profess. In other words, they pretend they are, but their hearts and lives speak otherwise. A pretender is also someone who practices sin all the while they are condemning those who do it out in the open. It's like “do as I say, not as I do”.
Do you get angry with ignorance? If you say no, then your perfect. Yes, even preachers get frustrated and angry at the ignorance of people's lifestyles and actions. Jesus got angry, but His anger was more against the Religious Hypocrites, just read the seven woes in Matthew 23, but also where the Holy of Holies was God's Temple was in Jerusalem, Jesus made a whip and turned over the tables of those who desecrated His Father's House. I wonder in how many churches today Jesus would do the same thing.
Hypocrites are pretenders, they act out the part, but they are not truly followers of Jesus. A disciple is not a hypocrite, because they are followers of Jesus. A disciple goes out into the world to make disciples, not denominational church members. A disciple is one who will live out that they are not perfect but are being perfected through the cleansing by His Word. A disciple will admit they sin and fall short, but not as an excuse “I'm only human” so they can continue to practice their sin habits (Romans 6), but say “I'm not the person I ought to be but thank you Jesus I'm not who I used to be.”
I know we could continue even deeper, but instead maybe you need to go deeper and ask the Lord to reveal what's in your heart. By doing so, He will make known to you where you may give that appearance of being a pretender, so you can repent and seek His forgiveness so you can become a better follower of His.