CONFRONTING HYPOCRISY

Posted on April 15, 2020 by Catey Stover in Freedom Fighters

If you have been reading my posts, I hope by now you have picked up that I am reassessing my past with the sincere desire to be more like Christ and less like a legalist. I could be sadly mistaken, but it seems to me that the more rules and regulations you lay out for “spirituality”, the more you open the doors of your life for hypocrisy. It also gives you a specific checklist of things you must not do in order to be spiritual. For some reason, I have never seen a checklist of things we must do except have daily devotions (preferably first thing in the morning) and go to church and Bible study or small group regularly. Meet those criteria and many other Biblical things don’t seem to matter.

Unless I am totally biased and/or reading only things that already fit my “approved list”, I think I can accurately say that the consensus of Christian literature concludes that the legalists of today are most closely illustrative of the Pharisees of Jesus’ day. And He was very tough on them! Yet I assume that they seriously thought they were more spiritual than others around them.

“Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, ‘the scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice…’” Matt. 23:1-3.

The religious teachers had the rightful role as teachers and guardians of the Law. But they had no license to revise it or add to it. Their problem was that they “tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger”. (Matt. 23:4) They had actually developed a system of 613 laws, 365 negative commands, and 248 positive laws.

They were proud of their spirituality, and then Jesus strikes the final blow with “they do all of their deeds to be seen by others”. (Matt. 23:5) They added so many clarifications of the Law, that the Law was almost buried. Then they paraded around as the spiritually elite.

Paul addresses present Pharisees (legalists) in I Cor.4: 3-7. Space does not permit me to quote the passage, but I emphasize these words, “…learn not to exceed what is written so that no one of you will become arrogant in behalf of one against the other”.

Each of us is personally responsible for our actions. If we look to men (women) and pattern our spiritual lives after them, we have set ourselves up for great disappointment, because we have so many different expectations that no one can live up to all of them.

The value of these verses is not to point out deficiencies in others thus exalting ourselves, but to be used as a mirror so that we can see ourselves for what we really are.

Hypocrisy could easily be described as pretending to be what you are not. Does your walk match your talk? Do you live what you preach?

 

Written By Neil Fichthorn: Rev. Neil Fichthorn is a seasoned conference and camping servant having served at Gull Lake Bible Conference, Sandy Cove Ministries as President, and an interim Executive Director at Pinebrook Bible Conference. He also served in church music for decades as a choir director and arranger. He has been Bill Welte’s mentor and friend for over 45 years.

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Think About This: “Where one man reads the Bible, a hundred read you and me.” – D.L. Moody

The Daily Bible Reading: 2 Chronicles 14-18| You can download our 2020 Daily Bible Reading Plan by clicking here. 

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul, ¹¹ Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you – Proverbs 2:10-11

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the doctrinal and theological views held by America’s Keswick.