HYPOCRISY- The undoing of many Christians today –II

Jesus frequently called the Scribes and Pharisees hypocrites because of the friction between their external actions and their internal state (Matthew 23:27-28). For us not to end up like the hypocritical Scribes and Pharisees, we must carefully check ourselves often by considering these questions:

Do you rarely preach to yourself as a Christian?
Do you find yourself practicing what you preach against?
Are you blind to your own faults?
Do you have the habit of criticizing and crucifying others when they fall into error?
Are you judgmental of other people’s mistakes?
Is your internal state consistent with your external “good” works?
Are you in anyway hypocritical in thought or action?
Do you condone and practice in secret what you teach others in public not to do?
Do you practice what you preach, and preach what you practice?
Do you magnify, publicize and gossip about other people’s bad habits and turn a blind eye to your own bad habits?

Jesus compared hypocrites to whitewashed tombs and to dishes that are clean on the outside but dirty on the inside (Matthew 23:25-28). It’s such a dreadful thing to be viewed as neat and clean outside while the internal space that matters most is in despicable condition. This illustration also speaks to Christians who are seen to be mature, and yet are secretly involved in shameful things. If you are in such a situation, it is time to remove the log from your eyes and straighten out your life.

Spiritual Consequences Of Being A Hypocritical Christian:

A Christian hypocrite does not enjoy the blessings of God, for he does not live to obey the teachings of the Bible and the commandments of God. Obedience is the only way to enjoy the blessings of God: "If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. You will experience all these blessings if you obey the LORD your God:” Deuteronomy 28:1-2. His disobedience to the commands of God and the teachings of the Bible therefore drives God’s blessings away from him.

A Christian hypocrite will not fulfill their destiny and God’s purpose for sending them to earth if they refuse to part with hypocrisy. We cannot fulfill God’s plan and purpose for our lives on our own, we need the grace, help and power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish it. Hypocrisy, however, blocks our access to the help of the Holy Spirit and hinders us from being beneficiaries of the grace and power of the Holy Spirit needed to fulfill our divine assignment on the earth.

The hypocritical life of a Christian hypocrite undoes him or her. They do not enjoy the help of God, therefore they experience failures, retrogression, disappointments, shame, stagnation, demonic oppression; live in sickness, fear, sorrow, unfruitfulness, lack, poverty; and are victims of the consequences of sin because they comfortably accommodate the sin of hypocrisy.

A Christian hypocrite will not make heaven for the vivid reason clearly stated in Revelation 21:27 “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book”, and in Revelation 3:16 “But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth! " They will also not be granted access into heaven if they die in hypocrisy for failing to do the will of God on earth: “The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever.” 1 John 2:17

Beloved, I enjoin you to carefully examine yourself, engage in self-retrospection, be honest with yourself. It is self-deceit for a fellow to parade himself or herself as a Christian when in actual fact they know that they have no relationship with Jesus Christ. To such people, in Luke 6:46 Jesus Christ asks: “And why do you call me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?”

Are you guilty of the sin of hypocrisy? Are you professing to be a Christian to the world, when you know fully well that you are not a real Christian? Are you a Christian hypocrite who appears to be godly and holy on the outside but in secret- where no one is watching, you engage in all sorts of sinful, immoral and vicious activities? It is time to repent! 1 John 3:2-3 says “My dear friends, we are already God's children, though what we will be hasn't yet been seen. But we do know when Christ returns, we will be like him, because we will see him as he truly is. And everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself just as Christ is pure.” and 2 Timothy 2:9 also says “But the solid foundation that God has laid cannot be shaken; and on it are written these words: "The Lord knows those who are his" and "Those who say that they belong to the Lord must turn away from wrongdoing."

We are in the end-times; Jesus’ return is imminent. If you really want to fulfill your God-given assignment on earth and be welcomed into Heaven, if you really want to see Jesus when He returns, if you sincerely want to spend eternity in Heaven, you must purify yourself from the sin of hypocrisy. You must be pure: you must be one with yourself, you must clean up and get rid of hypocrisy by repenting and giving up the lifestyle of deceit, lies, pretense and camouflage, and make a conscious decision to begin living in accordance with the teachings of the Bible and obeying the commandments of God with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is pure - there is no impurity in Him. Heaven is pure - there is no impurity in Heaven. If you must enter Heaven and reign with Jesus forever, you must be pure. Embrace purity today, because without it, you cannot enter Heaven says Revelation 21:27 “Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book.”

God bless you.