Are You a Hypocrite?
You may have heard that a hypocrite is one who says one thing and does another. Although this is one of the definitions, God’s word indicates there are others also.
The Pharisees or religious leaders of Jesus’ day were guilty of doing good for the wrong reasons. They did good to be seen of men. They wanted glory from men and not from God. When someone gave a large donation, the Rabbi would give that person honorable mention from the pulpit.
These leaders would disfigure their faces when they fasted because they wanted everyone to know they were fasting. By doing this, they would be thought of as being righteous. Because these religious leaders were doing good for self and not in secret for God, they were hypocrites.
These Pharisees were becoming more and more evil in their hearts because they were not overcoming evil by doing good daily for God. Instead, they were doing good for their own self esteem. They became more and more hypocritical until they were exposed by their own wickedness.
This same thing is happening to some of the television evangelists today. You may think it is only a few, but keep your eyes open - be alert - the Lord will show you.
Another type of hypocrite is the person who is double-minded. This person constantly professes what is right, yet constantly does what is wrong. This person has troubles because he is not doing right even though he professes it. He is a hypocrite because his life isn’t devoted to what is right. He is still very much in the world. He is worldly, carnal-minded, fleshly, and unstable in all his ways (James 1:8).
Yet, because of inconsistency and wrong motives, they fall away and lose interest when tests and trials come (Matt. 13:21). The righteous must be tried and tested in order to build endurance and steadfastness so they will persevere to the end.
You seek God by doing good to please Him daily (Rom. 3:10-12). By doing nothing, you remain a child of Satan (1 John 3:10). Many think the children of Satan do or practice what is wrong. They never consider that by doing nothing good, they are in fact doing evil. The sin of omission is the same as commission as far as God is concerned. If you are not doing good toward God daily, you remain an enemy of God because you are not practicing righteousness toward God and thus imitating Him (Eph. 5:1).
Abraham practiced righteousness toward God when he did good unto the strangers in Genesis 18. Likewise, Lot was at the gate of the city looking for someone who needed a place to stay because he knew how dangerous it was for someone to stay outside in that evil city. He not only protected the strangers from evil, but he also entertained them with food and good company and gave them a place to rest. God considered Abraham and Lot righteous because of their conduct toward others.
Job was also considered righteous because he constantly did good for God in all aspects of his life. Job knew he was going through a test from God (Job 2:10; 5:17-18; 13:9). Job helped the blind, the lame, the elderly, the widows and the orphans (Job 29:12-17). Many do not know that hidden in the book of Job is the fact that Job raised two orphans - a boy and a girl - and they ate at his table (Job 31:16-19). Yes, the Lord Himself said Job was righteous because of this. Job was turning away from evil by doing this (Job 1:1-8; 2:3).
Can the Lord say these things about you, or are you still serving Satan by doing evil or doing nothing (1 John 3:7-10)? You cannot be holy and continue to do nothing for God. In fact, unless you are holy, you will not see the Lord (Heb. 12:10, 14) or be raised to immortality (John 5:29).
Remember, only those who do good for God continually are of God (3 John 11). They are justified by Jesus Christ’s blood because they obey Him and become doers of God’s word (2 Tim. 3:17; James 1:22; 1 Peter 1:2). They will be the ones who receive glory, honor and immortality (Rom. 2:7, 10).
We were created to do good works in the name of Jesus Christ for the glory of the Father (Eph. 2:10; Col. 3:17). Let’s not remain hypocrites or children of Satan. Instead let’s fulfill the purpose for which we were created.
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