https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Hypocrites.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tText: James 3:13-18<\/p>\nI. How often I have been told, “I don’t like going to services. I know that so many of the\npeople there are just hypocrites. They say one thing, but they don’t live it.”\n
A. It is true. In religion, hypocrisy is a major problem.<\/p>\n
B. But before we can solve the problem, we must define it.<\/p>\n 1. The word hypocrite comes from the Greek. It refers to someone playing a\npart on the stage — pretending to be something you are not.\n
2. Today, we would say, “They are just putting on an act.”<\/p>\n
3. In other words, a hypocrite is an actor.<\/p>\n
C. People put on an act for a variety of reasons<\/p>\n
II. The one whose heart is not in it<\/p>\n
A. Some people pretend to be what they are not for politeness sake.<\/p>\n 1. The aunt who says, “Aren’t they cute!” while thinking “why can’t they\nkeep those hoodlums under control.”\n 2. The miser at a meal who says “Eat!”, but wishes you would curb your\nappetite – Proverbs 23:6-8\n
B. Unfortunately, people do this to God as well.<\/p>\n
1. People ask God for blessings, yet believe it will never happen – James 1:6-8<\/p>\n 2. Sometimes it happens because you pray because someone asks you to do\nso, but your heart is not in it.\n 3. Or, you pray because it is the proper thing to do, but it is not what you\ndesire.\n
4. God condemned the Israelites for worship of the lips only – Isa. 29:13<\/p>\n a. I particularly like the way the New American Standard renders the\nlast phrase, “And their reverence for Me consists of tradition\nlearned by rote.”\n b. Is it not what happens to many people? You do something over\nand over again and it becomes a habit without meaning. Or worse,\nyou carry on what you have been taught by parents or others\nwithout understanding its significance.\n
III. The one who purposely deceives<\/p>\n
A. This is the one we understand is in the wrong.<\/p>\n
B. A malicious man who covers up his intentions – Proverbs 26:24-26<\/p>\n
C. Examples<\/p>\n
1. The Jews attempting to trap Jesus – Matthew 22:15-22<\/p>\n
2. Judas supposed concern for the poor – John 12:4-6<\/p>\n
D. Here again, God’s people are not shielded from such people<\/p>\n 1. There are false teachers who teach religion for the profit it brings them –\nRomans 16:17-18\n
2. Some do it for the “fun” of stirring up controversy! – Philippians 1:15-18<\/p>\n
IV. Saddest of all are those whose act deceives them.<\/p>\n
A. The Jews, once again, illustrate this point<\/p>\n
1. They claim to live righteously, but they are not – Matthew 23:2-3<\/p>\n 2. I’m not saying they purpose set out to deceive people, but in their\nmisguided intentions, this was the result.\n
3. They said they are giving glory to God<\/p>\n
a. But the result is they give glory only to themselves<\/p>\n
b. Matthew 23:4-7<\/p>\n
4. They said they are saving the lost<\/p>\n
a. But they cause people to lose their souls by their false teachings<\/p>\n
b. Matthew 23:13, 15<\/p>\n
5. They said following the Law<\/p>\n
a. But they obscure the Law, making it more difficult to follow<\/p>\n
(1) Over regulation – Matthew 23:16-17<\/p>\n
(2) Matthew 15:1-11 – adding traditions of men<\/p>\n
b. They are willing to overlook major points, to enforce minor ones<\/p>\n
(1) Matthew 23:23-24<\/p>\n (2) Luke 13:10-17 – In their zeal for the Sabbath, they\noverlooked that God had preformed a miracle in their midst!\n
6. They claim to be righteous worshipers of God<\/p>\n
a. But they lived unholy lives – Matthew 23:27-28<\/p>\n b. They emphasized the physical and neglected the spiritual – Matthew\n23:29-31\n B. But lest we get too busy condemning the Jews, we must remember that Christians\nhave been guilty of the same things – I Timothy 4:1-3\n C. Perhaps the greatest self-deception is the one who sees only his own righteousness\n– Luke 6:37-42\n 1. It is so easy to forgive our own faults while condemning the faults of\nothers.\n 2. Let me give you an example: We all know we should attend the worship\nservice each Lord’s Day.\n a. “Oh, you’re thinking of Sister Mabel! She comes when she feels\nlike it is convenient.”\n b. Meanwhile, you come to each and every service, but you avoid\nparticipating in the worship.\n
(1) You sing, but you think about matters at home.<\/p>\n (2) You bow your head in prayer, but you are going over your\nplans for the afternoon.\n (3) You eat of the Lord’s Supper, but you are wondering if you\nwill be able to pay all your bills this week.\n
c. Who is the greater actor, Sister Mabel or you?<\/p>\n
V. Hypocrites will end up in Hell – Matthew 24:51<\/p>\n
A. It is not just what you do, but what you do and why you are doing it.<\/p>\n
B. If we will avoid condemnation<\/p>\n
1. We must learn not to be deceived – Eph. 4:14-15<\/p>\n a. This means we must be well-grounded in the truth so we can\nrecognize falsehoods\n b. No actor is perfect. Eventually, their deeds show their true\ncharacter – Titus 1:16\n
2. We must avoid encouraging deception – II John 7-11<\/p>\n a. It may seem inhospitable, but we can’t let the false teacher or\nothers think we approve of his teachings.\n b. Remember the hypocrite who does things solely because they are\npolite?\n
3. We must live honestly with ourselves and others – Eph. 4:25<\/p>\n
C. Remember God’s words – Psalm 101:7<\/p>\n
VI. Are there hypocrites in the church?<\/p>\n
A. Of course there are! Where else would you find them?<\/p>\n 1. If a wicked person wishes to pretend to be righteous, then of course he will\nattend services.\n
2. But would a truly righteous man not come to serve his God?<\/p>\n B. Perhaps some here are struggling with making their lives match the righteousness\nof God, but at least they are working at it.\n
C. Let us each come and serve our Master with sincerity of heart.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Text: James 3:13-18 I. How often I have been told, “I don’t like going to services. I know that so many of the people there are just hypocrites. They say one thing, but they don’t live it.” A. It is true. In religion, hypocrisy is a major problem. B. But before we can solve the problem, we must…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[418,392,555],"class_list":["post-2502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-hypocrites","tag-lying","tag-pharisees"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":67916,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/woe-to-you-scribes-and-pharisees-hypocrites\/","url_meta":{"origin":2502,"position":0},"title":"Woe to You, Scribes and Pharisees, Hypocrites!","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 4, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Allen Dvorak Biblical Insights, 14(9), September 2014 There is no uncertainty about the compassion of Jesus during His earthly ministry. Various individuals and groups were the objects of His compassion (e.g., Matthew 9:35-38; Luke 7:11-15). But Jesus was also frequently involved in controversy and sometimes handed out sharp rebukes.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":39122,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-i-convince-a-person-who-says-religious-people-are-all-hypocrites\/","url_meta":{"origin":2502,"position":1},"title":"How can I convince a person who says religious people are all hypocrites?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 27, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: There is this person that seems to make fun of me for having a religion -- Catholic or not (this person used to be Lutheran), this person believes that people who go to church are all hypocrites. I just try and hold back my tears. How can I let\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36689,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/we-just-listened-to-your-sermon-beware-for-our-morning-bible-time\/","url_meta":{"origin":2502,"position":2},"title":"We just listened to your sermon “Beware” for our morning Bible time","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 23, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: A great lesson on hypocrisy: \"Beware.\" We just listened to it with our sons for morning Bible time. We really appreciate your articles, sermons, and audio sermons. Thank you for making them available. Answer: I'm glad you are finding the material useful in your own studies.","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27529,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-a-hypocrite\/","url_meta":{"origin":2502,"position":3},"title":"What is a hypocrite?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 24, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What is it to be a hypocrite? I remember a time when one friend wanted me to give him more attention, but there was a friend of his who was always talking to him, and he just ignored him.\u00a0So I said, \"You want to get attention from me but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":32077,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-it-proper-to-publish-your-prayers\/","url_meta":{"origin":2502,"position":4},"title":"Is it proper to publish your prayers?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Pleasant good morning, I'd appreciate some guidance, please.\u00a0I have observed prayers in the comment section under news articles of tragic incidents. When tragedy strikes I could, in the privacy of my home, say a prayer for those involved, and believe that God hears my prayers. However, others are posting\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":23233,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/doctrinal-matters\/","url_meta":{"origin":2502,"position":5},"title":"Doctrinal Matters","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 6, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer When we think of \u201cdoctrinal\u201d issues, we tend to think of matters like marriage and divorce, the work of the church, baptism, etc. We work hard to try to get these right, and there are often sharp disagreements over the nature of these \u201cdoctrinal\u201d matters. \u201cDoctrine\u201d means\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/love-your-neighbor-300x200.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2502","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2502"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2502\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2502"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2502"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2502"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}