Thou shalt not be a hypocrite

One of the biggest objections that many people have against attending church today is that churches are full of hypocrites. And you know the kind, those who make a dramatic transformation in their behavior for the one day a week they gather with others and talk about God. It may be the only day they pick up their Bible, but they do on this day. And it may be the only day that their language is a little less colorful in comparison to the rest of the week, but it is on this day.

As Christians, we need to realize that such behavior leaves a very bad taste in the mouths of those around us. Never mind that this kind of a comment is little more than an excuse and is evidence of a guilty conscience. Never mind that it is pretty petty (not to mention foolish) for anyone to allow a hypocrite to come between themselves and God.

But it is high time for God’s people, if you call yourselves one, to examine themselves and be concerned with what kind of a testimony they have before the public at large. This is called self-judgment. And self-judgment is what is abandoned when the “Thou shalt not judge” banner is raised.

Self-judgment is really the heart and soul behind the concept given to us by our forefathers called self-government. Full well did they understand that liberty would deteriorate into licentiousness unless the American people would willingly judge their own selves according to the dictates of the Word of God. This even led one of them to remark that our Constitution was only fit for a Christian populace, yet only for a general Christianity that they had in their day, not that of our own.

This, indeed, is the message contained in Matthew 7:1-5, the passage which many erroneously believe teaches us not to judge. In reality, Jesus wants us to remove the beam (sin) out of our own eye (life) for the purpose that we can see clearly to help others with motes (sin) in their eyes (lives). Understand that not only is it wrong for a hypocrite to point out sin in the life of another, but those others will not even want the help.

And here is the bigger picture: God wants Christianity to be on display for all the world to see. He wants individual Christians to be such an example as to the superiority of the Gospel, and the difference that it makes in the lives of believers, that the lost are overcome by the comparison and turn to Christ for the salvation of their souls. This is the intent of Matthew 5:14-16 and our being the light of the world.

We need to understand that sin is a bushel basket that will keep others from seeing Christ in us. And the obvious hypocrisy will lead them to ask, “What’s the difference?” Why do the lost need Christ when the only difference in their lives is some magical recitation that has not been prayed? Christianity was never meant to be verbalized without being demonstrated, and is what James refers to in chapter two of his epistle as being dead faith.

And so we judge. In I Corinthians 11:31 we find that if we judge ourselves that we will not be judged. Judgment is not a bad thing, as some would have us believe, but is really for our benefit. It is meant to purify its object. Here in our passage, the object of purification is the life of the individual believer, and thus we see that every believer is obligated to bring their own lives into conformity with the Word of God.

Churches, also, are under obligation to judge, and this we find in I Corinthians 5. Here, the concern is for purity within the church. Churches that refuse to purge out the leaven (sin) when it first enters their doors will find it impossible later on when it has spread to every member. To be honest, this is the condition of the average church today, and, as a rule, the larger it is, the more so.

The reason for this is that the pulpit has changed over the years from being aflame with righteousness to being accommodating for the sake of unity. It is as if it is OK to sin as long as the offering box is full. But that the pulpit is obligated to judge we find in II Timothy 4 where young Timothy is exhorted to do so with longsuffering and doctrine.

By this we are to understand that it is always right for the preacher to hold up the standard of the Word of God, no matter who doesn t like it or is tired of it — and no matter what the cost.

Ron Hamman is pastor for Independent Baptist Church of Wasilla. Contact him at

357-4229.