Matthew 6:1–2 (NASB95)
1 “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven. 2 “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
Jesus used the word hypocrite 14 times in the book of Matthew alone.It was one of his favorite words referring to the religious communities of his day. When we think of a hypocrite we think of someone who says one thing and does another. Like a person who says they are a Christian but doesn’t act like they are a Christian. They possibly act one way in church and another way everywhere else. That is our modern view of a hypocrite and to some degree we are all hypocrites because we don’t live to the standard that Jesus calls us to as His children and His body.
But that is not what Jesus means by the word hypocrite.
To Jesus a hypocrite was someone who professed to be a follower of God and also did the things they professed to believed in, they prayed, they tithed, they gave to the poor and they went to synagogue. But as hypocrites they may have done those things, but they did them with the wrong motive. They did it to be noticed and respected by the community, to gain prestige and honor. It is almost impossible to judge our motive for doing what we do, our own hearts deceive us. Our need for acceptance and approval overwhelms us. We almost cannot resist glorifying ourselves instead of glorifying Christ. Jesus said, “Beware of doing the right thing for a wrong reason.”
This is why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to live in us. We need help.
John 16:13–14 (NASB95)
13 “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come. 14 “He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.
Lord, we pray that You will guide us into your truth and let us see the hypocrisy in our own hearts and minds so that we don’t hinder those who are coming to Christ.
I love you, Pastor Randy