Drop the Act: Eliminating Hypocrisy

Growing up in a Christian home, I heard about scandals of famous religious leaders being exposed for terrible sins, sometimes the very type these preachers had publicly condemned! Such examples of rank hypocrisy obviously do great harm, giving people a bad impression of the religion being professed.

News of such blatant hypocrisy shocked, disgusted and repulsed me. I thought, “I would never want to be a hypocrite!” Looking back, though, I’m ashamed that as a teenager I did not recognize my own hypocrisy in doing things I knew were unchristian. Soon after in college I had a wake-up moment in an argument with my best friend. He said he didn’t believe in God, and I was indignantly trying to convince him this was wrong and stupid. Then he pointed out: “Don, it doesn’t seem to make any difference. You and I are living our lives with the same actions.”

That hit me like a ton of bricks. I realized my life was hypocritical! And it had a profound effect on me. I later came to see that it was part of God’s intervention in my life to draw me into being a sincere and devoted follower of Jesus Christ (see John 6:44, 65). Shortly after that incident, I decided to sincerely strive to live the rest of my life as a true Christian. It was a real turning point.

Of course, all of us have to keep examining ourselves to make sure hypocrisy has not crept back into our lives in some fashion. We need to understand this tendency of our corrupted human nature, recognize what’s wrong with it, and continue to resist it, putting it out of our lives.

A mask of deception condemned in Scripture

Hypocrisy is projecting a certain morality or code of conduct while personally disregarding or trampling over that. The word itself comes from Greek terminology actually used in the New Testament—“hypocrisy” originally referring to acting in a play, with “hypocrite” meaning an actor playing a part. The root meaning was literally about deciding from under—that is, from under a mask, in reference to the stage masks used in Greek theater. It didn’t mean something nefarious when first used, but it became a metaphor for pretending to be what one is not in a negative sense—referring to pretense and deception.

We see similar imagery in putting on a false face or a false front—being two-faced, creating a façade for others that hides one’s true character and motives. This is also called duplicity and practicing double-talk, having a hidden agenda. We further see it in having a double standard to judge people by—often exempting self and allies from guilt.

Hypocrisy is sinful, as it’s a form of lying—being dishonest and deceiving with words and actions. God’s law forbids giving false testimony as well as dealing falsely and lying to others (Exodus 20:16; Leviticus 19:11). In fact, God hates lying! Proverbs 6:16-19 says that among seven things God hates are “a lying tongue” and “a false witness who breathes out lies” (English Standard Version).

People lie with their words and with their actions. And when words and actions don’t match, that’s insincerity and hypocrisy. Often people “talk the talk” but don’t “walk the walk.” They proclaim one thing but don’t “practice what they preach.” A person might act like a friend while planning to “stab you in the back.” There were people who said flattering words to Jesus while plotting to get Him killed.

Hypocrisy is sometimes wryly comical—as when Jesus referred to a person supposedly helping with a speck in another person’s eye while having a log in his own, or to false teachers as “blind guides” leading others into a ditch (Matthew 7:3-5; 15:14). Yet as a sin it’s a gravely serious matter. In fact, during the ministry of Jesus Christ, His strongest display of anger was directed at the religious hypocrisy plaguing the society of that day.

He decried charitable deeds, prayers and fasting being done for show (Matthew 6:1-8, 16-18). And He excoriated the religious leaders in Matthew 23. Read this chapter and you will gain a good understanding of many forms and effects of the hypocrisy prevalent then—particularly these leaders binding countless rules and traditions on people while excusing themselves from these unless they were trying to be seen and admired as righteous.

They were meticulous with minor time-consuming procedures while neglecting “justice and mercy and faith” (verses 23-24). They were obsessed with their appearance, striving to look saintly, but Jesus compared them with “whitewashed tombs,” which looked good on the outside but were inwardly full of filth and decay (verse 27). Jesus summarized the condition of these leaders and the nation at large in Mark 7:6: “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”

The Bible warns us to never add to or take away from God’s revelation to humanity (Deuteronomy 4:2; 12:32; Revelation 22:18-19). So it’s no wonder Jesus was infuriated at how the domineering religious leadership—especially the hypocritical Pharisees and Sadducees—had been guilty of violating that in countless ways, even replacing God’s commandments with their traditions (see Mark 7:9). They used their authoritative positions to promote their counterfeit legalistic religion while sanctimoniously exalting themselves. That confused and discouraged the people, as it increasingly gave people a bad overall impression of God’s true religion.

Because the Pharisees were those most notoriously guilty of hypocrisy in imposed legalism, the English language has adopted the noun Pharisaism and the adjective Pharisaic to describe such religious hypocrisy.

A problem all must deal with

Yet hypocrisy is not just a problem of false religious teachers or “bad” people. Because of the pride and selfishness of human nature, we all are tempted to be hypocritical at times. One time, even the apostle Peter acted hypocritically, influencing Barnabas and other Jews present to follow that example! The apostle Paul had to openly rebuke them! (See Galatians 2:11-14.)

All of us must focus on pleasing God rather than impressing people. Jesus lauded having no guile or deceit (John 1:47).

Many people will knowingly put on a false face before others whether or not they think of the word “hypocrite.” They might do it to look good, gain favors, make more money, cheat, steal, commit a crime, seduce someone, escape a punishment, and so on. There might even be no overt ill intent. Maybe it’s just to make a good impression or keep a good reputation or to avoid embarrassment or other consequences—which comes all too easily and naturally.

This illustrates the truth of Jeremiah 17:9: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (English Standard Version, emphasis added throughout). Because our hearts are so deceitful, it’s difficult to understand ourselves! We tend to be nearsighted and blind to our personal faults and sins.

A famous saying goes, “Oh, for the gift to see ourselves as others see us!” Yet more important is the gift to see ourselves as God sees us! Jeremiah 10:23 says, “O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.” Proverbs 16:25 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.”

Since people tend to be spiritually blind, we should regularly ask God to hold up a spiritual mirror to enable us to truly see ourselves. Psalm 139:23-24 (ESV) says: “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”

When we realize we’ve been hypocritical, we should feel guilty and ashamed. When we don’t, it’s a danger sign that our consciences are not functioning well. Paul wrote of those “speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron” (1 Timothy 4:2).

People can feel justified because they have a false idea of God’s justice. Their idea is illustrated by the image of the blindfolded “lady justice” holding a balance scale. They reason that if their good works outweigh their bad deeds, then God is pleased with them. For example, a person can be lying and cheating others, but because he serves at his church and gives generous donations he thinks he’s a “good Christian.” Doing good does not cover over the bad!

Please know that we can’t fool God! He knows every one of our actions, words and even our thoughts!

Bearing God’s name in vain

The third of the Ten Commandments, to not take God’s name in vain, is not well-understood. Its focus is not merely about uttering a name of God disrespectfully. The sense is more that we not “carry” God’s name or identify ourself as a person of God in doing or espousing what He opposes. In other words, we must be very careful to not tarnish God’s name and identity by our words and deeds.

For example, doing something bad while being identified as a “Christian” obviously gives people a bad impression of Christianity. A major example is the scandalous conduct of some “Christian” evangelists.

Isn’t it obvious that such hypocrisy by supposed “people of God” puts God and His teachings in a shameful light? That’s why the Third Commandment is so important. The hypocrisy of identifying oneself with God while doing evil is a great sin! It does much greater spiritual harm than if the sinful action was done by someone with no professed connection with God.

In Romans 2, Paul warned Jewish people who were supposed to be representing God against setting a bad example: “You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? You who say, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ do you commit adultery? . . . You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? For ‘the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles [other nations] because of you,’ as it is written” (verses 21-24). God wants sincere obedience from the heart—“whose praise is not from men but from God” (verse 29).

The leaven of hypocrisy

Again, the Pharisees and other religious leaders of Jesus’ day were extremely hypocritical. They craved their religious and political power, positions, preeminence and perks. They gloried in their titles and lording it over the people. They feared and hated Jesus because they saw how His influence was increasingly exposing their hypocrisy and lack of legitimacy.

By the time of Jesus’ ministry, this hypocritical and malignant Pharisaism had deeply infected and polluted much of the populace of that day. However, Jesus Christ came to earth to begin turning it right side up!

Jesus warned His own disciples, “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees” (Matthew 16:6). Confused at first, they soon realized He was referring to the doctrine or teachings of these groups (verse 12). He further stated that “the leaven of the Pharisees . . . is hypocrisy” (Luke 12:1).

What is “leaven”? It’s a substance put into bread dough to cause it to rise during baking—to puff up and become softer. In that day, the leavening agent was yeast, which gives off bubbles as it ferments in bread dough—a lump of fermented dough having been added from a previous baking.

A major characteristic of leavening with yeast is that it rapidly spreads throughout a piece of warm dough. Leaven was not allowed in grain offerings burned on God’s altar or in the biblical Feast of Unleavened Bread that followed the Passover (Leviticus 2:11; Exodus 12:15-19), the spreading fermentation in those contexts symbolizing corruption and sin. It pictured well the highly contagious nature of hypocrisy and false teachings and conduct. Those influences and their effects easily spread and infect others.

We can see, then, why Jesus compared the hypocritical teachings and actions of the Pharisees and other religious sects to leaven. Many of their teachings were just “hot air” not based on the substantive truth of God’s revelation in Scripture, just as a loaf of bread doesn’t have as much dough as it appears to have.

In the context of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Paul decried Christian believers who were “puffed up” with pride like a loaf of bread is puffed up (1 Corinthians 4:18-19; 5:2, 6-8). In Galatians 5, Paul warns of false teachings that were being circulated and compares them with leaven, noting that “a little leaven leavens the whole lump” (verse 9). He says the same thing in 1 Corinthians 5:6 about tolerance of egregious sin in the Church. All these passages of Scripture are important warnings for God’s people today.

Out with the bad, in with the good

The Bible reveals God’s beautiful plan for transforming human beings from sinners and hypocrites to forgiven and humble saints. God’s process of conversion begins when He chooses and draws someone to be a true follower and disciple (John 6:44, 65). The apostle Peter said, “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out” (Acts 3:19). Peter said what a person must do to be forgiven: “Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sin, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).

Then Christ’s followers—called the “saints” because they have been sanctified or set apart for God—must faithfully live as God’s obedient children to the end of our lives in order to receive the reward of eternal life in His Kingdom. Jesus said, “He who endures to the end shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13).

Of course, no one is immediately perfect but must live a life of growing and overcoming sin. In fact, it should be noted that all Christians could be accused of being hypocrites since they don’t live up to their profession. Even the apostle Paul spoke of his continuing struggle against sin in his life (see Romans 7). But there is a big difference between striving to obey God but failing and just pretending to obey God with no intention of actually doing so. Those who continue to try to follow God but stumble and keep repenting should not be viewed as hypocrites, though they may fall into hypocrisy at times.

God’s plan to save mankind is portrayed in His seven annual festivals listed in Leviticus 23. These start with the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread, which Paul encouraged Christians to observe in 1 Corinthians 5:7-8, with the symbolism of Christ as our Passover and leavened bread signifying sin for that week. (Be sure to read “The Biblical Alternative to Easter” starting on page 13.)

But Paul stressed that our physical observance of purging out leaven should be accompanied by the more important removal of sinful malice and wickedness, including hypocrisy, while taking in of “the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth” (verse 8). Notice again, “sincerity and truth”—the exact opposite of hypocrisy. And this bread is a representation of taking in of Christ Himself, the very Bread of Life (John 6:32-51), in whom there was and is no sin.

The empty, puffed-up pride and hypocrisy of our human nature must be replaced by the nature of Jesus Christ—our old self dying with Him so that we may be raised with Him into newness of life (see Romans 6).

What God lamented of His ancient people in Jeremiah 4:22 is true of all people outside of His spiritual help: “For My people are foolish . . . They are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.”

Yes, there is a kind of wisdom in using deception and hypocrisy to obtain the things that people lust for. The apostle James calls it an “earthly, sensual, demonic wisdom”—a path of self-seeking and boastful lying against the truth leading to “confusion and every evil thing” (James 3:14-15). But those who continue to pursue that kind of wisdom will not inherit eternal life!

In contrast, he told us to seek “the meekness of wisdom” (verse 13)—that is, the true wisdom from God: “The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy” (verse 17).

If we want to please God, we must stop pretending and be real. Put out the leaven of hypocrisy and all sins, and instead pursue and practice authentic heavenly wisdom! It comes only through Christ, “who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30). Through Him alone is sincerity and truth.