Hypocrite.

It’s a heavy, negative word. It means “pretender”—someone who says and does things which aren’t harmonious with what they say they believe. 

Richard Baxter says: “As fencers upon a stage differ from soldiers fighting for their lives, so hypocrites differ from serious Christians.”*

In Mark 7:6 (ESV) Jesus took issue with some Pharisees who were criticizing his disciples. “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me…’” They said they wanted to honour God but did otherwise.

When thinking about hypocrisy, it’s tempting to only see it in other people. But when we’re being honest, we need to see it in ourselves as well. Every one of us misses the mark on a daily basis. We profess to love God and follow Jesus, but we have many thoughts, words, decisions and actions which don’t fully reflect that love and commitment.

The next few devotionals are designed to help us address this issue.

The opposite of religious hypocrisy is faithful sincerity.

It begins with prayer. Why? Because none of us can address our hypocrisy by ourselves. We’re the problem! We need help from an outside source. We’re too tainted on our own. 

Tim Keller has a good prayer to get us started: “Show me the specific gaps between my faith and my practice, and empower me to close them.”**

Let’s look in the mirror. This isn’t about being harsh, but honest. Do we actually want to grow?

Lord, show me the specific gaps between my faith and my practice, and empower me to close them.*

Notes:

–“How can I stop my own hypocrisy?” Sermon. January 19, 2025. Click here.

–*Richard Baxter, The Saints’ Everlasting Rest (London: The Religious Tract Society), 136.

–** *Timothy Keller with Kathy Keller, The Songs of Jesus (New York: Viking, 2015), 107.