HYPOCRISY
It is not the
being seen of men that is wrong, but doing these things for the purpose of
being seen of men. The problem with the hypocrite is his motivation. He does
not want to be holy; he only wants to seem to be holy. He is more concerned
with his reputation for righteousness than about actually becoming righteous.
The approbation of men matters more to him than the approval of God.
Parents, take
inventory in your own hearts. Do you thirst for God as the deer pants after the
water? Or is your own life sending your children a message of hypocrisy and
spiritual indifference? Is our own commitment to Christ what you hope to see in
your children’s lives? Is your obedience to His Word the same kind of
submission you long to see from your own kids? These are crucial question each
parent must face if we really want to be successful parents and good role models
for our children. Parents who are lax in these areas virtually guarantee that
their sons and daughters will fail spiritually.
John MacArthur
Successful Christian Parenting, Word
Publishing, 1998, p. 23-24.
In many ways,
the attitude of obedience is much more vital than the act, because if the
attitude is right, the act will naturally follow. But the right action with the
wrong attitude is nothing but hypocrisy.
John MacArthur
Successful Christian Parenting, Word
Publishing, 1998, p. 126.
If men's
religion prevails not to conquer and cure the wickedness of their hearts, it
shall not always serve for a cloak. The day is coming when hypocrites will be
stripped of their fig-leaves.
Matthew Henry
Hypocrites do
the devil’s drudgery in Christ’s livery.
Matthew Henry
Hypocrisy can
plunge the mind of a man into a dark abyss, when he believes his own
self-flattery instead of God’s verdict.
John Calvin
I had rather
be a sober heathen than a drunken Christian.
William Gurnall
A Puritan Golden Treasury,
compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 82.
The
hypocrite, certainly, is a secret atheist; for if he did believe there was a
God, he durst not be so bold as to deceive Him to His face.
Thomas Adams
A Puritan Golden Treasury,
compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 151.
It is a sad
thing to be Christians at a supper, heathens in our shops, and devils in our
closets.
Stephen Charnock
A Puritan Golden Treasury,
compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 152.
Religion
which is begun in hypocrisy will certainly end in apostasy.
William Spurstowe
A Puritan Golden Treasury,
compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 153.
A hypocrite
is a person who acts different on Sunday morning.
Author Unknown
May God
deliver us from a ho-hum attitude. Young people can
read their parents. They can see right through their teachers, and they turn
away in disgust from a make-believe faith.
George Sweeting
Who Said That? 1994, Moody,
p. 245.
It is a
terribly easy matter to be a minister of the gospel and a vile hypocrite at the
same time.
C.H. Spurgeon
52.483.
Because there
is one hypocrite, met set down all the rest the same. I heard one man say that
he did not believe there was a true Christian living, because he had found so
many hypocrites. I reminded him that there could be no hypocrites if there were
no genuine Christians. No one would try to forge bank notes if there were no genuine
ones.
C.H. Spurgeon
1.171.
In
the lives of many churchgoers today, there is a yawning chasm between
profession and action, professed faith and works – and that chasm gives the lie
to people’s loud claims to real faith.
Kent Hughes
Taken from James by Kent Hughes,
copyright 1991, Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton
Illinois 60187, p. 115, www.crosswaybooks.org.
This religion
is of a sort that is public, and not private; plenty abroad, but none at home;
plenty without, but none within; plenty in the tongue, but none in the heart.
They are altogether unprofitable, good for nothing, they bear no fruit.
J.C. Ryle
Home
at Last!
It is the
mark of a hypocrite to be a Christian everywhere but home.
Robert M'Cheyne
The hypocrite
(Greek- hupokrites) was originally an actor.
Theatrical make-up in those days took the form of a mask which the actor wore.
On it would be painted the character and the mood which the actor portrayed. It
might be a smiling face which hid the sad heart of the actor behind it. It
might be a face of virtue which hid behind it a life of vice. In acting there can be a great discrepancy
between the part which is played and the reality of the life which lies behind
it… The same can be true of faith. We can profess much and possess little.
Indeed there is always the temptation in Christian fellowships to pretend to be
something other than what we are.
Sinclair B. Ferguson
Grow in Grace, 1989, p. 133, by permission
Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA.
A
hypocrite says one thing but means something else. He pretends to do one thing
but intends to do another. He is play-acting, dissembling. He is hiding his
real face under a mask.
William Hendriksen
Matthew, Baker, 1973, p. 802.
Reverence is that affection of the soul which proceeds
from deep apprehensions of God and indicates a mind that is much conversant
with Him. To manifest irreverence in the things of God is to manifest
hypocrisy, and that the heart agrees not with the tongue.
Richard Baxter
The Reformed Pastor, Chapter 2, Section 2.
A hypocrite [is the one who] wants to impress others with an external
façade of religious piety that he knows is devoid of internal spiritual
substance.
stead of 250 for FB's maximum friend limit and your feed will resume normal operation."
Sam Storms
One Thing, Christian Focus, © Enjoying God Ministries, 2004, p.12. www.enjoyinggodministries.com.
Used by Permission.