Hypocrisy

Introduction

Good morning. If you’ll open your Bibles to Romans chapter 1. The first chapter of the book of Romans. As you’re turning there, as you would imagine, from time to time this building has maintenance done to it. Air conditioning goes out and needs to be fixed, and other various issues come up. And unfortunately for those workers, they get stuck here with Adam and I. I thought that was funny. And when we’re here, of course, sometimes they’ll be fixing things and being the preachers that we are, I suppose, from time to time we invite them to church. I remember one particular time one poor guy was stuck in the workroom and he was had the ladder coming down to do some work up in the attic, and I asked him, Would you like to come to church?

And we had a brief dialogue, and one of the things he came out with was he said, you know, church really isn’t for me, I’m paraphrasing, because there’s you know always just a bunch of hypocrites there. And, you know, to be honest, that that’s an interesting point, until you actually give it some thought. And then it undresses in two ways. First and foremost, even if everyone was a hypocrite, we give an account of ourselves to God. In fact, at the time of Noah in Genesis chapter six, the world was so wicked, I would I would hypothesize that maybe people didn’t even care about hypocritically serving God. They wouldn’t even pretend because the thoughts of man’s heart was on evil or wicked continually. But yet Noah in that time, what was said about Noah in Genesis chapter six, that he found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

So, of course, that doesn’t work because we give an account of ourselves to God. But secondly, you show me a group of people, and I will show you a chance that there are hypocrites there, because that’s what people do. That’s not how our God is, that’s how we in our failings are. But if you take that and run with it a little bit, to be consistent, that also fails on account of logic. For example, we don’t apply that in any other place in our life. Have you ever heard about car dealers and how they try to take advantage of you? No one says, Well, that car dealer took advantage of me, I’m never going to buy a car again. Even if it comes to biking to work, walking to work, you know what?

There are hypocrites at the car dealership, so I’m just not going to go there. Take it a little closer to home. What about plumbers? You think there’s ever been a hypocritical plumber? If things back up at your house, you think you’re going to say, I’m not going to call a plumber, because after all, in that one state I used to live in 15 years ago, there were some hypocrites working at that plumbing company. You see, it doesn’t work. The logic doesn’t follow. Unfortunately, though, that is a commonly put out there idea. But what I really want to focus on this morning is the idea of hypocrisy, and are we hypocritical? It’s easy to dismiss that and say it’s wrong on the three accounts I already gave.

One, we answer to God ourselves. Two, it doesn’t follow in any other track of life. And three, of course, anywhere that there are people, there will be hypocrites. But I want to check, am I living a hypocritical life? Because to be a hypocrite, you first have to be saying one thing, or at the very least, know and profess one thing, whether out loud or by your actions. Now, of course, your actions should preach what you’re willing to teach. But sometimes we find ourselves lacking in that way. But to do that, I would like to use the book of Romans and see how Paul speaks to the Jews. But first, of course, it’s important to begin in verse one to understand how Paul is setting up his argument here.

1. The Gospel Is the Power of God to Salvation

In Romans chapter 1, beginning in verse 1, Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning his son, who is descended from David according to the flesh, and was declared to be the Son of God in power, according to the spirit of Holiness by His resurrection from the dead. Jesus Christ our Lord, through whom we have received grace and apostleship, to bring about the obedience of faith, for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. Now that phrase in verse 5, obedience to the faith, is found here in the first chapter of Romans, and also in the last chapter in chapter 16 and verse 26.

So obviously there’s something to this obedience of faith. But you see how Paul begins the letter, he identifies Jesus as what? Both the descendant of David in verse 3, and the Son of God in power, attested by his resurrection in verse 4. So certainly you can track the scriptures and you can see verses like Isaiah chapter 11, where Jesus was to come from the branch of David, and obviously in Matthew chapter 3, when Jesus was being baptized after he’d come up, God said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Jesus is the Lord. He was the promised Messiah, and he is our Lord in Christ today. And we know that. But verse 16 is where it really gets interesting. As you examine what Paul’s message is here, verse 16 and 17, well known, for I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

2. The Gentiles Should Have Known Better

For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, the righteous shall live by faith. And Paul says, here it is, the gospel is for all. But we also know what comes just a few chapters later, and that’s in Romans chapter 3 and verse 23. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. But what’s interesting is his path to get there. Will you look with me, beginning in verse 18? You see how the Gentiles rejected God here first. In verse 18, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be made, what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.

For his invisible attributes, namely his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made. As you examine then this call, Paul saying, the Gentiles, even though they didn’t have the law of Moses, we’re going to come to that in chapter two, they should have known better. Through what? Well, God should have been made known to them, and he was through what? His creation ever since the beginning of the world. From that we should be able to recognize God’s eternal power and divine nature. Now that’s important because that means that the Gentiles, albeit not having the law of Moses, had a system they were expected to follow. You see that time and again, even in the Old Testament scriptures, the most common and easy example to give is Jonah.

Jonah spoke to what nation? The nation of Nineveh. They were not a Jewish people. They were Gentiles, and yet they were expected to repent, implying first that they had a law that they had broken, and second, through their faithful repentance, that God would spare Gentile nations. So God gave them up. But I want you to see in verse 24 and verse 26 and verse 28, this phrasing that comes over and over again in chapter one. Therefore, God gave them up in the lust of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. Verse 26. For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions.

For the women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature, and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a pen in that for later.

To do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossip, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die. They not only do them, but give approval to those who practice them. It’s interesting, first and foremost, this language that God gave them up. Does that mean that God took this group and because he didn’t like them just kind of cast them off? No. The idea of that is it is a permissive giving up. What did they do? They were seeking to exchange the truth of God for a lie.

They didn’t just seek it, they found it, creating all kinds of idolatry, participating in all kinds of wickedness, as the roll call from verse 28 through the end of the chapter gives. And you think what a terrible, wicked people this is. Again, just quickly, just look at verse 29. They were filled just in this one verse with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetous mouths, they are full of envy, murder, strive, deceit, and maliciousness. What a terrible, wicked people. First of all, I go back to where this starts in verse 21. How did this degradation of society happen? Verse 21, for although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him. But they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened, claiming to be wise, they became fools.

3. You, the Judge, Practice the Very Same Things

You see, this Gentile people should have known better, and instead they found themselves caught up in all manners of unrighteousness, and we think, what a silly, wrong people. How dare you reject God now, to be fair? You look around today and we see that. You look around and you say, God’s being permissive on a lot of actions that are not holy, in fact, that stand against everything God stands for in his perfection and holiness. And we think, what a terrible, wicked people. And the thing about that is the Jews would have thought that too. And Paul addresses them in chapter 2. Look with me there in verse 1. Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another, you condemn yourself.

Because you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. Do you suppose, O man, you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God? Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience? Not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance. What was it for? What was the patience of the Lord for? 2 Peter chapter 3 makes it clear, it is for all to come to repentance. God desires that all men be saved. And yet here you have the Jew in chapter 2 saying, You betcha, these Gentiles, these Greeks, they’re wrong. You get them, Paul.

But what does Paul do with their outstretched fingers? Turns them back. Because the Jews were not only guilty, not only were they going to reach the conclusion that Paul says in Romans 3 23 that all have sinned, that would include, of course, the Jews and the Gentiles. But the Jews were guilty of the very same things. In verse 11 of chapter 2, you see that there is no partiality with God. He judges equally. The Jews were being very hypocritical, and you see this in verse 17. As you come down to our main text for this morning, note that the Jews gloried in the law and they boasted in God. Note this section and try to decide with me as we read these first several verses if this is wrong, if this is a mistake.

4. You Who Boast in the Law Dishonor God

In verse 17, but if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast in God and know his will, and approve what is excellent because you are instructed from the law, and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth. And you think, uh, before we finish that sentence, those are some pretty good things. Look back at verse 17. You call yourself a Jew. You rely on the law, you boast in God. Those sound like pretty good things. We should be reliant upon the promises of God, should we not? When God says something will happen, it takes place.

Amen.

So what was the big problem here? In verse 18, they’re said to know his will. And they approve what is excellent. Shouldn’t we know the will of God? Shouldn’t we approve of what is excellent? Seems to be the problem was the pride of the Jew. You see in verse 17 that it’s interesting, but if you call yourself a Jew, well, it’s found in our Bibles, first and about 2 Kings chapter 16. Really, the name Jew became commonplace after the Babylonian captivity. And it became a name of pride, because of course the Jews were proud. They were God’s chosen people. They were from the lineage of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob or Israel. And of course, they were special in that way, and they took great pride in that.

But you see, as the verse continues, their reliance on the law and boasting in God, and while Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 that we should boast in God, quoting Jeremiah chapter 9. What was the problem here? Like one commentator wrote that it’s like a jewel in a pig’s snout. The way that the Jews boasted in the law. You see, the boasting was not in the fact that they had the law and they knew what to do to please the Almighty God. The boasting was we have the law, so we’re going to be okay. The law was more of a possession than a life guide to being with God forever. And that’s a wrong way to approach it. And the good news is in our boxes, I know what we’re thinking.

Good news is I don’t struggle with that. I’m not like the hypocritical Jews here. Well, let’s keep going forward. They knew God’s will, in fact, what did they do with it in verse 19? They saw themselves as a guide to the blind, an instructor to the foolish or to the babes. They’re a teacher of children, having the embodiment of knowledge and truth. Make no mistake, the Jews knew the law of God. But the Jews were hypocrites. Do you see in verse 21? You then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? Well, you preach against stealing. Do you steal? You who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? You who boast in the law, dishonor God by breaking the law.

For as it is written, the name of God is blaspheme among the Gentiles because of you. Do you see that? You go back to the man from the beginning of the lesson and you say, How dare you say I don’t come to church because there’s hypocrites there? But when we live hypocritically, we stay in the name of God. We have to be very careful doing that. How did they blaspheme the name of God? You don’t read about specific words being uttered, but you see it in verse 21. What’d they do? They taught that you shouldn’t steal, and they were stealing. They taught you don’t commit adultery, and they were committing adultery. They say that they abhorred idols, and yet they were involved in some practice of robbing temples.

Verse 23 is the key. You who boast in the law, dishonor God by breaking the law. This isn’t to say that all Jews did these things. This isn’t to say that all the Jews for all time were displeasing to God and hypocritical. But the point was that some were. And it didn’t matter if they’re committing one of these or all of them. The fact of the matter is what? The Jews were found hypocritical in their service to God. And in so doing, they blaspheme the name of God among who? The very Gentiles that they considered the blind, the very Gentiles who they considered the foolish, the very Gentiles who were the children, relative to the revelation that the Jews so proudly boasted in having. And the fact is, God knows who his people are.

As you work through this chapter, the conclusion is clear in verse 28 and 29. For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God. This is not Paul’s diatribe against circumcision. This is Paul saying, yes, you take the act of circumcision, and you say, I am a Jew, I am something. But if you don’t keep the law, Paul’s saying, you are nothing. God knows who his children are. Who are God’s children? Those who glory in the law, and that is having that obedience of faith that he began and ended this Roman epistle with.

5. Do We Practice What We Preach?

As you examine what it means to be a people of God who gloried in the law, know God’s will. Those are good things if done properly. I can’t help but think that I consider myself, and probably many of us consider ourselves people who are so thankful that God has revealed his will. And that is an amazing blessing. Amen. It’s wonderful. We need to know the law. But we can’t be hypocritical about it. I wonder, are we like the Jews? Do we have the will of God? Of course we do. God is going to judge us in that way. And in fact, I referenced it, turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 1. In 1 Corinthians chapter 1, note that Paul makes the very idea that we could boast in the Lord.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 1, going down to verse 31. He says, So that as it is written, let the one who boasts boast in the Lord. What is this boasting? That I’m special? No, that God is the one true and living God, that I can be something because God allows me to. Without God I am nothing. It’s not boasting in anything that I can do, but in what God has done and can do for me. Boasting in the Lord is recognizing God as the one true and living God. There’s a difference in thinking I have the will of God, and you know, to be honest, a lot of us take pride in being right. Being right is very important. We have to know what the will of God is to keep it, to do it after all.

That’s who’s going to enter the kingdom of heaven? Those who do the will of the Father who’s in heaven. So it’s critical to know. But if we know, it doesn’t do a lot of good if we don’t keep it. And this is not just about the steps of salvation. This is about life. This is about living a converted life to Christ, one that makes us living sacrifices. And the question is, do we practice what we preach? The idea of hypocrisy in the Bible is found over and over. In the Old Testament, the Jews were constantly hypocritically serving God, if at all. And in the time of the New Testament, Jesus is constantly condemning the Pharisees, these keepers and teachers of the law for their hypocritical ways.

Well, you look at me in Matthew 23. This is really interesting. In Matthew chapter 23, some key points. In Matthew chapter 23, turn with me there. I hope you’ll join me here. In verse 1, then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, the scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat. So do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. What does that do to the credibility of a speaker? If he tells you to do things but doesn’t keep them himself. Well, that’s exactly the problem the Pharisees had. Jesus is telling the disciples who are there with him, you do what they say, they’re accurately portraying the law, but you can’t look at what they do.

Because yes, they preach, but they do not practice. In fact, in verse 4, there’s a reason for it. They tie up heavy burdens hard to bear and lay them on people’s shoulders. But they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. And verse 23, I think is of critical importance. We like to check boxes. We like to know the will of God and say, we’re doing it right. We’re worshiping right. We have the right things. And you know what often it turns into in discussions is we don’t do this. Oh, oh, a lot of people do that, we don’t do that. Oh, oh, oh, your church says this. No, no, no, we don’t do that. Sometimes I think people start to wonder, what do you do there?

In Matthew 23 and verse 23, woe to you, tribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you tithe mint and dill and cumen and have neglected the weightier matters of the law. Justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done without neglecting the others, you blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel. In Matthew chapter 15, Jesus uses the idea of blind guides, and they do what? They walk into the pit. And of course, all those who followed him there would have the same fate. But you have the idea in Matthew 23 that yes, the matters of the law matter. You see at the end of verse 23, he should have done these weightier matters without neglecting the others. Do you see that? It’s important to know what’s right.

It’s important to do what’s right. But we can’t neglect the weightier matters of the law. God does not care about being worshipped right in this building if we leave and don’t show love, mercy, or faithfulness. We have got to know that. As Christians, if we’re going to identify as true children of God, we will be the leaders in this world of darkness in love. In patience. In concern for the souls of others. If not, what are we doing? Do we have the will of God? Yes. Do we practice what we preach? That’s the challenge. What is being a hypocrite? Yes, it’s saying one thing and doing another, but if I ask for a show of hands, most in this room would raise their hands and say, Yes, I am a child of God.

6. Are We Glorifying the Name of God?

The question is not, would we confess that, although that is an element of serving the Lord? The question is, do my actions convey that the rest of my days? Are we glorifying the name of God? Wasn’t that the problem that the Jews had in Romans chapter 2? They were allowing what to be done to the name of God among the Gentiles? The name of God was being blasphemed. Because the very things they were teaching, the very message that they were holding, the idea that they were special, that they had the law of God, and yet they lived like everybody else, derided and blaspheme the name of God. We’re to be different. And Jesus explicitly says so. In Matthew chapter 5 and verse 16, what does he say?

In the same way, let your light so shine before others. Why, though? So that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. That is the purpose of being a light in the world of darkness, so that people can see God. And not just a God that allows people to do whatever they want. That’s not our God. Brothers and sisters, if we’re serving a God that doesn’t change our lives, we’re not serving Jehovah. Are we glorifying the name of God? Our actions will determine that. Is the world full of darkness? Of course. But in that world of darkness, wouldn’t that make the light shine all the brighter? If you think about the last words of Romans chapter 2, turn back there with me.

In Romans chapter 2, and in this section, circumcision is used a lot. And remember again, the idea here is not keeping the whole law with circumcision. The idea is the actual act of circumcision. Paul is saying you can’t value in this. In fact, one rabbi is quoted as saying that no man who is circumcised shall see hell. That’s a strong belief that the Jews had. They thought, we’re doing it right. We know God. God knows me. We’re doing things right. But they weren’t. But in Romans chapter 2 and verse 25, for circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law. But if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. So if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision?

Then he was physically uncircumcised but keeps the law, will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. What’s the point that Paul’s making? You know those Gentiles that in chapter 1 were full of all that wickedness and all that evil? When they’re doing the right things without even having the will of God, they are better than you. Your circumcision doesn’t mean anything if you don’t. What? In verse 25. Obey the law. Circumcision did what to the people? It identified them. It identified the males as in the lineage of Abraham. What value was it to the Jew under the law of Moses? Could you be a male Jew and not be circumcised according to the law? No. But if you don’t obey the law, what does Paul say?

If you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision. The very thing that so defined the people of God at that time, that they took such pride in keeping, would become the very opposite if they did not keep the law. We preach a lot, and we should about how to be saved, about being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. Brothers and sisters, that is a critical component of faith. To do what God says, to understand that his will is for us to believe and repent and to confess and be baptized. But first of all, the buck doesn’t stop there. But secondly, it doesn’t mean anything. If we say, I don’t believe in once saved, always saved, but our lives practice it.

Who are we fooling? God is not going to be mocked. Are we like the Jews? We have the will of God. That’s like the Jews at the time, albeit not the law of Moses. Do we practice what we preach? Because those who had the will of God didn’t do that. Are we glorifying the name of God? If we’re in obedience to God, we’re going to be found pleasing to Him. The truth is, if we’re going to be Christians, we need to have the circumcision not of the flesh, but of the heart. And you’re going to see what is going to define if someone’s a hypocrite. You find the definition in Psalm chapter 1. We fit into one in two categories. Look at me in Psalm chapter 1.

We want to know am I like the Jews that Paul’s writing to? Psalm chapter 1 categorizes us pretty neatly and succinctly. In Psalm chapter 1, he says, Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord. On this he meditates day and night. What does it mean to be a child of God who is not hypocritical? It’s more than just not doing some bad things that people can point out and be frustrated with our God for and avoid coming to assembly because of how we’re acting. Being a child of God shows itself in our life because we will seek to know the will of God, not just treasure it as it’s something we have and leave it on a bookcase in our home.

We will read it. We will delight in the law because that’s what Christians do. They recognize who God is. We don’t just glory that there is a God. We glory that that God loves who we are. It is an amazing thing to serve the God who created the heavens and the earth with just a spoken word. It is an amazing thing, brothers and sisters, to have a chance to have our sins wiped away. But we make a mockery of God and we defame his name when we have our sins washed away. We tell everyone, I’m a Christian, and then we live like the rest of the world. Those are incompatible views. We have to see. God expects us to be better. Because God is holy. And he expects us in so doing to be holy as well.

Conclusion

You see, it’s interesting that the Jews looked at the list of things in Romans chapter 1 as it concludes, and they said, those sins are awful. And Paul says, You’re doing the very same. It’s one thing to be right. It’s another thing to serve God. We can know the answers, we can pass the test, but it means nothing if we don’t live out the faith. If we don’t trust God, to have the obedience of faith that He requires and that He commands. Yes, Paul’s idea in Romans chapter 1 and 2 is to identify that both the Gentiles and the Jews needed the salvation of God. They needed the gospel that was the power of God into salvation to everyone who believes. That includes us. Not because we’re Gentiles, but because we have sinned.

God expects us to not only seek the good news, but to love it, to cherish his law, and to live it in every way imaginable. Will you go to God in prayer with me? Our dear God and most gracious Heavenly Father, we praise you for your greatness, and we thank you so much for your love. You are a mighty God. You are the one true and living God. We pray, O Lord, at this time, as we worship you, and as we seek to be servants in your sight, that you will forgive us of all our sin, that you will cast away our unrighteousness. Lord, we know that when we sin, we bring blaspheme upon your name. Lord, help us to be Christians not in word only, but in deed.

Help us to not only just know that we have your will, but to treasure it, delight in it, study it. And O Lord, most importantly, help us to apply it. Being a Christian, dear Lord, is a difficult task, but it’s so rewarding. Thank you for sending Jesus the Christ to die on the cross for our sins. Help us to be worthy of the calling. Help us to be holy as you are holy. O Lord, we know that we often fall short. We pray that you strengthen us. We recognize that the Jews and the Gentiles were sinful people, and yet despite that, you are willing to have them saved through the sacrifice of Jesus the Christ. Thank you so much for caring for man in that way.

Help us to understand, O Lord, that you call us to a life of change, and that we will in so doing change our lives to be found pleasing in your sight. O Lord, we know that we will be judged. We won’t be judged according to others, but according to what we ourselves do. We pray that in that great day we will here enter in thy good and faithful servant, because we know that we have trusted in you and we have kept the obedience of faith. Dear Lord, be with us as we go through the service. Help us to worship you in spirit and truth, yes, doing things the way you expect us to, but also with the heart that is pleasing and seeking to call out to you, to praise your name, and to truly worship and adore you as the God that you are.

We pray all these things in the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.