MOCKING HYPOCRISY
Hypocrisy is defined as a false pretence of being holy and righteous. It is living a double life contrary to the gospel to lead others astray. Our Lord Jesus Christ spoke harshly of the hypocrisy of the Pharisees in the Scripture which caused many people in their time to stumble. Today, the church is full of hypocrites and the hypocrisy of christian leaders is affecting the growth of the church. While Jesus was tender with many notorious sinners, He used scathing language to denounce those guilty of religious hypocrisy. While Ananias and Sapphira thought the Spirit of the Lord could be mocked by their hypocrisy, they ended up in unexpected death which is a warning of the deadly danger of the sin of hypocrisy. “But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost ..”; (Acts 5:3). Likewise today, those who profess to know God, but whose walk is inconsistent with their talk are hypocrites and they face the danger of sudden destruction if they repent not. They are merely hearers of the word and not doers of it, thus deceiving themselves.
The Scripture says, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. He that sows to the flesh will reap destruction and he that sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life. Therefore every believer that lives a fake Christian life is a mocker of the Spirit and a sinner against the Holy Ghost. Believers must realise that nothing is hidden from the sight of God. This means that everything, including man’s heart, is uncovered and laid naked before the eyes of God to whom we will give account of our lives. (Heb 4:13). The Scripture warns us not to be deceived spiritually, but to examine ourselves to see whether we are in the faith or not. Abiding believers must not become like the mockingbirds which are known for their ability to mimic the sounds of other birds, but cannot produce their own songs. We are to make sure that we are not mockingbird christians who only hear the word but fail to walk in the word in our daily life. So, to mimic the life of Christ in hypocrisy to deceive others is a spiritual mockery.
No man can mock the Almighty God because His eyes are open to the ways of all mankind and He will reward all people according to their conducts and according to their deeds. Believers need the Spirit’s Power to live true christian life, but to experience the Power of the Spirit in our lives and please God, we must avoid deceiving others about ourselves that we might escape divine judgment. Religious hypocrisy is a sin against the Spirit and it carries a damnable eternal consequence. All sins are forgivable but blasphemous sins against the Spirit shall not be forgiven on earth and in heaven; (Matt 12:31-32). If we are careful to heed what the Scripture says about believers and righteousness of life, then we must not continue to live the life of deceit and hypocrisy. We need to flee from all sins, put away lies and pride and be truthful. This can only be achieved through Christ Who died to set us free from all nature of sins including that of hypocrisy. So, we all need Christ in our lives to overcome the power of sin for a victorious life.
