THE CONDEMNATION OF HYPOCRISY BY JESUS CHRIST

My beloved brothers and sisters in Christ God,

CHRIST IS IN OUR MIDST! HE WAS, IS, AND EVER SHALL BE.

THE CONDEMNATION OF HYPOCRISY BY JESUS CHRIST

"Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples
saying: The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses; seat.
Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe
and do, but do not do according to their works; for they
say, and do not do." (Matthew 23:1)

The scribes and Pharisees do not stand before a simple and ordinary Rabbi but before the Pantokrator, the All-Ruling Christ, the Heavenly Judge. However, they are so corrupt and spiritually blind that they do not see that this is The Christ and the Messiah that the Hebrew people anticipated coming. Our Lord, God, and Savior is the ultimate Judge that everyone shall stand before at the Final or on Judgment Day. In the Creed, we say, "And He shall come again with glory to judge to living and the dead; Whose Kingdom shall have no end."

But who is a hypocrite? A hypocrite is someone who pretends to be something that he/she is not. A hypocrite might act pious and holy and faithful outwardly, but on the inside, he/she is the opposite i.e., vicious, manipulative, dishonest, arrogant, boastful, egotistical, and hateful. The scribes and Pharisees who were the religious leaders were pretending to be faithful, but their actions were contrary to God’s Commandments. They were able to deceive the people of God with their hypocrisy and were able to give their own corrupt interpretation of the Law of God which eventually replaced the actual God’s Law.

Jesus’ description of the hypocrites Who compared them to "whitewashed tombs, which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanliness" (Matthew 23:27). They have God-given authority and many God-given commandments, but they are personally ungodly, coldhearted, and vainglorious. Their teaching is to be honored, BUT THEY ARE NOT TO BE IMITATED (vv. 2-7). Pharisees place themselves in God’s stead. In His eightfold INDICTMENT of the Pharisees (Vv. 13-36), Jesus accuses them of inverting God’s values and being mean-spirited, greedy, ambitious, proud, absorbed by externals, hypocritical, and blindly self-righteous How much worse will it be for Christian who lapse into patterns of religious life similar to that of the scribes and Pharisees.

In Isaiah, we read, They have "drawn near to Me with their mouths, and with their lips honor Me, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR FROM ME". The Orthodox Christian is called upon to abide by the will of God the Father instead of abiding by the will of the "father of lies", the devil. As always the choice or decision is ours. The Evil One and the great deceiver constantly attempt to convince us to follow the hypocritical example of the scribes and Pharisees. But you, do not be like the hypocrites, our Lord Christ taught the people. Do not be like the hypocrites when you give alms, "Therefore when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets… but when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing…" (Matthew 6:2-3). Wearing masks of compassion, inwardly are cruel and heartless.

Jesus says to the scribes and Pharisees not only, He says, are you unbelievers who lead a corrupt life, but you teach others not to believe in Me and you corrupt them by your life and example. Because the people are apt to become like their rulers, especially if they see them inclined towards evil. See, therefore, that "woe" is the reward of every teacher and ruler whose evil life obstructs others in progress towards good. He alls them hypocrites because they are professing piety and doing nothing worthy of what they profess.

All those who wish to follow Christ God must avoid hypocrisy. Honesty is a virtue that everyone should value and possess in their lives. And of course the true believer should not neglect genuine humility. If we imitate anyone it must be our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Eventhually all hypocrites are exposed. It is very difficult to continually deceive people who trust and believe in them. There are many imposters and charlotens in society who take advantage of the innocent and vulnerable. In every case they inflict pain and trauma to those who they were able to exploit and manipulate. We are told in the Holy Scripture, "…do not believe every spirit, BUT TEST THE SPIRITS, where they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world" (1 John 4:1).

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"Glory Be To GOD
For
All Things!’