COME OUT WITH YOUR MASKS OFF!

November 25 

And whoever exalts himself shall be humbles; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. Matthew 23:12

The common excuse for folks not coming to church or salvation in Jesus is that there are too many hypocrites in the church.  Are you one of them?  Christ alone knows who the real hypocrites are, and He called them out in the Gospels.  The Greek word hypocrite actually means “to wear a mask, be a stage actor, pretend to be someone you aren’t.”  It’s a good word that has some bad connotations.  

Jesus’ harshest condemnation came down upon the hypocritical scribes and Pharisees, who were solely devoted to strict adherence to the Law and the traditions devised by the scribes.  Jesus issues an evaluation of their ministry and character in Matthew 23 enunciating 10 of their hypocritical characteristics.  Rather than bash these guys, maybe we should first evaluate our own spiritual lives and get rid of any masks of hypocrisy we may be wearing.  

1. They were more TALK than WALK (vv. 2-4).  2. They were more SHOW than SERVICE (vv. 5-12).  3. They were more door SHUTTERS than OPENERS (vs. 13).  4. They were more PERSONALLY concerned than PEOPLE concerned (vs. 14).  5. They were more “FOLLOW US” than “FOLLOW GOD” (vs. 15).  6. They were more DECEPTIVE than TRUTHFUL (vv. 16-22).  7. They were more concerned with MINORS than MAJORS (vv. 23-24).  8. They were more concerned about LOOKING good than BEING good (vv. 25-28).  9. They were more about HOMICIDE than HOMAGE (vv. 29-36).  10. They were more about RELIGION than RELATIONSHIP (vv. 37-39).   

This passage convicts me.  How about you?  Let’s all search our hearts and confess all hypocrisy and inconsistency to the Lord, and live before Him and others without the masks! 

Bob Kulp