Hypocrisy in Christian preaching highlights the danger of professing faith outwardly without genuine obedience or transformation (Matthew 7:21). Illustrations often use images of deceptive appearances, double-mindedness, and insincere actions to contrast true inward faith with mere outward show (James 1:22). It warns against self-deception and calls for authentic living consistent with God's will.
Calling Jesus by name without obeying Him is hypocrisy and self-deception.
Ye call Me Master and obey Me not,
Ye call Me Light and see Me not,
Ye call Me Way and walk Me not,
Ye call Me Life and desire Me not,
Ye call Me wise and follow Me not,
Ye call Me fair and love Me not,
Ye call Me rich and ask Me not,
Ye call Me eternal and seek Me not,
Ye call Me gracious and trust Me not,
Ye call Me noble and serve Me not,
Ye call Me just and fear Me not,
If I condemn you, blame Me not.
People often hide their true selves and only reveal authenticity when alone.
The famous Robert Redford was walking one day through a hotel lobby. A woman saw him and followed him to the elevator. "Are you the real Robert Redford?" she asked him with great excitement. As the doors of the elevator closed, he replied, "Only when I am alone!"
Some Christians live differently in public than in private, questioning true faith.
A small boy had a little wagon that was a new possession and the delight of his heart, but when he brought it out to the front walk one morning he was told that he must play with it at the back of the house. "This is Sunday," added the father by way of explanation. The boy obeyed, but he questioned wonderingly as he trudged away, "Isn't it Sunday in the backyard, too?" A Soldier's Wish
By profession I am a soldier and take pride in that fact, but I am prouder to be a father. A soldier destroys in order to build; the father never destroys. The one has the potentialities of death; the other embodies creation and life. And, while the hordes of death are mighty, the battalions of life are mightier still. It is my hope that my son, when I am gone, will remember me not from the battle, but in the home, repeating with him our simple daily prayer, "Our Father Who art in Heaven...."
-General Douglas MacArthur
Avoiding hypocrites is no excuse for neglecting salvation and personal responsibility.
The man who says he is kept away from religion by hypocrites is not influenced by them anywhere else. Business is full of them, but if he sees a chance at making money he does not stop for that.
Society is crowded with them, and yet he never thinks of becoming a hermit.
Married life is full of them, but that does not make him remain a bachelor.
Hell is full of them, and yet he does not do a thing to keep himself from going there.
He wants to have you think that he is trying to avoid the society of hypocrites, and yet he takes not a single step toward heaven, the only place where no hypocrites can go!
Many desire salvation but neglect holy living, confusing justification with sanctification.
An interesting phenomenon is occurring in our society. There is a high interest in salvation but a low interest in Christian living.
Recent studies show that church attendance on any given Sunday morning across this great land is at an all time high. There are more men, women, and children filling church pews on Sundays than at any time in our history.
However, the same studies show that moral standards are at an all time low. Some of these same church-goers are divorcing mates, aborting babies, cheating on spouses, drinking liquor, gambling paychecks, and abusing children at an unbelievably high rate.
What's the problem here?
In a recent class, the teacher may have given us a good hint as to what is happening.
He stated, "More people today want to 'Get Saved,'than want to 'Act Saved.'" He referred to this conflict as "Justification versus Sanctification." A Critical Eye
A certain hog farm er refused to have anything to do with the church because all he ever saw was a bunch of hypocrites who belonged to it. He always named two or three.
One day the pastor of the church came by to buy a hog from him. After looking over the farmer's entire swine herd, the pastor pointed to a scrawny, sickly, ugly little runt and said, "I want that one."
The farmer remonstrated vigorously, "Why, Preacher, you don't want that one. He's the scrawniest runt I ever saw. Look, here are some fine hogs over here." "That's all right," said the preacher, "I want that one."
After the purchase was completed, the pastor said, "Now I am going to haul this pig all over the country and tell everyone that this is the kind of hog you raise!"
"Hey, Preacher, that's not fair," the farmer protested. "I raise fine hogs. An occasional runt doesn't ruin my whole stock."
"I am only following your example of condemning a whole church because of the stunted spirituality of a few of its members," explained the pastor. The farmer got the point!
People often hide their true selves behind deceptive outward appearances.
Through its laws, our country declares it a crime to lie about the contents in a box of cereal. These laws demand that the outside of the package tell the truth about what is on the inside. Deceptive packaging is illegal. "Truth in advertising" regulations are another way to protect the public. A good example of this is the warning on a pack of cigarettes: "Smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema, and may complicate pregnancy."
Unfortunately, there are no such laws about people. We require no one to tell what really lies behind the packaging-the clothes, facial expressions, mannerisms, speech patterns, or affected behavior. No one is forced to tell you what he or she is really feeling, thinking, or planning to do.
Our deceptive packaging-the way we appear to others-is an accepted, even an expected part of our way of life. We have become experts in this type of trickery. Before we are going to get the help we need, we need to confess this sin of hypocrisy. Only then can we go on the path of discovering and knowing our real selves.
Some profess faith but fail to practice prayer, tithing, or Bible reading.
People who talk about prayer but never pray.
People who say tithing is right but never tithe.
People who want to belong to the church but never attend.
People who say the Bible is God's Word to man but never read it.
David's confrontation reveals hypocrisy and conviction of sin in a tragic family story.
Some years ago in Chicago, after a traffic accident, a policeman awakened parents to report the death of their only daughter. He indicated that an empty bottle of liquor was found in the wrecked car. When the father heard this, he went into a rage and said, "When I find the man who sold liquor to these kids, I'll kill him." Later, upon seeking a bracer from his own liquor stocks he found a note in his daughter's handwriting which read, "Dad, we are taking along some of your good liquor. I know you won't mind." Compare this father's reaction to David's in 2 Samuel 12:1-7.
Not all who claim Christ enter heaven; true obedience to God’s will matters.
The town of Pisa, Italy, is famous, of course, for its leaning tower. Not so well known, but far more significant, is a painting on the wall of a cemetery there. The artist has depicted the last judgment, with Christ, the Virgin Mary, the Twelve Disciples, and a number of angels. In this painting, groups of people are coming out of their graves, some going to the right and others to the left of the scene. But there appears to be some confusion. Some who thought they belonged on the right and destined for heaven, are being shifted back to the left, destined for hell-and vice versa. What was the basis for their judgment? Christ said, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven" (Matthew 7:21). The Italian artist was inspired by his vivid imagination and the prophetic words of the 5th chapter of Matthew.
True salvation is shown by inward response, not just outward Christian profession.
One of the best ways to test the genuineness of our salvation is to find out whether the old nature within us responds when it is called by an outside voice. A French woman was being sought by the police. As soon as she descended from the train, a policeman approached her and asked her who she was and from where she was coming. She gave him false information and started walking away. Then the voice of the policeman was heard behind her: "Rosine." That was her real name. She immediately turned. Are you responding to the hypocritical name of a Christian in church and in the world by your real name? The Bark on the Inside
A child was walking along a street when a large dog came out of a yard barking. She stood terrified. Soon a stranger came by and said to her, "Come on, little girl, the dog has stopped barking." "Yes," she said, "but the bark is still on the inside." She saw in the eyes of the dog an unfriendly spirit. The False Christian
"Look, Mommy, this potato is so big and nice, isn't it?" Then the mother peeled it and cut it in half. How surprised was the little girl when she saw it all black and hollow in the middle. "Oh, Mommy," she said, "this potato is not a real Christian, is it?"
Trying to belong to both world and Christ leads to rejection and spiritual ruin.
A woman, enlarging on her husband's inconsistencies, said, "At a theologically liberal meeting he's a liberal and at a conservative meeting he's a conservative." Someone asked, "What is he at home?" She replied with emphasis, "He's a real demon!" The Bat's Reward
Aesop, probably the most renowned writer of myths, speaks in one of his fables about a time when the beasts and the fowls were engaged in war. The bat tried to belong to both parties. When the birds were victorious, he would wing around telling everyone that he was a bird; when the beasts won a fight, he would walk around assuring everyone that he was a beast. Soon his hypocrisy was discovered, and he was rejected by both the beasts and the birds. He had to hide himself, and now he can appear openly, only by night. You cannot hold on to the world with one hand and to the Lord with the other. If you do, you will enjoy neither the world nor the Lord. A house divided against itself cannot stand, was the verdict of the Master (Mark 2:25). The Condemning Evidence
There was a very well-thought-of deacon who was a zealous advocate of the cause of temperance. One day he employed a carpenter to make some alterations in his living room. As the worker was tearing things down, he came upon a very nicely concealed closet. He was shocked when he saw a jug and tumblers in the hidden closet. The carpenter, with wonder-stricken countenance, ran to the proprietor with the announcement of the discovery. As soon as the deacon heard of it, he said, "H'm! Well, I declare, that is curious. Sure enough, it must be that Captain Brown left those things here when he occupied the premises thirty years ago." "Ah, perhaps he did," answered the carpenter; "but say, deacon, that ice in the pitcher must have been well frozen to have remained solid all this time."
Outward sourness can mislead; true spiritual fruit is sweet and hidden inside.
Spurgeon used to illustrate hypocrisy with the following story: An American gentleman said to a friend, "I wish you would come down to my garden and taste my apples." He asked him about a dozen times, but the friend did not come. At last the fruit grower said, "I suppose you think my apples are good for nothing, so you won't come and try them." "Well, to tell the truth," said his friend, "I have tasted them. As I went along the road I picked one up that fell over the wall, and I never tasted anything so sour in all my life. I do not particularly wish to have any more of your fruit." "Oh," said the owner of the garden, "I thought that would happen. Those apples around the outside are for the special benefit of the boys. I selected the sourest kinds to plant all around the orchard so the boys might give them up as not worth stealing. If you will come inside, you will find that we grow a different quality there, sweet as honey."
Defending Christ with harshness can contradict the gospel message itself.
We are so eager to defend the cause of Christ that sometimes in our defense of it we violate the very gospel we defend. We are like the man who wrote a famous tract entitled, Come to Jesus. Soon after the writing of that tract, which was mightily used of God, he engaged in a theological dispute in which he wrote to an opponent's publication an invective article bristling with sarcasm, and sharp and cutting as a razor. Reading it to a friend, he asked, "What do you think of it?" "It is a masterpiece of invectiveness," was the reply. "You fairly flay him alive. What have you decided to call it?" "I have not thought of a title. Can you suggest one?" "Well," said his friend, "how about calling it, Go to the Devil, by the author of Come to Jesus?"
Double-minded Christians are unstable and receive criticism from all sides like a fruitless tree.
The worst pronouncements Christ ever made were not against the out-and-out sinner and unbeliever but against the hypocrite. We can see this for ourselves in the twenty-third chapter of Matthew. Both God and your fellowmen can tell the difference between the real and the counterfeit, the real and the imitation. These people are like an old apple tree which stood at the fence line by the roadside. Its branches spread both into the field and out over the highway. There was always a contention as to whether the fruit of this tree belonged to the farmer or to the public. An unwritten law said it belonged to the first one to club it down. Every boy, big and little, watched to see when the apples were beginning to turn red, and then the battle was on. The owner never got a ripe apple from that old tree. The tree on the side of the highway always had lodged in its branches a lot of broom handles, sticks, and old wagon spokes. That tree got more clubbing than a whole orchard. It presents a true picture of the professing "Christian" who hangs on both sides of the fence and thus receives clubs from every direction.
Criticism can darken the heart and lead from light to unbelief.
A student may turn his enlightened heart into darkness by starting to be critical, first with the things that may be criticized, and then proceeding to belittle those things that are beyond criticism. He is like a little boy with a new knife; he must cut something or other. He cuts up the Scriptures and decimates them; he has such a sharp knife that he must use it or otherwise he is not happy. From a critic, he advances to an irreverent faultfinder, and from that to an utter unbeliever. His light has blinded him.
Zeal that harms others under the guise of defending God’s honor is wrong.
King Olaf of Norway was the bloody foe of heathenism. He reigned twenty five years, the scourge and terror of his own people, and never made a friend. Their maimed bodies, burned homes, and plundered property were a perpetual memorial to his merciless zeal. He called to his aid robbers and vagabonds and enrolled them in his army, requiring only one condition, that they should be baptized in the name of Christ. He had white crosses painted on the shields and helmets of all his soldiers. He gave a battle cry, "Forward, Christian men! Crossmen!" With all this, his last battle was a sad defeat in which he was slain in a.d. 1030. He justified himself and his horrible barbarities by saying, "I had God's honor to defend." The question is, does God's honor really need our defense, a defense that harms others? We can be sure any zeal that harms others is evil, no matter how we try to justify it.
Excusing rejection of Christ due to hypocrites ignores personal responsibility for salvation.
"I won't accept this invitation because of those hypocrites in the churches." My friend, you will find very few there if you get to heaven. There won't be a hypocrite in the next world, and if you don't want to be associated with hypocrites in the next world, you will take this invitation. Why, you will find hypocrites everywhere. One of the apostles was himself the very prince of hypocrites, but he didn't get to heaven. You will find plenty of hypocrites in the church. They have been there for the last one thousand eight hundred years, and will probably remain there. But what is that to you? This is an individual matter between you and your God.
Hypocrites focus on small duties to justify great sins and rob God of true glory.
"A hypocrite has been likened to one who should go into a shop to buy a pennyworth, and should steal a pound's worth, or to one who is punctual in paying a small debt, that he may get deeper into our books and cheat us of a greater sum." Hypocrites make much ado about small things that they may be more easy in their consciences while living in great sins. They pay the tithe of mint to a fraction, but rob God of his glory by their self-righteousness. Punctilious to the utmost about ritual and rubric, they set up their own righteousness in the place of Christ, and rob him of his crown, while all the while they pretend
to be serving him. They honour him with their church adornments, in the way of pictures and images, and thereby insult him with idolatry. In the mass they pretend to great devotion for the Lord Jesus, and yet the sum of it is that they put a piece of bread into the throne of his eternal Godhead. In a word, they give God the shells, and steal the kernels for their own pride and self-will. Christ may have their names, and they will be his disciples if they can turn a penny thereby, either for their purse or their pride, but all the while they are robbing him of his glory. O Lord, whatever I may be, let me not be a hypocrite. Suffer me to be the least among thy true children, rather than the chief among pretenders.
External religious acts without true devotion are mere empty appearances and deception.
"As Michal laid a statue in David's bed, and, covering it with David's apparel, made Saul's messengers believe it was David himself sick in bed; so, many persons cover themselves with certain external actions belonging to religion, and the world believeth them truly sanctified and spiritual, whereas, indeed,
they are but statues and apparitions of devotion to God." Formalism is a vain show, and will, in the end, be discovered, and the cheat will cease to impose upon any one. Of all matters, religion is the very worst to play with. It may be easy to mimic it, but the price to be paid for such fooling will be terrible. If men must act a borrowed part let them ape the princes of this world, but let them not put such an affront upon the princes of the blood royal of heaven. Let them go to their theatres if they would wear a mask; to do so in the house of God is an insult which the Lord will not brook. The best imitation of religion will make its possessor wail forever when the hand of eternal truth shall lay bare its falsehood. O thou who art "the truth," deliver me from all seeming, and let me be in truth that which I profess to be.
Outward appearances can hide inner corruption and sinfulness.
If you go into a churchyard some snowy day, when the snow has been falling thick enough to cover every monument and tombstone, how beautiful and white does every thing appear! But remove the snow, dig down beneath, and you find rottenness and putrefaction, "dead men's bones, and all uncleanness." How like that churchyard on such a day is the mere professor, — fair outside; sinful, unholy within! The grass grows green upon the sides of a mountain that holds a volcano in its bowels. Dr. Guthrie.
Seeking human applause over God's honor leads to eternal condemnation.
An English minister dreamed that a popular preacher approached him and said, "It is only one hour since I died; and now I am damned!"—"Damned for what?" said the minister. The reply was, "It is not because I have not preached the gospel; neither is it because I have not been rendered useful, for I have many souls as seals to my ministry: but it is because I have been seeking the applause of men more than the honor which cometh from above, and verily I have my reward." The speaker disappeared. The minister awoke, and soon learned of the death of the popular preacher at the precise time indicated in his dream. So much of the dream being true, it is easy to credit the whole.
False piety can mask greed and exploitation under a guise of holiness.
"There are those," as our Bromiard observes, "who in a fair pretence of mortification, like soaring kites, fly up from earth, and cry, 'Fie, fie!' in their flight, as if they scorned these lower vanities, and yet, when they have done, stoop upon the first carrion that comes in their eye,"—false Pharisees, that, under the color of long prayers, devour widows' houses; pharisaical votaries, that, under color of wilful poverty, sweep away whole countries into their corban.
— Bp. Hall
Busy-bodies focus on others' lives but neglect self-examination and peace.
There are some whose restless, insinuating, searching humor will never suffer them to be quiet, unless they dive into the concerns of all about them; they are always outward bound, but homeward never; they are perpetually looking about them, but never within them; they can hardly relish or digest what they eat at their own table, unless they know what, and how much, is served up to another man's; they cannot sleep quietly themselves unless they know when their neighbor rises, and goes to bed; they must know who visits him, and who is visited by him; what company he keeps; what revenues he has, and what he spends; how much he owes, and how much is owed to him.
— Dr. South
Some profess clear belief but reveal a dark, unyielding heart when personally tested.
Some crystals, such as mica, are transparent in one direction, and opaque in another. It is so with some men. It is not unusual to meet with those who have very clear views of the theory of religion, both doctrinal and practical; and you expect to find their hearts and lives conformed to this belief: but, the moment you make the subject personal, you perceive that the opaque side of their character is turned towards you, and all is repulsive and dark.
— Hitchcock
Some Christians focus on outward show but lack genuine inner spiritual qualities.
Irised minerals often give a splendid exhibition of most of the colors of the spectrum; but it is produced by a mere superficial film, while all beneath is opaque, as in a specimen of anthracite coal.
This is the man who has a strong passion for outside display, but no corresponding sterling qualities within. He may be gaudy as the peacock without; but just penetrate beneath the thin film of external character, and all will be found either hollow or opaque within.
— Hitchcock
A friar preaching against stealing while hiding a pudding illustrates hypocrisy in character.
Sitting on two stools.—Latin.—The friar preached against stealing, when he had a pudding in his sleeve. To carry two faces under one hood.—English.—He howls with the wolves when he is in the wood, and bleats with the sheep in the field.—Dutch.—The Vicar of Bray who was first a Papist, then a Protestant, afterward a Papist, then a Protestant again, would not admit that he was a turncoat. He said, "I have always stuck to my principle; which is this,—to live and die Vicar of Bray."
Double-facedness likened to minerals and chameleons shows unstable, self-serving moral principles.
There are minerals which exhibit different colors on different faces. Thus dichroite, or iodite, is often deep blue along its vertical axis; but, on a side perpendicular to this axis, it is brownish yellow. The phenomenon results from the manner in which the particles are arranged for reflecting and transmitting light. The whole internal structure must be changed before the same color shall be presented on all the faces. There is a moral dichroism. It consists in a man's being Janus-faced,—that is, double-faced,—both in his principles and his practice, in order to secure popular favor and avoid odium. The chameleon is said to have the power of assuming the color of the object on which it fastens: so this man means to conform his creed and his practice to those which are most popular in the community where he happens to abide or sojourn. In one place, he is orthodox; in another, heterodox: in one, an advocate for temperance; in another, loose in this matter, both in theory and practice: in one place, proslavery; in another, antislavery. His moral and religious principles are not settled, or, rather, he makes them bend to his worldly interest, and you have no way of determining where to find him in any circumstance, except to inquire what aspect self-interest will require him to put on. Nor will it ever be essentially better until divine grace shall have transformed and re-arranged the elements of his character. Hitchcock.
The chameleon's color changes symbolize religious hypocrisy and double-mindedness.
The chameleon is particularly noted for its singular faculty of changing color voluntarily, which enables it to conceal itself, by adopting that of the branches around, and by the peculiar structure of its enormously projecting eyes. Although the movements of its head are limited, on account of the shortness of its stiff neck, this deficiency is amply compensated by the wide range of its vision; each eye being able to move about in all directions independently of the other. Thus, while one of them gazes upon the heavens, the other minutely examines the ground; or, while one of them rolls in its orbit, the other remains fixed; nay, their mobility is so great, that, without even moving his stiff head, this wonderful saurian, like Janus the double-faced god of ancient Rome, can see at the same time all that goes on before and behind him. This mutual independence of the eyes is owing to the imperfect sympathy which subsists between the two tubes of the brain and the two sets of nerves which ramify through the opposite sides of its frame. Hence, also, one side of the body may be asleep while the other is vigilant; one may be green while the other is ash-blue: and it is even said, that the chameleon is utterly unable to swim, because the muscles of both sides are incapable of acting in concert. Hartwig.
Fanatics mistake passion for grace, lacking Christian modesty and love.
The fanatic, big with pride, and full of himself, rejects reason, and takes the emotions of his own passions for those of grace; and, far from conducting himself with Christian modesty and love, he follows the reveries of his imaginations, as if they were the inspirations of the Divine Spirit. He imitates the follies of enthusiastic fools, and, if occasion offer, the cruelties of bloody persecutors. J. Fletcher.
Some mask their faults by eccentric behavior to avoid criticism.
An ingenious device of some men to avoid criticism of their real faults is to affect some eccentricity. Wear a hat without a rim, or a coat with only one flap; shave your face on one side only, or never cut your beard; live on pigs' tails and salt, or keep a tame hyena, — and you will have thrown a tub to the whale, which will prevent his molesting you. It is told of Aleibiades, that, finding his irregularities becoming the general topic of conversation at Athens, and having a very fine dog, which he had given a large sum of money for, he cut off its tail, which was reckoned a great ornament. His friends told him the whole city blamed him for so foolish an action, and talked of nothing else. "That is what I meant," said he. "I'd rather they should talk of my dog's tail than scrutinize my conduct."
Some focus on others' faults, missing their own and great virtues.
When the absent are spoken of, some will speak gold of them, some silver, some iron, some lead, and some always speak dirt; for they have a natural attraction towards what is evil, and think it shows penetration in them. As a cat watching for mice does not look up though an elephant goes by, so they are so busy mousing for defects, that they let great excellences pass them unnoticed. I will not say it is not Christian to make heads of others' faults, and tell them over every day: I say it is infernal. If you want to know how the Devil feels, you do know if you are such a one. Beecher.
Feigned humility can provoke anger and rejection when confronted with truth.
An instance of this was lately mentioned to me by the deacon of a Christian church. One of the members was indulging freely in this strain: "What a poor, short-coming creature I am!" His minister sighed, and said, "Indeed, you have long given me painful reason to believe you." Whereupon the member, being taken at his word, replied in a tone of anger, "Who told you any thing about me? I am as good as you. I will not come to hear you any more: I will go somewhere else." And so he did.
— Dr. R. Newton
God will expose the closest hypocrites publicly, revealing their true character.
Ottocar, King of Bohemia, refused to do homage to Rodolphus I., till at last, chastised with war, he was content to do him homage privately in a tent; which tent was so contrived by the emperor's servants, that, by drawing a cord, all was taken away, and so Ottocar presented on his knees, doing his homage, to the view of three armies then in the field. Thus God at last shall uncase the closest dissembler to the sight of men, angels, and devils; having removed all veils and pretences of religion and piety. Spencer.
A painting shows a hypocrite pretending to pray while actually drinking, symbolizing deceit.
A very capital painter in London exhibited a piece representing a friar habited in his canonicals. View the painting at a distance, and you would think the friar to be in a praying attitude. His hands are clasped together, and held horizontally to his breast; his eyes meekly demised, like those of the publican in the gospel; and the good man appears to be quite absorbed in humble adoration and devout recollection. But take a nearer survey, and the deception vanishes. The book which seemed to be before him is discovered to be a punchbowl, into which the wretch is all the while, in reality, only squeezing a lemon. How lively a representation of a hypocrite! Boyes.
Various proverbs warn that hypocrisy often hides behind religious appearances.
Where God has his church, the Devil will have his chapel. The Devil can quote Scripture for his purpose. When the fox preaches, beware of the goose. — English. — The Devil lurks behind the cross. Many kiss the hands they would feign see chopped off. — Spanish. — Oh the slyness of sin, that puts an angel before every Devil! — German. — When the Devil says his paternosters, he wants to cheat you. Nothing is more like an honest man than a rogue. — French. — All are not saints who go to church.
A convict impersonated a clergyman and preached successfully until death revealed the truth.
A clergyman of the Church of England was left by the death of his relatives the last of his family; and, resolving to emigrate to America, took ship with his worldly effects, to end his days with preaching the gospel here. A convict, leaving his country for his country's good, in the same ship, concealing his true character, became intimate with the clergyman. On the passage, however, the latter took sick, was nursed assiduously by the other, and, dying, left all his effects, including his sermons, letters, and testimonials, to the unknown nurse. Upon arriving safe in this country, the convict assumed the name of the deceased, and, presenting the letters and credentials of the departed to the bishop, was invited to preach; which he did, using one of the sermons he had inherited, and was called to a church, where he officiated acceptably for several years. The truth would not have been discovered had not the wretched impostor divulged it on his death-bed.
Hypocrisy is universal among mankind; only grace can cure this condition.
The Emperor Frederick the Third, when one said unto him he would go and find some place where no hypocrites inhabited, told him he must travel, then, far enough beyond the Sauromatte, or the Frozen Ocean; for yet, when he came there, he should find a hypocrite if he found himself there. And it is true that every man is a hypocrite. Hypocrisy is a lesson that every man readily takes in. It continues with age, it appears with infancy: the wise and learned practise it; the duller and more rude attain unto it. All are not fit for the wars: learning must have the picked and choicest wits; arts must have leisure and pains: but all sorts are apt enough, and thrive in the mystery of dissimulation. The whole throng of mankind, the whole world, is but a shop of counterfeit wares, — a theatre of hypocritical disguises. Grace is the only antidote.
— Spencer
A stone's virtue lasting only in gold symbolizes hypocrites who are good only in prosperity.
Lapidaries tell us of the Chelydonian stone, that it will retain its virtue and lustre no longer than it is enclosed in gold. A fit emblem of the hypocrite, who is only good while he is enclosed in golden prosperity, safety, and felicity. T. Brooks.
At death, a hypocrite's true corrupt heart and lies will be fully exposed before all.
Poor soul! remember, though like a sheep thou art laid in thy grave, Death will find thee out. He will say to thee, "Off with thy mask, man! away with all thy robes! Up with that whitewashed sepulchre! Take off that green turf: let the worms be seen! Out with the body: let us see the reeking corruption!" And what wilt thou say when thine abominably corrupt and filthy heart shall be opened before the sun, and men and angels hear thy lies and hypocrisies laid bare before them? Wilt thou play the hypocrite then? Spurgeon.
Spasmodic faith and inconsistent prayer reveal hypocrisy that God can see through.
Mr. C. was a member of a Christian church; but his religion was of a spasmodic character, and his harp often hung on the willows down by the cold stream of worldliness. But, when the Lord saw fit to revive his work, he was foremost in shouting glory to God. "I do not like to hear Mr. C. talk and pray in meetings," said little Betsy. "Why not?" said her mother. "Because," she answered, "if he can talk so earnestly and pray so loud in meetings, I know he can pray at home; but he does not. He is only making believe, and trying to cheat God; but God can see through it."
— Christian Banner
Lack of genuine Christian charity undermines the credibility of religious followers.
I date my first impressions against religion from having witnessed how little its votaries were actuated by true Christian charity. Lord Byron.
Religious devotion mixed with sinful actions shows deep hypocrisy and need for repentance.
The officers of the Inquisition mingled religious rites and prayers with the infliction of cruel tortures. The Italian banditti, or highway robbers, are said to be very particular about their devotions. John Newton nearly starved himself in his anxiety to mortify the body; yet he was captain of a slave-ship, and carried on the detestable business of man-stealing, until his conscience became awakened to the sense of his sin.
Illustrates practical hypocrisy in behavior differing between Sunday and weekdays.
Some men will not shave on Sunday, and yet they spend all the week in shaving their fellow-men; and many folks think it very wicked to black their boots on Sunday morning, yet they do not hesitate to black their neighbor's reputation on week-days. Beecher.
Uses proverbs to warn against hypocrisy and judging others while guilty oneself.
Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones. Point not at others' spots with a foul finger. Physician, heal thyself. — English. — Let not him that has a glass skull take to stone-throwing. The pan says to the pot, "Keep off, or you'll smute me." — Italian. — The shovel makes game of the poker. — French. — One ass nicknames another Long-Ears. German.
Depicts gamblers showing superstitious respect during a religious procession, then resuming sin.
A traveller in Spain describes a scene which he witnessed in a gambling-saloon in Madrid. The sound of a little bell was heard in the street, announcing the procession of the host to the house of a sick person. Instantly, cards and dice were thrown down, and every gambler was on his knees, in perfect silence, till the procession had passed by; when all resumed their places and their play.
Outward appearances can hide the reality of struggle and imperfection.
Some ladies, calling upon a neighbor, said, "Dear Mrs. Murray, what fine boys! Nobody has such charming boys as yours!" When these ladies thought themselves out of hearing, they were overheard to say, "Poor Mrs. Murray! what a time she must have sewing, mending, and patching, to keep all those great, awkward, tearing boys so neat as she does!"
Good intentions alone do not justify sin or guarantee salvation.
Hell is paved with good intentions. Hopers go to hell. — English. — The way to perdition is paved with good intentions. — German. — Many good purposes lie in the churchyard. — Philip Henry. — If religion might be judged of according to men's intentions, there would scarcely be any idolatry in the world.
— Bishop Hall
Affected penitence is insincere and can include lying about one’s true repentance.
"I am the chief of sinners," said the cardinal to his confessor. "It is too true," said the monk. "I have been guilty of every kind of sin," sighed the cardinal. "It is a solemn fact, my son," said the monk. "I have indulged in pride, ambition, malice, and revenge," pursued his Eminence. The provoking confessor assented without one pitying word of doubt or protest. "Why, you fool!" at last said the exasperated cardinal: "you don't imagine I mean all this to the letter?" — "Ho, ho!" said the monk: "so you have been a liar, too, have you?"
— Rogers
Jesuits condemned worldly things in doctrine but eagerly pursued them in life.
It was observed of the Jesuits, that they constantly inculcated a thorough contempt of worldly things in their loctrines, but eagerly grasped at them in their lives. They were wise in their generation; for they cried down worldly things, because they wanted to obtain them, and cried up spiritual things, because they wanted to dispose of them.
— Colon
People often pretend religion while secretly clinging to sin and worldly desires.
It has been said that men carry on a kind of coaxing-trade with religion. In the voyage of life they profess to be in search of heaven, but take care not to venture so far into their approximations to it as entirely to lose sight of the earth; and, should their frail vessel be in danger of shipwreck, they will gladly throw their darling vices overboard, as other mariners their treasures, only to fish them up again when the storm is over.
— Colton
