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WOE UNTO YOU HYPOCRITES-
As Peter swore not to betray Jesus and that he would not deny him, we to stand at risk of denying the Spirit of Truth. The Spirit of the Lord awoke me recently and spoke to my heart. He said that many in the Body have fallen into complacency and have unknowingly become hypocrites. This is a subject seldom spoken from pulpits and many believers continue to occupy their lives with busyness in order not to face the truth. To even think that we are not walking a life less than pure can bring pangs of nausea to a believer. Just the sound of that word stings our ears and causes immediate denial. It is difficult to admit that we could be walking short of what we should. There are very few that openly ask the Lord to shine His light deep into their lives and allow Him to chastise them for hidden sins. It is time for each of us to seriously look at our lives and allow the Spirit to bring to light any areas that need correction. Pray that the Lord would open our hearts and remove all hidden sins that are hindering our walk. Allow our loving Father to bring chastisement and correct those areas of hypocrisy. Many things can cause our walk with the Lord to become clouded and cause us to waver. It can happen suddenly or occur by a slow progression into worldliness. Regardless of the source or motive the consequence still is the same. It will cause a callusing of our heart and a separation from our Lord. Ignorance of the true meaning of hypocrisy does not cover the sin. We have been given the Word of God for knowledge and admonition and if we desire to receive the pure word of truth it is available. Often pastors or spiritual elders fail to unveil the truth in regard to hypocrisy because they fear the loss of respect or following of their sheep. Other times they themselves have allowed the sin of hypocrisy to take a foothold in their own lives. Releasing the Word of God in believer's lives when the Word is of joy and beauty is easy but when the teaching involves sin and it's consequences it becomes more difficult. No one wants to be the one to share a hard word of correction but it is necessary for the Body to grow healthy and strong. If spiritual leaders speak only smooth things unto their flocks they are grooming their sheep for damnation. It is required of a steward to be faithful in all things and the teaching of hard word is included. For us to grow into a strong and complete Body we must unveil our hearts openly so that all manner of darkness may be removed. This example must begin with the leadership and patterned by the Word of God so that many will be saved. To understand where change must take place we must first be equipped with knowledge of truth. As with many words found in our spiritual handbook the definition of the words have slowly changed. The English language over the past two hundred years has been altered more than at any point in time. This alteration has caused many to err because they are unable to grasp a full understanding of what was meant in the Word. This misinterpretation has caused many to think they are walking in perfection when in fact they are bordering on damnation. There is no scripture open to private interpretation yet the Word of God has been perverted in such a way that it has become easier to overlook sin. There are some who have used the Word deceitfully to cover their sin, others have erred because of ignorance. Regardless of the reason, we will be held accountable as to our stewardship on judgment day. It is our responsibility as leaders and believers to seek counsel from the Spirit of God. If we base our perception of the truth found in the Word upon the precepts of mans religion we will err. If we will call upon the Spirit of God seeking the wisdom that comes from above the pure religion spoken of by our Lord will be evident. As we openly seek the heart and mind of Christ we will come into a unity of heart and mind that will destroy hypocrisy. As Jesus spoke to those bound in the religious precepts of men," they do err, not knowing the scriptures nor the power of God" (mat. 22:29) To break the cycle of hypocrisy we must seek a relationship with the Lord and allow the light of truth to shine into our darkened hearts. The definition of hypocrisy according to the Websters 1828 dictionary is as follows: HYP'OCRITE, n. 1. One who feigns to be what he is not; one who has the form of godliness without the power, or who assumes an appearance of piety and virtue, when he is destitute of true religion. 2. A dissembler; one who assumes a false appearance. HYPOC'RISY, n. [L. hypocrisis; Gr. simulation; to feign; to separate, discern or judge.] 1. Simulation; a feigning to be what one is not; or dissimulation, a concealment of one's real character or motives. More generally, hypocrisy is simulation, or the assuming of a false appearance of virtue or religion; a deceitful show of a good character, in morals or religion; a counterfeiting of religion. Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Luke 12. 2. Simulation; deceitful appearance; false pretence. In Luke 12 we are told that the to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy. Notice that Jesus uses the word leaven to describe hypocrisy as it only takes a small amount of it to defile the whole person. Just as leaven is used to make bread rise, it only takes a small amount of spiritual leaven to corrupt our walk. If we were not subject to falling into hypocrisy Jesus would not have taken so much time in the Word detailing the operation of such a sin. It was the sin of religious hypocrisy evident in the lives of the Pharisees and Sadducees that were in direct opposition of the work of our Lord. If your walk is polluted by hypocrisy you will have spiritual forces within yourself that will deny access to the fullness of Gods will for you. Jesus spoke in Matthew 23 strongly against hypocrisy, even using the word woe to describe the fate of those who chose to operate with such behavior. As we see above hypocrisy is the feigning or pretending of true religion without the power. According to Paul the Kingdom of God is not in word, but in power so if the power of the Lord is not evident we are not operation in the Kingdom. In James we are told that our hearts own heart can deceive us if we are not careful, as pure religion is,"To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." It is our responsibility to keep ourselves clean and unspotted by the perversions and darkness of the world. To do otherwise is to open our hearts to deception. Just as leaven causes bread to rise, spiritual leaven will cause pride to puff up in an individual. The tendency to defend oneself or walk becomes evident when criticized. It is closely tied with the spirit of pride in that no one wants to feel that they are falling short of perfection. A person who is bound in hypocrisy will use anything at their disposal to appear unblemished and manifest to others that their walk has reached perfection. They will even come against those who are walking in the humility of Jesus, vehemently attacking them with the Word of God in some cases. Thereby attempting to make themselves appear outwardly as having achieved a perfect walk with our Lord. It is only in the light of pure religion that hypocrisy becomes evident. Hypocrisy is clearly seen when the pure light of Jesus shines through another attempting to die to self and walk in purity. The most dangerous form of hypocrisy is not as evident as described above. It is the form of hypocrisy that comes through complacency and the allowance of others to teach what could only be learned directly from a personal relationship with our Lord. This is the form of hypocrisy that is highly evident in the Body of Christ and will cause the damnation of many if not addressed. This form of hypocrisy comes from neglect in cultivating a person relationship with God. It happens with subtleties and through the constant teaching of the smooth and easy things of the Word. We must desire to grow past the milk of the Word and choose to embrace the meat in order to destroy hypocrisy in our lives. To open ones heart to the total chastisement and correction by the Spirit of God takes faith and trust in our Creator. This faith and trust can only come from spending time to know our Lord intimately. It cannot be taught from a pulpit, nor in the imitation of another's walk. We can read hundreds of books and spend innumerable hours at revival conferences and still come out without knowing our Lord intimately. We must go to the Word of God and seek His face. It is though seeking we will find the strength and power to look at our lives through the eyes of the Spirit. Our lives have become cluttered and controlled by situations and circumstances that have stolen time from our Lord. We have allowed other things to steal the time needed for an intimate relationship. Many shepherds have allowed themselves to be lifted above and brought upon believers an even deeper manifestation of false religion. The respect of persons is rampant in the Body thereby causing hypocrisy to grow by immeasurable proportions. We must look again to the basics of the Word and rebuild our foundations, so they may be true and strong. Able to withstand even the strongest winds of adversity that are about to come upon the world. Only those who have developed an intimate relationship will be able to stand strong in the power of His love in the days ahead. An intimate relationship cannot be taught by others but only comes with the seeking of the Lords face. Another factor that has caused many to fall into hypocrisy is fear. The fear of rejection and persecution by other believers as they confess their faults openly. This is a very real fear since the religious spirit manifests tremendous strength in our organized church. There is not one believer who has not been stung by the feeling of betrayal or pious judgment from others. This fear has taught believers to be detached and made people afraid to open themselves up to others. Ask yourself how many times have you wanted to cry out for help and found that you retreated behind a mask of perfection to cover your pain. There is not one of us who has never quipped back an answer of fine when asked how we were feeling, when in our inward man was screaming to be helped. It is this subtle form of hypocrisy that most believers have fallen prey to. We must be able to confess our faults one to another without the fear of rejection and persecution. If we continue to allow this sin to control our walks many will be ensnared and unable to walk in the fullness of the love of our Lord. It is time for the false pretense of religion to come down so that the truth and sincerity of Jesus Christ can rise above the darkness. Every single person in the Body of Christ has fallen prey to this disease, there is not one who has remained untouched. We must be willing to be transparent, allowing the Light of our Lord to shine through us to others. Hypocrisy has now hit epidemic proportions and must be dealt with or it will end in spiritual death of many. The only way to destroy the subtle works of darkness is to embrace the Spirit of Truth, allowing Him to purge and purify our walks. We must now take hold of the keys of life given by our Lord and set the captives free, that we may all worship together in Spirit and in Truth. In HIS Service, Teresa M. Daly-Crews 30 March 2000 |
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