LAST month we made some general observations on the nature of hypocrisy, and now it may be advisable to follow these with several particulars regarding the character and activities of the hypocrite, keeping in this to the light and guidance of the Holy Scriptures.
He is high sounding in his profession of religion, as we read in Luke, xviii. 11-12, “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.” He is covetous of a place in the estimation of men, inasmuch as the Saviour says, “For they love to pray standing in the synagogues, and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men,” (Matt. vi. 5). He is brazen-faced in his actions, which are directly opposed to the Person and honour of Christ, as in the terrible case of Judas who went forward in the Garden to betray the Lord Jesus with a kiss. Many are the followers of Judas, who profess affection for the Saviour while all the time they are seeking, for instance, to undermine the fundamentals of the faith of the gospel. He is altogether unholy at the heart, like the whited sepulchre which underneath is full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. The poor hypocrite loves and cherishes evil and all manner of sin in his heart, and this is his inward element and secret delight. He is twice dead in his conscience, having lost the least qualms of conscience regarding his own sins and deceitful mode of living before God and men. Law and gospel leave him unaffected. They may have reproof and light for others, but not for him.
Further, the hypocrite possesses a hope of the enjoyment of the divine favour now and the continuance of this favour in the eternal world. But this hope is based upon his hypocritical religion and is indeed like the house that is built upon the sand. It is a miserable, man-made hope, resting upon a miserable foundation. He becomes harder in heart as time goes on, for his religion and conduct tend to this sad effect. At a period in his life he may have entertained a seeming regard for the scriptural opinions and conduct of others so that he sought to conform thereto externally. But the leaven of hypocrisy in the process of time so fills the heart of such, that complete indifference as to what the Most High or true believers in Jesus think of them, pervades the heart and reveals itself in their conduct; “Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as Thyself.” Such was the mind of evil men in Asaph’s day regarding the Lord Himself, as revealed in Psalm I. 21. And the hypocrite knows not to humble himself, although he breaks out into open sin of a conspicuous nature. He knows not how to seek repentance, nor does he know where to seek for the bestowal upon him of a broken heart, neither does he desire to be troubled or disturbed with sorrow over his sin. He is completely in the dark as to the blessed fact that Christ Jesus was exalted a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance unto Israel and the forgiveness of sins. And finally, he proceeds to perdition, as he journeys toward the grave and the world to come. For we read, that “the hope of the hypocrite shall perish”; and this will take place when death and the judgment of the Great Day lay this hope low in a lost eternity.
Some of our readers may think that there is not much gospel doctrine in what we have herewith set forth respecting the hypocrite. Yet there can be no apology for these solemn truths we have been constrained to write of. It may be that they are a message to some poor sinner in the grasp of hypocrisy and that under the power of the Spirit of God, deliverance is intended for them in the gracious purpose of heaven—deliverance from death and darkness of soul into the life and light which the Lord Jesus Christ is Himself.