Paul’s Example of Gospel Change
After the Apostle Paul met Jesus, his entire life changed. His life changed so drastically that people were talking about it for miles. This is what they were saying, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy” (Gal 1:23). The gospel–i.e., the perfect life, sacrificial death, and victorious resurrection of Jesus Christ–took Paul the persecutor and turned him into Paul the preacher. Paul told the churches in Galatia that these people who heard about his transformation “glorified God because of me” (Gal 1:24).
Beloved, a disciple of Jesus Christ is someone that trusts in the good news, and their faith ignites a new, changed, and transformed life. So much so, that people notice the difference between the pre-conversion and post-conversion life. Believers are supposed to live out the gospel, and in so doing, people will bring glory to God when they see the change.
Hypocrisy: A Terrible Offense
With this backdrop, one of the greatest hinderances and possibly worst offenses to the gospel in the Western church is a biblical concept called, “hypocrisy.” Hypocrisy can be observed throughout Scripture. From the study of Scripture, the argument could be made that hypocrisy seems to come in two forms: internal and external. This post will cover each of those types in turn.
Internal Hypocrisy
Internal hypocrisy could be defined as a person who calls themselves a Christian because they adhere to outward acts, but their hearts are far from God. John Piper in Desiring God helps one understand this concept when he writes,
Worship is a way of gladly reflecting back to God the radiance of his worth. It is not a mere act of willpower by which we perform outward acts. Without the engagement of the heart, we do not really worship…. True worship must include inward feelings that reflect the worth of God’s glory…. But there is such a thing as hypocrisy–going through the motions (like singing, praying, giving, reciting) that signify affections of the heart that are not there. “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.”
John Piper, Desiring God, pp. 87-88.
The scribes and Pharisees could be identified as representatives of this type of hypocrisy. The Pharisees looked really good on the outside, but Jesus had some strong words when he looked into their hearts. He said things like, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence” (Matt. 23:25). Two verses later he commented, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Fo you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness” (Matt. 23:27).
Internal hypocrisy can be most observed in people who live a duplicitous lifestyle. They know how to play the good church member game, but in personal and intimate settings, they act in ways that show they have not received a changed heart. To be clear, this is different from a believer who struggles and wrestles with sin. An internal hypocrite is someone who does acts without any love for Jesus. However, this type of hypocrisy destroys the glory of God’s redeeming message through the gospel.
External Hypocrisy
External hypocrisy can be defined as someone who says they are saved, but their lives do not reflect the fruit that is a result of their faith. For comparison purposes, this would be like Paul the persecutor continuing to persecute the church after he proclaimed to put his faith in Jesus. One could not imagine Paul writing to churches and saying, “I believe in Jesus, but I’m still coming for you (church) to throw you in prison.” If he did do that, his lack of fruit would be a primary indicator of his lack of true and saving faith in Jesus.
Yet, this is how many Christians live their lives in the Western church. They thank Jesus for the “fire insurance,” but continue to practice unrepentant sin as if their salvation has no impact on their daily living. To be fair, this is not a novel concept in the contemporary church. Paul was addressing this to the church in Rome when he wrote,
For the death he [Jesus] died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions…. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?
Romans 6:10-12, 14-16, emphasis added.
The essence of Paul’s argument could be summed up like this: Christ’s death and resurrection moves a believer from death to life; therefore, a believer flees from sin and lives as a slave of righteousness all to the glory of God. On the flip side, external hypocrisy becomes evident when someone says they have faith, but no one sees any fruit in keeping with that faith–i.e., still a slave to sin by living out their sinful desires (cf. Rom 6:16). Again, this is not talking about a Christian who wrestles and struggles with sin or trying to live out their new life founded upon the gospel. However, external hypocrisy–like internal hypocrisy–hurts the message of redemption through Christ that brings the utmost glory to God.
Reflection Questions:
The three questions a true believer ought to ask themselves when thinking about hypocrisy are:
1. “Do I believe in the work of Christ in such a way that I die to myself daily and live for King Jesus so that I can show my love for God by living in a way that brings him the most glory?”
2. Then, ask, “If the answer is, ‘yes,’ are people noticing and talking about the change they are seeing in my life as a result of my faith in Christ’s work on my behalf?”
3. Finally, ask God, “Is there any hypocrisy–internal or external–that I need to seek your forgiveness and turn from so that I can bring you more glory through my new life in Christ?”
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