Hypocrites in the Church

“And now, my dear friends, let me counsel you. The grand thing the church needs at this time is God’s Holy Spirit.” – Charles H. Spurgeon. I wonder how many “amen”s he received from his people the morning he made that statement nearly 160 years ago. Not many, I suspect, for he was referring to the need for holiness in the church. He had observed the so-called powerful, “spiritually-gifted” men and women in action, he’d witnessed their clever methods for evangelism and church growth plus their sophisticated ways of preaching so as to attract non-believers over and above true believers and none of it impressed him because next to none of it was energized by the Holy Spirit.

As a new Christian many years ago, I sat under a pastor who told us, “we really need to get to know the Holy Spirit.” He said the church had robbed God by taking only His spiritual gifts. “When God speaks,” he said, “we cannot take things lightly.” But the sad reality is, he didn’t take his own advice. When the Holy Spirit spoke to him about his need to be holy he ignored it. Like multitudes of church leaders all over the globe today, he got hooked by the power of the Holy Spirit at the expense of the holiness of the Holy Spirit. In the Scriptures the word “Holy” means: ‘sacred’ ‘pure’ ‘blameless’ ‘consecrated’ ‘dedicated’ ‘hallowed’ ‘separate’ ‘separated’ ‘separated to God’. A church led by the Holy Spirit expressing those meanings, that’s what brother Spurgeon had in mind.

Would that be a perfect church? No, but it would put them on the pathway to becoming one for it’s the only church the Holy Spirit can get to fully express Himself in. Take sin for example. The Holy Spirit’s man in the pulpit would teach the church what sin truly is – lawlessness 1 John 3:4, and without coming under condemnation, his members would gladly submit themselves to the sanctifying processes of the Holy Spirit knowing there’s a way for them to be freed from the power of sin. They have already experienced Jesus’ forgiveness for their sins, now they would experience the Holy Spirit’s power in delivering them from sin’s root causes. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil Matthew 6:13 would begin to become a reality for them.

One sin the leader of a church led by the Holy Spirit would speak on is hypocrisy. ‘Acting under a feigned part’ is the biblical meaning of it. It needs to be preached against because if there’s one place where hypocrisy gets to run rampant, it’s in the church. It’s not easy to discern true hypocrites in the there for some mask themselves well; so well in fact, only Holy Spirit-anointed preaching is capable of flushing them out. Imagine a series of sermons preached in a row on sexual immorality for example. Fornication and adultery are almost as prevalent in the church as in the world, so what better topic for the Holy Spirit to start with? Would some people leave the church rather than repent? Yes they would and so they should. 

Hypocrites are liars too. So the leader should warn the church that when he’s through with preaching on sexual immorality he’s going to bring a series on liars and lying. He could start off using Ananias and Sapphira from Acts 5:1-11 as his example. He would have no problems coming up with a convicting sermon from the Holy Spirit using those two, for after all, it was the Holy Spirit whom they lied to. And what was the Spirit’s response to their hypocrisy? He killed them! And how about the church’s response to that, did they run out the door? No, they got real instead and took God seriously. So great fear came upon all those who heard these things…….. So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things Acts 5:5, 11.

How sad so many men in the pulpit shy away from handling the word of God boldly. They know in their heart that Jesus and the apostles did so and they perfectly know the results that came from it. Nobody cared what people thought of them; people-pleasing was never on their agenda. Take it or leave it, that’s what we see from them. People say, “That’s not loving.” The ignorant, hypocrites and liars will say that. It is so loving. What’s not loving is the failure to address hypocrisy in the church. So we may boldly say: The LORD is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me? Hebrews 13:6.Too, these men in the pulpit are aware that either for good or bad, a little leaven leavens the whole lump Galatians 5:9. Why not go for the good?

But it’s difficult to get the “good’ when the “bad” is tolerated. You will get pockets of good, probably every church has them. But when they get shouted down by the bad every time they speak up for what’s right, they back away not wanting to make things worse. It’s up to the man in the pulpit to discern that and preach against it. And when he knows he’s done everything he can but sees little change, he can place them into the hands of the Holy Spirit knowing His prayer will be honored and answered one day. One thing can be relied upon for sure – when holiness is seriously sought for, holiness will rule eventually. People might leave in the process, but if that’s what God allows, that’s what those not leaving should allow.

Hypocrites possessing no fear of God, when they run around the church unchecked they can cause non-hypocrites to lose their fear of God or, not develop it in the first place. Hypocrites are never in short supply of things to complain about and criticize either and they can get away with it for years on end when nobody preaches against it. A sermon series on the ramifications of failing to fear God will go a long way to sorting them out; they’ll either get convicted and repent, move on or be quiet. If that fails, the Holy Spirit will act in His time. When preached under the Holy Spirit’s anointing, the word of God does it’s work. We see the truth of this upon hypocrites in both Bible Testaments, as does the man who commits fully to the word today.

Hypocrites in the church are most uncomfortable being around anyone who is walking in the spiritual liberty the Holy Spirit has given them. That’s why they are sticklers for their denominational traditions. They think nothing of lying and gossiping, in the fellowship but look out if you make suggestions for the Lord’s table or some other so-called sacred piece of furniture to be relocated to a more practical place. The same applies to the church order of service; suggest making changes to that sacred cow and you will never hear the last of it. Why are hypocrites like that? In their mind there’s no better way for them to impress upon a spiritually liberated one that they too are, “just as holy as you are!”

Hypocrites in the church have no love for truth. So it’s safe to say, if you go into a church and discern little truth being spoken of or out-worked in there, it’s because hypocrites are calling the shots. Some of them can be the church’s biggest givers too whether with time or finances, or both. To my mind the wealthy church hypocrite does more harm to the holy purposes of God than the sexually immoral church hypocrite. At least the latter keeps his or her hypocrisy under wraps; not so, the former, he or she flaunts it all over the place. The rich man’s wealth is his strong city, and like a high wall in his own esteem Proverbs 18:11. Money is more important to him than truth; he knows that, as does the Holy Spirit.

Important note: all hypocrites are sinners, but not all sinners are hypocrites. Again, it is truth that makes the difference. For the latter, when they heard the gospel of Jesus Christ they responded to it with humility and repentance and Jesus washed them of their sins by His blood 1 John 1:7. They are redeemed sinners now, walking in the light as He is in the light. When they sin from here on they quickly respond to the Holy Spirit’s conviction, they repent of it and get back into fellowship with the Holy Spirit. In other words, when God speaks they do not, “take things lightly” as did the pastor above. Redeemed sinners don’t want to sin, but they do and they will until they die or until the Lord returns.

There will even be odd moments when redeemed sinners are hypocritical, but that doesn’t make them hypocrites. The first are momentary acts, the second is a full-fledged lifestyle. There’s only been one man in history that has never been hypocritical or a hypocrite and He is the one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus 1 Timothy 2:5. Hypocrites in the church – will there ever be a church without them? Not according to Jesus and His parable of the Wheat and the Tares Matthew 13:24-30. But if it will echo brother Spurgeon’s statement and surrender itself to God’s Holy Spirit, holiness will reign and hypocrisy will succumb to it! For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he gain much, if God takes away his life? Job 27:8. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for…….. Ephesians 4:30.