Category Archives: Hypocrisy

How the Church Became Infected with the World System and God’s Solution to the Problem

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I often marvel at how it must have been for a prophet like Isaiah who was charged with bringing the message of God to a people who liked to make their own sweet-sounding messages instead. Look at what he says (Isaiah 1:21),

See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness used to dwell in her -but now murderers!

I suggest that you read Isaiah 1:21-27 to get an idea of what God has to say here. I believe this message is still as applicable to today’s church as it was to the church people of Isaiah’s time.

First God addresses the character of His church: The faithful city (v.21) is the Church. She is accused by God for committing adultery.

 

“You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the Spirit He caused to live in us envies intensely?” (James 4:4-5).

 

God is not willing to share His loved ones with another. He makes that clear in many incidents in Scripture. He wants all of us or nothing –either hot or cold, not lukewarm. We are either for Him or against Him, said Jesus. We are gathering with Him or we are scattering. We have to choose. The church has prostituted herself to the world. The ways of the world and the so-called wisdom of the world were imported into the church. Public speaking, “techniques” of leadership. Some churches even have surveys where members can vote for the kind of messages they like and dislike! Members are seen as financial assets, not souls in need of Jesus. Every potential member is a potential source of income. The church has traded justice and righteousness for murder. How  is it that murder infiltrated the church? According to the Bible, when we hate our brothers and sisters we are no better than murderers. We kill…with words. Here is the picture of each man to himself –relentlessly pursuing his own ambitions. We find a further mention of this selfish ambition in verse 23.

He then addresses the message brought in the Church: The word (silver v.22) brought to the members used to be beautiful and precious, but the messengers have perverted it into something ugly (“Your silver has become dross” -good for nothing but to be thrown out. You have lost your salt).  They have degraded His pure message into cute little sayings and quirky little idioms in order to entertain the crowds. Their message cannot penetrate heart and soul anymore. Because the heart is not affected by the word,  people remain the same –year in and year out. The word has become twisted and perverted to promote the dogmas and ideas of man. The Gospel (wine v.22) has been diluted to something weak and sweet-sounding. It doesn’t arrest the wrong inside of us anymore. It has been perverted into a message that tells people how wonderful they are and how much they must love themselves –the very opposite of what Jesus taught. He said that the one who wants to cling to his life will lose it and it is the one who is willing to lose his life will gain true life. In other words, the one who really wants to live should live for the benefit of others and forget about himself long enough to reach out to others in need. Even scientific evidence proves that extending kindness to others is a very powerful weapon against mental conditions like depression. How come is it that the church is teaching people to first look out for themselves? It’s no small wonder there are so many depressed Christians walking around.  I hear them talk about their ministry as if that is the reason Jesus died on a Cross. As far as I know, Jesus didn’t suffer for the sake of  placing someone on a a  stage as an actor -a spiritual Hollywood, so to speak. He still gets his moment of fame. Only he sticks a Christian label on it now. These messengers have  turned everything upside down and they twist Scripture to back their claims  to the money of the poor.

 

After addressing the character and the message of the church, He turns towards the leaders of the church: They rebel against the teachings of God (v.23). They acknowledge what suits their selfish purposes and disregards what does not. They ascribe their disregard for certain parts of Scripture to various factors. “Nervous translators; The Bible isn’t infallible; Human error, etc.” They are the companion of thieves and chase after gifts (v.23) which means they take from those whom they have been appointed to serve. They allow themselves to be bribed by members with money. “Where you find envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.” (James 3:16). So they fall into all kinds of evil. They chase after gifts, instead of after giving. They no longer care for the plight of their neighbour in need, except in cases where extending such help can personally benefit them and the image of their ministry.

 

But God will reach a point where He will act on these atrocities and He will no longer remain silent. He will turn His hand away from these so-called people of God and replace their “dross” (false teaching) with silver purified seven times (His perfect Word). He will send His Spirit to sanctify the Church once again. Judgement and Counsel will once again be based on justice and righteousness and not on fears that someone’s toes may be stepped on. Those that fear losing influential members with money, will no longer be found in the Church. Only those who care for the truth and what is right, will be found there. God’s going to clean out His house. And by this I don’t mean a certain denomination. I mean everyone that claims to be part of the body of Christ. “Why do you call me Lord, Lord, but do not do what I say? ” (Luke 6:46). Those whose worship of Jesus were merely lip service, should be worried. He’s coming to fix up the place.

 

So God will restore the character of His church and He will restore the true Gospel message and He will place in the church true and righteous leaders once again. After He has accomplished this, the name of His church will be restored to “The City of Righteousness” and the “Faithful City.” Justice will redeem the bad name of the Church and the ones who  repent of their wrong doing will be redeemed with righteousness. This is the righteousness of Christ, which we receive by faith in Him, and not our own righteousness.

 

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Integrity acts as a Guide through Life

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The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity (Proverbs 11:3) NIV

The way an upright person deals with people is based on sound principles and employs the golden rule taught by Jesus, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” For that reason, his way in life is smooth and his sincerity keeps him on a steady path. He does not have a guilty conscience haunting him, losing sleep, or constantly looking over his shoulder for when his misdeeds will catch up with him. In other words, his honest decisions in life brings him peace of mind.


Dishonesty have become so common place that recent studies have shown half of small companies expect staff theft. The character trait of “unfaithful” is here given as the opposite of integrity.  An unfaithful person is faithful only to himself and his own selfish ambitions. He might, in a better moment, help another person, but only in as far as he can benefit from that act of kindness himself. Because he places himself and his personal agendas above all else, duplicity becomes ingrained in his way of dealing with people. There are all sorts of negative words attached to that one word duplicity, namely:

  • Double dealing
  • Dishonesty
  • Deliberate deceitfulness in behaviour and speech
  • Hypocritical
  • Cunning

Although in the short term the unfaithful person may imagine that he is benefitting from dealing with people in underhanded ways, his decisions will ultimately destroy him. Integrity pays. Duplicity destroys.


Herbert van der Lugt wrote:

“Our honesty is always on trial. It is tested when we make out work reports, file income tax returns, and make a sale. May we be so aware of God in our lives that we will be a people of unquestioned honesty.”

Further Reflection:

Ephesians 4:25

Colossians 3:9-10

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Can you tell the difference between Man-made ideas and the Commands of God?

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André Gide, Strait is the Gate.

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Their worship is a farce for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God (Matthew 15:9) NLT

There were many different kinds of people who “followed” the Lord Jesus during His time on earth. Some followed Him for the thrill of seeing the supernatural. Others followed Him because He supplied their physical needs [Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, you want to  be with me because I fed you, not because you understood the miraculous signs." John 6:26], and then there were those who followed Him because He had shown them mercy and they simply couldn’t bear the thought of not being close to Him.

But there was one group who followed Him around only to find fault in Him. They were the church leaders of His day. On one occassion they criticized the disciples for ignoring a church tradition. But Jesus rebuked them saying their traditions teach people to break the commands of God. As they accused His disciples, Jesus said, 

“And why do you, by your tradition, violate the commandments of God? For instance, God says, ‘Honor your father and your mother, and anyone who speaks disrespectfully of father or mother must be put to death.’ But you say it is all right for people to say to their parents, ‘Sorry, I can’t help you. For I have vowed to give to God what I would have given to you.’ In this way, you say they don’t need to honor their parents. And so you cancel the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites!.”

Why would Jesus call their worship a farce? They placed their church and its traditions above obedience to God’s Word. The book of Isaiah starts out with a direct reference to this fake worship. As God speaks through the prophet, He says that He is not interested in their many church activities while they go around treating people badly. Love is, after all, the greatest command. And God does not accept our love for Him if we don’t love others ( see 1 John 4:20-21). In other words, the kind of worship that places the interest of a church organization above love for their neighbour is fake worship in the eyes of God. First treat people right, He says, then come an bring me an offering.

We should take great care to examine everything we hear in the light of God’s written word. This is not doubting God. He welcomes it. The reason why God is not threatened if we search for the truth in the Scriptures, is because He is the Truth. A liar would feel threatened if someone wishes to double check his teaching. A person speaking the truth would welcome it, since his searching will most likely only strengthen and deepen his faith in God. Therefore, the Bereans were called noble for searching to Scriptures every day to see if what Paul taught them was indeed the truth. We would do well to follow their example. God commands us to love Him also with all our mind – that is, with a sound mind as well as our heart and soul and strength. Sound thinking is not to be excluded in our worship of Him. He does not delight in mindless worship. “Test everything that is being said…” Paul admonished the Thessalonians.

May we be granted the grace and wisdom to do the same.


Further Reflection:

Matthew 15:1-9

John 7:17

2 Timothy 1:7

Acts 17:11

Here I am to worship

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The Seventh Sign: The Raising of Lazarus

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Every sign that preceded this one appears to have been part of a building up towards a climax: Jesus raising a man, dead and buried for four days, back to life. His initial response to receiving the news of His friend’s grave illness may have appeared confusing. He did not rush immediately to heal Lazarus as He did in so many other instances when He heard someone is ill and needs healing. No, instead He stayed two more days where He was. On the surface this may have appeared as indifference. But God is never indifferent –not to anything or anybody. You see, this time, Jesus’ mission was not to heal a sick man but to raise a dead man.

He appears to have been preparing the crowd for what was to transpire here a while before already: “A time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live…Do not be amazed at this.” (John 5:25; 28a). Although Jesus was mainly referring to the Resurrection of the dead in that great day, I sense that He was also giving them a hint of what He will be doing in their presence (a time…has now come). He said these words following the healing at the Pool of Bethesda.

A huge range of human emotions were recorded prior to, during, and after this sign was performed.

  • First, there was Thomas. He took the courageous and fatalistic view. Since Jesus wanted to return to the very region (Judea) where a short while before they threatened to stone Him, Thomas decided in that case it’s best to rally the rest of the disciples to just follow along and die with Him and get it over with (John 11:16).
  • Then we have Mary who accused the Lord of not coming soon enough and were disappointed at His delay.
  • We see Jesus Himself expressing emotion by weeping as He saw the pain of His friends at the loss of their brother and friend.
  • Finally, we see the hatred that this sign stirred in the religious leaders to the point that a murderous plot to kill Him was set in full motion.

This sign shows “how easily and quickly devastation or death or its emotional and circumstantial equivalent pushes Jesus out of the centre to the margins while we get on the best we can with what we have: courage and resignation (Thomas), accusation and weeping (Mary), or retaliation even to the extent of murder (Caiaphas).” E. H. Peterson.

This sign had so greatly showed God’s power at work in Jesus that it brought a clear division. On the one hand we had those who believed in the Lord Jesus “Therefore, many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, put their faith in Him” (v.45) and on the other hand a meeting was called (oh, don’t they love their meetings!), “What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many miraculous signs. If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.” (vv.47-48). Their fear of losing their prestige and the many benefits they enjoyed as religious leaders prevented them from believing in the Lord Jesus. They never denied that He did great miracles. But they had their church and their positions to protect. Jesus was a threat to both. He had to be taken out.

This division proves that with Jesus, there never is a middle way. We are either on the narrow way that leads to life, or the broad way that leads to destruction. We are either gathering with Him, or we scatter. He prefers that we are either hot or cold, because lukewarmness leaves a bad taste in His mouth. We serve either God or His enemy. No middle way. This sign, pointing to Jesus as being the Lord over both life and death, prompts a decision.

As Moses said centuries before: “Today I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live, and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him. For the LORD is your life…” Deuteronomy 30:19-20a. From these words of Moses we see that our decisions affect our children, “so that you and your children may live…” we also see that listening to His voice is our life, “…listen to His voice…For the LORD is your life.” These words are very similar to what our Lord said, “…those who hear will live.” John 5:25b

May we hear His voice today, because on that day all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out –those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned (John 5:28-29).

But there is yet mercy today: “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” (John 5:24).

Sixth Sign: Healing of the Man born Blind

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Before Jesus came across the blind beggar, He was challenged by the Pharisees because He claimed to be the Light of the world. Then, He was threatened with stoning for claiming He is God.  Following these challenges the events unfolded that were to be recorded as the sixth sign in the Gospel of John: God was going to work through Him to validate both claims as He intersected the mundane and limited life of a man born blind with the power of God.

To Jesus’ disciples the blind man was a matter of speculation. They wanted to analyze who was responsible for his disability. Did he sin or were his parents the guilty ones? Who’s to blame? This implied of course, that disabled people are either guilty of sin themselves or their parents are. The truth is, if all people who sinned were punished with a disability, there would be no able-bodied people around, since all have sinned (Romans 3:23).

Jesus immediately corrected their distorted view of the situation, pointing out to them that this man is not a subject of speculation, but a man in need of help. He is not some specimen around which a new theory can be developed, but God chose this very disability to show them who is the true Light of the world and who it is that gives true sight. Looking at people who suffer with suspicious eyes as to how they were responsible for their own suffering, is treading on slippery ground. That’s what they thought of Jesus too. As He was suffering on the Cross for their sins, the people gloated in His suffering, saying that God is punishing Him, when all the while it was for their sins that He took the punishment.  Job’s misguided friends did the same to him when he was suffering utter devastation. In the end God rebuked Job’s friends and said Job will pray for them so that He will not deal with them according to their foolishness.

Jesus then proceeded to make some mud with His own saliva and placed it on the man’s eyes. He sent the blind man with his eyes covered in mud to the Pool of Siloam (which means “Sent”). How the blind man found his way to the pool, is not clear from the narrative. However, the man did get to the pool and wash as Jesus instructed and his sight was restored. For the first time in his life he could see. He went home to share the good news. This caused quite a stir in the neighbourhood as some were  unsure if he really was the blind beggar they all knew. Blind people receiving their sight were not exactly a common phenomenon. As they argued among themselves if he is really the man or some imposter, he insisted that he really is the man who was born blind. This prompted the question, “But how is it possible that you can see now?” In reply he told them what Jesus had done and how he was instructed to wash in the pool. Immediately they wanted to know where this Jesus is. It doesn’t appear as if they were very happy for the blind man. The beauty of the miracle in this man’s life was overshadowed by the fact that Jesus made mud on a Sabbath. Never mind the fact that the man had his vision restored. A Sabbath law was broken and this requires some investigation. The church rules were more important than a human being who was created in God’s image.

So off they went to the church police with the healed man. The Pharisees wasted no time in starting  the interrogation. He told them what he told his neighbours. His story caused division in the ranks of the church leaders as some were of the opinion that the man who healed him cannot be from God since He did not keep the Sabbath. Others were convinced He must be from God considering the miracle He performed. When they couldn’t come to an agreement among themselves about who Jesus is, they turned to the man again. What’s his opinion of Jesus. Well, he thinks Jesus must be a prophet. This was not good enough for them, however. They thought the man might be an imposter who perhaps pretended to be a healed blind man in order to further the ministry of Jesus. So they called his parents. By this time the word had already gone out that anyone who acknowledged Jesus as the Messiah will get kicked out of church. The man’s parents didn’t want that to happen to them [perhaps they enjoyed high-standing there], so they handled the interview very tentatively. “Is this your son?” “Is this the one you say was born blind? How is it that now he can see?” Careful not to antagonize their church leaders and to stay in their good books, the parents answered that he is indeed their son who was born blind, but they have no idea how it is he can see now. They tell their leaders to ask him since he’s old enough to answer for himself. So the interrogation shifted once again to the healed man. They command him to tell the truth since they know that this Jesus is a sinner(coercing him into giving them the answer they want). Unphased by the subtle coersion, he boldly responds that he doesn’t know Jesus’ credentials, but what he does know is once he was blind but now he can see. Once again they demanded that he tell them what Jesus did to make him see. Sarcastically he asked them why they are asking so many questions about Jesus. “Do you want to become His disciples too?” His response saw their “holier-than-thou” religious masks drop to the ground as they started to insult him. “We don’t even know where He comes from.”  “Now that is remarkable! You don’t know where He comes from yet He opened my eyes.” Yes, indeed. It looks like the ones who claimed to “know-it-all” concerning God and His ways had been left in the dark this time, since God is obviously at work through Jesus. Looks like God didn’t wait for their permission on how to work through the Messiah. Since his response fuelled their jealousy and insecurity, they unceremoniously kicked him out of church, reminding him of his filthy sinful condition since birth and thereby implying they were better and more important than him.

Jesus came to hear that the man was kicked out of church and went looking for him. When He found him, He asked a question: “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” This is a term Jesus used often to refer to Himself, as He was both the Son of Man and the Son of God. Fully God and fully man. “Son of Man” in the context which Jesus often used it means “Adam” in Hebrew. We read in 1 Corinthians 15:45-48 as well as in Romans 5 that the last Adam came to restore the broken relationship God enjoyed with mankind  before the first Adam disobeyed Him and caused sin to infiltrate all of humanity and the entire creation, destroying and disrupting God’s perfect handiwork. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. This was foretold in the prophets as Jesus often reminded His disciples (see Luke 18:31-33). In Matthew 26:63-64, Jesus’ response to the high priest’s question confirms that the Son of Man and the Son of God was the same person, and when He called Himself the Son of Man, He was declared guilty of blasphemy because He thereby claimed equality with God. The healed man’s response to Jesus’ question appears to reflect he understood the weight of that term “Son of Man.” So he replies to Jesus’ question, “Who is he, Sir?” “Tell me so that I may believe in Him.” And Jesus said, “You have now seen Him; in fact, He is the one speaking with you.” The man’s response was, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped Him. The fact that he worshiped Jesus confirms that he understood the Son of Man to be God.

It appears the religious police followed Jesus when he found the healed man and in their presence Jesus said the blind will see and that those who see will be blind. Their defensive response exposes the fact that they considered themselves among those “who see.” They ask Him, “What? Are we blind too?” To this Jesus says that if they didn’t claim to know everything concerning God (to see) they would not have been guilty. But since they claim to be the ones who know all there is to know about God, their guilt remains.

There is a sad irony encapsulated in this sign. The blind man saw God at work in Jesus. The ones with perfect eyesight were blind to God’s work because of their wilful disobedience. They thought they had God all figured out and therefore they expected Him to work according to their preconceived ideas. They placed God into the box of their church rules. They analyzed His work among ordinary people, treating His miracles as laboratory specimens to be dissected and placed under a microscope.

Jesus had previously made it clear that He is the Light of the world. And this is what the sixth sign points to: Jesus giving light to both spiritually and physically blind eyes. It is also clear from this sign that God will not wait for permission from a  church board to execute His plans. He is God and He is Sovereign. There is no denomination, no ministry and no individual who can dictate to God how and when He may work. He is God and He has no equal.

Scripture Reference: John 9

Prayer Time is not Show Time

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There is nothing wrong with praying when others see you praying. There is everything wrong with praying because you want to be seen. The church people of Jesus’ day had a habit of making a show of their prayers. “To be seen by men…” Jesus says.

Jesus teaches us to pray in a private space where we won’t be tempted to role-play. When we are alone with God, we are able to honestly express ourselves to God. And honest prayer is what God is after. God is not looking for the perfect use of grammar, eloquence or Victorian English…He looks at the heart. People may judge by those things, but God makes up His own mind.  Even when the words come out all wrong, He knows the heart behind those words and He understands perfectly. He sees even more in our hearts than we can see ourselves.

But, there is also a reward promised to those who spend their time in “unseen” prayer. “And your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you in the open.” Matthew 6:6b (AMP). Charles Haddon Spurgeon once wrote, “Fervent prayer is like a cannon planted by the gates of heaven which makes them fly open.”

Being alone with God in prayer has many benefits. Some seen, some unseen. Sometimes God does not change our circumstances, but He changes our approach to the circumstances and thereby brings us a peace that transcends all understanding.

Initially, being alone with God to engage in fervent prayer may feel uncomfortable. But as Eugene H Peterson has said, “It takes time to develop a life of prayer: set-aside, disciplined, deliberate time. It isn’t accomplished on the run.” How true. Setting aside time for God in prayer may require discipline in the beginning, but once we’ve tasted how good it is to be alone with Him, it becomes a spontaneous desire. The Lord desires our time with Him much more than we realize. When we’re in a relationship with someone, it could never last if we wear masks and are never ourselves. To develop a deep and intimate relationship with God we need to throw away the masks and just be ourselves with Him. It’s not as if He doesn’t know who we really are anyway.

May we learn to enjoy His company in times of intimate prayer. In His presence is the best place to be.

Reading:

  • And when you come before God, don’t turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box-seat? (Paraphrase of Matthew 6:5) The Message
  • The prayer of a person living right with God is something to be reckoned with. Elijah, for instance, human just like us, prayed hard that it wouldn’t rain and it didn’t -not a drop for three and a half years. Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did. The showers came and everything started growing again. (James 5:16b-18) The Message
  • Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you neeed, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7) NLT