Woe to You

“It’s a sad thing to be Christians at a supper, heathens in our shop, and devils in our closets”

Stephen Charnock

“Woe to you….hypocrites”. A blunt and strong condemnation handed down to the Scribes and Pharisees by Jesus himself. In Matthew 23 we see seven “woes” , in the 5th, 6th and 7th Christ hits their hypocrisy hard. The entire thing was a scathing review of the true vile nature of these fake holy men.

These men were held in high regard but did not live up to it, they told people how to live and act but did not heed their own words. If not careful this can become something we fall into as well.

These men spoken to in Matthew 23 were the religious leaders but the religious regulations they placed on others were ones they didn’t abide by. They were hypocrites. Jesus begins to point out their guilt:

• verse 4 “They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.
• verse 5 “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men”

Then in the seven woes we see the religious leaders of the day described as Hypocrites, Blind Guides, Whitewashed tombs (this one was especially hurtful to the men, look into this reason sometime), Serpents and finally Brood of Vipers. Their gimmick was up and their hypocrisy was laid before them.

Hypocrisy is a dangerous thing that we must ensure to be free from. How we appear before others is important because a poor image can be seen as a poor witness for God, but we also must live up to that good appearance. We cannot appear to be living a holy life for God in public places, then secretly live for all things God is against when alone. We must practice what we preach.

It’s easy to cast judgment, and be guilty of the same. One can teach their child to save themselves for marriage and secretly be addicted to porn. One may be in the church every day and participate in many ways but neglect their prayer life and the reading of scripture. One may speak with a soft tongue and choose their words wisely but curse and use filthy talk when no one is around. These are all hypocrisy and points to a very real unbelief remaining within these people.

In all of life and in all we do we are to glorify God. At work, at home, in the public space and the church, our lives should reflect the good work God has began in us. Like the Scribes and Pharisees, our hypocrisy will be laid before us at some point, but scripture provides for us our means of avoiding this.

As a believer, our beliefs must be the desire and focus of our heart. We must know what God wants and we must seek to meet those wants. I know many will see this as some kind of works righteousness, but it isn’t. It’s simply trying to follow Christ and the example his life is for us. So do your good works in secret, not to be seen. Give grace as it has been given to you. Work on cleaning up your inner self rather than appearing to be clean before those around you. Make your judgements a righteous judgment, do not throw stones at someone doing openly what you do in hidden places.

We should search ourselves daily for even the slightest hint of hypocrisy . It’s evil in the sight of God and we have been warned of its dangers. Walk in the truth and not a lie. Strive to live a life pleasing to God.

Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.”