Lying to God
Previous
The Holy Spirit's Work
Next
I Love the Church
The Holy Spirit's Work
Immediately he went up to Jesus and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed Him.
The worst kind of sin is the kind committed by someone who doesn't think he really is a sinner. It was Cicero who said, "Of all villainy, there is none more base than that of the hypocrite, who at the moment he is most false, takes care to appear most virtuous."
Think for a moment about a garden-variety sinner. Then think of someone who attends church every week. Is it possible that a person in the church pew could be in worse shape than a garden-variety sinner? It is possible. Here's how: If the person who is an unbeliever recognizes that fact, there is hope that one day he or she will come under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, turn from a sinful lifestyle, and believe in Jesus. But the person who attends church every week with no intention of responding to what he or she is hearing is actually a hypocrite.
It is better to just be what you are. It is better to say, "I am not into this. I don't believe in this. I don't care about this . . . " than to pretend to be spiritual when you are not. God hates hypocrisy.
This doesn't mean that you won't be inconsistent at times. It doesn't mean that you won't fall short at times. We all have had moments of hypocrisy. But a hypocrite is someone who wears a mask, someone who pretends to be someone they really are not.
The hypocrite extraordinaire, if you will, was Judas Iscariot. When he betrayed Jesus, he did so with a kiss. He could have just pointed and said, "There is Jesus. My job is done." But he kissed Him. At the moment when he appeared to be the most virtuous, he was the most sinful. And that is lying to God.
Think for a moment about a garden-variety sinner. Then think of someone who attends church every week. Is it possible that a person in the church pew could be in worse shape than a garden-variety sinner? It is possible. Here's how: If the person who is an unbeliever recognizes that fact, there is hope that one day he or she will come under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, turn from a sinful lifestyle, and believe in Jesus. But the person who attends church every week with no intention of responding to what he or she is hearing is actually a hypocrite.
It is better to just be what you are. It is better to say, "I am not into this. I don't believe in this. I don't care about this . . . " than to pretend to be spiritual when you are not. God hates hypocrisy.
This doesn't mean that you won't be inconsistent at times. It doesn't mean that you won't fall short at times. We all have had moments of hypocrisy. But a hypocrite is someone who wears a mask, someone who pretends to be someone they really are not.
The hypocrite extraordinaire, if you will, was Judas Iscariot. When he betrayed Jesus, he did so with a kiss. He could have just pointed and said, "There is Jesus. My job is done." But he kissed Him. At the moment when he appeared to be the most virtuous, he was the most sinful. And that is lying to God.
TODAY'S RADIO PROGRAM: "Never Try to Catch a Falling Knife — I"
BIBLE READING: 2 Chronicles 20
Copyright © 2010 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version.
Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights
reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced
in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas
Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000
I Love the Church
Sign up for Pastor Greg's daily devotion e-mails!
Harvest on the go!
Our best content is now in one place on your mobile device to help you know God and make Him known.
Download
