Hypocrisy(insincerity)
Summary
Hypocrisy is the deliberate attempt to appear morally or religiously virtuous while lacking genuine inward righteousness, described by Jesus as the defining sin of the Pharisees and the opposite of the Kingdom of Heaven.
☩Definition and Etymology
The Greek word hupokrites originally meant "an actor" or one who plays a part on stage, and came to signify anyone who acts a false part in life. In the New Testament, it describes one who attempts to appear morally or religiously virtuous without possessing genuine inward righteousness. Hypocrisy includes both simulation (pretending to have virtues one lacks) and dissimulation (concealing vices one has). The essence of hypocrisy is egoism—allowing selfish motives to corrupt religion while deceiving oneself and others into believing one's religion is genuine.
☩Hypocrisy in the Old Testament
The Hebrew term chaneph, often translated "hypocrite," primarily means "godless" or "profane," indicating impiety that lays snares and cherishes inward bitterness against God. The Psalms describe hypocrites as speaking with a double heart, having smooth lips while their performance falls far below their profession. They imagine wickedness can be hidden in the heart while appearing righteous outwardly. The prophets repeatedly condemned those who practiced ceremonial religion without moral obedience, as in Isaiah's classic denunciation.
☩Jesus and the Pharisees
No class received such severe condemnation from Jesus as the hypocrites of His day. He exposed their fundamental insincerity: they substituted traditional practices for living duties, used minutiae of religious rules to avoid the weightier matters of justice, mercy, and faith, and were like whitewashed tombs—beautiful outside but full of corruption within. Because hypocrisy lives by corrupting the conscience, it cannot be reached by the usual appeals of holiness and love; only direct denunciation remains. Jesus called hypocrisy "the leaven of the Pharisees," warning of its spreading, corrupting influence.
☩Characteristics of Hypocrisy
Scripture identifies several marks of hypocrisy: self-righteousness that thanks God it is not like others; loss of true religious insight and inability to discern the signs of the times; obsession with trivial details while neglecting essentials; inability to receive truth because one's eye is on man rather than God; and making inquiries not to believe but to refute. The hypocrite's judgment of others serves to confirm his own standing and appease his conscience regarding the inconsistency between his secret and open ways. Ultimately, the person most deceived by hypocrisy is the hypocrite himself.
☩Hope for Hypocrites
While hypocrisy is sometimes called incurable because the hypocrite does not know he is a hypocrite, Scripture does not counsel despair. Jesus's passionate energy of scorn—which in a heart like His is a form of love—was expended on those He sought to reach. The publicans and harlots enter the Kingdom before Pharisees not because their sins are less grievous, but because they know their need and are open to repentance. Peter, who once dissembled at Antioch, later exhorted believers to put away all hypocrisies. True Christianity, which excludes all selfish interests, is incompatible with hypocrisy.
Related Verses176 mentions
See Also
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Hypocrisy," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. IV (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Hastings (ed.), "Hypocrisy," in Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels, vol. I (T. & T. Clark, 1906–1908).
- 3.James Hastings (ed.), "Hypocrisy," in Dictionary of the Apostolic Church, vol. I (T. & T. Clark, 1915–1918).
- 4.Philip Schaff and Johann Herzog (ed.), "HYPOCRISY," in The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, vol. V (Funk and Wagnalls, 1908–1914).
- 5.James Orr (ed.), "Hypocrisy; Hyprocrite," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. III (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).