By the Prophet Shabar

The Gospels bear witness to the great mercy and compassion of Christ toward those who are flawed. He was often seen eating and drinking with "sinners." He showed His mercy towards many, including a woman caught in adultery. But there was one sin He showed no compassion for - the sin of hypocrisy.

Definitions:

Hypocrite - \Hyp"o*crite\, n. [F., fr. L. hypocrita, Gr.? one who plays a part on the stage, a dissembler, feigner. See Hypocrisy.] One who plays a part; especially, one who, for the purpose of winning approbation of favor, puts on a fair outside seeming; one who feigns to be other and better than he is; a false pretender to virtue or piety; one who simulates virtue or piety.

Syn: Deceiver; pretender; cheat. See Dissembler.

[Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary]

 

Hypocrisy - The assumption of moral standards to which one's own behavior does not conform.

 

[Source: Oxford American Dictionary]

Hypocrisy is a form of dishonesty and deception - and Christ leveled scathing rebukes toward the hypocrital Israelites of His generation. In exposing the corrupt Pharisees, the Lord said, "Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” (Yehochanan [John ]8:44).

A hypocrite is a stumbling block for the righteous. Christ said, "But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in." (MattitYahu [Matt.] 23:13).

A hypocrite lacks honesty and integrity. And honesty is a prerequisite for salvation itself! It is written, "But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience." (Luke 8:15).

The Scribes and Pharisees during the time of Christ were notorious for putting on an outward display of "holiness"; however their hearts and intentions were corrupt. Christ severely reproved them, saying "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity." (MattitYahu [Matt.] 23:27-28).

 

As it is written, "While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption… (2 Peter 2:19).

Hypocrisy in many of today's preachers is self-evident; and it manifests in many areas; one of which is worldly teachings concerning marriage.

Such men teach, preach and promote the Greco-Roman/pagan doctrine of mandatory monogamy, and yet they carry on so-called "affairs" with women other than their 'wives.' They also proclaim to live by faith, yet they command their followers to obtain marriage licenses from the State in order to be recognized as being married in the sight of God.

The results of this hypocrisy have been, to say the least, devastating and tragic...

Another manifestation of hypocrisy - and perhaps the worst of all - is in the so-called prosperity doctrine, coming from preachers who hold the doctrine of the Laodiceans - of gain without pain.

Such men teach their followers that if they "tithe", the Lord will make them materially rich just like they are. Yet all the while, the source of their material wealth is not the Lord or tithing, but worldly business practices and marketing strategies applied to the selling of "resource materials." Sélah.

The Hypocrisy of America

For centuries, America has labeled itself as the "moral leader of the world", and a "Christian Nation." However, these terms are far from America’s reality.

The inception of this nation was wrought with thievery and murder against the natives who lived on this land. America’s wealth was accumulated through the inhumane enslavement of YAH's chosen people. It was the blood, sweat and tears of our fathers that made this nation the dominant world economic power it is today. The truth is, these two facts alone disqualify America from being a "Christian Nation" and "moral leader of the world."

The hypocrisy of this nation is being exposed today like never before. For example, the current war in Iraq is like a magnifying glass, bringing America's existing state of hypocrisy into sharper focus...

The original justification for war in Iraq was Saddam Hussein’s alleged weapons of mass destruction. And yet, the largest possessor of weapons of mass destruction in the world is the United States of America! The US possesses over 10,000 nuclear weapons, and has a huge arsenal of biological and chemical weapons as well. The US remains the only nation in history that has actually used a nuclear bomb against another nation.

The US also used as a rationale the reforming of Iraq’s prisons and torture chambers. 
The recent prison scandals in Iraq have exposed US hypocrisy in this matter also...

The US holds the world record for incarcerations. It has the largest prison population of any nation on earth. In 2002, the State and Federal prison population was approximately 2.1 million. That means 1 of every 143 US residents was in prison, or about 474 out of every 100,000 people. That's around 22% of the total world prison population.

The US also justified the war using the argument of the horror of "mass graves." A government official recently made the statement, "At least 300,000 people were murdered by security forces and buried in mass graves during the dictator's 23-year rule."

But the US currently holds the lead in government-sanctioned deaths of its own people. There are approximately 1.5 million "legal" abortions given each year. In the same 23 years of Saddam Hussein's rule, some 35 million babies were killed in the US, with the government’s approval!

For those who refuse to repent  from this wickedness - for both preacher and politician alike - the judgment of YAH is at hand. And as is written, "The Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (MattitYahu [Matt.] 24:50-51).

While there’s still time, let’s make sure that each of us who truly belong to Him are thoroughly purged from the leaven of hypocrisy. It is written, "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves, how that Y'shua Ha Mashiach is in you, except ye be reprobates." (2 Corinthians 13:5).  Ahmein.