How do you know you are not a hypocrite?
“Therefore the Lord shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still.” (Isa. 9:17).
“Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.” (Mat. 7:5).
Hypocrites show that they have no reverence towards the things of God who has instituted, consecrated and hallowed those ordinances of his worship. They show a contempt of his divine authority that instituted them. They show a contempt of spiritual things towards God. They come into his presence disrespectfully, with whom they have immediately to do in his ordinances, and in whose name ordinances are attended performed and attended. They show a contempt of the glory of adoration for God. Of that holy faith and love, and that humiliation, submission and praise of those ordinances which are a means instituted by him to be an expression of such spiritual things. With what an irreverent spirit does it show that they are so careless after what manner they come before God. These do not take any care to cleanse and purify themselves through Christ, that they may be more fit to come before God. And yes, they do not take any care to avoid making themselves more and more unclean and filthy. Jonathan Edwards, Vain Imaginations in the Worship of God.
Instead, we ought to lay aside hypocrisy following the word of God when it says, “Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:”
(1 Peter 2:1-2).
