Jesus said in Luke. 12:1, “. . . Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” The Pharisees were hypocritical and pretentious. They pretended to be religious, but in actuality they were fakes. They said one thing, and did another. In Matthew six, Jesus scolds them concerning their self-righteous deeds which they did “to be seen of men” (vv. 1-5). Again in Matthew twenty-three, Jesus directs His attention to the hypocritical Pharisees. The phrase, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites,” is used at least seven times. The Lord reveals His disdain for their hypocrisy, when he says in verse 28, “Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.”
This is a reminder today that sometimes people will not get close to God and the Church because of the hypocrisy of some. We need to practice our righteousness to please God, not to be seen by men. When we practice half Christianity we will easily be swayed into hypocrisy. Our influence in the world needs to be that of leading people to Christ, and showing the world the love of God towards them. That message will be unheard if they see in us two different things. Let’s be Whole Christians so the world can see Jesus in us.