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Luke 14 1-6 The evil of hypocrisy 01 The heart and traditions of men
📖 Luke 14:1-6
12Nov19 - *The heart and traditions of men* - _Luke 14:1-6_ - Bible reading: _Matthew 15:7-9_
_Luke 14:2-6 And behold, there was a certain man before Him who had dropsy. (3) And Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" (4) But they kept silent. And He took him and healed him, and let him go. (5) Then He answered them, saying, "Which of you, having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit, will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?" (6) And they could not answer Him regarding these things._
The problem of hypocrisy
God hates hypocrisy. The religious leaders of Jesus’ time were largely hypocrites. The Lord made it clear to everyone that hypocrites would go to hell. _Matthew 24:51 and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth._
Repeatedly, the Lord made it very clear to the religious leaders that they were going to hell because of their hypocrisy. The dangerous aspect of hypocrisy is that the person, who has the problem, will be blissfully unaware that he has the infection. This is what makes hypocrisy, dangerous.
_Matthew 23:13-15 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves,_ They will not go into heaven _nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. (14) Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation._ Hypocrites will be condemned _(15) "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves._ Hypocrites are sons of hell. That is where hypocrites belong.
Let us begin our understanding of hypocrisy from the Old Testament, which Jesus quoted. _Matthew 15:7-9 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: (8) ‘THESE PEOPLE DRAW NEAR TO ME WITH THEIR MOUTH, AND HONOR ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR FROM ME. (9) AND IN VAIN THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE COMMANDMENTS OF MEN.' "_
This was a quote from _Isaiah 29:13 Therefore the Lord said: "Inasmuch as these people draw near with their mouths And honor Me with their lips, But have removed their hearts far from Me, And their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,_ What is Isaiah referring to, when he says, “…have removed their hearts from me…” The answer is in _Ezekiel 33:31 So they come to you as people do, they sit before you as My people, and they hear your words, but they do not do them; for with their mouth they show much love, but their hearts pursue their own gain._ The heart is pursuing our own gain. This is a symptom of the disease of hypocrisy. Do you see this symptom in your heart? If so, be warned.
The second symptom of hypocrisy is the tendency to focus on external rules, traditions, rituals and formats and not giving importance to love God and be loved by Him. This was seen in the religious leaders. _Matthew 15:2 “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread." Colossians 2:21-23 “Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,” (22) which all concern things which perish with the using—according to the commandments and doctrines of men? (23) These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh._ All of these are nothing but giving room to the flesh. Do you see this symptom in you?
*Thought to ponder*
If God is convicting you of these symptoms of hypocrisy, will you repent and let God heal you?