STAY AWAY FROM HYPOCRISY (Part 1-3)

Eric Aboadwe
August 5, 2017 ·

STAY AWAY FROM HYPOCRISY (Part 1)

Today our Scripture reading is taken from the gospel of Matthew where JESUS says:

“Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, HYPOCRITES! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed APPEAR beautiful OUTWARDLY, but INSIDE are full of dead men’s bones and all UNCLEANNESS. Even so you appear RIGHTEOUS to men, but INSIDE you are full of HYPOCRISY and LAWLESSNESS.”

We thank the LORD JESUS for His words above which is a Light which “SHINES in the DARKNESS, but the DARKNESS did not comprehend it” (John 1:5). This is very true because the religious people to whom JESUS spoke these words did not “comprehend” what the “Light” was telling them. And even until this day, many pastors, teachers, prophets, and evangelists do not “comprehend” what JESUS spoke above in our Scripture reading.

If you are a Christian, understanding this topic under discussion will be very profitable for you because it will SAVE your “soul” from the path of DESTRUCTION and the CONDEMNATION of hell-fire. We will therefore look at the definition of a “HYPOCRITE” or “HYPOCRISY” according to JESUS’ own definition from His own words which we read above.

Honestly speaking I am very thankful to the Lord JESUS CHRIST for defining a “HYPOCRITE” and “HYPOCRISY” for us. His definition is very clear, but God will help us to break the definition down for our common understanding and clarification. So who is a “HYPOCRITE?” This question is similar to that of the “Lawyer” who asked JESUS, “And who is my NEIGHBOR?” (Luke 10:29). And JESUS answered him, “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho...”

So who is a “HYPOCRITE?” And JESUS answered us by telling us that a “HYPOCRITE,” is like a “whitewashed tombs which indeed APPEAR beautiful OUTWARDLY, but INSIDE are full of dead men’s bones and all UNCLEANNESS. Even so you appear RIGHTEOUS to men, but INSIDE you are full of HYPOCRISY and LAWLESSNESS.”

From JESUS own words, a “HYPOCRITE” is someone who hides his true identity as a human being who commits SINS, but he behaves in such a way for everybody including his religious group and church members to know that he is “RIGHTEOUS” in deeds, and therefore he does not commit SIN, but actuality he does.

In other words, the “INSIDE” of a “HYPOCRITE” is completely different from His “OUTWARD” behaviour. As a result, such a person deceives people to believe that he is a “RIGHTEOUS” person according to human standards. He deceives people to think of him as someone who does not broke the LAW, meanwhile it is a camouflage.

“HYPOCRITES” are very disguising, but JESUS who created the human beings from the “dust of the ground” reveals the hidden NATURE of hypocritical human beings who have “sewed fig leaves” to hid their “nakedness” just like their ancestral parents Adam and Eve who were hiding their TRUE IDENTITY from God as if God cannot see the secret parts of men (Genesis 3:8-10).

Our ancestors Adam and Even were ignorant about the fact that, “There is no creature HIDDEN from His SIGHT, but all things are NAKED and OPEN to the EYES of Him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13). And this is the message which God has for all “HYPOCRITES” that they must repent and believe in His RIGHTEOUSNESS fulfilled by the water and blood of JESUS.

After the FALL OF MAN, Adam played the “HYPOCRITE” and his descendants have not learnt any lesson from it. There is a Roman orator called Cicero. He said that, “Not to know what happened before you were born is to remain forever a child.” We must therefore know that “HYPOCRISY” did not help Adam and Eve in anyway, and neither will it help us. We must learn a great lesson from the experiences of our ancestors and live by FAITH in “God’s RIGHTEOUSNESS.”

There is also a Ghanaian proverb which says, “If you see your neighbours’ beard BURNING, fetch WATER by yours.” It is therefore my hope that Christians all over the world will fetch the WATER BAPTISM of JESUS by FAITH in order to quench the burning flames of Satan who wants to lead the mankind to hell.

We must know that God does not like “HYPOCRISY” at all, it is something which He dislike intensely. In fact JESUS spoke against “HYPOCRISY” several times against the Pharisees in Matthew 23. And the reason why God hates “HYPOCRISY” is because:

(1) “HYPOCRISY” promotes self-deception and arrogance by making one “EXALT HIMSELF.” That’s why JESUS told the Pharisees, “And whoever EXALT HIMSELF will be HUMBLED” (Matt 23:12).

(2) “HYPOCRISY” makes people establish their own righteousness. That’s why the Apostle Paul spoke about “HYPOCRITES” saying, “For they being ignorant of Gods RIGHTEOUSNESS, and seeking to establish their OWN RIGHTEOUSNESS, have not submitted to the RIGHTEOUSNESS of God” (Romans 10:3). Such people do not believe in God’s RIGHTEOUSNESS fulfilled by JESUS BAPTISM (Matthew 3:15)

(3) “HYPOCRISY” makes people accuse others and judge them. That’s why JESUS told the woman of adultery, “Woman, where are those ACCUSERS of yours? Has no one CONDEMN you?” (John 8:10). This woman was very lucky to meet the MERCIFUL SAVIOUR.

But “HYPOCRITES” do not believe in the SALVATION of the water baptism of JESUS and His blood on the Cross, rather they believe in their own “works” as the means of entering the Kingdom of God. In order words, they do not believe in the REDEMPTION of the water and the Spirit (John 3:5). That’s why JESUS says that HYPOCRITES “cannot enter the Kingdom of God” because they refuse to be “born again” of His WATER and the HOLY SPIRIT.

Our study continues....

But “A WORD TO A WISE IS ENOUGH.”

BLESSED are those who isolate themselves from “HYPOCRISY”

Eric Aboadwe
ericaboadwe@hotmail.com



Eric Aboadwe
August 6, 2017 ·

STAY AWAY FROM HYPOCRISY (Part 2)

Our Scripture reading is taken from the gospel of John where JESUS declared:

“He who is WITHOUT SIN among you, let him throw a STONE at her first” (John 8:7).

If we are following JESUS CHRIST as Christians and we fail to actually understand the One whom we are following, then it is very suicidal and terrible. The Scripture reading above are the words which JESUS spoke to the “religious people” of His time who thought that they don’t commit SIN because they are strict adherents of “The Law of Moses.”

However the LORD JESUS exposed the “HYPOCRISY” of these religious people by revealing to them that, first of all they are all “liars” because NONE of them have been able to keep “The Law of Moses.” Secondly JESUS revealed to them that keeping the Law and Commandments can NEVER CHANGE a person’s SINFUL NATURE.

That’s why JESUS told them, “If you think you have kept the LAW and therefore you don’t have any SIN, cast the first STONE. I am waiting for the RIGHTEOUS person among you to cast the first STONE at this adulterous woman.” This is how JESUS exposed the “HYPOCRISY” of Scribes, Pharisees, and false Christians of today who think they are better than others.

King Solomon the wisest king ever in the annals of the history of mankind said, “That which has BEEN is what WILL BE, that which is DONE is what WILL BE DONE, and there is NOTHING NEW under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). JESUS our Lord also confirmed this statement when He said that before His second coming, human beings will live their lives like the people in Noah’s time (Matthew 24:37-39). And is this not confirming what King Solomon was saying that “which is DONE is what WILL BE DONE, and there is NOTHING NEW under the sun?”

Similarly, there are many Christians who are the “Modern Day Pharisees,” and there is no difference between the “Pharisees” in JESUS’ time and the “Modern Day Pharisees” but just that they have re branded themselves by having a new image called “Christians,” meanwhile they are “FALSE Christians” whose belief is completely different from CHRIST whom they claim they are following. Therefore King Solomon was right when he said, “there is NOTHING NEW under the sun.”

Therefore if you are a Christian and you fail to understand what JESUS was revealing to the Pharisees who used the LAW to accuse the “woman of adultery,” the truth of the matter is that you will live in “HYPOCRISY” all the days of your life, and you will actually die in SIN and spend ETERNITY in hell.

This is the reason why JESUS told the Pharisees who brought the adulterous woman, “I am GOING AWAY, and you will seek Me, and will DIE in your SIN. Where I go you CANNOT COME. Therefore I said to you that you will DIE in your SINS; for if you do not BELIEVE that I am He, you will DIE in your SINS” (John 8:21,24). If the Pharisees were RIGHTEOUS by keeping the LAW, then why did JESUS told them “you will DIE in your SINS?” Why did JESUS exposed their SINS even though they claim the keep the LAW?

JESUS CHRIST did not speak these words to the woman who broke the 7th Commandment which says, “You shall NOT commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14), but rather He spoke the words above to the very people who boast about the fact that they don’t commit “adultery,” and who claim that they are “obedient” to the LAW of Moses, and therefore they are not SINNERS like other people.

JESUS told the HYPOCRITICAL Pharisees and the Modern Day Christian Pharisees, “I am GOING AWAY, and you will seek Me, and will DIE in your SIN. Where I go you CANNOT COME.” We must know that when JESUS says “I am GOING AWAY,” He is referring to His resurrection and ascension into the Kingdom of God.

The LORD was telling them that He is going back to God the Father, but the Pharisees themselves “CANNOT COME” there because His “Kingdom” does not belong to self-righteous people, but rather it belongs to SINNERS like the “woman of adultery” who seek for God’s MERCY. That’s why He told them emphatically, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and HARLOTS enter the Kingdom of God before you” (Matthew 21:31b).

JESUS was actually telling them indirectly that their “HYPOCRISY” will lead them to hell. That is what He meant by “You will DIE in your SIN.” Also when JESUS says that tax collectors and prostitutes enter the Kingdom of God “before you,” He was telling the Pharisee that the tax collectors and prostitutes accept their SINFUL NATURE and they BELIEVE in His free GIFT of RIGHTEOUSNESS, and that’s why He gives them the “Kingdom of God.”

But our LORD said that He will NEVER give “the Kingdom” to the Pharisees “until” they repent from their “HYPOCRISY.” That is what JESUS meant by “before you,” and this shows how DANGEROUS it is for a Christian to remain a “HYPOCRITE.” There is no two ways about the fact that playing “HYPOCRISY” before God leads to hell.

But it is very sad that until this day, many Christians are still ignorant about this even though JESUS spoke repeatedly about this. They still don’t understand the CHRIST whom they claim they are following. When JESUS told the Pharisees, “He who is WITHOUT SIN among you, let him throw a STONE at her first,” He was telling everybody in this world that, “You are all the same like this woman.”

Every Christian must HUMBLE himself and BELIEVE in the RIGHTEOUSNESS of God fulfilled by the water baptism and the blood of JESUS. The woman of adultery was SPIRITUALLY “poor” because she accepted the fact that she had NO RIGHTEOUSNESS of her own. And to such people, JESUS says:

“BLESSED are the POOR in spirit, for theirs is the KINGDOM OF GOD” (Matthew 5:3).

Our study CONTINUES............

Eric Aboadwe
ericaboadwe@hotmail.com
www.nlmbookcafe.com/blog/eric



Eric Aboadwe
August 7, 2017 ·

STAY AWAY FROM HYPOCRISY (Part 3)

Our Scripture reading is taken once again from John where JESUS declared:

“He who is WITHOUT SIN among you, let him throw a STONE at her first” (John 8:7).
When our LORD and Savior JESUS was on this earth, those who heard Him were astonished at His teaching because He taught them as One having AUTHORITY and POWER and not like the Scribes (Mark 1:22). Therefore when He spoke the words above in our Scripture reading, it came with POWER and CONVICTION so much that even the “HYPOCRITES” who claimed they don’t commit SIN were at a loss of His Words.

With STONES in the hands of so many people including the “Lawyers” around the woman, not even a single person could “throw a STONE at her.” But WHY? This is because God has written and engraved the SINS of all human beings on the tablets of their hearts with “a pen of iron and the point of a diamond” (Jeremiah 17:1). And besides that their “CONSCIENCE” also bear WITNESS to this fact.

When JESUS said that “He who is WITHOUT SIN among you, let him throw a STONE at her first” (John 8:7), He said it for a purpose. The Apostle Paul explained this purpose when he said, “Now we know that whatever the LAW says, it says to those who are under the LAW, that every MOUTH may be STOPPED, and all the world may become GUILTY before God” (Romans 3:20).

Therefore when the Pharisees told JESUS, “Teacher, this woman was caught in ADULTERY in the very act. Now Moses, in the LAW commanded us that such should be STONE. But what do You say?” (John 8:4-5), we must know that the LAW did not only “STOPPED” the MOUTH of the adulterous woman, but it also “STOPPED” the MOUTH of the hypocritical Pharisees themselves. Therefore JESUS was telling HYPOCRITES, “Shut up your MOUTHS because you are all the same like the woman.”

This is what the LAW of God does. It has a purpose of STOPPING the “MOUTH” of pastors, teachers, prophets, and evangelists. But because most of them are “HYPOCRITES,” they preach and tell their followers to “obey” the LAW even though they themselves CANNOT “obey” it. This is the “HYPOCRISY” at the highest degree among Christians which our Beloved Brother Genesis Philip Boadu was talking about some few days ago.

NOBODY in this world can even “throw a STONE” at a prostitute. It is an undeniable fact that even if God were to make a “harlot” stand in the midst of all human beings right now, and He says, “He who is WITHOUT SIN among you, let him throw a STONE at her first” (John 8:7), NOBODY in this world can cast a STONE. Only those who believe in the RIGHTEOUSNESS of God fulfilled by the water and the blood of JESUS can say they are “WITHOUT SIN.”

This is based on what JESUS Himself has done to fulfill all RIGHTEOUSNESS for mankind. Therefore the believers can say to Him, “LORD, we are WITHOUT SIN because you bore all our SINS in the Jordan River when you were BAPTIZED by John, and you DIED on the Cross to shed your BLOOD to pay for our SINS, and you RESURRECTED to justify us.” However, notwithstanding this, even those who are RIGHTEOUS by FAITH cannot “throw a STONE” at a harlot because their “FLESH” also commits SIN.

A person who is RIGHTEOUS by FAITH is not better than a prostitute when you bring the human FLESH into the picture. The blood which is running to and fro in human beings is CONTAMINATED with SIN. That’s why human beings could only be SAVED by someone whose blood is “unblemished,” and that Person is JESUS CHRIST. He was the ONLY “spotless” person on this earth, and this is why Christians must stay away from “HYPOCRISY.”

We must know that “the Saviour of the world” (1 John 4:14) cannot save “HYPOCRITES” from the condemnation of hell. The REDEEMER of mankind is telling Christians that no matter how well they have kept “The Law of Moses,” it cannot SAVE them from their SINS. He made this clear to the Pharisees but they didn’t understand Him.

And because the Pharisees didn’t understand what JESUS was telling them, they concluded that because JESUS allows those who even BREAK the LAW to go “scot free,” He is a promoter of SIN. And you will SURPRISED to know that the Pharisees actually called JESUS “A SINNER.” I just want us to look at it.

After JESUS healed “the man who was born blind” (John 9:1), the Pharisees interrogated the man, and the Bible tells us what the Pharisees did. It says, “So they again called the man who was born blind, and said to him, “Give God the glory! We know that this Man (Jesus) is A SINNER” (John 9:24). This confirms what God taught us in the Part 1 of the topic under discussion that “HYPOCRISY” leads to (1) Self –exaltation which is arrogance, (2) establishing one’s own righteousness, (3) accusing and condemning others.

My beloved Brothers and Sisters, is it not SURPRISING that hypocritical Pharisees who were born in SIN were saying that the Saviour of the world who is God Himself is “A SINNER?” Have you seen the DANGERS of “HYPOCRISY?” This spiritual disease is so DANGEROUS that it made some group of religious people who were reading the Bible and praying every day to label JESUS as “A SINNER.”

And because the Modern Day Christian Pharisees do not also understand the GOSPEL OF GRACE of the “water and the Spirit” (John 3:5) which we are preaching, they also accuse us as Promoters of SIN. But our LORD the “JUDGE” will condemn all such people and send them to hell if they don’t repent from their “HYPOCRISY.”

How can HYPOCRITICAL Pharisees who were born in SIN say that the Saviour of the world who is God, and who came to SAVE the human race from SIN is “A SINNER?” If JESUS says the LAW cannot SAVE us, does it means He is “A SINNER?” So if those of us who are His servants are also preaching the same way like our MASTER, and we say that the “LAW” cannot SAVE us, but we are saved by His GRACE (Ephesians 2:8), does it mean we are PROMOTERS of SIN?

“HYPOCRISY” is very HELLISH! So STAY AWAY from it.

The RIGHTEOUSNESS of God will BLESS those who does so.

Eric Aboadwe
ericaboadwe@hotmail.com
www.nlmbookcafe.com/blog/eric