📖 Don't perform like a hypocrite

I. When Jesus calls the Pharisees “hypocrites,” he’s not saying they’re saying one thing and doing another.

The Greek word for “hypocrite” originally meant “actor,” someone who performed on a stage. By Jesus’ day, it came to describe someone who puts on a performance for others.

For Jesus, the Pharisees were often hypocrites, not because they didn’t do what they told other people to do (they did!), but because they were motivated by show and respect from others, not love for God.

In Matthew 6:1–4, Jesus says they give, pray, and fast… but they do it to be seen. They’re not being inconsistent. They’re being performative.

They are giving and fasting and praying, but they do so to look good before others. They’re doing the right things, but for the wrong reasons.

They’re acting.

And Jesus is clear, particularly in the Sermon on the Mount where Matthew 6 takes place: God isn’t after a performance. He’s after your heart.

You can do all the right things and still miss what matters most if it’s about being seen, not loving God. You can do the right thing and still be a hypocrite.

God isn’t after a show, he’s after your heart.

———————-

II. The only way to know if you, or anyone else, actually likes the teachings of Jesus is if you try to live them out.

It is common to hear people say that they like the teachings of Jesus, but not attempt in any way to hold to them, especially the ones that go against the grain of our culture.

We do and pursue the things that we like. We eat things we like. We participate in hobbies that we like. We hang out with people we like.

It’s easy to say you like something because it sounds good, but our actions show whether we truly do or not.

If you like Jesus’ teachings, you’ll seek to follow them.

Otherwise, you simply like sounding or appearing spiritual, but not what Jesus says.

We should care more about the heart behind what we do than the action itself.

1 Samuel 16:7 says:

“Humans do not see what the Lord sees, for humans see what is visible, but the Lord sees the heart.”

People see what you do. God sees why you do it.

You can look right on the outside and still be far from God on the inside. But you can also quietly pursue God with the right heart, even when no one else notices.

This week: Examine your motives. Don’t be a hypocrite. Don’t do things to look good before others, but genuinely seek the Lord and ask him to help you care more about what he sees than what others see.

This week’s question comes from Stephanie. She essentially asked if taking your own life sends you to hell.

Have a Bible question, or a situation in your life you want a biblical perspective on? Submit it here to be answered in a future Bible Made Simple Newsletter edition.

People in New Testament times didn’t sit at tables like we do.

They often ate meals while reclining on the ground, leaning on one arm, with their feet extended away from the table.

That helps explain a detail in John 13, where the disciple Jesus loved is described as leaning against him.

It would feel unusual to us, sitting in chairs around a dinner table, but it was natural for them given how they were positioned during the meal.

God and Money by Cortines & Baulmer

A book about how Christians should view, use, and spend their money.

The authors do a good job of challenging the mindset that many of us have regarding money. Instead of asking, “How much should we give?” they ask, “How much should we keep?”

The content in this book is applicable wisdom for all of us and includes some good and challenging teachings we should all consider.

At the same time, this book is most practically helpful for high-income earners. Again, the principles are good for everyone to consider, but many times I found myself thinking, “I am not in the financial demographic to be able to do some of these things.”

Also, the book was rather dry. It has lots of good content, but it is not a very engaging book, and was one I ultimately had to force myself to keep reading.

Again, there are good principles and challenges in the book, but it wasn't the most enjoyable or applicable read for me, though I do think some would really enjoy it.

5.5/10

P.S. Wait, why is that?