instead , they are repelled by a lie gussied up in religious garb . Christian writer Brennan Manning said , “ The greatest single cause of atheism today is Christians who acknowledge Jesus with their lips , then walk out the door and deny Him by their lifestyle .” Unbelievers see no reason to believe in God when Christians don ’ t live what we really believe .
The Rewards of Hypocrisy ways . You have to make a choice — either God or others .
You might be saying , “ Wait a minute , Pastor ! Earlier Jesus said , ‘ Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works ’ ( 5:16 ). So how can He now say , ‘ Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them ’? Which is it ?”
Like a warning sign painted in big , bold letters , Jesus said ,
Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them ; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven . ( Matt . 6:1 )
Notice that if you fail to heed His warning , then you ’ ll not only veer off the true path and potentially lead others into a minefield but also receive no reward from God . Hypocrites trade the eternal applause of God for the temporal applause of people , because when it comes to righteousness and rewards , the formula is either / or , not both / and . You can ’ t have it both
Pastor John R . W . Stott offered a good answer to this : “ Jesus is speaking against different sins . It is our human cowardice which made him say ‘ let your light shine before others ,’ and our human vanity which made him tell us to beware of practicing our righteousness in front of others . . . . Our good deeds must be public so that our light shines ; our religious devotions must be secret in case we boast about them . Besides , the end of both instructions of Jesus is the same , namely the glory of God .”
If our intent is to glorify God , then God will reward us . But if our intent is to glorify ourselves , then we are being hypocritical and God will not reward us .
“ If our intent is to glorify God , then God will reward us . But if our intent is to glorify ourselves , then we are being hypocritical and God will not reward us .”
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