What is a hypocrite?

hyp·o·crite   [hip-uh-krit] noun

1.a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, especially a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.

2.a person who feigns some desirable or publicly approved attitude, especially one whose private life, opinions, or statements belie his or her public statements.

In short, a hypocrite is someone who is not what they claim to be

According to one woman, I am a hypocrite.  She sent me an email expressly to tell me and how low her opinions of me are.  I readily admitted I can be a hypocrite and have been but don't make a practice of it.  I don't know of a human being alive who isn't at one time or another.  We all fall short of how we want to act and how we act.  That behavior is a problem, when it is a lifestyle.  It is not a lifestyle with me.  What you see is what you get.  I will even warn you about the nasty part of my personality, when warranted.

Why did I raise her ire?  I am a moderator at a cycling website and the owner enforces Christian values.  She did not like the Christian values or me moderating her.

I will walk a long way to work with people.  I'm unsure why other than Christ has walked a long way with me.  But, just as Christ got fed up with the money changers, I get fed up, too.  I don't care for ugly confrontation and will work to resolve it quietly, quickly, and fairly.  If all efforts don't end attacks, a warning is issued.  If that doesn't stop attacks, the full effect is released and that usually shuts people down.  The full effect is what surprises people.  I am not ugly about it but I am even more blunt than usual and thorough in my observations and not the least encouraging at those points in time.  Often it seems people think their bad behavior will go completely unnoticed forever and ever.

This woman, who accused me of being a hypocrite, was surprised.  Her boyfriend told her I am not one to start a confrontation but I am one to end a confrontation, if one insists on continuing it.  He also informed her that she wouldn't like the ending.  She didn't believe him.  She should have.  She didn't like what she started.  She didn't like her own stink.

But what is a hypocrite in God's eyes?  My pastor, Jim Shaddix, taught a lesson on that recently, which recalled the entire event that led to me being called a hypocrite by a woman that doesn't know me.  A hypocrite in God's eyes is a person without God who is trying to act like a person with God.  Jim backed this up with Matthew 6:1-18, cf. Matthew 7:5; 15:6-9; 23:14-15, 25-32; Luke 12:56; 13:15.

He went further to provide characteristics of a hypocrite.

1.  You are blind to your own faults.  Matthew 7:5

2.  You put tradition over the Bible.  Matthew 15:6-9

3.  You influence others for religion instead of for Christ.  Matthew 23:14-15

4.  You put on a religious front to cover an evil heart.  Matthew 23:25-28

5.  You refuse to acknowledge the similarity between you and your predecessors.  Matthew 23:29-32.

In God's eyes, a hypocrite is also a person who does right things for the wrong reasons.  Matthew 6:1, cf. Amos 5:21-24; Matthew 5:14-16; Mark 7:6-7

A hypocrite, to God, is a person who exchanges heavenly rewards for earthly recognition.  Matthew 6:1

I can't cover the whole lesson here but it is worth hearing.  If you are interested, contact Riverside Baptist's Hope for Today to get it.

Ultimately, I fall short of God's definitions occasionally, too, not just man's definitions.  What is redeeming about me?  I am in relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ and through Him I am redeemed and made righteous because of his finished work on the cross.