See in Reader
1003 B
Hypocrisy (Hypocrite)
“Hypocrisy” is the act of a person saying he believes something but then does something that shows he really does not believe what he said he believes.
In the New Testament, a “hypocrite” is someone who does things to cause other people to think he is a great person who obeys God. However, this is actually an evil person. A hypocrite tells others to do certain things to obey God, but he himself does not do these things to obey God. A hypocrite will tell about what other people do wrong, but he will not talk about the things he himself does wrong (see: Matthew 6:2, 5, 16; 23:1-12). Jesus called the Pharisees and certain religious teachers in Israel hypocrites. They wore certain clothes and ate certain foods talked about in the law of Moses. This made them appear righteous to other people. However, they did not do things that honored God, and they did not obey God (see: Matthew 15:7; 22:18; 23:13-39).
See: New Testament; Pharisees; Scribe; Law of Moses