Christians and hypocrisy

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The Pharisees Question Jesus
The Pharisees Question Jesus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Sin leads us to take shortcuts in all the Christian disciplines, and when we succumb to its temptation often enough, hypocrisy becomes the pattern of our life without our realizing it. Because hypocrisy is such a subtle and destructive danger to vital Christian living, our Lord was quick to condemn its many adherents. 

During His earthly life, the group most guilty of it was the Jewish religious leaders—those whom you would normally expect to be His greatest supporters were His greatest enemies. That’s because His righteous words and deeds condemned their own unrighteous practices. To protect His followers from their evil influence, Jesus said, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (Luke 12:1).

The Pharisees, through their rabbinic tradition, had succeeded in corrupting and perverting all the good things God had taught the nation of Israel, including their practice of prayer. No religion has ever had a higher standard and priority for prayer than Judaism. 

As God’s chosen people, the Jews were the recipients of His written Word, “entrusted with the oracles of God” (Rom. 3:2). No other people, as a race or as a nation, has ever been so favored by God or had such direct communication with Him.

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