When we think of the word "hypocrite" we usually thing of someone pretending to be something he isn't. We often think of an element of deliberate contrivance as if the person who is a hypocrite is responsible for perpetrating a deception. The word hypocrisy comes to us from Greek theater. It means to speak out from under a mask. In a way, a hypocrite is really more of a victim in that he is usually deceived himself as to his own righteousness.

To understand this better we can examine another theater expression, "getting lost in the part". Sometimes an actor will become so absorbed in his role that he begins to think he is the character he was playing. We can see an example of this in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. 

Luke 18:9-14 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.' But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!'  I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted." 

The Pharisee had become so convinced that he was righteous that he was blind to truth. This type of blindness is insidious because it creates a type of prison from which there is seldom an escape. For our purposes, "hypocrisy" is not so much the pretense of righteousness as it is the delusion of righteousness. It is this blindness that is so dangerous for the Christian.

When people say, "Christians are all hypocrites", they may be more correct than they realize. Many people that call themselves "Christian" have followed the path of the Pharisee and are not even aware that they are so distant from Jesus that it can legitimately be asked if they even are Christian.

How this happens

Saul was the first king of Israel. He is a good example of how a person drifts away from God and does not even know it. The Bible tells us that the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul and he didn't even notice it. Jesus warned His disciples to beware of the "leaven" of the Pharisees which He explained was hypocrisy (the false assumption of righteousness). It is very easy to take a turn off the Christian path and end up like Saul or the Pharisees. This was what was starting to happen in the church in Galatia. Paul writes to them in very strong terms trying to turn them back to the right path. 

The Galatians were open to hearing about how their Christian life should switch from what God does to what they could do. Even though they thought they were only doing what God wanted, this seemingly small shift in focus represented the entire collapse of the real Christian life. Paul writes with singular emphasis ("Oh foolish Galatians") and instructs them about the difference between what he calls the "flesh" and the Spirit. Most of the failure of Christianity (both collective and individual) over the last 2,000 years comes from the influence of the "flesh". Paul also contrasts these forces in Romans chapters seven and eight. A Christian who feels more of the frustration described in chapter seven than the joy described in chapter eight probably has a problem in his Christian life resulting from the ascendancy of "flesh" over "Spirit".

How this plays out

Every other religion and cult on earth has some basis on works (what you do and what you get). This is because we like knowing that we have done the "right" thing and we like the assurance we get from what we have achieved. Whenever Christianity is practiced as a religion "in the flesh" it follows the same course as other world religions and ends up with many of the same characteristics of the Pharisees. What is created is a "system" that is self-replicating and self-sustaining. It becomes woven into the fabric of a culture and becomes a force of social momentum impossible to alter or dislodge. People cling to the system with the passion of teary-eyed sentimentality, the strength of the fanatic fighting for God, the sense of duty to previous generations, the pride of being "right", the fear of peer disapproval, and the desperation of those who cling to the familiar and comfortable.

One reason Jesus was so intensely hated was people saw in Him an attack on everything they held dear. It was as if someone came to the US and started to speak against apple pie, patriotism, and Chevrolet. The Bible says that light has come into the world and people hated the light because their deeds were evil. Many "Christians" think that since they are not robbers and killers that their deeds aren't evil and they don't hate the light. However, if a list is made of the things that they trust in more than Jesus is made, they often become defensive and argumentative. 

Truth is the key

In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, the tax collector knew the truth. The Pharisee was more concerned about "being right". The system to which he belonged and held dear was something different than and in opposition to truth. When Jesus presented the Pharisees with truth, they had him killed. Jesus allowed this because it was His purpose to lay his life down in payment for the sins of the world. However, it is a measure of just how much of a prison hypocrisy is. The people who claimed to be the best worshipers of God arranged to have his Son killed.

The Christian who is interested in leaving the blindness and prison of hypocrisy and setting out as a pioneer to draw nearer his Lord has to learn how to recognize truth, seek it out, and use it as a surgical instrument to cut away the encrustation of the world and the flesh that keeps him from having the joy, love, peace and fellowship that the bible promises.

The tax collector in the parable shows us one common result of using truth, humility. In the cold light of truth all of our delusions of adequacy, sufficiency, and worthiness melt away. What we see is our utter need for our Savior and our complete worthlessness on our own. The Bible asks, "What do we have that we haven't been given?" When we look at our creator, do we want to instruct or correct Him or do we feel at first ashamed of our sinfulness and grateful for His sacrifice so that we could be redeemed.