What does Jesus say about Living a sincere life, not a hypocrite?

Day 15

What does Jesus say about Living a sincere life, not a hypocrite?

Text:  Matthew 6:1-6.

 

Introduction

The Pharisees laid more emphasis on outward ordinances and actions that would make them appear righteous, but they were not much concerned with being righteous in their hearts. For this Jesus referred to them as hypocrites. In our lesson today, we will discuss our Lord Jesus’s condemnation of their actions; People who try to appear righteous, but who do not try to live righteously.

 Now, let’s look at what it means to be sincere. Let us first look at a brief definition of the word “sincere” To be sincere means, 

• To be free from pretense or deceit. 
• Genuine in feeling 
• Absence of hypocrisy, feigning, or any falsifying embellishment (Addition to make more attractive) or exaggeration. 

 

Life Lessons 

1. Pretense or faking; pretending to be whom and what you’re not.                                                                                                                                       a. Be honest and deliberate about your intensions and actions. (Many got into trouble – debt, stress, depression, and many more because of trying to fit into another man’s shoe).                                                                                                                                                                    b. Be honest and open about your actions and intentions, whether good or bad – that’s when you can get help.
2. Trying to impress someone by promising what you cannot deliver or saying things you don’t mean, or doing what you normally don’t do or cannot deliver – faking. (Mathew 6:1-6)                                                                                                                                                                               a. Be yourself and true to yourself; do not try to impress others.                                                                                                                                     b. Your goal must be to please (impress) the Lord.                                                                                                                                                             c. Exaggeration – Addition to make something more attractive (I believe most of us are guilty of this).
3. Double standards – Could be defined as:  A set of principles that applies differently and usually more rigorously to one group of people or circumstances than to another especially: a code of morals that applies more severe standards of sexual behavior to women than to men.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                a. Be fair, kind, and compassionate the way you treat others; treat them the same way you’ll treat yourself and family.

Example: John 8:3-11

Life Applications

1. Don’t make public show of your good deeds – Your reward comes from Almighty God, and not from men (humans).

           a. Don’t do eye-service, so you’ll be seen and praised. Mathew 6:2-4

           b. Let your yes be your yes, and your no be your no (Pleading the fifth) 

           c. Admit your faults, mistakes, and weaknesses – that’s how we get help. 

2. Treat everyone equally regardless of their status -Do not be ignorant about what the Bible says or requires.

          a. Do to others what you want them do to you (Mathew 7:12) 

               Are you a lawyer, a teacher, a leader, or a parent, we’re all encouraged to be fair in our dealings with each other. 

          b. Perversion of justice – Deuteronomy 16:19 (ESV) 

          c. “Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute,” (Psalm 82:3).

                  Some Examples:

                    a. Showing partiality: Leviticus 19:15 (ESV) 

                    b. But the Lord replied, “You hypocrites! Each of you works on the Sabbath day! Don’t you untie your ox or your donkey from its                             stall on the Sabbath and lead it out for water?

                   c. Living a sincere life reliefs stress because you don’t have to conform to other people’s standards or try to adjust all the time to fit                           in (Chameleon – always have to change to match different environment to fit whatever status you have created for yourself).

3. Do not be judgmental – You tend to criticize other people for the same thing you do; get closer and give a loving and helping hand, you never know what other people are struggling or going through. 

           a. Be humble, compassionate, and forgiving (Jesus shown humility and forgiveness -John 8:7) 

          b. Don’t overburden other people with task you cannot carry out yourself; Maybe it’s just for showmanship purposes: Matthew  23:1-7 

          c. Do not hold other people to different standards than you hold yourself or other people in your inner circle (Give others a pass). 

 

Lesson of the Day

Knowledge is power; The Bible says, lack of knowledge my people perish. We cannot live a sincere Christian life if we do not know what the Bible says about it. By His grace we have just learned few; May the good lord give us the grace to practice them. Let’s go out there and live a sincere live for God; do good, be compassionate, and forgiving.