A Word from Bob
While flying from Florida to Seattle, I enjoyed reading Michael Reeves little book, Evangelical Pharisees: The Gospel as Cure for the Church’s Hypocrisy. I’ve taken today’s post from Reeves’s excellent book.
As I write, and as you read, let’s not be hypocritical like the Pharisees. Let’s not simply say, “Oh, that person is a Pharisee!” Or, That group is pharisaical!” Let’s assess our own hearts and actions.
Telltale Signs of a Pharisaical Mindset: Sign #1—Hypocrisy
Reeves calls pharisaical hypocrisy “the hidden cancer” (12). “It poses and deceives to avoid discovery.” Yet, “there are a number of telltales when Christians fall into the self-reliant mindset of the Pharisee” (48). First among these is the sign of hypocrisy.
Quoting C. S. Lewis, Reeves shows that arrogant condemnation is a first cousin to hypocrisy. Hypocrisy seeks to conceal my hidden sin by seeking to reveal your supposed sin.
“The sins of the flesh are bad, but they are the least bad of all sins. All the worst pleasures are purely spiritual: the pleasure of putting other people in the wrong, of bossing and patronizing, and spoiling sport, and back-biting, the pleasures of power and hatred” (13).
Hypocrisy
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