Imagine a preacher telling his hearers not to lie. Among the hearers he has planted various trainee preachers of his group to engage with the hearers after he has finished preaching. They are to act like they have heard the message for the first time. What is going to stick in people’s minds? The message that they must not lie, or the experience of being engaged in conversation afterwards by trainees pretending not to be preachers? Hypocrisy is a kind of lie. It says more about you than the message you are preaching. Heaven cannot abide liars and will do away with them at the final judgement. But it cannot endorse hypocrisy and the hypocrites will be judged too. Receiving the message of Christ dying for us, we should let the heavenly Spirit purge our hearts of our lying, but also of hypocrisy. Neither is found in the heart of God. We must hear the gospel in our hearts but also let the nature of God enter our hearts and teach our hearts His ways, His nature. Then live by it, in all our thoughts and words - and deeds.
