Hypocrisy

[Psalms 50]

                Adrin Gostick & Dana Telford's book "The Integrity: Advantage & Works" reveals the 10 characteristics of a faithful person.  The third of those 10 characteristics is that ‘Honestly admit when I make a mistake.’  Regarding this characteristic, the authors are saying these meaningful words: ‘The mistake is not a gross fault.  The really gross fault is the act of covering up that mistake’ (Internet).  But our nature is to try to cover up our mistakes.  In other words, it is our sinful nature to hide our sins.  That's why there seems to be a word “hypocrisy”.  What is hypocrisy?  The Hebrew meaning is ‘concealing one’s real character or motives’ or ‘the hypocrite’.  In the New Testament, it was originally used to refer to an actor who wears a mask or a stage player.  And later, the word ‘hypokrites’ was used, which means hypocrites and hypocrisy.  This word refers to a false attitude that has the form of godliness, especially for religious people, but without the power of godliness.  An appropriate expression of hypocrisy is a case of being a very godly Christian on the outside but full of lies and hypocrisy on the inside.  The representative hypocrites in Jesus' day were the Pharisees.  When I think about this hypocrisy, I think of David's sin that I meditated on during this morning prayer meeting.  David tried to send Uriah to pregnant Bathsheba in order to cover up his sin.  But when the faithful Uriah didn’t go down to his house, David eventually sent Uriah to General Joab with his letter and eventually killed Uriah, a soldier loyal by the Gentiles’ sword.  So God sent Prophet Nathan to David who was covering up his sins and revealed his sins.  And this was what God said to David: “Indeed you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, and under the sun” (2 Sam. 12:12).  We sin in secret, but the holy God is the God who reveals our sins before everybody.

                In Psalms 50:5, God is saying, “Gather My godly ones to Me.”  Here, the psalmist Asaph teaches that the saints are those who have made a covenant with God through sacrifice.  If we apply this word to us, we can refer to Christians who made a new covenant with God through Jesus' sacrifice on the cross as ‘My saints,’ that is, saints of God.  Why did God tell the psalmist Asaph to gather His saints before Him?  The reason was because of the hypocrisy of the Israelites, the saints of God (Park).  I sincerely hope and pray that the hypocrites will gather before God and make it an opportunity to repent after listening to God's rebuke while meditating on three things what God wants to say to us.

First, God is saying that He will judge our hypocrisy (Ps. 50:1-6).

Look at Psalms 50:6 – “And the heavens declare His righteousness, For God Himself is judge. Selah.”  The psalmist Asaph says that God, the chief Judge, judges the hypocrites in proclaiming His justice openly and universally.  Asaph powerfully pointed out how great the sins of the hypocrites were:

• Asaph said that all the people of the world should see the scene of God’s judgment against the hypocrites.

Look at Psalms 50:1 – “The Mighty One, God, the LORD, has spoken, And summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting.”  This is the God’s word of terrifying judgment that even though hypocrites might sin in secret, God would reveal their sins, uncover them openly in front of all the people whom the psalmist invited.  This word also can be applied to us.  As children of light, holy God will expose our sins in front of all the people if we don’t expose the fruitless deeds of darkness but participate in the fruitless deeds of darkness (Eph. 5:11).

• In judging the hypocrites of the Israelites, God would do so with His revealed Word, and it is feared like fire.

Look at Psalms 50:2-3: “From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.  Our God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before him, and around him a tempest rages.”  It means that God judges according to the truth (light) of the true church.  Jesus also said that “the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day” (Jn. 12:48).  In Psalms 119:130, the Bible says, “The unfolding of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.”  We become foolish when we continue to sin in secret.  Our hearts are also hardened.  We don’t regard sin as a sin.  To such foolish people like us, God makes His Word shine in our hearts to convict us of our sins.

• God will judge the hypocrites first.

Look at Psalms 50:4 – “He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that he may judge his people.”  Yoon-sun Park said: ‘The Church of God has received a peculiar blessing and has a heavy responsibility.  Therefore, judgment is first carried out in the household of God (church) (1 Pet. 4:17).’

Second, God is wary of our hypocritical formalism (Ps. 50:7-15).

Look at Psalms 50:7 - “Hear, O my people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against you: I am God, your God.”  Here, God is saying that He will “testify” to Israel, and this is to warn against the hypocrisy of the Israelites, that is, formalism.  That formalism is that the Jews thought that when they go up to the temple and offer sacrfices to God will satisfy God (Park).  To the Israelites who were devoted solely to performing external ceremonies rather than worshiping God in spirit and truth, the psalmist Asaph teaches three lessons about worshiping God:

• Asaph said to sacrifice thank offerings to God.

Look at Psalms 50:14a – “Sacrifice thank offerings to God ….”  Why should we offer sacrifices (worships) in thanksgiving to God?  The reason is because it honors God (v. 23).  And those who offer sacrifice of thanksgiving to God not only offer sacrifice of thanksgiving to God with their lips but also with their life.  They don’t just offer thanksgiving worship to God with their lips, but also live life of worship.

• Asaph said to to fulfill our vow to God.

Look at Psalms 50:14b – “… fulfill your vows to the Most High.”  One of the hallmarks of a faithful person is to keep promises.  By the way, how many faithful people are around us these days who keep their promises well?  We live in a world where it is difficult to find someone who is truly trustworthy.  That's why I think, 'If a person can’t keep his promises well with other people, how can he keep his promises with God?'  Dr. Park Yoon-sun said: ‘Keeping a promise before God can be said to be an act of not stopping God's grace’ (Park).  Therefore, those who truly worship God must pay their vows to God so as not to stop His grace.

• Asaph said to call upon God in the day of trouble.

Look at Psalms 50:15 – “and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”  God demands prayer, an expression of our faith, from us rather than offering formal offerings to Him.

Third and final, God points out our sins of hypocrisy (Ps. 50:16-22).

What was the sin of hypocrisy of the Israelites?  Their sin of hypocrisy was that their godliness was just words and they didn’t keep the commandments of God (Park).  Look at Psalms 50:16 - “But to the wicked, God says: "What right have you to recite my laws or take my covenant on your lips?”  This is the word rebuking the hypocrisy Israelites for specializing in God's religion in words (Park).  Look at verse 17: “You hate my instruction and cast my words behind you.”  What does it mean?  The hypocrites Israelites hated God's instruction and threw God's word behind them.  Isn’t this our hypocrisy and our sin?  Although we receive the word of God when we go to the church on Sunday, aren't we threw the word behind us and went to the world to sin again God?  Why do we live in disrespect for God's word by putting the word of God behind us?  Calvin points out the cause: ‘The mark of hypocrisy religion is their lack of awe for the Word of God’ (Calvin).  The lack of awe for God makes us to hate the word of God and commit the sin of throwing it back.

                In Psalms 50, what was the reason the Israelites, who were hypocrites without fearing God, didn’t keep the commandments of God?

• The Israelites broke the 7th and 8th commandments of the Ten Commandments.

Look at Psalms 50:18 – “When you see a thief, you join with him; you throw in your lot with adulterers.”  Here, the word “When you see a thief, you joint with him” violates the eighth commandment, “You must not steal,” and the word “you throw in your lot with adulterers” is breaking the 7th commandment, “You must not commit adultery.” 

• The Israelites broke the 9th commandment of the Ten Commandments.

Look at Psalms 50:19 – “You use your mouth for evil and harness your tongue to deceit.”  The Israelites violated the ninth commandment, “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor.”

• It was a sin of not loving their brothers.

Look at Psalms 50:20 – “You speak continually against your brother and slander your own mother's son.”  This is a violation of the 6th commandment, "You must not murder."  This is because “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer” (1 Jn. 3:15).

God urged and warned the hypocrites Israelites to repent, but the Israelites misunderstood that God was indifferent to sin as they were (Ps. 50:21).  In other words, they thought that God would not judge their sins.  That was why the hypocrite Israelites continued to sin against God.  When the hypocrites continued to commit sins, God was silent, so they thought God was like them.  The Israelites were indifferent to sin.  However, God said that He would rebuke the Israelites and punished the Israelites by judging their sins one after another.  And in Psalms 50:22, God warned them: “"Consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces, with none to rescue.”  The Israelites who despised God's word and committed sins were not only forgetting God's word, but also they were forgetting God.  Therefore, God urged them to "Consider this."  This is to think about the fact that God would point out their sins and would judge them while guarding against their formalism.  If not, there would be God's wrath and discipline, and no one would deliver them.

Don’t the words of Psalms 50 spoken to the Israelites, the hypocrites, apply to us?  God has gathered us today before Him and is giving us the same word.  God is wary of our hypocrisy and points out our sins.  And He is proclaiming that He will judge our hypocrisy.  We must hear this word of God and repent our hypocrites.  And because we are grateful, we must worship God.  We must pay our vows and live a life of obedience to God's commandments.  We must live a life of true worship.

With an earnest desire to be raised up as a true worshiper, not a hypocrite, before God,

James Kim

(While being wary of formalism)