How God Handles Hypocrites

Known for his unique ability to simplify profound truth so that it can be applied to everyday life, Adrian Rogers was one of the most effective preachers, respected Bible teachers, and Christian leaders of our time.

Thanks for joining us for this message. Here's Adrian Rogers. Howard Carter discovered the tomb of old King Tut back in the early twenties. And when Howard Carter finally broke into the tomb of one of Egypt's richest kings, he went in there and he found the casket, the sarcophagus, and it was a huge thing. I've seen it in the Egyptian museum.

Perhaps you have. And he opened that coffin, and inside was another coffin covered with gold leaf. And he opened that, and inside was a third coffin. And he opened that, and inside was one of solid gold. And when he opened the fourth, inside was King Tut. And he was wrapped in gold cloth, and he had that incredible gold mask on his face.

It is so beautiful. But when they lifted that off and took off that gold cloth, there was an old, dried, withered, dead corpse inside all of that. The outward thing did not change what was on the inside. We're dealing today with hypocrites. And many hypocrites have quite a few things on the exterior. But God doesn't look on the exterior. God looks on the heart.

God sees through all of those things that we adorn ourselves with and decorate ourselves with. We're talking today about how God handles hypocrites. Now, in chapter one, we talked about how God handles the heathen. In chapter two, we're going to see how God handles the hypocrite. In chapter one, we saw the down and out.

In chapter two, we're going to see the up and out. Because Paul, who's very smart and anointed by the Holy Spirit, knew that there were certain religious people who would listen with relish, as Paul described, God's judgment upon the heathen, those who worship bugs and creeping things. And they would say, well, we're not that way. We're not that way.

We don't do that. And so they listened with these things in mind. They were indignant at the sins of others, but indulgent about their own sins. And so in this chapter, chapter two, we're going to see how God handles the hypocrites. And if you're a hypocrite, I pray God that today you will come to the real thing because, you see, the devil had rather send you to hell from the pew than from the gutter. So I'm praying today that many will be saved.

I'm praying also that those of you who have let some hypocrite keep you from Jesus will do it no longer. Let's begin looking, if we will, here in chapter two, verse one. Therefore, thou art inexcusable.

Underscore the word inexcusable, O man. Whosoever thou art that judgest, for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself, for thou that judgest doeth the same things. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Go back, if you will, and look in chapter one and verse 32, knowing the judgment of God that they underscore the word they. And now notice in chapter two, verse one, therefore thou art inexcusable. It's easy to talk about they, but God is going to talk to thou.

What God is doing is saying, hey, don't talk about other people. It's time right now to examine yourself. I heard somewhere of a man went to the psychiatrist's office.

He had a scrambled egg on his head and a strip of bacon over each ear. He said, I came to see you about my brother. It's time that we stop thinking about they and begin to think about ourselves and examine ourselves because even those who are saved may be guilty of some hypocrisy, including the man who's speaking. False in others I can see, but praise the Lord, there's none in me. Now, we tend to want to measure ourselves by other people, but God measures himself by that perfect standard himself.

Now, look in chapter two, and it's easy to see what the theme is. It's judgment. Look in verse one, O man, whosoever thou art, that judgest another, for wherein thou judgest another? The last part of that verse, that judgest doeth the same things. Verse two, for we know that the judgment of God is according to truth. Verse three, thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them? The last part of verse three, do you think you'll escape the judgment of God? Verse five, the last part, the righteous judgment of God.

Verse 16, in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ. This is talking about judgment. This is talking about the hypocrites' judgment. It's talking about the judgment of those who judge others without ever having met the Lord themselves. Now, what is the hypocrites' judgment going to be like?

What is the basis? Three things. Number one, the hypocrites' judgment is going to be according to truth. Three times he uses the word according. Look at it in verse two. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth.

All right, just underscore that. Now go down to verse six, who will render to every man according to his deeds. First of all, according to truth, the hypocrites' judgment is according to truth.

Number two, it is according to deeds. Now go down to verse 16, in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. So the judgment is going to be according to truth, it's going to be according to deeds, and it's going to be according to the gospel. Now that's what he says the hypocrites' judgment is going to be. So we have a three-point outline, and we're going to see today how God handles hypocrites.

What's the judgment going to be like? First of all, the judgment is going to be according to truth, and therefore there will be no disguise. You see, the word hypocrite means actor. It means play actor.

That's what the word literally means. And in Jesus' time, the actors would put on disguises. If they were supposed to be happy, rather than merely acting happy, they would put on a happy face, a disguise.

If they were to be sad, they'd put on a sad face. If they were to be fierce, they were to put on a fierce face. They were wearing masks. They were wearing disguises. And Jesus said in the religious world, there are some who are hypocrites. They're actors.

They are wearing disguises. But Paul says that the judgment is going to be according to truth. God is going to pull off the mask.

There will be no disguise. Not profession, not pretension, not performance, but truth is the standard. Now, today we've forgotten truth. We have sacrificed truth for pragmatism. We don't ask, is it true? We ask, does it work? We've sacrificed truth for style. We don't say, does he or she tell the truth? Do I like him?

Do I like her? We're not interested in truth. We're interested in the stock market. We are one nation under greed rather than one nation under God. Now, we think we're smart. And did you know somebody said that if you were to take all of the knowledge, the accumulated knowledge of the world from creation to 1845 and let it measure an inch on the scale and using that standard from 1845 to 1945, it would have grown to three inches. But from 1945 to 1975, it would be as tall as the Washington Monument.

But from 1975 on, it would be out of sight. Now, knowledge is doubling, but truth never changes. Daniel said, in the last days, knowledge shall increase.

What a prophecy. But the Bible says that there are men ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. God's standard is truth. God has written a Bible. It is called the Word of Truth. God has given his Holy Spirit. He is called the Spirit of Truth. God is building his church, and the church is called the pillar and the ground of truth. God has sent his Son, and his Son is the truth.

The apostle John said, I have no greater joy than to know that my children walk in the truth. But truth has fallen in the streets today. The hypocrite's judgment, however, is going to be according to truth. God knows the truth, and God will judge every hypocrite by the truth, no matter what office he holds. Truth is to your spirit what food is to your body, what light is to your eyes, what melody is to your ears. Now, the hypocrite doesn't understand that God is going to judge according to truth, so the hypocrite, the play actor, has three fatal flaws in his thinking.

Flaw number one, he has the idea that outward appearance is all that matters. He thinks that somehow, if he can just simply appear righteous, that he will be righteous. Matthew 23, verses 25 through 28. Jesus is talking to the religious mafia of his day, and he says, Whoa unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye may clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess. The way men do dishes is not changed for 2,000 years. Old Pharisee doing the dishes, and he's just wiping the outside, and on the inside the oatmeal is crusted.

He just puts it back up there on the shelf till his wife comes and talks to him about it. Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Whoa unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but within are full of dead men's bones and of all uncleanness.

Remember old King Tut? Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but with them are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. The hypocrite thinks that all God sees is how he dresses on Sunday morning and how he sings and how he greets people and how he behaves.

And the religious people of Paul's day were in that category. Here in chapter 2, go down to verses 21 and 22 and look at it. Thou therefore, which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? Thou that preach'st that a man should not steal, dost thou steal? Thou that say'st a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? Thou that abhor'st idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? You say, well pastor, I'm not an adulterer. Matthew chapter 5 verse 28, Jesus said, if you look on a woman to lust after her, you've committed adultery with her already in your heart. You say, well, I'm not a murderer. 1 John chapter 3 verse 15 says that whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer.

You see, so many times we think that just it's the outward part that matters. But the Bible says there's no excuse and there's no escape. You know you have to pity a hypocrite because the problem with a hypocrite is on the inside, not on the outside. And so he's a pretender. You see, he doesn't have the courage to out and out serve the devil and he doesn't have the true grace to really serve the Lord.

And so he is a great big actor. He is a respectable sinner, but he is still a sinner. Now, the hypocrite is going to be judged according to truth.

His outward appearance is not going to make any difference. Here's a second mistake that the hypocrite makes, not only a mistake concerning appearance, but he also makes a mistake concerning whether or not he's getting along in life. The hypocrite thinks that if he is not being chastised, if he's not having trouble, he's right with God. He says in verse 4, And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

Are you listening to that? You see, some people have the idea that if they are not having any problems, they're right with God. They have the idea that if they're healthy, if their bank account is up, if they have no problems, that evidently God loves them and everything is fine, and they don't need to repent because look at all of these blessings. Friend, the blessings of God don't mean that you're right with God. God gives you blessings to bring you to him. It doesn't mean you don't need repentance. The Bible says that the goodness of God leads to your repentance. As a matter of fact, the goodness of God only makes your judgment more severe if you deny or fall from the goodness of God. If you're being blessed now, let me beg you to come to the Lord Jesus Christ and don't get the idea that God's goodness is an invitation to sin more because the greater the blessings, if those blessings are refused, the greater the judgment when the judgment comes. And I want to remind you that Sodom and Gomorrah were at an economic all-time high when the fire and brimstone fell.

You just read that. The Bible says that one of the marks of Sodom was not only did they commit abominations, but fullness of bread and idleness. That is, people didn't even have to work. There was so much prosperity, and that's when the fire fell because the goodness of God did not lead them to repentance. Let me give you another verse. Luke 13, verses 1 through 5. Now, there had been a calamity, and here was the calamity.

There were some people. They were walking down the street one day, and a tower fell on them, and Jesus is talking about that. And by the way, Jesus talked about contemporary affairs. And the Bible says they were present at that season, some that told him, that is, Jesus of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.

They were worshiping, and Pilate came in there and had them killed. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you nay, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you no, nay, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Now, don't get the idea that if somebody has trouble, it's because God has judged them, and if you don't have trouble, God is not going to judge you.

Jesus said whether a tower falls on you or not, if you don't repent, you're going to perish. And the hypocrite doesn't understand this. He thinks that outward appearance is all that matters.

He thinks that the absence of problems is all that matters. Now, here's the third thing that this hypocrite needs to learn. The hypocrite needs to learn that delayed judgment does not mean no judgment. Look, if you will, in verse five. But after thy hardness, an impenitent heart, rather than repenting, you have an impenitent heart, treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath, and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God.

Now, what does that mean? When God is good to you, and when God blesses a nation, and that nation hardens its heart against God, or when God blesses an individual, and that individual hardens his heart against God, God says you're just putting wrath in the bank. You're treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath.

It's one more deposit. One day the hypocrite's judgment is going to come, and God is going to say, what did you do with all of my blessings? What did you do with the prosperity I gave you? You hardened your heart.

You were impenitent. You started to put deposits in the bank of wrath. Why doesn't God judge right away? I'll tell you why God doesn't judge right away. Because God waits for all of that sin to ripen.

You see, you put it in the bank, and at the judgment you collect with compound interest. When you sin against God, your sin does not just end here. It goes on and on and on, and the ripples touch the shores of eternity. And then finally, God says there's coming a day of wrath and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God. And so the judgment is going to be according to truth. According to truth, God is going to rip off the mass, and God is going to say outward appearance doesn't matter. God is going to say the blessings that I gave you. That didn't mean you were right with God. And God is going to say just because I didn't judge you now does not mean that I will not judge you.

And any hypocrite, you're living high, wide, and handsome. You are not getting away with your sin. You're not.

You are not. After thy hardness and impenitent heart, you're treasuring up unto yourself wrath against the day of wrath and the revelation of the righteous judgment of God. Now, you're not going to escape. He says in verse 3, that thinkest thou that you will escape?

The word think is a technical word. It means have you figured out a way to escape? Do you think that somehow you... that you're going to escape the judgment of God?

You can't do it. Houdini was an escape artist, but he didn't escape death, and he did not escape judgment. Now, today, you may escape. Your sin may go undiscovered.

How many of you have ever broken the speed limit and didn't get arrested? Your sin may be undiscovered. You may be unapprehended. They may not be able to catch you. Or you may go unpunished. You may get a high-powered Washingtonian lawyer, but you will not escape the judgment of God. You will not.

You will not. Do you think? Have you connived? Are you so intelligent that you think that you shall escape?

No. God will rip off the mask. The judgment of the hypocrite is according to truth.

That's the first thing. Now, I want you to see the second thing. The hypocrite's judgment is not only according to truth, but it is according to deeds. So not only is it going to be without disguise, it's going to be without distinction. Notice it now beginning in verse 6. Who will render to every man according to his deeds? According to his deeds. Now, you see, you're not saved by works, but you will be judged by works. Somehow we get the idea that certain people, maybe Americans or maybe Baptists, have a special distinction, but we do not. Go down to verse 11. There's no respect of persons with God. No respect of persons with God.

It didn't make any difference whether you were a Jew or a Greek. Paul is going to show in Romans 3 that the entire world is guilty before God. And sometimes when I am interviewed on television, the interviewer thinks he's going to put me in a hot box, make me seem like I'm a racist, or make me seem like I'm a bigot. And so he will eventually ask this question if he's pretty shrewd. He will say, do you think a Jew without Jesus is lost?

Now, you can just imagine if you're in front of the modern, urbane audience and being interviewed like that, what a question like that says. Because if you say, yes, I believe that a Jew without Jesus is lost, you, number one, are looked at as a racist and, number two, as a bigot. Isn't that right?

Of course. If you say, no, I believe he's saved, what you have done is absolutely dishonored the Lord Jesus Christ who died for the sins of all people. Do you know what I tell a man when he asks me that question? I say, friend, I believe that one of my own children without Jesus would be lost. It doesn't matter whether he's a Jew or a Gentile. It's not a matter of race. It is not a matter of place. It is not a matter of face whether you're male or female. It is a matter of God's grace.

Do you know it or do you not? There is no respect of persons with God. Nobody is lost because he's a Jew and nobody is saved because he's a Gentile. God judges according to truth and God judges according to deeds. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. You see, so many people have the idea that God's going to grade on the curve. We're bad.

We're not as bad as somebody else. And so these religious people in chapter 2 had laid themselves out in the gutter alongside the pagan in chapter 1 and they'd measured themselves by the pagan and they said, well, I'm a little longer than the pagan and God is going to grade on the curve. But God doesn't grade on the curve. As a matter of fact, James said in James chapter 2, verse 10, for whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point the same is guilty of all. You see, God demands absolute perfection and none of us in ourselves can provide it and that's why we need the gospel. That's why we need the righteousness of God that comes by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Suppose, is there anybody here who would say that you've always kept all God's ten commandments?

Of course not. Well, you say, I've only broken one. I don't believe that, but let's suppose you'd only broken one. Here's a man dangling over a fire by a chain of ten links.

Nine of those links are made of forged steel and one of them is made of crepe paper. For whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point the same is guilty of all. The hypocrite is going to be judged according to his deeds.

Now, let me show you how this goes. First of all, by his actions. Look in verse 6. Whatever he does is going to judge him.

He's going to render to every man according to his deeds. That just means according to sins. What kind of sins? Sins of commission, sins of omission, sins of the flesh, sins of the spirit.

You see, the most respectable man, woman or boy or girl is just as lost as the worst criminal on earth without a second birth. Now, you may not believe that, but Jesus told Nicodemus, unless you're born again, you can't even see the kingdom of God. Not only verse 6 are they going to be judged according to their actions, but also they're going to be judged according to their attitudes.

Look in verses 7 and 8. To them who by patient continuance and well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality and eternal life, but unto them who are contentious, that are contentious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil to the Jew first and also of the Gentile. What is that talking about? It's talking about your attitudes. He's talking about some who come to church seeking God and the some who come to church wanting to be contentious. Hey, folks, I've been preaching long enough to know that there are people out there who are mentally arguing with me right now. You don't like me? You don't like what I preach? And your mind is saying, I think I can find some fault in what that man is saying. Friend, that'd be easy to do.

I can do that. I mean, if you come to church, if you come to the house of God or anywhere and you're looking for something to criticize, friend, you can find it starting with a man standing in the pulpit. I'm going to tell you something else. If you come looking for God today, you can find God because he's here. You're going to find what you look for. There are some who are seekers and there are some who are scorners. And the Lord says that when he comes to judge, not only is he going to judge actions, he's going to judge attitudes. Are you looking for God? Are you looking for some loophole?

Are you looking for something to criticize, something to find fault with? Well, I'll guarantee you, you'll find it. But if you come looking for God, he's here.

He's standing, knocking at your heart's door. The hypocrite's going to be judged by his actions. He's going to be judged by his attitudes. And I'll tell you what else he's going to be judged by, his advantages.

Now, here's the one that ought to frighten some of us, not only his actions and his attitudes, but his advantages. Look in verses 9 and 10 of this same thing. Ah, tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil to the Jew first and also to the Gentile. But glory, honor, and peace to every man that worketh good to the Jew first and also to the Gentile. For there's no respect of persons with God. What does that mean? Why to the Jew first?

Because he had the greater advantage. He's going to say, to the Jew is given the oracles of God, and God has blessed the Jew. And we're going to think about that in chapter 3. Look in verse 1.

What advantage then hath the Jew, or what profit is there of circumcision? Much in every way chiefly because that unto them were committed the oracles of God. They have the Word of God.

They have the Old Testament. And so therefore, unto whomsoever much is given, of the same shall much be required. You see, listen. God holds you responsible for being in this service today. God is going to judge you because of your advantage. There are millions of people on earth who sit in darkness who have never even once heard the name of Jesus. You see, God knows what you've heard.

And unto whomsoever much is given, of the same shall much be required. How sad it would be to go to hell from the jungle, but how much sadder it would be to go to hell from an air-conditioned upholstered church. How sad it would be to sing in the choir and go to hell. How sad it would be to usher and go to hell. How sad it would be to sit on the platform and go to hell. Jesus said, many will say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, when I prophesied in thy name, and in thy name cast out devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works, and then will I profess unto them, depart from me ye that work iniquity.

I never knew you. They didn't get saved to lose it. They went through the form of religion, but they were never saved. And how is the hypocrite's judgment going to be? Number one, according to truth. Number two, according to his deeds, his actions, his attitudes, his advantages. God takes all of that into account when he comes to the judgment.

Now let's come to the third way. How is God going to judge? Not only according to truth, and not only according to deeds, but here's something very strange. He's going to judge the hypocrite according to the gospel. Look, if you will, here in verse 16, in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

Now, what on earth does that mean? In the day when God is going to judge the secrets of men according to my gospel. He said it's according to truth, it is according to deeds, and now it is according to his gospel. Well, what is his gospel? Well, you don't have to guess about what the gospel is. 1 Corinthians chapter 15 verses 1 through 3, Paul said, this is the gospel that I preached unto you, how that Christ died for our sins, that he was buried, that he was raised again, the third day according to the scriptures.

That, friend, is gospel truth. And if that gospel does not save you, that gospel will judge you, because that is the gospel of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now, what does the resurrection of Jesus Christ have to do with judgment? Well, he is the judge.

The Bible says the Father judges no man, but he has committed all judgment unto the Son. The same Jesus who wants to be your Savior will one day be your judge if you do not allow him to be your Savior. But listen to me and listen well.

Everybody listen to me. You're going to meet Jesus Christ. If you do not meet Jesus Christ in salvation, you meet him in judgment. If the gospel does not save you, the gospel will condemn you.

How is that? Well, Christ is the judge. Now, you can't hold court if the judge is dead, but God raised up the judge.

And you can't hold court if the defendant is dead. And God will raise you up. You cannot crawl up in the grave and pull the dirt over your face and hide from God. The Bible says in Acts chapter 17, God has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he raised him from the dead.

What does that mean? That means that the resurrection of Jesus Christ that is meant to save you is the very resurrection that will condemn you and the hypocrite picks death from the tree of life. You see, the gospel is a saver of life unto life or death unto death. It is a two-edged sword. But, my friend, that blessed blade will cut to heal or to slay, but it is a sword today and you're going to be judged according to the gospel.

Listen, listen. It is not that you could not be saved. It is that you would not be saved. And there's the Lord Jesus in agony and blood dying upon that cross for you.

And you wrap yourself in your robes of self-righteousness and will not receive the Lord Jesus Christ. And he says one of these days God is going to reveal the secrets of the hypocrite. Notice, if you will, in verse 16, in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. What does that mean? It means secrets that have been repressed, sins that you've committed that you've forgotten about.

You've put them away. Secrets that have been repressed. Secrets will be revealed. One day God is going to reveal your heart. One day he's going to open the door and skeletons will come out of closets. The Bible says that God is keeping books and every word, every idle word, every thought, every deed, it's there. And that judgment, the judgment of the hypocrite, is going to be for many worse than the judgment of the heathen.

For under whom ever much is given, much shall be required. I'm speaking to a number of people today. You're not hypocrites, but you're not saved. Do you know why you're not saved? You're not saved because you've been looking at somebody else who claims to be a Christian. And you say, well, if that's Christianity, I don't want it. Friend, it's not Christianity. Put your eyes upon Jesus. I believe some people are going to die and go to hell because they set up late one night and watched some money-grabbing, money-grubbing evangelist. And they say they're all that way.

Friend, they're not all that way. You let some hypocrite keep you from Jesus, you'll spend all eternity with every one of them in hell. Give your heart to Jesus.

Give him all your life. Don't be whitewashed. Be washed white by the blood of Jesus.

Have reality. If you're not saved, cast yourself on the mercy of God. Don't bring yourself righteousness. Bring your sin to Jesus.

In my hand, no price I bring. Simply to thy cross I claim. Pastor, would Jesus save me today? Friend, he wants to save you. He is knocking at your heart's door and he will save you. Romans 1 says there's nobody so bad they can't be saved. Romans 2 says there's nobody so good they don't have to be saved.

Okay? Do you know what you need to do today? Give your heart to Jesus. And I want to ask you to pray this prayer. Just pray it if you're not certain that you're saved. I want you saved, Lord Jesus.

Lord Jesus, I need you. Today I open my heart. Right now I receive you as my Lord and Savior. I yield you my life. I ask you, Jesus, to save me. I give you my life.