The Peril Of Insincerity

   Insincerity means hypocrisy, deceitfulness, or untrustworthiness, a state of the human heart that needs to be avoided at all cost. Jeremiah tells us that the natural (the unsaved man) is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. Many are able to keep these hidden tendencies more or less under control, but at times, in spite of their best intentions, they'll come to light and show them up for just what they are. There is but one remedy for the deceitful heart of the natural and that is the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ which can make a new creature in Christ out of the vilest sinner.

It is displeasing in the sight of God for any one to profess to be something he is not. Jesus has the utmost sympathy for those that realized they were sinners and did what He could to bring them to acknowledge of the truth. But he had no patience for those that were not what they professed to be as the Pharisee that exalted himself praying in the temple, saying, "God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all I possess." But the publican humbled himself and called upon God to be merciful to him a sinner, and his prayer won the approval of Jesus with these words. "I tell you this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased: and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." In the twenty third chapter of Matthew Jesus condemned the scribes and Pharisees in the strongest terms for not living up to what they were professing and finished up with these words, "even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?" We see by those words how serious it is, in the sight of God, to profess to be a follower of Jesus Christ with nothing but a profession. Christ is our example and to be able to please Him, we must strive with all our might to live a life free from sin in this world.

A Rebellious Generation

Luke 11:29---An evil generation---They had rebellion in their hearts and did not want to know the truth about the divinity of Jesus, so God blinded their spiritual eyes so they could not see. It is a very serious thing to rebel and close our eyes against the truth, for God is apt to send us a strong delusion so that we would believe a lie and damned because we loved not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Verse 30---For as Jonah was a sign unto Ninevites---Just as Jonah was sent of God to the city of Nineveh to call them to repentance, so was Jesus sent of God to bring deliverance from sin to the Jews and also to the whole world.

Verse 31---The queen of the south shall rise up---She was extremely interested in learning about the wisdom of Solomon and came from afar to see him that she might learn more about this famous man. The Jews had One in their midst that was greater than Solomon and One that had the greatest possible blessing for them if they would have humbled their hearts and received Him.

Verse 32---The men of Nineveh shall rise up---The men of Nineveh must have had a love for the truth for they, one and all, gave heed to Jonah's preaching and turned from their evil ways unto the Lord. Although Jesus was a greater messenger than Jonah and He had a far more powerful message, yet they rebelled at His preaching, and would not accept His message.

None So Blind As They That Do Not Want To See

Luke 11:33---No man, when he hath lighted a candle---No one is so foolish as to put a lighted candle under a bushel and then expect to enjoy the light. But Jesus had a light, spiritually speaking, that could have brought untold joy and happiness and they were putting it, as it were, under a bushel and depriving themselves of its blessings.

Verse 34-The light of the body is the eye---When one lets the gospel open his spiritual eyes and he receives Christ into his heart, his souls will be full of light, but if his eyes is evil it will shut out the light of the gospel and his body will be full of darkness, that is, his sins, are obscuring the holy light of Christ.

Verse 36-If thy body be full of light---When our eyes are perfect we are able to properly discern every object in view and when our spiritual vision is perfect it will give grace to our every activity and we will be a shining light to the dark and evil world about us.

The Pharisee's Hypocrisy Exposed

Luke 11:38-He marveled that He had not washed---We see by this verse that the Pharisees thought more of the traditions than they did of the soul-stirring gospel of the Lord Jesus.

Verse 39---Ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup---They were exceedingly careful to observe all the washings and purifications of the outward man as commanded by the law, but gave but little heed to the cleanliness of their eternity bound soul. Just because a man appears to be clean on the outside is no sign that he is clean within. But we can be sure of this, that outward cleanliness, will not mean a thing in the sight of God where inward holiness is lacking.

Verse 40---Ye fools---How foolish it is to think that God, who created both soul and body, would be satisfied to have us pay all our attention to the outward man and then neglect the inward man or souls which is so much more valuable than out earthly body. It will soon return to mother earth, but the soul will live on forever and ever, so its welfare should be our greatest concern.

Verse 41-But rather give alms---Instead of dealing unjustly with the poor and exacting the last mite, give them of your abundance. When your possessions are consecrated to God and you are willing to help those in need, then all things will be clean unto you and the blessings of God will be upon you.

Verse 42---Woe unto you, Pharisees---They were living up to the letter of the law, but were void of the Spirit and did not have the love of God in their hearts. There can be no spiritual life without the Spirit as we read in 2 Cor 3:6-"Who hath made us able ministers of the New testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life."

Verse 43---Ye love the uppermost seats---We are not to try to put ourselves first, but in lowliness of mind we are to esteem others better than ourselves. It is the meek and the humble soul that finds favor with God.

Verse 44---Ye are as graves that appear not---That is graves that were unmarked and people walking over them were not aware of the corruption that was hidden therein. Just so the Pharisees, under the veil of hypocrisy, were covering their iniquities so that those they came in contact with did not realize how wicked they really were.

The study of the lesson should enable us to see utter foolishness of professing to be something that we are not. What if we are able to fool men? What will it profit us? We cannot fool God and sooner or later the mask will be removed and we will be known for what we are. This may not happen until the judgment, but you can just know that it will happen. There is but one safe course for the men of the earth and that is to follow the teachings of God's holy Word. It was written for the express purpose of guiding our feet during our sojourn here on the earth. If we follow its teachings wholeheartedly and sincerely we will make it safely through to heaven. If we do not follow its teachings we are sure to land in hell at the close of this life. Be wise and let God have first place in your heart and steer clear of all insincerity.