From the desk of Pastor Ben

Hypocrisy and Defilement

But He answered and said, “Every plant which My Heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted. Let the alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”         (Matthew 15:13-14)

Our Lord’s most frequent charge against the Jewish leaders concerned their hypocrisy, a sin that was so reprehensible and removed them so far from His kingdom that He told His disciples, “Let them alone.” In other words, Jesus was saying, “Stay away from them and have nothing to do with them.” That command echoed God’s statement about the idolatrous Ephraim: “Let him alone” (Hosea 4:17) — words that signified abandonment to divine judgment.

It is dangerous to hang around anyone resolutely opposed to the gospel. Even witnessing to them must happen with the utmost of caution, as it were “snatching them out of the fire” (Jude 23) and being careful not to become contaminated in the process. Christians should not even listen to “the opposing arguments of what is falsely called knowledge” (1 Timothy 6:20).

Jesus did not even waste His time debating the scribes and Pharisees. Whenever he responded to or confronted them, He simply corrected their doctrinal errors and condemned their spiritual and moral wickedness.

Believers must not engage or confront the severest of hypocrites trying to weed out of the church those who seem to be weeds. Our discernment is imperfect and could inadvertently uproot some good plants (believers) with the bad (hypocrites) (Matthew 13:29). We should not want to take ultimate judgment into our own hands, because we are not qualified and the time is not at hand. God’s truth will eventually expose hypocrites.

Ask Yourself:
It may go against our compassionate sides to hear Jesus speaking in this way, but what is the wisdom behind taking this cautious approach toward those who hold such disdain and hatred for the gospel? Why is this a better way to show ultimate compassion toward those who are spiritually resistant?