Religious Hypocrisy in America: Matthew 23

“The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things and do not do them” (Matt. 23:2-3, NASB).

When I watch the news, I am more aware of the hypocrisy that exists in our country. There is much hypocrisy in America perpetuated by religious leaders, politicians, community leaders, educators, and average everyday citizens. It is hard to distinguish between sincere people and the numerous hypocrites that fill our population today. In this article I want to make a few comments on religious hypocrisy. This does not mean that all hypocrites are religious people. Rather, I am talking about people that use religion as a basis for the positions that they take on matters that they are interested in and promoting. It may be the pastor, the atheist, or anyone that refers to religion as their motive for taking a stand on any given issue. In Matthew 23 Jesus points out that the religious leaders are hypocrites. We will use Jesus’ teaching as the basis for saying that there is religious hypocrisy in America today.

Let us begin by defining the words “hypocrite” and “hypocrisy.” The word hypocrite is taken from Greek performances in a play. The actor dresses us as if he/she is one person so that they can disguise the real person. It is appearing to be one person when you are really someone else. Hypocrisy is acting one way to appear as someone that is not your true self so that you can deceive others. So, Jesus is talking about how the religious leaders are interpreting the scriptures in order to deceive the people. They may be saying the right things for the wrong reasons. They say things and do things so that they appear to be righteous, but a close scrutiny of their actions will prove that they are saying one thing while doing something else. Hypocrisy also includes doing the right thing for the wrong reasons. In this case religious leaders are doing the right thing, but they are not doing so for the purpose of glorifying God. Instead, they are doing things to bring attention to themselves so that they can promote themselves and their own agendas. How does this teaching by Jesus apply to hypocrisy in America? What motivates me to address this issue? Let’s begin.

I have long thought about the hypocrisy that exists in America by all sorts of groups. When it is convenient people will quote scripture, make claims about whether or not an action or a position taken is moral or immoral. The most recent incident that I took notice of was seeing a group of pastors taking issue with the political leaders. In Tennessee there is an attempt to pass a law that will allow citizens to own and carry a weapon without having received any training in the use of the weapons, and they will not be required to go through a background check. The governor of Tennessee, Bill Lee, is in favor of this legislation, and it appears that he is likely to sign the bill into law. The pastors hold a press conference to voice their objections to the proposed law, and I believe that the pastors are being hypocrites. Now, I say this about the pastors not because they are taking the stand that they are taking. I agree with them, and I agree with the reasons that they give. So why do I say that they are hypocrites?

It is because of the methods that they use. It’s about the fact that they appear to be pious holy men of God that use the scriptures to be the basis of all life in the public society. It is because I see them doing something in public that they do not do in their own churches. It is because they are quoting scripture to support their position on this particular issue while totally ignoring the scriptures on other issues. It’s about using the scripture in an attempt to persuade a society in which the larger percentage of people in the population does not base their lives on the scriptures. At the same time they ignore scripture on issues that they do not even address in their own churches.

These pastors and preachers are leaders of African American churches. So, before I go any further, let me make it clear that I am a seventy-three year old African American male, heterosexual, raised by traditional conservative Black Baptist doctrine. Let’s continue. These pastors are concerned about social justice, violence and death in the African American community. They are concerned that while Black people that are unarmed are shot down by trigger happy white police persons on the grounds that they fear for their lives when encountering Black and brown people. Yet, little was done when a mob of white protesters attacked the nation’s capital armed with assault type firearms and other weapons. They threatened the lives of elected officials and destroyed government property. The pastor’s concerns are legitimate, but they are more concerned about the life of Black people than they are about the life of every person regardless of their human status. This is hypocrisy. So, let me narrow the conversation to two issues.

The first issue is life. If you really care about life as Jesus does, you are concerned about all life. You make no distinction between the life of an unarmed Black man and the life of a defenseless Black woman at the mercy of a Black man. Yet, Black pastors are outspoken when a Black man with a criminal record resist arrest and is killed by a white policeman. They have nothing to say in their own churches about the issues that contribute to the lifestyle of these Black male victims. Nothing is said about ill advised marriages, children born out of wedlock, divorce, adultery, and fornication, all contributors to the threat of life in the African American communities in which these churches serve. Instead of addressing these issues from the scripture in the churches that they pastor, they quote the scriptures that help support their own agendas. This is hypocrisy.

The second issue is social justice. Social justice is not a biblical term. The scriptures address the issue of justice. You might say that social justice is one part of justice or one form of justice. You are politically correct, but you are biblically ignorant, meaning that you lack knowledge of what the bible says. The bible is the written word of God. This does not mean that the writers of the bible are writing word for word what God dictates them to right. Rather, the writer is inspired by the Holy Spirit to write in their own words and language what the spirit of God reveals to their mind. Since God is eternal, sovereign, and immutable, His word is applicable for all time. His word cannot be resisted or altered. His word is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. Thus, since the bible never talks about social justice, justice in the mind of God is not separated along lines of any particular aspect of justice.

Justice is of God. God determines what justice is and what injustice is not. If you do injustice in one area, you are guilty of injustice in all areas. Jesus shows us this truth when He says: “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law and the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Matt. 6:17-18, NASB). Jesus is warning that the righteousness of scribes and Pharisees based on their own interpretation of the Law and their practices do not meet the requirements of God for righteousness. James writes, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point has become guilty of all” (Jas. 2:10, NASB). It matters not at which link in a chain is broken, the whole chain is broken and become unable to function as it was intended. Justice is of God and the one that would do justice must be righteous; they must be right with God. You cannot separate justice and righteousness. This is seen in numerous Old Testament passages where righteousness and justice are linked together. “For I have chosen him, so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring upon Abraham what He has spoken about him” (Gen.18:19, NASB). “But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:24, NASB). You cannot do justice and not be righteous. Thus, it is hypocrisy when we demand justice form others when we fail to be righteous ourselves.

It is hypocrisy when religious people pick and choose when to use scripture to support their own agendas and at the same time ignore or fail to use the scriptures to help the people that they are leading to become righteous before God. I am not insensitive to the truth that it is more likely that a Black man will be killed than a white man by the law enforcement personnel in our society. I cannot demand justice from a white dominated society while at the same time I fail to teach my own Black people the ways of God. If I do this, I am guilty of hypocrisy.