2010-08-05T09:48:43-05:00 GCI info@gospel.com /feeds/topics/hypocrisy/ http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%203:7&version=NIV 2010-08-05T09:48:43-05:00 John the baptist and Jesus didn't have much good to say about the Pharisees, the religious rulers who hounded him with continual efforts to trip up his ministry. Here John calls them a "brood of vipers"--an apt description. http://hutchcraft.com/a-word-with-you/your-most-important-relationship/the-choice-you-will-never-forget-6068 2010-04-14T15:19:27-05:00 On Judgment Day, it will be all about Jesus and what you did with the Man who died in your place to pay for all the sins of your life. He didn't stay dead. Three days after He died, He walked out of His grave under His own power. So He's alive, and you will see Him at the end of your journey. The only thing that will matter at that moment will be what you did with Jesus. God won't care what you did with Christianity, but He'll base your whole eternity on what you did with Jesus. http://gospel.com/blog/index.php/2009/11/17/temptation-not-just-for-the-rich-and-famous/ 2009-11-18T11:02:49-05:00 Not a season goes by that we don’t hear of some public figure’s fall from grace. A famous pastor is exposed as a hypocrite. A politician’s career is engulfed by scandal. We watch, and we wonder at the many ways in which sin brings down the high and mighty. But we're not so immune to temptation as we might like to think... http://gospel.com/blog/index.php/2009/11/13/im-not-superstitious-am-i-a-christian-perspective-on-friday-the-13th/ 2009-11-13T16:41:31-05:00 Today is Friday the 13th. Does that make you nervous? Did you glance anxiously over your shoulder on your way in to work this morning? Carefully avoid stepping on sidewalk cracks or walking under ladders? Christians aren't superstitious... are they? http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark%207:8&version=NIV 2009-09-27T14:30:54-05:00 A constant danger for Christians is that they'll forget the simple gospel of Jesus Christ and get caught up in man-made rules and traditions. This tendency to mistake man-made religion for genuine spirituality was a problem in Jesus' day, and it's still a problem today. http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2023:33&version=KJV 2009-09-18T12:20:58-05:00 Confronting the hypocritical religious leaders, Jesus condemns them bluntly and forcefully, demanding to know how they expect to escape damnation with their current lifestyle and mindset. http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2023:27-28&version=NIV 2009-09-11T12:04:40-05:00 Jesus compared to the Pharisees to beautiful tombs--they look fine on the outside, but inside there's just death and decay. http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2023:26&version=NIV 2009-09-10T16:36:40-05:00 Jesus exhorts the religious leaders of the day to focus on the inside, not the outside--that is, to worry first about the true state of their heart and soul instead of just obsessing over the outward appearance of holiness. http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2023:28&version=NIV 2009-09-04T12:33:34-05:00 Jesus compares the pharisees to white-washed tombs and tells them they are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. In general, Jesus' harshest words were reserved for religious leaders who had lead their people astray. http://biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%207:5&version=NIV 2009-08-27T09:59:12-05:00 What makes a hypocrite? A hypocrite condemns others for their perceived faults while ignoring his own. He holds others to a standard that he himself doesn't live up to.