Bible Study on Romans 2, verses 17 to 29, hypocrisy

 

Romans 2:17 ¶  Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God, 18  And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law; 19  And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness, 20  An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law. 21  Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? 22  Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege? 23  Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? 24  For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written. 25  For circumcision verily profiteth, if thou keep the law: but if thou be a breaker of the law, thy circumcision is made uncircumcision. 26  Therefore if the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for circumcision? 27  And shall not uncircumcision which is by nature, if it fulfil the law, judge thee, who by the letter and circumcision dost transgress the law? 28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: 29  But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

 

Here, Paul shows that he is talking specifically to what we would call an unsaved Jew. First, he lays out how a Jew of that day would feel about themselves and their standing before God. They know His will. They have His law. They are confident that they can teach the rest of us beknighted savages a thing or two. They were just like a lot of Fundamental Baptists or theologically liberal high church folks today believing they are the proverbial ‘all that and a bag of chips.’

 

Verse 21 brings us back to an accusation of self-deception, though. The most righteous Jew or works-salvation Christian believes that he or she is holy and righteous but the fact remains;

 

Ecclesiastes 7:20  For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not.

 

Paul will reinforce this soon. The Jews of Paul’s day claimed to be righteous but were just as wicked as the Gentiles. In the same way, Fundamentalist Baptists make a mockery of our faith in front of the world with hundreds of pastors, youth pastors, and other workers charged criminally with sexual abuse in the United States. Many Baptists show nothing to the world but fear and/or hypocrisy regarding their walk with God. These very things that Paul writes can be forwarded in time and although I’ve heard a Baptist actually say he knew someone was a Christian by the fact that he kept his lawn nice and his car cleaned as part of the speaker’s standard of righteousness. I’ve heard far more ridiculous things.

 

It is foolish to say we are justified by our righteousness when we violate God’s standard of righteousness in thought and deed so often in a day’s time. Paul relates how the Jew without Christ is a pure phony and would be better off not being circumcised than to violate God’s Law based on the testimony the Jew often expresses before the Gentiles. If you believe you are justified before God by your good nature and your good deeds and your good intent you are of all people a sorry fool. As Paul next explains though he is not saying that being a Jew is meaningless or worthless.

Bible Study on Exodus 32, verses 1 to 6, pt. 2, the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play

 

This is a return to Egypt in a religious sense. The ensuing nudity and orgy was in keeping with the sexual aspects of Ancient Near Eastern religion. See verse 25 in this chapter coming up.

To explain further, in ancient Greece and Rome orgia was a sacred word denoting worship in the mystery cults such as that devoted to Dionysus. It included dancing, singing, and drinking as well as promiscuous sexual behavior. You cannot underestimate the sexual perversion of ancient religion after the Flood. The ancient Egyptians practiced every kind of perversion in their religion.

This was an abomination to God and a corruption of His will for mankind to enjoy the physical bond between a husband and a wife. Below is a summary of mankind’s religious history, from Romans, emphasizing the descent from idolatry to perversion.

Romans 1: 19 ¶  Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: 21  Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God,

neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, 23  And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. 24  Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through

the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: 25  Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. 26  For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27  And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. 28  And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29  Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30  Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31  Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32  Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

 

Notice in verse 5 that Aaron is mingling this pagan worship with the worship of Jehovah God, the LORD. This is something that I discussed before as absolutely forbidden.

You can imagine God’s wrath as He is about to psychologically prepare Moses for what Moses is about to see. By God expressing a rage and alleged intentions to destroy the Hebrew people He affords Moses the opportunity to plead for mercy as we will see.

Bible Study on Romans 2, verses 1 to 16, part 3, God shall judge the secrets of men by Christ

 

14  For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 15  Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) 16  In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

 

Paul seems to be reflecting also a sentiment made by Peter regarding those who we would not regard as being in the fold.

 

Acts 10:34 ¶  Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: 35  But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

 

It is likely here, though, in this passage in Romans 2 that Paul is not even referring to the church of God as he makes a distinction elsewhere of three groups before God.

 

1Corinthians 10:32  Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:

 

In fact, this appears to be the foundation, what we have read, upon which Paul builds his argument for justification through Christ alone. If he is referring to unsaved, self-righteous Jews and commenting on unsaved Gentiles who follow the Law without even knowing it is the Law with no mention of the Church of God in the passage we can then see a pattern to Paul’s argument. Notice his interaction with the Jews at Rome.

 

Acts 28:17 ¶  And it came to pass, that after three days Paul called the chief of the Jews together: and when they were come together, he said unto them, Men and brethren, though I have committed nothing against the people, or customs of our fathers, yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans. 18  Who, when they had examined me, would have let me go, because there was no cause of death in me. 19  But when the Jews spake against it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar; not that I had ought to accuse my nation of. 20  For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you: because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain. 21  And they said unto him, We neither received letters out of Judaea concerning thee, neither any of the brethren that came shewed or spake any harm of thee. 22  But we desire to hear of thee what thou thinkest: for as concerning this sect, we know that every where it is spoken against.

 

    23 ¶  And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening. 24  And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not. 25  And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, 26  Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: 27  For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. 28  Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it. 29  And when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had great reasoning among themselves.

 

    30 ¶  And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, 31  Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.

 

So, Paul is preaching here, after the review of the religious history of mankind, about the unsaved but self-righteous Jew as part of an argument that salvation from an eternity of agony and loss can be found only through Christ, the visible image of the invisible God. See how he greets the church at Rome early in the first chapter and then proceeds to expound on the religious history of mankind and then goes on with a short dissertation about those who have the Law and are judged by it and those who do not have the Law whose conscience would bear witness against them. But, then Christ is the ultimate judge.

 

A preacher once said that the sound of a man falling into Hell is, “AAAAA-mennnn!” The point is that no one has an excuse.

 

My conclusion for this passage is that Paul is speaking about the self-righteous Jew and the lost Gentile and the hopelessness of both without Christ. And this will seem to be borne out in the next passage.  

Bible Study on Exodus 32, verses 1 to 6, Up, make us gods

 

Exodus 32:1 ¶  And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. 2  And Aaron said unto them, Break off the golden earrings, which are in the ears of your wives, of your sons, and of your daughters, and bring them unto me. 3  And all the people brake off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them unto Aaron. 4  And he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. 5  And when Aaron saw it, he built an altar before it; and Aaron made proclamation, and said, To morrow is a feast to the LORD. 6  And they rose up early on the morrow, and offered burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings; and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and rose up to play.

 

These people who have spent so long in Egypt with the worship of heathen gods want Aaron to make gods for them to worship. That is what they have known for hundreds of years and they are quick to abandon the singular devotion to the magnificent God who created them and called them out of Egypt with such mighty signs. This is a problem for Christians as we are often not willing to wait for God to do something in our lives and rather quickly began looking backwards into the things that we leaned on before we came to Christ.

As far as they were concerned, Moses might have died on the mountain. Aaron is either a creature of public opinion, maybe afraid of the masses, or he also doubts whether or not Moses will return. So, he calls for their earrings.

Earrings had a special significance, which I pointed out in Genesis. Jewelry played a part in ancient worship. Earrings were not merely ornamentation for both men and women but were, scholars tell us, sometimes amulets and charms to protect the openings of the face and head from entry by evil spirits. They were clearly part of the idol worship of the ancient world, the spiritual system that developed after the Flood.  If you have difficulty seeing that side of facial jewelry just look at the hundreds of occult earrings on a website like Etsy.com. Some verses of note regarding men and women wearing earrings and of a possible link to their occultic practices are;

Genesis 35:4  And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods which were in their hand, and all their earrings which were in their ears; and Jacob hid them under the oak which was by Shechem.

Judges 8:24  And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.) 25  And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.

In the passage in Genesis, chapter 35, and here in Exodus we have a very clear indication that something linked earrings to the spirit world.

Verse 4 is an astounding statement that makes Aaron worthy of death. Of course, if you think about it, we do very much the same thing when we say, “good luck!” or, “oh, how lucky you were.” When we, even absent-mindedly, attribute our good fortune or our trouble to something or someone other than God we do blaspheme His name and diminish the glory due Him.

Malachi 2:2  If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart.

Aaron made a molten calf. The calf/bull was a commonly worshipped as a god in the Ancient Near East and in Egypt. While Moses was receiving what may have been the introduction of the alphabet over pictographic writing the Hebrews were falling down to worship the object symbolized by the pictographic rendering of a calf, a young bull. Aleph, the first letter of Hebrew, is derived from the pictographic representation of the young bull. Alpha, the Greek letter, was derived from Aleph. With the ‘alpha-bet’ God removed the pictures that were worshipped to letters that represented thoughts and ideas only rather than sacred objects representing thoughts and ideas.

Bible Study on Romans 2, verses 1 to 16, part 2, the self-righteous Christian

 

Here, Paul seems to be talking about someone who thinks of themselves as one of God’s people, worthy to dispense judgement on the sinner when Paul suggests the self-righteous are simply engaged in self-deception. We know when God’s wrath and righteous judgment will be poured out and when every man and woman is held accountable for their deeds.

 

Revelation 20:11 ¶  And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12  And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

15  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

 

For how can you truly have received Christ if the very things that God listed through Paul in Romans, chapter 1, are traits that identify who you are? Many of those who identify themselves as Christians have deceived themselves that a 1-2-3 repeat after me prayer is enough for salvation when there is no repentance in the heart.

 

While to some Paul here appears to be preaching a religion of works it is more likely, in my estimation based on the total body of his writings, that he is showing the religious minded person that there are behaviors that characterize the saved as well as the lost. If you are evil you are as damned without the Law if you don’t have it as you are judged by the Law if you have it, and no one is spared.

 

For how can you brag about your position in Christ as opposed to those who are not saved by Him; atheists, Muslims, Hindus, and the ubiquitous “other” of all types whom you hold in contempt when they, without God’s true Bible or standard, manage to behave more Godly than you do? If you have known many atheists, Muslims, Hindus, homosexuals, etc. etc. meaning anyone of whom you don’t approve you will have met many with a higher standard of good than many so-called Christians you have met. I’ve met Muslims that are more concerned about sin in their lives than many Christians and atheists with a perfect credit rating and a good reputation for kindness and charitable giving.

 

The conscience of every man or woman on earth bears witness to God’s standard and that has been the case since Noah and sons walked off the Ark. Every person in their heart of hearts knows what sin is, having some knowledge of God the creator’s standards. Notice my comments on a passage in Genesis 7. Long before the Law was given to Moses there was an understanding of God’s standard of clean and unclean animals just as Abram knew to honor God at an altar and Job understood sacrifices for sin. There was a knowledge of God’s standards which became corrupted and which understanding He renewed in the Law given to Moses. Clean animals were brought into the ark by sevens and unclean by twos.

 

For evangelicals who separate the Great White Throne judgment from the Judgment Seat of Christ as the former being of the unsaved and the latter for the saved understand that even at the Judgment Seat of Christ, if that is not the same as the Great White Throne judgment, our works are judged although we are saved from fire.

 

Romans 14:10  But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.  11  For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. 12  So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. 13  Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.

 

1Corinthians 3:11 ¶  For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12  Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; 13  Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. 14  If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15  If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

 

2Corinthians 5:10  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

 

However, keep in mind that historical commentators like Matthew Henry regarded the Great White Throne judgment as another phrase for the Judgment Seat of Christ. Remember there is little evidence in scripture itself for two judgments. See;

 

Daniel 12:1 ¶  And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.2  And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

 

Either way, the person who is judged, if they are trusting Christ, is saved and the person who rejects Christ is damned although we believe that the raptured Christian is judged at a different time, the Judgment Seat of Christ, and the Great White Throne is reserved for the unsaved dead, do we not?

Bible Study on Exodus 31, verses 12 to 18, part 2, the sabbath, a day of rest

 

Later in Exodus the command will be given by Moses that not a fire was to be lit in their dwellings on the Sabbath day. We can imagine how literally this command was not followed. In their wanderings God even commanded a person collecting sticks be executed for violating the Sabbath.

Numbers 15:32  And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. 33  And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. 34  And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him. 35  And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. 36  And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses.

 

The command was fairly straightforward, perhaps one of the oldest labor laws known to man.

Deuteronomy 5:13  Six days thou shalt labour, and do all thy work: 14  But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, nor thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thine ox, nor thine ass, nor any of thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates; that thy manservant and thy maidservant may rest as well as thou.

 

So, why, you ask yourself, was God so strict with the Hebrews in the wilderness but Jesus, who was and is God in the flesh, not as strict with his Pharisee host on the Sabbath? What is the Holy Spirit trying to tell us? Jesus told a man to pick up his former bed and carry it on the Sabbath day in John 5:8 which greatly disturbed the Jews.

 

By the time that Jesus walked the earth in human flesh in the first century the Jews had developed hundreds of laws regarding work but, as revealed by the verses about Jesus being invited to a meal on the Sabbath, exceptions were made.

Many Christian faith traditions tried to call Sunday the Christian Sabbath all the while making it not a day of rest but a day of obligation. The truth is that early Christians, as history provides evidence, worshipped before dawn on Sunday and then went to work. Sunday was not a day off from work for three hundred years after Christ. If it were truly the Christian Sabbath then from sundown Saturday to sundown Sunday you would do nothing, not even light a candle in your home.

Moving on, the Ten Commandments were written with the finger of God.

 

Deuteronomy 9:10  And the LORD delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the LORD spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.

 

Notice how it was apparent when God’s hand was directly on something that happened?

 

Exodus 8:19  Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.

 

Psalm 8:3  When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;

 

Daniel 5:5  In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand, and wrote over against the

candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. 6  Then the king’s countenance was changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees smote one against another… 23  But hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords, thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know: and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified: 24  Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this writing was written.

Luke 11:18  If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. 19  And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. 20  But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.

Bible Study on Romans 2, verses 1 to 16, when you judge another you condemn yourself

 

Romans 2:1 ¶  Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. 2  But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. 3  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? 4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? 5  But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; 6  Who will render to every man according to his deeds: 7  To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: 8  But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, 9  Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; 10  But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile: 11  For there is no respect of persons with God. 12  For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; 13  (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. 14  For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 15  Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;) 16  In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.

 

At first glance, and bear with me please, and from reading various commentaries from different historical Christian leaders in Paul’s argument he now, after explaining the history of man’s willful depravity and those who take delight in evil, warns the reader of hypocrisy for judging people, condemning them, while doing the same things that are cursed by God.

 

Jesus passed judgment on such hypocrisy.

 

John 8:1 ¶  Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. 2  And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and  taught them. 3  And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, 4  They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. 5  Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? 6  This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. 7  So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. 8  And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. 9  And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10  When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? 11  She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.

 

He also warned His followers on the dangers of judgment, the fact that when you point at someone with one finger that you have three pointing back at you. Unbelievers are not so stupid that they cannot see your hypocrisy and turn and attack you for your inconsistency.

 

Matthew 7:1 ¶  Judge not, that ye be not judged. 2  For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. 3  And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

4  Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? 5  Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye. 6  Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.

 

The self-righteous hypocrite does not escape the judgment of God. Verse 4 asks if you lightly regard God’s mercy and patience, hold it in contempt, when that very thing gives you time and leads you to repent of your wicked ways.