A hypocrite: Someone who views another person as being more sinful than them self.
Most people misunderstand what a “hypocrite” is. Most people think a
hypocrite is someone who preaches one thing and then does another. That is
not a hypocrite; that is called a SINNER, which is what we all are.
Most people are big time hypocrites. When we view someone as being worse than we are, and we magnify that person's sins, finding fault in them, we are condemning that person. The Bible condemns every one of us as being guilty sinners, deserving of hellfire. We have no authority nor right to condemn anyone. Romans 3:23, "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." We're all guilty.
I am the biggest sinner I know, and if you'll be honest with yourself, you are too. If you disagree with that, then you have not realized how sinful you truly are in God's eyes. James 2:10 states that committing even one sin makes a person GUILTY of ALL in the eyes of God. We all deserve to burn in the fires of Hell for all eternity.
Oh listen my friend, do you have any idea just how sinful you and I are? Please read this brief excerpt from Jonathan Edwards' famous sermon, SINNERS IN THE HANDS OF AN ANGRY GOD...
“The God that holds you over the pit of hell, much as one holds a spider, or some loathsome insect over the fire, abhors you, and is dreadfully provoked: his wrath towards you burns like fire; he looks upon you as worthy of nothing else, but to be cast into the fire; he is of purer eyes than to bear to have you in his sight; you are ten thousand times more abominable in his eyes, than the most hateful venomous serpent is in ours. You have offended him infinitely more than ever a stubborn rebel did his prince; and yet it is nothing but his hand that holds you from falling into the fire every moment. It is to be ascribed to nothing else, that you did not go to hell the last night; that you was suffered to awake again in this world, after you closed your eyes to sleep. And there is no other reason to be given, why you have not dropped into hell since you arose in the morning, but that God's hand has held you up. There is no other reason to be given why you have not gone to hell, since you have sat here in the house of God, provoking his pure eyes by your sinful wicked manner of attending his solemn worship. Yea, there is nothing else that is to be given as a reason why you do not this very moment drop down into hell.”
SOURCE: SINNERS IN THE HANDS OF AN ANGRY GOD! by Jonathan Edwards; preached in Enfield, Connecticut; July 8, 1741
Amen! Now with the words of Jonathan Edward's in mind, it should be obvious to you just how hypocritical it is to focus on the sins and faults of others. We are the biggest sinners! Remember, anytime you point your finger at someone else, there's three fingers pointing back at you. Hypocrites are finger pointers. Please don't be a finger-pointer. We're no better than anyone else.
Let us not confuse preaching against sin with condemning someone as being a worse sinner than we are. We are all horrible sinners deserving of hellfire. God commands each believer to refute all works of darkness (Ephesians 5:11). We are commanded to rise up and stand against the evildoers and workers of iniquity (Psalm 94:16). This is quite different than condemning someone on a personal level. Preachers are expected by God to preach uncompromisingly against sin, without apology. Yet, even the mightiest of preachers who walk closest with the Lord are still vile sinners saved by God's undeserving grace. It is tragic how a preacher who preaches against sin can mess up one time and his reputation is ruined for the rest of his life, while the most vile and godless of sinners indulge in unrepentant wickedness and are continually praised and honored as icons by a heathen society.
If someone is going around the neighborhood stealing hubcaps off people's cars, I am not judging or condemning him to expose what he is doing, because it is wrong. It is no different with abortion, witchcraft or homosexuality. The Bible condemns these sins. They are against God's Law. We are not judging or condemning anyone to remind them of God's Law, anymore than it would be wrong to remind someone that it's against the law to steal people's hubcaps. Homosexuals and abortionists accuse Christians of being judgmental, but that's just as absurd as saying one shouldn't expose a thief in the neighborhood. A hypocrite is not the one preaching against sin, it's the one who focuses on the faults of the preacher in an attempt to justify their own sins. Hypocrisy is synonymous with self-righteousness.
I preach against sin, many times stepping on my own toes as well. Someone needs to rise up for God against the wickedness of our time. That is what Christian men are supposed to do. Taking a stand against sin and evil is not just a calling for ministers, it is a command for all believers.
Again, a hypocrite is someone who views another person as being more sinful than them self. It is not our place as believers to look down on others, for we are just as sinful in God's eyes. It is not our place to condemn anyone for their sins, for the Word of God condemns all of us as being guilty before God. We ought to preach the Scriptures with love, humility and without apology to a lost and dying world in need of salvation.
