How to Destroy a Church: Hypocrisy (1 Peter 2:1c)

"So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander" (1 Peter 2:1).

"If he gives you the grace to make you believe, he will give you the grace to live a holy life afterward." -Charles H. Spurgeon

Indeed, the same grace that saved us is the same grace that sanctifies us daily. God saved us by His grace, and by the same grace, He continually cleanses us from sin and helps us overcome it. Cleansing is what Peter calls for in this verse. We have seen already that the sins listed in this passage are sins that can destroy our fellowship with other Christians. Knowing that we should, through God's grace, be cleansed of malice and deceit - the third of these in the list is hypocrisy. 

Put simply, we cannot live double lives. That's what it means to be a hypocrite. We are called instead to live authentic and sincere lives that are faithful to Scripture. Because hypocrisy is the opposite of this, it's no surprise that the language used in the Bible to describe it is quite harsh. Jesus says that hypocrites receive no reward from God (Matt. 6:1); Paul says hypocrisy is detestable and disobedient (Titus 1:16); James says your religion is worthless if you live in hypocrisy (James 1:26; 2:14-26); and the apostle John warns that hypocrisy renders you nothing more than a liar (1 John 4:20). 

I don't think it is a mistake that Peter names hypocrisy right after deceit in this list - they go hand in hand. Deceit and hypocrisy are two branches of the same sinful weed that should never be growing in the life of one who abides in the True Vine (John 15:1-4). We must be honest about our faults and shortcomings when we have them. We must ensure that our behavior in the church and our behavior at home or in the workplace is consistently the same. This happens through a heart that is continually refreshed and transformed by God's empowering grace. So we must put away hypocrisy from among ourselves.

Seeking Christ,

Bro. Brandon G. B.

Bro. Brandon is the Associate Pastor

of Ohio Valley Baptist Church. His 

sermons, podcasts, book reviews, 

and other free ministry resources

can be found on Brandon's Desk.