Is Hypocrisy a salvation issue, or a sanctification issue?

dms1972 said:

I hope this is the right forum for this topic? If not I will repost in another forum, if Mods let me know which would be better.

I want to ask about several things.

But first of all I want to make no bones about my own struggle with sin in my life, I still struggle with both the good I leave undone and laziness, and sometimes visiting websites that I know I should not visit, and being rather too talkative sometimes.

There is a study on the topic of Hypocrisy by James Spiegel which looks at the issue of hypocrisy from several angles. He makes a distinction between moral weakness and hypocrisy.

In my thread title I ask is it a salvation issue, or a sanctification issue? If there can be a distinction between moral weakness and hypocrisy, can there also be degrees of hypocrisy, that are not moral weakness, or is hypocrisy simply hypocrisy?

Spiegel in his book refers to Moliere's play Tarfuffe - The Imposter. In this comedy - Tartuffe is taken into the home of Orgon who shows him kindness, and while there gives the appearance of being a devout soul, but eventually as the story progresses he makes seductive advances towards Orgon's wife Elmire. Some of the other characters in the play are skeptical of Tartuffe's apparent holiness, and others such as Orgon's mother Madam Pernelle are taken in by him for most of the story.

Well to get back to the thread topic, can hypocrisy be present at times in the life of a christian, or is it only something that affects religious unbelievers?

Is there a link between deliberate sin and hypocrisy?

As I see it, it could be a salvation issue or it could be a sanctification issue.

To take a concrete example: what about being vocal on moral issues when in company of likeminded individuals, and being mostly silent when with people who are not likeminded?

My own view at the moment is that there are degrees of hypocrisy distinct from moral weakness, but that hypocrisy is like a canker, and it can worsen if its not dealt with.

One last question - how does one deal with hypocrisy if its present in oneself? How does one "see" it?

Thanks for reading, replies welcome.

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We can try to sugar coat sin as much as we want but the fact is any and all sin is a hypocritical act. That being said, only through the power of His Holy Spirit are we able to really discern the hypocrisy in our life. This is exactly what happend to me! I first ignored, then tried to justify my sin of fornication until one day BINGO! I knew I was being a hypocrite! Celibate for 5 years now.
Blessings.

All the apostles told Christ, they would die before leaving him and all left him, so were they being hypocrites?
Jesus really got on the Pharisees for being hypocrites, but they were intentional in their hypocricy, so is that the difference?
I do not want to sin, but sin over takes me and I sin. One of the big tools I use to keep from sinning is to stop trying not to sin, but fill my life doing good stuff and not have time to sin. There is always some good I could be doing.

bling said:

All the apostles told Christ, they would die before leaving him and all left him, so were they being hypocrites?
Jesus really got on the Pharisees for being hypocrites, but they were intentional in their hypocricy, so is that the difference?
I do not want to sin, but sin over takes me and I sin. One of the big tools I use to keep from sinning is to stop trying not to sin, but fill my life doing good stuff and not have time to sin. There is always some good I could be doing.

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Only the Holy Spirit can give you the will not to sin.

Maria Billingsley said:

Only the Holy Spirit can give you the will not to sin.

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The indwelling portion of the Holy Spirit, can only do what I allow Him to do, since I still have free will and can quench the Spirit. Wanting to do good and really doing good requires Godly type Love and the indwelling Holy Spirit which provides that Love.

If we do our doing in place of sin and put that on as a badge we sinned anyway in pride, which is possibly the most insidious of all sins to recognize. And if in our doings to replace sin we put on humbleness that did not come naturally then it's back to hypocricy. see the fact of the matter is we are sinners and we need the blood of Christ to wash us clean. It's not a matter of us just doing, it's doing what the Holy Spirit puts before us. And doing things that need to be done otherwise isn't sin till we put on that badge that it was in place of sin. To do "every good work" is the work of God, God inspired work.

In our daily tasks we call on the strength of God to be with us. Things go better that way. And in prayer, " don't pray as the hypocrits do" spoken of so clearly in Matthew 6:5-8 kjv but seek out not just a closet to pray in in quiet but close the door !!! I love that part.

dms1972 said:

I hope this is the right forum for this topic? If not I will repost in another forum, if Mods let me know which would be better.

I want to ask about several things.

But first of all I want to make no bones about my own struggle with sin in my life, I still struggle with both the good I leave undone and laziness, and sometimes visiting websites that I know I should not visit, and being rather too talkative sometimes.

There is a study on the topic of Hypocrisy by James Spiegel which looks at the issue of hypocrisy from several angles. He makes a distinction between moral weakness and hypocrisy.

In my thread title I ask is it a salvation issue, or a sanctification issue? If there can be a distinction between moral weakness and hypocrisy, can there also be degrees of hypocrisy, that are not moral weakness, or is hypocrisy simply hypocrisy?

Spiegel in his book refers to Moliere's play Tarfuffe - The Imposter. In this comedy - Tartuffe is taken into the home of Orgon who shows him kindness, and while there gives the appearance of being a devout soul, but eventually as the story progresses he makes seductive advances towards Orgon's wife Elmire. Some of the other characters in the play are skeptical of Tartuffe's apparent holiness, and others such as Orgon's mother Madam Pernelle are taken in by him for most of the story.

Well to get back to the thread topic, can hypocrisy be present at times in the life of a christian, or is it only something that affects religious unbelievers?

Is there a link between deliberate sin and hypocrisy?

As I see it, it could be a salvation issue or it could be a sanctification issue.

To take a concrete example: what about being vocal on moral issues when in company of likeminded individuals, and being mostly silent when with people who are not likeminded?

My own view at the moment is that there are degrees of hypocrisy distinct from moral weakness, but that hypocrisy is like a canker, and it can worsen if its not dealt with.

One last question - how does one deal with hypocrisy if its present in oneself? How does one "see" it?

Thanks for reading, replies welcome.

Click to expand...

sanctification

Is the reciprocation of our love toward God. We are sanctified with the help of the Holy Spirit (Comforter) that Jesus gives us. Sanctification means to set a part or to make holy. His Holy Spirit helps us in this process to become more like Christ. This is not a one time event; it’s a life long process (we stumble here and there). The process of sanctifying and purifying us (the works that Jesus does in the believer, and is not of ourselves) ... it is HIM working in us and through us. We are separated from the world. We are in the physical world but not of the world spiritually. Our mind (thinking) changes over time and therefore our actions also change. Our faith increases more and more as He faithfully works in us. Hebrews 12:2

hypocrisy

Matthew 7:21-23
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord (professed believers) will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Strictly speaking, sanctification is part of salvation. So the answer to the question is yes. Hypocrisy, like all sin, is a salvation issue.

But that needs to be understood twofold:

It is a salvation issue because the Law condemns us in our sin, all of our sin, and thus the verdict of the Law is that we are sinners. Each and every person is a sinner, in fact we are all hypocrites as well. There is no one who isn't guilty of hypocrisy. We are all charged guilty as sinners and hypocrites.

It is a salvation issue because the Gospel is God's word to sinners which He speaks through the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord. His word to us is forgiveness of all of our sins, of each and every single one of our trespasses. He forgives you of your hypocrisy, and declares you His beloved son or daughter. And through faith you have the full measure of Christ's righteousness given to you, you are clothed with Jesus Christ (Galatians 3:27).

Both of these words of God are true at the same time.

You are guilty, a sinner, and a hypocrite, therefore repent.
You are the guiltless and righteous saint of God in Jesus Christ, you--the hypocrite--are freely forgiven, therefore rejoice.

If we understand this, then we understand that even our deepest hypocrisy cannot destroy what we have received in Christ Jesus. The power of sin is defeated and every charge against us is dropped. And we also understand that we are sinners who need to repent, confess our sins to God boldly and freely.

Because in confessing our sins we are brought to faith by the Gospel: Your sins are forgiven, believe the good news!

Thus the danger to the Christian is not that he is a sinner and a hypocrite. The danger is that without the external word of God, God's Law and Gospel, holding the candle to our conscience and liberating us from the guilt and shame of our sin we begin to take the wheel of the ship, and our aim gets us getting blown directly into the jagged cliffs and sharp rocks.

The thing that matters here is faith. Through faith we hear and receive God's word. Through faith we believe and trust what God tells us. Through faith we cling to Jesus Christ, the Author and Finisher of our faith. Through faith we trust God's word to us in our baptism, that we are born again, we have received the Holy Spirit, the forgiveness of our sins, etc; through faith we trust God's word to us in His written word, the Scriptures; through faith we trust God's word to us in the Holy Eucharist, receiving the body and blood of Christ broken and shed for us and the forgiveness of our sins; through faith we hear God's answer to our confession, that we are forgiven and have true Absolution from Him in Christ's name.

Therefore, faith.

The thing that keeps your hypocrisy from destroying and damning you is faith. Which is not of yourself, but God's own gift to you by which you receive all that He freely gives.

-CryptoLutheran

i don't judge salvation, i instead pray for salvation to come to all. I am a saved sinner so hoping and praying for other sinners isnt difficult to understand.

dms1972 said:

I hope this is the right forum for this topic? If not I will repost in another forum, if Mods let me know which would be better.

I want to ask about several things.

But first of all I want to make no bones about my own struggle with sin in my life, I still struggle with both the good I leave undone and laziness, and sometimes visiting websites that I know I should not visit, and being rather too talkative sometimes.

There is a study on the topic of Hypocrisy by James Spiegel which looks at the issue of hypocrisy from several angles. He makes a distinction between moral weakness and hypocrisy.

In my thread title I ask is it a salvation issue, or a sanctification issue? If there can be a distinction between moral weakness and hypocrisy, can there also be degrees of hypocrisy, that are not moral weakness, or is hypocrisy simply hypocrisy?

Spiegel in his book refers to Moliere's play Tarfuffe - The Imposter. In this comedy - Tartuffe is taken into the home of Orgon who shows him kindness, and while there gives the appearance of being a devout soul, but eventually as the story progresses he makes seductive advances towards Orgon's wife Elmire. Some of the other characters in the play are skeptical of Tartuffe's apparent holiness, and others such as Orgon's mother Madam Pernelle are taken in by him for most of the story.

Well to get back to the thread topic, can hypocrisy be present at times in the life of a christian, or is it only something that affects religious unbelievers?

Is there a link between deliberate sin and hypocrisy?

As I see it, it could be a salvation issue or it could be a sanctification issue.

To take a concrete example: what about being vocal on moral issues when in company of likeminded individuals, and being mostly silent when with people who are not likeminded?

My own view at the moment is that there are degrees of hypocrisy distinct from moral weakness, but that hypocrisy is like a canker, and it can worsen if its not dealt with.

One last question - how does one deal with hypocrisy if its present in oneself? How does one "see" it?

Thanks for reading, replies welcome.

Click to expand...

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

Do a study on hypocrisy in the New Testament. Do you see any mention of any saved practicing hypocrites? Did not Jesus condemn the Pharisees for being hypocrites? Did not Jesus warn us how certain sins like looking upon a woman in lust can cause our bodies to be cast into hell fire? (See: Matthew 5:28-30).