This Sunday we invited new and growing preachers in our church to each preach at one of our three services. They covered the next section in the Sermon on the Mount: Jesus teaching about the danger of religious hypocrisy. The Christian life is not just a bunch of religious activities, but a changed heart that is motivated differently. When we see how many of our good actions are actually motivated by looking good in front of others, we see again how precious the gospel is. Jesus, who was never a hypocrite, saves us knowing all of our poor motivations. And that produces a new motivation to be honest, sincere, and focused on God's glory instead of our own.
Application Questions
1. Where do you see hypocrisy in your own life?
2. How do the opinions of others affect you most deeply? How do you see that play out in your attitudes, emotions, and actions?
3. What would change in your life if you were focused solely on God's opinion and not the opinion of others?
4. What about Jesus and the gospel move you away from hypocrisy towards sincere godliness?
