Luke 11:1-3

Luke 11:1-3 Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs.

The Lord is telling everyone to be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. To posture as one kind of person, when you are not that person in your heart is hypocrisy. People might not discern your deception, but it is well known by God, and it will be brought out into the light at judgment time. The Bible says our hearts are deceitfully wicked, and we often do play the role of the deceiver. Of course the Lord knows our hearts: we cannot fool him. Even in our prayers, He hears our hearts not our mouths. We might say we forgive our enemies, even believe it ourselves, but if our hearts or spirits haven't wholeheartedly forgiven, we are playing the role of a deceiver.

Many times in life we are not even aware we are being deceptive. We live with our deceptions so long the roles become a part of us. However, if we say one thing and do another or harbor sin in our hearts, we are hypocrites without fully recognizing the fact. The Pharisees were probably caught in that bind. But sometimes in life, we know exactly what we are doing when we play a false role. We determine in our hearts to be deceptive to gain advantage over someone or to get what we want or to be accepted by people. At times hypocrisy is unethical or even unlawful, yet we play an unjust role just to be loved by people or to have influence. We believe people will not accept us as we really are. But God loves us as we are and seeks to work in us by his Holy Spirit.

If we find our hearts dark and stained, if we play a role that is not us, manipulating people with our different faces, we need to ask God to renew our hearts, to start afresh with us, cleansing us and making us more like Jesus. With such a prayer, God will work out his salvation within us. We will not be deceivers, but lovers of mankind. Our lives will become more wholesome, more like Jesus. But we must face our own hypocrisy and deceptions. God cannot heal what we do not admit; we are freewill beings, not automatons. Confession is an important part of eternal salvation. We sometimes confess our humanity and do not understand the roles we play that are unwholesome and negative, but we don't fall into condemnation because we are his children, members of his household. As his children, we must not let sin or hypocrisy exist in our lives without confession. God does marvelous work in a soft and contrite spirit. He'll renew, strengthen, and cleanse a tender heart. However, a child of God who stands aside and says, "I don't need the Father's help with this one," will remain stagnant in the throes of sin. Come to him and He will set you free.