Manifestation of hypocrisy

	IN MATTHEW 6:5, this is what our Lord Jesus Christ says—“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.”Here, our Lord Jesus Christ is teaching the Christians that, whenever they pray, they must not do what the hypocrites do. These hypocrites are fond of standing as they pray in synagogues and street corners because they want to be seen by people. Please, bear in mind that the main issue here is, they pray “to be seen by other people.” And for this reason, Jesus Christ forbade His Christian followers to pray to pray if being seen by others. Otherwise, they will not merit any reward from God. Christ said, “Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.”In praying, our Lord Jesus Christ prescribed a definite manner, which must be followed by the Christians. This is written in Matthew 6:6—“But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.”It is clear that Christ is commanding us to pray in secret, and the only parties that must know about is are God and the suppliant.This is the reason why, we can say that, what most of the religious organizations today are doing is wrong, especitheir ally those who have radio and television programs. They pray while in front of a television camera. That is a clear manifestation of hypocrisy. In other words, if praying, while standing up, in synagogues and street corners is already against the will of God, what more if you are going to pray over radio and television.   ASIDE FROM PRAYING, there are two other things that Jesus Christ forbids the Christian from doing openly. It can be read in Matthew 6:2-4, 16— “Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth. … Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.”The other gesture that Christ doesn’t want the Christians to do in public is the giving of alms, or the act of helping others. During the time of Christ, there were hypocrites who even blew trumpets whenever they gave alms, or whenever they helped others. They advertised their acts of charity. And, should the same thing will be done now, definitely, our Lord Jesus Christ will despise that. Remember, it was He, Himself, who commanded that, whenever you give alms, “let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.” And surely, our Father who sees in secret will reward you.Aside from the giving of alms, fasting is another act that God wants you to do secretly. Whenever we fast, God doesn’t want us to imitate the hypocrites, or the pretenders, because they deliberately disfigure their faces so that the people would know that they are fasting. And for this reason, they must not expect any reward from the Father. As mentioned– “Verily I say unto you, they have their reward.” Now, let us find out what is God’s advice to Christians who will go fasting? This is what Matthew 6:17-18 says— “But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly.” From this verse, we can see how the hypocrites pray, give alms, and fast. They do those things with utmost superficiality and hypocrisy. And Christ doesn’t want us to imitate them because hypocrisy is against the will of God. IF YOU HAVE QUESTION TO ASK REGARDING FAITH OR ANYTHING! YOU BETTER ASK BROTHER ELISEO F. SORIANO KNOWN AS THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL AND SENSIBLE PREACHER IN OUR TIME These are the steps to tune in to the podcast: 1. log on to www.talkshoe.com 2. create your own account 3. after installing the talkshoe software, click “LIVE NOW” tab 4. look for Brother Eli’s podcast entitled “The Brother Eli Soriano Truth Pod“ 5. click on “listen, chat, and talk” *please be advised that it is a must that everyone who will be calling in the podshow should be wearing a headset to avoid feedbacks and echoes. Happy listening! Sincerely in Christ, Bro. Jan Michael

~ by truth Lover on November 16, 2007.