From the Pastor’s Desk  
Tabernacle Internal Worship vs. Hypocrisy Lesson 3
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Manchaca Bible Fellowship
June 10 2001 Bible Lessons
Operation Outreach

To have a proper understanding of the Tabernacle and its service, we need to have a clear understanding of God's purpose for the Tabernacle. There are several stated aspects of God's purpose for the Tabernacle. If we do not start with God's purpose, we will have the same tendency as the Old Testament Jews to misuse, misapply and misdirect the instructions concerning the Tabernacle and its service.

The Tabernacle and its service were designed by God to capture and direct the minds and thought processes of the observers and worshipers. However, if the human thought process is allowed to wander and is not centered on God's clear presentation, then the imagination can develop many false teachings, thereby establishing immoral and non-Biblical actions. This very thing happened to the Old Testaments Jews, and continues to happen to many students of the Bible, even to this day.

In viewing the Tabernacle and its service, it is easy for the human mind to be so drawn to the structure and the details of the instructions for service that the purpose and function intended by God is missed.

By and large, the Old Testament Jews became obsessed with the structure and the instructions for service, and they DID miss God's purpose and message. To the Israelites, the Tabernacle and its service became more an idol, than a picture of the coming Messiah and instructions for their walk in holiness.

The Jews felt that simply being the custodians of the Tabernacle and the Law somehow made them "better" than other humans. As a result, the very use of the Tabernacle and the performance of its services became sins of the greatest magnitude.

As we look at the divine commentary on this matter, may we remember that, as New Testament Believers, it is equally as easy for us to become obsessed with the external and find ourselves in sin of like or greater degree than the Old Testament Jews.

Matthew 15:7"Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. 9 'And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' "

The Holy Spirit through the Old Testament prophets often gave sharp rebukes to the Jews, because they had an outward form of worship, BUT their heart attitude was not pleasing to God. The Holy Spirit through the New Testament writers are equally hard on Christians who practice the same type of things as the Jews in the Old Testament. Over and over again throughout the entire Bible, the Holy Spirit tells us that heart intent or motive is the most important human factor in worship and service.

Proverbs 21:27 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination; how much more when he brings it with wicked intent!
Hypocrite = (Greek) A dissembler; An interpreter of dreams who acts out the interpretation; A counterfeit; A person who assumes, speaks or acts under a feigned character (from which we get "stage actor").
Dissemble = (Webster) To hide under a false appearance; To conceal with intent so as to deceive; (A person was so convinced of the truth of a certain proposition that they "dissemble" the facts against it.) To conceal facts, motive, intentions or feelings under a pretense.
Dissembler = (Webster) One who dissembles by saying one thing, while knowing in their mind that it is a lie.

Please keep in mind, as we studying the Tabernacle and its service, we need to observe BOTH God's purpose for it, AND the human misuse of the same. In that way, we will have real insight into the proper form and reality of our worship, service and walk of faith. We need to keep in mind that the people to whom Christ is speaking in Matthew 15:7-9 were not skid-row down-'n-outers. These people were not even "nominal" or casual church attendees.

These people:

  1. Were the most respected people in the whole country.
  2. Were the best educated
  3. Were the political and religious leaders.
  4. Knew the Bible better than others.
  5. Prayed more than others.
  6. Went to "church" more than others.
  7. ETC., Etc., etc...........

Even Christ uses their outward "goodness" as an example in....

Matthew 5:20 "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

In later lessons, we will spend some time seeing HOW our righteousness CAN exceed that of the Scribes and Pharisees. For this lesson, we need to establish that these people were not your general run-of-the-mill sinners. These were people of religious status, bar none!!!

Later in this lesson, we will go back to chapter 15 and see that the context of this statement was centered around the Law, and what the Jews had "done to" the Law to make it "better".

It was these well educated, religiously motivated, pious people whom Christ addressed at "HYPOCRITES". If this is the "title" given to those "custodians of the Law", we had better know what "hypocrite" means!!

We often say that hypocrite means an actor, or one who hides behind a mask. That is an accurate definition. However, the term hypocrite has far more meaning, BOTH in secular and Biblical definitions. Look again at the definitions that make up this term.

Hypocrite = (Greek) A dissembler; An interpreter of dreams who acts out the interpretation; A counterfeit; A person who assumes, speaks or acts under a feigned character (from which we get "stage actor").
Dissemble = (Webster) To hide under a false appearance; To conceal with intent so as to deceive; (A person was so convinced of the truth of a certain proposition that they "dissemble" the facts against it.) To conceal facts, motive, intentions or feelings under a pretense.
Dissembler = (Webster) One who dissembles by saying one thing, while knowing in their mind that it is a lie.
Hypocrite = (Webster) An actor on stage; One who pretends to be what he is not; One who pretends to have principles of beliefs he does not have or live up to; One who falsely assumes an appearance of virtue or religion.

This is the descriptive title given by Christ to these VERY religious people. These are the very ones who the majority of that day felt were the MOST Spiritual of all.

I wonder what term Christ would use of us, if He were to visit our assembly in Person? If Christ were to visit our assembly, I fear He would find a good number of SUPER HYPOCRITES. Many of us have refined the act of being a hypocrite to a daily art form that could easily win an academy award!!

As we take a glance at what these custodians of Law did to merit such a title, I trust that we can learn from their very poor example, and we can see beyond the sham, to the reality of the Tabernacle and its service for our lives, today.

Christ, while on earth, gave many teachings that demonstrated the purpose of the Law. One of those teachings was given to the "woman at the well" in.....

John 4:21 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22 "You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. 23 "But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. 24 "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

Worship of God is internal or "of spirit", and must be honest or "of truth". I often ask the question at the beginning of a lesson that goes a little like.., "Why did you come to church, today?" It is a good question, and it should be asked and answered EVERY time we engage in an act of worship. Let's take a quick look at the Old Testament portion that Christ referred to in....

Matthew 15:7"Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. 9 'And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' "
Isaiah 1:9 Unless the LORD of hosts had left to us a very small remnant, we would have become like Sodom, we would have been made like Gomorrah. 10 Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; give ear to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah:

The Holy Spirit puts the sin of these in Isaiah's day on the same plane as those of Sodom and Gomorrah. Please note. Most of Israel was in this state of hypocrisy. By the way, this study of the Tabernacle will help us to see sin as sin, INSTEAD of seeing some sins as bad, while other sins asnot so bad. Usually, we equate our sins as those that are not so bad, while the sins of others are the bad ones.

The truths of the Tabernacle will help us level the playing field, and see that ALL sins are against God, and were equally responsible for nailing Christ to the cross. We'll have plenty of time for that subject later. Right now, let's see God's focus on the "purpose", or the heart attitude in this matter of worship vs. "good" outward demonstration.

Isaiah 1:11 "To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices to Me?" says the LORD. "I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed cattle. I do not delight in the blood of bulls, or of lambs or goats. 12 "When you come to appear before Me, who has required this from your hand, to trample My courts?

Keep Proverbs 21:27 in mind as we compare this passage with the rest of Scripture.

Proverbs 21:27 The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination; how much more when he brings it with wicked intent!

Never let it slip from your mind! God is interested in the intent or motive of religious service, FAR more than the outward form. That fact has been true since the earliest mention of worship, even going back to the worship of Lucifer, and later the worship of Adam and Eve.

Are you serving or worshipping to be seen, to impress, to cover up, to gain favor with God and others, etc., etc.??? By the way, all of the above and much more can be a reality when we worship and serve from a proper motive. BUT when we serve or worship from the wrong motive, our worship/service is an abomination to God, AND we would be better off never attempting such.

Isaiah 1:13 Bring no more futile sacrifices; incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies-- I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting. 14 Your New Moons and your appointed feasts my soul hates; they are a trouble to Me, I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood.

If you are worshipping and/or praying from a wrong heart attitude or motive, God will HIDE his eyes from you, and will not HEAR your prayer.


So....., 

if you have this wrong motive and you pray, 

and 

your prayers are answered..., 

guess  

WHO  did not 

answer them??!!!!!!!?

Under those conditions, if you got an answer, it came from some other source than God. Scary, isn't it??? However sad as it may be, very few people will change their motive because of fear.

Isaiah 1:16 "Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, 17 learn to do good; seek justice, reprove the oppressor; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow. 18 "Come now, and let us reason together," says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 19 If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; 20 but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword"; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

The Holy Spirit goes on, in chapter 29 of this book, to give God's Spiritual diagnosis for WHY these people had the wrong motive, and WHY they continued to live by that motive. Please look closely. For it might prevent you from falling into the same type of sin.

Isaiah 29:13 Therefore the LORD said: "Inasmuch as these people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but have removed their hearts far from Me, and their fear toward Me is taught by the commandment of men,

We could spend the rest of this lesson in this portion. As a matter of fact, we could spend a year of lessons in this passage and never exhaust the depth of its truth. Let's move back to our passage in Mattehw 15, and see more of the reasons Christ called these respectable and very religious people "Hypocrites".

Matthew 15:7"Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. 9 'And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' "
Hypocrite = (Greek) A dissembler; An interpreter of dreams who acts out the interpretation; A counterfeit; A person who assumes, speaks or acts under a feigned character (from which we get "stage actor").
Dissemble = (Webster) To hide under a false appearance; To conceal with intent so as to deceive; (A person was so convinced of the truth of a certain proposition that they "dissemble" the facts against it.) To conceal facts, motive, intentions or feelings under a pretense.
Dissembler = (Webster) One who dissembles by saying one thing, while knowing in their mind that it is a lie.
Hypocrite = (Webster) An actor on stage; One who pretends to be what he is not; One who pretends to have principles of beliefs he does not have or live up to; One who falsely assumes an appearance of virtue or religion.

Let's look a little further to see if there is any possibility of New Testament Believers falling into the category of a Biblical hypocrite.

1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, 3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
James 3:17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. 18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. 4:1 Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
1 Peter 2:1 Therefore, laying aside all malice, all guile, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. 4 Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, 5 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

Yes, as Christians, we are warned over and over again to be alert to hypocrisy in others, and in our own lives!

Just a side-light in passing. I was doing some research for another subject, and it was interesting to see that often, the tools of a hypocrite, in their profession of hypocrisy, are "deceit and guile" along with an array of similar devises.

Both deceit and guile can be described as "lures" such as a fishing lure. A "lure" is something that is false, but "dressed-up" to look better than the real thing, in order to attract the victim and yet not reveal its true nature, until too late. Please, read that again, and again, and...

When I saw that, I thought.., those sure sound like good tools for a hypocrite. Also, when working with an obvious hypocrite, I need to be on the look-out for the use of such tools.

One of the best ways for us NOT to become hypocrites in the use of the knowledge of the Tabernacle and it service, is to be sure we see the real motive of God, AND that we present the facts in the light that God gave them.

It is so easy to "dress-up" or spiritualize the Tabernacle in a manner that will make it more appealing to the human mind. If we do "dress-up" the Tabernacle and its service in such a manner, then we are no better and probably worse than those Christ called "Hypocrites"!!

Matthew 5:17 "Do not think that I (Christ) came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
Destroy [Matthew 5:17] = (Greek) To loosen down; To disintegrate; by implication, To demolish or destroy; To render vain; To deprive of success; To annul, abrogate or deprive of force; Can be used to halt and dismount for the night.
Fulfill [Matthew 5:17] = (Greek) To make replete or filled to the brim; To cram a net full of fish; To level over a hollow; To finish or satisfy; To finish a task, To execute an office; To fill to the top so that nothing is lacking; To prefect or consummate; To carry through to the end; To accomplish.

We will not take time to follow this through at this time, but please note some of the context of Matthew 5:17.

Matthew 5:17 "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 "For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 "Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 "For I say to you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.

Christ not only points out that He came to fulfill the Law, He assures us that the very smallest part of that Law will be fulfilled. This very fact emphasizes the importance of the Law. Notice Christ's statement about keeping and teaching the Law v. 19.

This teaching others to break the Law, referred to here, is not so much through verbal instruction, but by example through personally breaking the Law. Paul picks up that theme in Romans, and gives additional information and insight.

Romans 2:17 Indeed you are called a Jew, and rest on the law, and make your boast in God, 18 and know His will, and approve the things that are excellent, being instructed out of the law, 19 and are confident that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, having the form of knowledge and truth in the law. 21 You, therefore, who teach another, do you not teach yourself? You who preach that a man should not steal, do you steal? 22 You who say, "Do not commit adultery," do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who make your boast in the law, do you dishonor God through breaking the law? 24 For "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you," as it is written.

In vv. 17-20, these Jews seemed to be doing quite well.

  1. They were "resting" on the Law.
  2. They had been "instructed" from the Law.
  3. They were "guides", "lights", "instructors" and "teachers" of knowledge and truth from the Law.

But when it came to doing what they taught, they received a failing score. The conclusion of Paul and what Christ said in Matthew 5:19 are parallel and in complete harmony.

Matthew 5:19 "Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

God's intention for the Law, as it related to the people, was not simply a text to be taught. God's intention for the Law was that it become the motive of life, changing both the exterior and interior of that life.

As we move through this study, we will see that the purpose of the Law had two major divisions:

  1. To point to Christ.
  2. To point out sin.

As these two were allowed to work together, the participant in the Law could see that his sin was overwhelming, BUT there were also provisions for forgiveness, cleansing, and victory over that sin. This effect was only true in the life when the participant was involved in the totality of the Law.

James 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

The keeping or fulfilling of the Law could not be piece-meal. The Law was a WHOLE, and the keeping of it was "all or nothing". When or if the participant realized that they could not personally "keep" or fulfill the Law, they would then see that the total and complete fulfillment had to come through a perfect substitute.

As time passed, the leaders of the Jews, and the people in general began to think that they personally had to keep or fulfill the Law. However, it was obvious that no human could keep the Law. Therefore, the leaders began to interpret the Law in such a manner so that a person could keep the "letter" of the Law, but ignore the real spirit of the Law. Of course, the "letter" of the Law was their personal interpretation.

Through this interpretation process, the leaders developed an elaborate system of things a person could do and couldn't do. Most of the things contained in this manmade system were not even in the Law, given by God. During the time of Christ, this system, developed by the leadership, was called the "Tradition of the Elders".

Matthew 15:1 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, 2 "Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread." 3 But He answered and said to them, "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 "For God commanded, saying, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.' 5 "But you say, 'Whoever says to his father or mother, "Whatever profit you might have received from me has been dedicated to the temple"-- 6 'is released from honoring his father or mother.' "Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. 7 "Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: 8 'These people draw near to Me with their mouth, and honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far from Me. 9 'And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.' "

Look at that! There's part of the context to the passage we've been looking at throughout this lesson. Not only does the context shed light on v. 7-9, the context show the devastating effect of adding things to God's command, so it is more compatible to mankind. By so doing, they made the command of God of NO EFFECT!!!

After all, if they could "keep" the law by washing their hands, plus a lot of other things in that Tradition of the Elders,  then there was no reason to look for a Messiah, sent from God to be the Lamb of God, who would be the sacrificial substitute for their sin. Instead, they looked for a Messiah who would, by great power, deliver them from Roman domination.

Listen my friend. Add a little human wisdom to the pure Word of God, and you NO LONGER have the Word of God. You have the commandments of men taught AS the Word of God (and that's a lie). When that happens, you have the doctrine of demons.

Listen to what else Christ had to say to these Jewish leaders concerning this subject.

Matthew 23:23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone.

There are many things that the Law should and could have produced in the lives of those under the Law. Three of those things are mentioned here: (1) Justice (2) Mercy (3) Faith. These three are the "weightier matter" of the Law, or the most important aspects for the human life.

If they had been fully participating in the service of the Law and Tabernacle, by faith, these three things would have been a natural result. Instead, they tried to change the Law to make it compatible to mankind, and where they couldn't change it, they simply ignored it altogether.

That sounds a little like modern religions, and a whole lot like some people I've met. Even somewhat like the one in the mirror I see each morning. How about you??

Matthew 23:24 "Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! 25 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 26 "Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. 28 "Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Well.....,  

I wonder how we "stack" up?!?!??  

If the Holy Spirit were to have a paragraph 

written about you...., 

how many times 

would He have to insert the term 

"Hypocrite"?

The Jews were not required to fulfill the Law. They were not even to attempt to fulfill it. However, through faith in the service of the Tabernacle, the "righteous requirement" of the Law was fulfilled by a substitute representing Christ. The "righteous requirement" of the law has never changed.

No longer do we have to participate by faith in the service of the Tabernacle, while a substitute, representing Christ, fulfills the "righteous requirement" of the Law. Christ, Himself, came and fulfilled the "righteousness requirement" of the Law.

That "righteousness requirement" can be fulfilled in you. First, by faith you must accept Christ as your Savior from sin. Then moment by moment, you must walk in the Spirit and the requirement will be fulfilled in you, by the only One Who can fulfill it, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Christ did it! All you can do is accept it, by faith! If you will allow God to do it, God's way, it will happen!! If you try to do it your way.... or by the traditions of the elders...(or substitute your name for the elders).., then over and over again God will say of you, "You hypocrite!!!"

© Clyde White, Austin TX, 2001