Scriptures: Matthew 6:1-4; 23:3,5

It is by consensus the number one reason people don’t come to church, criticize the church, and have no use for the church. Every church has hypocrites. Frankly, that shouldn’t really be surprising. The movement that Jesus started produced many hypocrites. As a matter of fact, being the largest religion in the world, Christianity has probably produced more hypocrites than any other movement in history. The word “hypocrites” is used seventeen times in the New Testament and every time it is used by Jesus. Nobody used it or talked about it as much as he did, who first critiqued religious hypocrisy in a way that shaped the way we look at it and made it such a negative term. In the Sermon on the Mount, He dealt with this issue of hypocrisy head-on and shared with his disciples then and his followers now how to avoid holy hypocrisy. If we are going to break down barriers and build bridges to unbelievers and especially the next generation, Jesus tells us three things we have to do.