A good Christian makes gospel piety and moral equity kiss each other. Herein some discover their hypocrisy: they will obey God in some things which are more facile, and may raise their repute; but other things they leave undone.The Ten Commandments, 2
A modest dress is a very good thing, if it be the genuine indication of a humble heart, and is to instruct; but it is a bad thing if it be the hypocritical disguise of a proud ambitious heart, and is to deceive. Let men be really as good as they seem to be, but not seem to be better than really they are.Matthew Henry's Commentary
The peace which the hypocrite has is built upon the sand; he has not one promise that he can rationally lay any claim to. Nay, the whole Word of God assaults him and tells him how vain his confidence is and that if, for all this, he will speak peace to himself, that he must try shortly whether he can make it good when conscience, Scripture, law and gospel, God and man appear in the field against him. In a word, the cause of his peace is ignorance, hardness, deadness. The god of this world hath blinded his eyes; God is author of the saint's peace and the devil of the sinners (Matt. 7:24; Luke 11:21; Rom. 15:4; Phil. 4:7).
Hypocrisy in religion springs from the bitter root of some carnal affection unmortified…. God is in the hypocrite's mouth, but the world is in his heart, which he expects to gain through his good reputation.
It is sincere faith that is the strong faith, sincere love that is the mighty love. Hypocrisy is to grace as the worm is to the oak, the rust to the iron—it weakens them because it corrupts them.
The Christian, by his sorrow, shows himself a conqueror of that sin which even now overcame him, while the hypocrite, by his pride, shows himself a slave to a worse lust than that he resists. While the Christian commits a sin, he hates it, whereas the other loves it while he forbears it.
How often have I heard a common drunkard, with tears, cry out against himself for his sin and yet go on in it? And how many gracious persons have I known whose judgments and wills have been groundedly resolved for God and holiness, and their lives have been holy, fruitful, and obedient, and yet could not shed a tear for sin nor feel any great sorrows or joys? If you judge of a man by his earnestness in some good moods and not by the constant tenor of his life, you will think many a hypocrite to be better than most saints.
It is not the presence of hypocrisy but the reign of hypocrisy that damns the soul; that hypocrisy that is discerned, resisted, opposed, and mourned over will never make a Christian miserable. Where the standing frame and general bent of a man's heart is upright, there the presence of hypocrisy cannot denominate a man a hypocrite. All men must stand and fall forever according to the standing frame and general bent of their hearts; if the standing frame and general bent of their hearts be sincere, they are happy forever!
A hypocrite may offer sacrifice with Cain and fast with Jezebel, and humble himself with Ahab and lament with the tears of Esau, and kiss Christ with Judas and follow Christ with Demas, and offer fair for the Holy Ghost with Simon Magus; and yet for all this, his inside is as bad as any of theirs. A hypocrite is a Cato without and a Nero within, a Jacob without and an Esau within, a David without and a Saul within, a Peter without and a Judas within, a saint without and a Satan within, an angel without and a devil within.
All lip labor is but lost labor; when men's hearts are not in their devotion, their devotion is mere dissimulation. These hypocrites sought God and inquired early after God, but it was still with old hearts, which are no hearts in the account of God.
Hypocrites love to share with Christ in His happiness, but they do not love to share with Christ in His holiness. They are willing to be redeemed by Christ, but they are not cordially willing to submit to the laws and government of Christ. They are willing to be saved by His blood, but they are not willing to submit to His scepter. Hypocrites love the privileges of the gospel, but they do not love the services of the gospel, especially those that are most inward and spiritual.
It is true that every believer has inconsistencies in his walk that he must confess and mourn over daily, but consistent patterns of unrepentant carnal behavior and hypocrisy will produce resentment in your children and especially in your wife.How to Lead Your Family