1 Thessalonians 3:2-12, SINCERITY vs. Hypocrisy (2)

b)    In these passages who illustrates sincerity (or hypocrisy) and how do they do it?

i)      Luke 12:1 (see Matt. 23 for details on the “how”): Jesus spoke directly to and about the lifestyle of the religious leaders of the Jews.  A couple of ways they showed their hypocrisy were, a) 23:13, they closed the kingdom of heaven to others by their actions; b) 23:14, their long prayers were a pretense, not a true representation of their wicked hearts; c) 23:14, they encouraged others, especially widows who might not know better, to give all their money to the Lord, only to have it taken by the leaders own selfish purposes.

ii)   Prov. 5:3-4; 7:21: The adulteress speaks sweet words to seduce the stupid man, but following her has bitter consequences.

iii)            1 Thess. 2:3-12: Paul was a sincere servant of God.  He encouraged others to follow Christ and did not use guile or deceitful words to convince them.  His goal was to please God, not man.  Thus he didn’t flatter people or trick them into giving big offerings to him.  He, himself, did not make a big deal about his own financial needs, and didn’t ask the Thessalonians, who were young believers, for wages.  He genuinely loved them an thy knew this to be the case.

(1)                        In 2 Cor. 8:8 how did Paul tell the Corinthians they could prove the sincerity of their love?  The answer had to do with their giving to an offering, and they could give “sacrificially.”  If you read on, this is what Christ did.  We know He loved us because, though He enjoyed the riches of glory He became poor on this earth on our behalf.

c)    Sincerity requires a certain kind of balance.  For example, in the matter of hatred, what extremes musts be avoided (Prov. 10:18)?  On the one hand, don’t hide your hatred of others.  On the other hand, don’t let the hatred make you blow up in anger at others.  The sincere person acknowledges his heart and expresses his heart properly.

d)    What do these passages indicate concerning how to become more sincere and less hypocritical?

i)      Phil. 1:10: Paul prays for the Philippians believers that they will be people of integrity.

ii)   1 Peter 2:1: Peter calls for a definite choice to lay aside hypocrisy.  We must reckon ourselves dead in this area.

iii)            Prov. 4:23: Keep or guard your heart.  It is the source of all that we do.  So we must be careful what we focus on in our lives.