Luke 12:1-5

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Hebrews 10:19-23
• Pastoral Prayer
• Prayer for Illumination
• Scripture Reading — Luke 12:1-5
• Sermon
• Benediction

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Sermon Title: Beware the Leaven of Hypocrisy

Scripture: Luke 12:1-5

I. The Danger of Hypocrisy

A. Context: Jesus's confrontation with the Pharisees in Luke 11:37-54

1. A Pharisee sought to publicly shame Jesus for not performing the ritual handwashing before dinner
2. Jesus responds by pronouncing six woes over the Pharisees, scribes, and lawyers for burdening the people and perverting God's law in pursuit of their own power and praise
3. Parallel passage in Mark 7:1-8 shows this conflict was ongoing — the Pharisees prized man-made traditions over God's commandments

B. The scene in Luke 12:1 — an innumerable crowd gathers; Jesus turns and addresses his disciples specifically

1. Jesus's warning is directed to the church: Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy
2. Hypocrisy is the attempt to appear to be what one is not — a lie so deep the hypocrite often deceives himself

C. Why leaven is the apt image

1. Leaven (yeast) spreads silently and pervasively through every batch of dough it touches
2. Hypocrisy — religion performed as outward show without inward faith in Christ — spreads the same way and can destroy the church from within
3. The Pharisees' error: they were motivated not by personal holiness but by covetousness for the approval and praise of men

II. The Delusion of Hypocrisy

A. Jesus's warning: nothing hidden will remain hidden (Luke 12:2-3)

1. Whatever is spoken in the dark will be heard in the light; what is whispered in secret will be proclaimed from the housetops
2. Hypocrisy fails in the end — when Christ comes to judge, all will be disclosed

B. The judgment that exposes the hypocrite

1. The graves will be opened, the books will be opened, and only those written in the Book of Life will stand
2. Jesus's woe over Judas Iscariot illustrates the fate of the hypocrite: Matthew 26:24 — it would have been better for that man if he had never been born
3. Playing religion without genuine faith in Christ is an altogether different religion — it cannot save from sin and God's wrath

III. The Destruction of Hypocrisy

A. The root cause of hypocrisy is idolatry — the craving for the approval of men (Luke 12:4-5)

1. The hypocrite fears those who can kill the body but has no fear of God
2. Jesus redirects fear to the one who, after death, has power to cast into hell — God alone is to be feared
3. Hypocrisy is yet another fig-leaf attempt to cover sin rather than turning in repentance and faith to Christ

B. Application to the believer who has lost their first love

1. The answer is not a program of more works — that is the wrong direction
2. The answer is Christ: time at the feet of Jesus, in his word, and in prayer
3. Pray as David prayed: Restore to me the joy of your salvation — Psalm 51:12

C. Practical exhortation: resist the devil and stand firm in the faith — 1 Peter 5:8-11

1. God will, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you through the ministry of the Word in the church

D. The antidote to hypocrisy is sincere love — Romans 12:9-21

1. Let love be without hypocrisy; abhor evil; cling to what is good
2. Be kindly affectionate, fervent in spirit, patient in tribulation, steadfast in prayer
3. Live peaceably with all; overcome evil with good
4. The opposite of hypocrisy is sincerity — the church is called to be sincere Christians