Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts and put the stumbling block of their iniquity and guilt before their faces; should I permit Myself to be inquired of at all by them? – Ezekiel 14:3, Amplified Bible (AMP)

Answers in Genesis commissioned a study that was published in 2011 under the book title, Already Gone. After conducting detailed surveys of approximately one thousand 20–29 year olds who used to attend evangelical churches on a regular basis, Ken Ham and Britt Beemer discovered that one of the top three reasons these youth left the church behind is hypocrisy. Hearing inconsistent messages about the truths of the Bible (i.e., leaders teaching that some parts of the Bible are true while others are not) as well as seeing inconsistent application of biblical principles in the lives of the adults around them, these youth witnessed hypocrisy regularly – and rejected it.

God isn’t too keen on hypocrisy either. Many are familiar with what Jesus had to say about hypocrisy in Matthew 23. But, few are familiar with what God the Father had to say about hypocrisy in Ezekiel 14:

7 For anyone of the house of Israel or of the strangers who sojourn in Israel who separates himself from Me, taking his idols into his heart and putting the stumbling block of his iniquity and guilt before his face, and [yet] comes to the prophet to inquire for himself of Me, I the Lord will answer him Myself!

8 And I will set My face against that [false worshiper] and will make him a sign and a byword, and I will cut him off from the midst of My people; and you shall know (understand and realize) that I am the Lord.

9 [The prophet has not been granted permission to give an answer to the hypocritical inquirer] but if the prophet does give the man the answer he desires [thus allowing himself to be a party to the inquirer’s sin], I the Lord will see to it that the prophet is deceived in his answer, and I will stretch out My hand against him and will destroy him from the midst of My people Israel.

10 And they both shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the iniquity of the [presumptuous] prophet shall be the same as the iniquity of the [hypocritical] inquirer,

What is God’s attitude towards both the hypocrite and the church leader who encourages the hypocrisy of others? Wrath! Unless and until such people repent of their hypocrisy, they are in danger of destruction.

When we come before God to seek His blessings – all the while truly worshipping someone or something other than God in our hearts and minds – we are guilty of hypocrisy. Proclaiming one thing while living another is the very definition of hypocrisy, and not only does it drive youth from the church, it incurs God’s chastisement.

If hypocrisy saturates your soul, it is time to come to grips with that reality. Acting like you love God – when you really don’t – won’t fool anybody on Earth for long. Worse yet, it won’t fool God at all, and if you don’t deal with your hypocrisy now, God will deal with it for you.