“They come to you as people come… they hear what you say but will not do it, for with their mouth they show much love, but their heart goes after their gain.” Ezekiel 33:31
Beloved, a quiet, hidden hypocrisy in our hearts is among the most painful and dangerous things. When I say 'hypocrisy', I mean a behaviour that contradicts what one claims to believe or someone who pretends to fit the environment. Hypocrisy is a wound we often refuse to look at, yet it grows easily when left unattended. In Ezekiel’s day, the people listened to God’s Word eagerly. They admired the prophet, they spoke warmly about his messages, and they enjoyed hearing truth explained. But their hearts were untouched. Their obedience was artificial because it did not flow from faith.
This danger remains with us today. It is possible to love preaching, or enjoy biblical theology, and faithfully attend church while the heart quietly wanders. Some listen to sermons only to soothe their troubled conscience. Others admire the preacher’s skill but never bow down before Christ’s authority. Still, others sit under the preaching of the Word while secretly harbouring anger toward God.
A person may perform all outward duties of religion and yet avoid the one duty God requires first. The first duty is to bring our hearts honestly before Him. May I kindly ask these questions: “When last did you lament over your sin? When did you last suffer over the pride, rebellion, and unbelief that is within us?” The psalmist describes this spiritual emptiness plainly: “Their heart was not right with God” (Ps. 78:8; 37). Outward acts without inward truth are nothing more than empty speech, and empty speech is wasted worship.
The Call to Examine Our Hearts
The Apostle Paul’s command rings through the centuries: “Examine yourselves” (1 Cor. 11:28). This was not an invitation to fear or hopelessness but to tender repentance. This repentance comes from a deep love for a holy God. Yet how often do we approach worship, prayer, or the Lord’s Table with unexamined hearts? How often has repentance become a formality instead of the sorrow of a child who has offended his Father? Hosea warns of a worship where the lips are loud, but the heart is silent. "Lip worship". God is not moved by noise or religious activity; He delights in the humble cry of a contrite heart. Ezekiel’s hearers admired the prophet, but admiration is not obedience. Warm feelings are not faith. Conversations about religion are not the same as submitting to God. The congregation of Ezekiel's time performed their religious duties without genuine commitment, and God revealed their true intentions.
This is why self-examination is not an occasional task but a necessary grace for every believer.
Where We Need Honest Reflection
We must ask ourselves challenging but life-giving questions:
- Have we treated the worship of God lightly?
- Have we come to church with distracted minds, careless hearts, or irreverent behaviour?
- Have we drifted from Scripture, reading it quickly, superficially, or rarely at all?
- Have we mistaken true religion for simply hearing many sermons while obeying very few?
- Have we violated our vows to God, our baptismal vows, our confession of faith, or our promises of obedience?
- Have we followed worldly trends more than Christ’s commands?
- Have we approached the Lord’s Table without thoughtful preparation and repentance?
- Have we spoken God’s name without honour or treated holy things as common?
These questions are not meant to destroy us but to bring us back to the fear of the Lord. This fear serves to humble, cleanse, and restore us.
True faith is not merely knowing the truth but leaning the whole heart upon Christ. Have we doubted God’s goodness, His character, or His promises? Do we claim to believe while living as though His Word were optional? Scripture tells us that genuine faith expresses itself in love, obedience, and trust (Gal. 5:6). Anything less is self-deception.
Repentance must also be examined. It is not just a rare act; rather, it should be a daily commitment. Have we stopped confessing our sins? Do we take small sins lightly? Have we neglected the disciplines that shape humility: prayer, self-denial, Scripture, and obedience? Grace does not make repentance unnecessary; grace makes repentance possible. Without honest self-reflection, the heart does not stay neutral; it drifts. And it drifts far.
A Pastoral Plea: Return to the Heart of Worship
Beloved, the Lord desires “truth in the inward parts” (Ps. 51:6). He is not moved by our outward forms – our singing, our theology, our eloquent prayers – if our hearts stay cold. What He seeks is a broken and contrite spirit, a heart that trembles at His Word. Christ did not come for those who think they have everything in order. He came for the broken, exposed, and needy. The gospel unmasks our hypocrisy not to shame us but to heal us. God reveals our falsehood so that He may lead us into truth.
So come before Him with honesty. Lay down the masks. Bring your heart: your wounds, your sins, your fears, and your doubts before His throne of grace. Friend, examine yourself. Confess with sincerity. Repent with hope. Return to the first love you once knew. Ask the Lord to renew your heart with fresh devotion.
Then your worship will be heart-deep. Your prayers will be living. Your obedience will be joyful. Your life will reflect the grace that has truly changed you. “Search me, O God, and know my heart … and lead me in the way everlasting” (Ps. 139:23-24). May the Lord grant us this grace.
In Christ.
Amen
