One usually finds that the person who sees the short comings in others, before he sees his own, is the real hypocrite.
The word of God contains some very plain language addressed to this class and they will do well to read it.
SO then every one of us shall give an account of himself to God.
Romans 14:12.
THEREFORE thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. . . . And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?
Romans 2:1, 3.
BUT why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. So then everyone of us shall give account of himself to God.
Romans 14:10-12.
JUDGE not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
Matthew 7:1-5.
If you are hiding behind a hypocrite you must be smaller than the person behind whom you hide.
Even though there may be hypocrites in the church, that does not excuse you. There are hypocrites in every other profession, but this is no argument against the profession; nor is it any argument against Christ, because a hypocrite is discovered in the church. You will not have to answer for the sins of the hypocrite at the judgment but for your own.
BUT woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
Matthew 23:13.
YE serpents, ye generations of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
Matthew 23:33.
Read the 23rd Chapter of Matthew, and see how Christ condemned the self-righteous critical crowd who watched the people turning to Christ.
He gave them a story that shows how he judges the two classes. Here it is, read it!
TWO men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are. . . . I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other.
Luke 18:10-14.
Note— One thing is certain, though hypocrites may be in the church here on earth, they will not enter heaven. If you do not want to spend eternity in hell with them, you had better become a Christian now.
Illustration: John 21:19-23