A hypocrite is someone who says the right things but doesn’t live them out. In the Bible, a hypocrite pretends to follow God outwardly while their heart and actions tell a different story. Jesus often warned about this kind of faith that looks spiritual on the surface but lacks honesty and obedience underneath.
Jesus described hypocrites this way: “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs—beautiful on the outside but filled on the inside with dead people’s bones and all sorts of impurity” (Matthew 23:27, NLT). In simple terms, hypocrisy is living a double life—one for others to see and another that doesn’t match God’s truth.
The goal of the Christian life isn’t perfection, but sincerity. God desires hearts that are real, humble, and willing to be corrected, not people who just look righteous on the outside.