"Hypokrites"

The word “hypocrite” is an interesting word. The English comes directly from the transliteration of a Greek word, hypokrites which means “to play a part, to act out, to feign.”

In the early days of Christ, most of the drama that occurred on the stage was done by actors who had masks in front of their faces. You might have seen the traditional icon of the stage that consists of two masks. One mask is a man with a deep frown and the other is a man smiling a broad grin. That emanates from the Greek stage.

The masks hid who the actors really were, and allowed them to act as if they were someone else. The word “hypocrite” eventually came to mean someone who is acting as if they are someone or something else. A person may look spiritual, but it is just an act. Or they look moral, but it is a mask hiding dark secrets.

By God's grace and the power of the Holy Spirit, we can be authentic Christians. Honest, humble, full of grace and truth as we depend on God and His Word. Integrity and evangelism are powerful companions!