Romans 2:22 Everyone Hates Hypocrisy.

There are few things that seem more obviously and universally true than that everyone hates hypocrisy. If there is anyone out there in the pro-hypocrisy camp, I have yet to meet them. Despite this, it seems that hypocrisy is a constant temptation. It’s a lot easier to “talk the talk,” than to “walk the walk.”

The third of the 10 commandments is:

“You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain" - Exodus 20:7.

Despite the popular understanding, this verse isn’t about a prohibition against cussing or something like that. The ancient Israelites were the people that YHWH chose to bear His name and to be a light to the nations (Isa 49:6). They were to be His people and He was to be their God (Exodus 6:7). The peoples of the other nations should have been able to look at the nation of Israel and see the wisdom and beauty of God.

The people of ancient Israel, throughout their checkered history, sometimes bore God’s name well, but even more often, they didn’t. They often fell into sin and idolatry, which profaned God’s name among the nations (Ezekiel 36:23).

In the New Testament, the Gentiles who become Christians are grafted into the people of God and therefore, also bear His name. So, when hypocrisy happens, not only does it reflect badly on the individual, it reflects badly on God as well. That is what Paul is talking about in this passage. If we are a people committed to living in God's ways, we had better practice what we preach because when we don’t, it affects other people’s perception of the character of the God we serve.

- Wesley Viau