When engaging people about their souls if they profess to be heaven bound, I ask why they are confident of that. Next, I ask where they worship each week. I have found that answer a good indicator of if they are truly seeking to follow the Lord and Scripture (Heb. 10:25) and if they name a church, possibly an idea of their beliefs. Sometimes their “faith” sounds like a mere belief in the fact that Jesus existed. The devils strongly believe in Jesus too. “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble”(James 2:19).Often they share something like, “I don’t go to church because I can’t stand all the hypocrites there.” They are, of course, referring to all the people who say they believe in Jesus but don’t seem to follow Him. 

Hypocrisy is a real issue. It was the first sin exposed in the church when Ananias and Sapphira pretended to donate all the price of the land they sold, when in fact, they only gave a portion. It continues to be a problem. 

“And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward” (Matthew 6:5).

Spurgeon strongly tied hypocrisy to Christians who don’t share Christ. He wrote, “Every Christian here is either a missionary or an impostor.” (Charles Spurgeon, A Sermon and a Reminiscence, printed in The Sword and the Trowel, March 1863.)

May we not be hypocrites but follow hard after our Lord Jesus. His mission: “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).