THE THIN LINE BETWEEN WORSHIP AND HYPOCRISY

By Rev. Michael Benson Ajayi 



 

Acts 10:22 KJV” And they said, Cornelius the centurion, a just man, and one that feareth God, and of good report among all the nation of the,Jews,was warned from God by an holy angel to send for thee into his house, and to hear words of thee.”
    There is a thin line between the practice of man-made religion as often demonstrated in the formalism in Christendom and true worship in the spirit . Except when analyzed under a scriptural microscope, one may not know the difference .There are two types of error , one that is deliberate and born out of ignorance and that which is not deliberate, sincere and born out of a lack of proper guidance. Cornelius’ error falls into the second category. Both errors are easily hidden under a religious camouflage in some churches.
     Cornelius could have easily passed for what we may refer to as 'a faithful brother in the lord' considering his  antecedence .The phrase 'they said' in Acts 10:22 was an endorsement by the community but not with God.  He was a successful military officer with over a hundred soldiers at his beckon and call, he regularly made charitable donations to the poor and maybe built a couple of church worship centers  too. He was well spoken of in the community .
      Despite these qualities, God was not impressed, there was a missing ingredient, Cornelius was religious ( worship based on man’s standards without accountability to anyone  )  and as such had no intimate relationship with the Holy Ghost.   This is common in the body of Christ , were so many persons deny or refuse access to the ministry of the Holy Ghost for the fear of being made to be accountable to someone else and the loss of friends (Jn5:44)  oblivious of the fact that godly honour is far greater than the honour from man (1Pet.5:10) . 
      The Holy Spirit uses us as He wishes not as we wish. It is the desire to always be in control of our lives and to dominate others that leads to many denying the ministry of the Holy Ghost. Without the ministry of the Holy Ghost, a church is spiritually dead, it is merely a social gathering devoid of life- changing power. The bible says in 2 Tim 3:5, that this shall be one of the signs of the last days  . 
        Cornelius was thought a lesson in spiritual accountability by being sent to meet Peter and their fellowship together opened a door of spiritual revival in Cornelius’ family.This was the same principle in Abraham's meeting with Melchizedek (Gen 14:18-20) and Jesus' encounter with John the baptist (Matt3.13-15 ) Despite His place as the son of God Jesus learned obedience (Hebrews5:8) . Peter taught Cornelius obedience according to God's principle not as the world teaches.     
     Never be too educated or successful to the point of not having a pastor over your household to whom you are spiritually accountable to . Children learn submission by observation and mutual submission is a sine qua non for a peaceful family. Children consciously or unconsciously replicate what was observed in the family while growing up. Therefore , they may in their adulthood repeat the type of authority observed in the lives of their parents leading to the creation a vicious circle of marital failures if not corrected through the word of God and the Holy Spirit. This is what is erroneously referred to as a generational curse however , it is the sad effect of hypocrisy.             
         Hypocrisy is defined by the dictionary as, :  a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not; especially :  the false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion ( Merriam-webstar Dictionary)"  In the Greek, the word is "hupokrisis" and means "the playing of a part on the stage."as in (luke12:1). The hypocrite always has an ulterior motive for his or her actions; often a false sense of relevance like Cornelius.  This is one of the reasons for the increase in marital crisis in the church ,therefore, we should always pray for a humble heart and discernment of true spiritual virtues.   
Prayer : Heavenly Father forgive me for my sins against you, I believe Jesus Christ died and was raised again for my salvation, I receive him as lord and saviour and receive grace for a Holy Ghost revival in my family in Jesus name. 
Free prayer/counseling +2348098536911,+2348035536911, email:michaelbensonajayi@gmail.com 
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