Open Heaven 19 March 2026: God Hates Hypocrisy
MEMORISE
He also shall be my salvation: for an hypocrite shall not come before him. Job 13:16
READ: Acts 5:1-11
1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
2 And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at
the apostlesâ?? feet.
3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back
part of the price of the land?
4 Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why
hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them
that heard these things.
6 And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.
7 And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
8 And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for
so much.
9 Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord?
behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.
10 Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in,
and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.
11 And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things.
Read Other Open Heaven Devotional Here
In Mark 11:12-20, the Bible tells us about a fig tree that failed to produce fruit for Jesus to eat when He was hungry. Usually, when figs are in season, fig trees give a sign by producing many leaves, signalling that there are fruits on them. The fig tree in this passage, however, had leaves but no fruit â?? it was a show of hypocrisy.
It is also a show of hypocrisy when a minister leads prayer or worship in church and puts up an impressive physical performance but hardly prays or worships in private. A preacher once said that some believers pretend to be very strong in the Lord when they have just failed Him.
In Job 8:13, the Bible says that the hope of hypocrites will perish. Todayâ??s memory verse also tells us that God doesnâ??t want hypocrites in His presence â?? this is a serious warning to believers. Job 15:34 says that the congregation of hypocrites will be barren, and Job 20:5 says that the joy of a hypocrite will not last because it is for a moment.
One of the passages in the Bible that challenged me as a young Christian is the story of Ananias and Sapphira, which is todayâ??s Bible reading. The couple sold a piece of land, kept a part of the money, lied to Peter about it, and this cost them their lives. I thought their punishment was harsh; the land and the money were theirs, after all.
However, the issue was that Ananias and Sapphira attempted to deceive the church. God hates lies, and no liar will go to heaven (Revelation 21:8). As I studied the coupleâ??s story, I discovered that God punished them because they were hypocrites.
Many believers fall into the trap of hypocrisy when they fail to give accurate reports of things that are entrusted into their care. Even some pastors are known to inflate their church’s attendance records, and when they are asked how the church is doing, they say, “Great!” I believe that a fellow is not doing great until the person doubles what the Lord has placed in his or her hand, as we see in the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30).
Beloved, when you pretend to be who you are not just because you want to look good in the eyes of the people around you, you are only deceiving yourself. Rather, seek Godâ??s face to help you to become who He wants you to be.
KEY POINT
Hypocrisy attracts God’s anger. Avoid it.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR
Open Heaven 19 March 2026
