Formalism: The Hallmark of Hypocrisy

God promises in Psalm 50 to come persecute false worship in His church with consuming flames of judgment. But God is as much gracious as He is just and tells us how to identify this sin in our lives in order that we may repent and avoid His wrath. He also tells us that He is patient, and won't immediately come to judgment against us.

We can see in the text, that the root of formalism is hypocrisy. A hypocrisy that seeks self satisfaction, spurns discipleship, and puts personal emotion above everything else. We see that these hypocrites associated with criminals and would slander their own brother for personal gain. Even through all of this, they still considered themselves to be good standing members of the Covenant. They quoted the scriptures, went to worship, and dutifully performed all of the rituals. They mistook God's patience as acceptance. They rationalized that God had accepted their hollow offerings. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Nothing we do as fallen men can put us in good standing with the Lord. We are sanctified through faith that is alive in us and causing us to grow in grace. There is no song, ritual, good deed, or ceremony that we can to do please God. It pleases the Lord to give us unmerited grace, and install in us a true living faith. Our duty as Christians is to protect God's gifts by learning discernment, and avoiding the influences of hypocrites.