We all wear masks every day. We allow others to see what we want them to see. The better we are at this the better the image we portray. The word hypocrite in Scripture refers to one who wears a mask, like an actor did in those days.

The people depicted in Ezekiel 8 probably looked like good neighbors, faithful elders, members of society who loved God and country. It is a mistake for us to think that they appeared anything different to others. God took Ezekiel by the hair and gave him visions of things that no one else could see. So, in 8:18 he had Ezekiel dig into the wall of the Temple. He crawled in and there in 8:10-12, he saw 70 elders of the house of Israel participating in every imaginable form of idol worship, as we read in 8:12, "...Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For they say, ' The Lord does not see us, the Lord has forsaken the land'". He then had him go to the door of the north gate of the Lord's house; in 8:14, "..and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz". Tammuz was a Babylonian god. Ezekiel was then led into the inner court of the Lord's house; and "at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east, and they were worshiping the sun toward the east." The nation of Judah had the appearance of religiosity, that all was well, but unknown was what God saw.

We read in Hebrews 4:13, "And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." In our society which has embraced moral relativism along with biblical illiteracy, most truly have no idea what is right or wrong. Society has elevated drag queen library readings, gender fluidity, abortion on demand in the name of choice, etc and many actually believe they have the moral high ground over those they prefer to consider as close minded Bible-thumpers. Many in our society actually do believe they are good and that they will be judged that way based on societal norms. Others lead a good life on the surface and keep that mask on letting others see what they want them to see. But none of us can escape the eyes of God. This is why the religion of good works is so dangerous. In reality we were all born sinners, and even those who have repented and accepted Jesus' offer of salvation remain sinners. We read in 1 John 1:8,10, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us...If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." Before I came into relationship with Jesus I was an unworthy, unsaved sinner. Now that I am in a relationship I am an unworthy, saved, sinner. I am not what I was, but I am not what I will become when I enter heaven. In the meantime, aware of my sinful nature I hold close to my Savior and being led by the Spirit seek to lead a life which brings Him glory. But there are many bumps in this road caused often by myself. When I realize this, I am so thankful for the words said by Jesus on the cross (John 19:30), "It is finished" or "Paid in full" which is what has been done for all my sins: past, present and future.