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Teen Trap #6: Hypocrisy

Satan would love nothing more than for you to fall into the trap of hypocrisy! If he can get you to say one thing and act another he has a big foothold in your life. If he can get you to be someone you aren’t then he can use that to mislead and derail others!  He wants you to live a fake life! Hypocrisy can utterly destroy your testimony!

Let’s be honest…everyone hates hypocrisy! You hate it! You hate duplicity. You hate dishonesty. You hate fakeness… BUT…you are a professional at being a hypocrite! You hate it in other people, but excuse it in yourself. You are very good at hiding what you really believe, what you really think, and how you really feel.

What is Hypocrisy? “It is a conflict between your beliefs and behavior.”

Biblical Example of Type 1 Hypocrisy:  This is someone who does NOT inwardly believe, but outwardly behaves like they do. The Pharisees in the NT (Matthew 23) are a clear example of this type of hypocrisy. They displayed a life of contradiction; they were always putting on a “spiritual show” for others to see, but they didn’t inwardly believe. The Pharisee focused more on the outward physical appearance than the inward heart condition. Sadly, there are many people attending churches today who are not saved, but sure act like it.

Biblical Example of Type 2 Hypocrisy: This is someone who inwardly believes, but does NOT outwardly behave like they do. Lot in Genesis 13, 19 was a believer (2 Peter 2:6-8), but didn’t live like it. He occupied himself with worldly matters and never developed any spiritual backbone for righteous living and when it came time for him to “live for God” he didn’t have any spiritual credibility with others. There are many Christians in churches today who are like this. They are genuinely saved, but worldly minded.

Authenticity: This is someone who inwardly believes AND outwardly behaves like it. Word and actions match up. There are many examples in scripture we could go to, but over in Numbers 13-14 you find Caleb & Joshua genuinely living for God! They were the real deal! They were very transparent around others and God greatly honored them for their authenticity. It is vital for Christians to be the same in public as they are in private. 

- 6 Statements about Hyporcisy -

1. Recognize that hypocrisy is a conflict between what you say (words) and how you act (behavior). – What areas in your life are you showing conflict between what you say and how you act?  Facebook? Social Environments? Gossip? Church? Priorities?  *You claim to be one thing but in reality you are another!

2. A hypocrite is someone who tries to please two gods at the same time. That is impossible! – Type 2 hypocrites want to serve God, but they love the world too much so they figure they can do BOTH! Never has this worked and it never will! You must make a decision and commitment about which “god” you are going to serve!

3. The day will come when your hypocrisy (fakeness) will breakdown and your true colors will be revealed. – Some of you are very good at playing the hypocrite. You are good at fooling people (pastors, parents, etc), but you aren’t fooling God and one day SOON all this fakeness will breakdown and the real you will be revealed! Time will tell!

4. Understand that the cause of hypocrisy is the result of a total lack of intimacy with God. – The reason people play the hypocrite is due to a failure to have a close relationship with God.

  • Type 1 needs to get saved!
  • Type 2 needs to put off!
  • Both are lacking an intimate relationship with God! When you don’t spend time with God and actively grow in your walk with Him you cover it up with hypocrisy.

5. Understand that the internal struggle to do right doesn’t make you a hypocrite. It is what you decide to do that determines who you really are. – Ok, read carefully! Someone who struggles (with the flesh) on doing what is right and OBEYS is NOT a hypocrite. For example – Let’s say you wake up and don’t feel like reading your Bible, does that make you a hypocrite? NO! – It’s the decision you make that determines the outcome.

Satan knows this and wants to paralyze your effectiveness for God by getting you to think that you are a hypocrite because you don’t always FEEL like doing spiritual things. Don’t fall into this trap! Hypocrisy or authenticity is all based on the outcome, not emotion.

6. God delights and takes pleasure not in perfection, but in authenticity. He wants you to be real! – Remember, authenticity is NOT perfection; it is action to do right. There will be times where you sin, but do you repent?  Real Christians get right with God. Real Christians admit their spiritual need to grow. Be the real deal! You must be the same person in public as you are behind closed doors!

 Are you hypocritical or authentic?

Photo Credit: Photo above taken by claudmey

Credit: A part of this outline was adapted from a sermon preached by Cary Schmidt, student pastor at Lancaster Baptist Church. 

Teen Trap #3: Decision Making

Traps are intentionally designed to look attractive and fun, but are based in hurt, pain, and deceit. Right now, Satan is strategically placing traps in and around your life hoping to ruin your future. The next trap is DECISION MAKING.

An example of bad decision making is found in 1 Kings 12:1-19. King Rehoboam is installed as the king and the people make a request of less work and lower taxes. Rehoboam rejects counsel from older men (guys who have lots of wisdom through years and experience) and listens and accepts the counsel from his the younger men (his peers) and the nation of Israel is divided.  You are just one bad decision away from spiritual destruction!

An example of good decision making is found in Exodus 18:1-27. Moses is single-handedly carrying out the responsibility of upholding the OT law day in and day out, to the point where he is exhausting himself physically. Jethro, Moses father-in-law, presents some wise counsel and Moses graciously accepts it. As a result, Moses’ responsibilities got easier and God continued to bless his life and ministry! You are just one good decision away from spiritual construction!

-7 Statements about Decision Making-

1. Everyone is faced with making decisions regarding their future. I’m not alone! – During your teen years is when you are going to make some of the most monumental life-changing decisions. You can’t escape this! There will always be decisions to make especially during this time of your life.

2. The people I spend the most time with will greatly influence my decision making. – Basically 2 reasons why this happens:

  1. Fear – Because of fear and the desire to be accepted by others. You don’t want to upset or disappoint anyone.
  2. Popularity – Many teens tend to do what everyone else is doing. It must be right it a lot of people are making that same decisions.

3. Godly decision making starts with a desire to honor and obey God. – You see this clearly in our Biblical examples. Rehoboam wanted to please self and Moses wanted to please God. That is why they had different outcomes. If you want to make godly decisions in your life it MUST begin with a desire to honor and obey God.

4. I must take time to think through how my decisions will impact myself and others. – In the heat of a decision it is easy to do what instantly gratifies or fixes the problem, but what about the long-term impact? How will this affect me and other people around me?

5. I must value the counsel of the spiritual leaders in my life. They really care and love me! – This is huge! You have access to many spiritual leaders (Pastor, parents, youth leaders, etc). Take time to sit down with these types of people and value their advice. Don’t feel like they are going to trash and belittle your ideas, dreams, or goals. They love you!

6. If I’m fearful and/or negligent of seeking godly counsel, I’m heading in an unsafe direction. – It’s easy to go through your teen years thinking that you can handle these life-changing decisions with no help/counsel. YOU ARE WRONG! The spiritual leaders in your life know and can see things that you can’t. This will help you tremendously! If you aren’t taking time to seek godly counsel then you are heading in an unsafe direction.

  •  Prov. 11:14, “Where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.”
  •  Prov. 15:22, “Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude of counselors they are established.”

7. I will make a habit of taking my future decisions to God waaaaay before I have to make them. I will avoid making hasty decisions! – It is difficult to watch teenagers make panicked/hasty decisions that will change their life. The reason why many teens wait to the very last possible moment to make a big decision is, I believe, due to the lack of taking it before God in prayer and fear of what the future holds. Not that you need to have your whole life mapped out in every detail, but you need to intentionally take these enormous decisions before the Lord waaaaay before you have to make them. This will enable you to trust God with your unknown future. Stop ignoring the future decisions you have rapidly coming up. Don’t fall into the trap of making hasty (quick) decisions.

 -Application-

1. What future decisions do I have coming up? – Make a list of upcoming substantial decisions you have to make. Go ahead and recognize them. Get them on your radar! Face it!

2. Who am I going to seek counsel from? – Start now seeking godly counsel about these significant decisions. It will help you and keep you from a ruined life.

Teen Trap #2: Peer Pressure

Traps are set all throughout your teen & adult life. These traps look attractive and sweet, but underneath there is a lot of pain and hurt. The second trap is the trap of PEER PRESSURE.

What is Peer Pressure? “It is the pressure you experience by the social environments you choose to place yourself in.”

When you are placed into a social environment you will always feel pressure to be accepted (conform to the standard, go with the flow). When you submit to the wrong kinds of peer pressure you stop thinking rationally, you stop thinking about the big picture in life, and you get tunnel vision about being “cool” at that particular moment in time.

In 2 Samuel 13:1-19 you will find a negative example of peer pressure: Amnon. Amnon listened to his friend Jonadab and ruined his life, all because he wanted to please his peers. Open your Bible and read the story.

In Daniel 1:8-20 you will find a positive example of peer pressure: Daniel. Daniel was placed into a social environment of royalty and he decided to exert positive peer pressure of obeying God rather than man. What happens?! 3 other guys stand with him and God greatly blesses them.

Here are 7 Statements about Peer Pressure:

1. Everyone experiences peer pressure. You are not alone! – Every person has faced negative and positive peer pressure. Don’t feel like you are the only one!

2. The friends you choose have a huge influence on the kind of person you will become. – Most likely your character right now is the product of the friends you have chosen. Furthermore, your future will be influenced the friendships you maintain and make. Are hanging out with Jonadabs or Daniels?

3. The friends you choose have huge impact on the decisions you make. –Your music selections, your dress standards, your dating standards (or lack thereof), your communication, your media selections, your brand of clothes, your view of family, your college decisions, your career dream, your relationships, etc is primarily due to the friends you have right now! Seek to magnify God!

4. You must recognize that “Christian Friends” will not always be a good influence on you. – Sadly, just because someone states that they are a Christian, DOES NOT mean you can automatically hang out with them. There are Christian schools and churches PACKED with professing Christians who have no ambition to please God. Apply discernment!

5. As a friend, your influence on others is huge. What kind of pressure do you exert? – Stop and think about what kind of friend you are to others? Are you a Jonadab or a Daniel? Most likely you will attract what you are like.

6. You must decide to choose strong friends who will help you walk with God. – As you evaluate your list of friends, do they help or hinder your walk with God? Do you feel challenged to take your next step spiritually or do you feel like you have to “get right” after spending time with a friend?

7. You must decide in advance how you will respond to key-life choices (drugs, alcohol, sex, etc). – The reason Daniel was able to obey God in such an intimidating environment was because he decided way in advance what he was going to do! Right now, you need to decide in advance what you are going to do when offered drugs, invited to go clubbing, tempted to make-out in the backseat of the car, what you are going to wear at the Jr/Sr banquet (prom), behave at a weekend sleepover, etc.

Before you decide to emerge yourself into any kind of social environment,  ask yourself the following 2 questions…

1. What kind of peer pressure am I going to face? – Whatever social environment you are placed in, think about what kind of peer pressure you are going to face Jonadab-type peer pressure or Daniel-type peer pressure?

2. How am I going to handle it? –The main question is how are you going to respond to it? Are you going to please man or obey God?

Credit: Much of this outline is adapted from Cary Schmidt, student pastor at Lancaster Baptist Church. He has made his sermon material available for this study on Teen Traps. 

Teen Trap #1: Bad Attitude

Traps are set all throughout your teen & adult life. These traps look attractive and sweet, but underneath there is a lot of pain and hurt. The first trap is the trap of a BAD ATTITUDE.

What is attitude? An attitude is your spirit. It is the spiritual state of your heart and mind. It is the part of you that generates your outlook on life and impacts your behavior and responses. Simply put, your attitude is the by-product of your heart! The real you!  It is how you view and respond to events that happen in your life.

A Biblical example of a bad attitude is the life of Jonah (Jonah 1-4). He got angry at God when revival broke out in Nineveh.  His bad attitude corrupted every other area of his life and resulted in a bad life.

A Biblical example of a good (right) attitude is the life of Joseph (Genesis 39:21-23). He was betrayed by his brothers, sold in to slavery, and framed by Potiphar’s wife and he responded with joy and God used him greatly in Pharaoh’s kingdom during the 7 years of famine!

Here are 6 Statements about your attitude you need to know:

1. Everyone struggles with the control of their attitude. You are not alone! – This is not just a teen thing. Take comfort in the fact that adults struggle with their attitude. But get victory now! If you allow a bad attitude to control you it will mess up your life on multiple levels. Everyone will face something (simple or complex) this week where your attitude will be challenged.

2. If Satan can get your attitude, He can get the rest of your life. –Everything flows from your attitude. If he can get your mind twisted (cynical, sarcastic, defiant, rebellious, bitter, scorn, etc) you will behave in a way that is unchristlike. A bad attitude brings bad decisions brings bad consequences brings a bad life.

3. You don’t have the power to choose the many events of your life, but you do have the power to choose your attitude. – You don’t have control over the amount of homework you receive, your parent’s marital decisions, your health, your car problems, your work schedule, economical & political things, or the weather! But you do have the ability to choose how you will respond (your attitude) to those things. Life is 10% of what happens to you, 90% is your attitude.

4. A Bad attitude shows itself in several unchristlike ways. – When you choose to have a stinky attitude many unchristlike responses begin to manifest themselves in your life.

5. The Holy Spirit never generates or permits a bad attitude. Never! – Sad to say, but many Christians sum their life up on some simple phrase, “Life Stinks!” Your bad attitude is not from God, but YOU! You are living in the flesh, you are not spirit filled (Gal. 5:22-23).

6. Nothing has a greater impact on the outcomes of your life than the attitudes you choose. – Regardless of your education, talents, music ability, popularity, or athletic skills people want to be around someone who has a great attitude about life. Not a grumpy, grouchy, and irritable person. You tend to avoid people with bad attitudes (unless you are one of them!). Your attitude has a great impact on your life!

 Will you make the decision, with God’s help, to have a good attitude from this day forward?

Credit: Much of this outline is adapted from Cary Schmidt, student pastor at Lancaster Baptist Church. He has made his sermon material available for this study on Teen Traps.