Just as there are various denominations today among those who claim to be Christians, so there were various sects among Jews in Jesus' day. Studying what the Bible says about these groups may help us learn lessons useful in our service to God.
The purpose of this study is to consider some lessons from the
Pharisees.
The
Pharisees were a prominent sect. They correctly believed in spirits and in the
resurrection of the dead, whereas Sadducees did not (Acts 23:8).
However,
they also possessed many characteristics that Christians should avoid. Their
errors, combined with their zeal and influence, often led them into conflict
with Jesus and His disciples.
People today who believe in strict obedience to God's word are
often accused of being "Pharisees."
Some
teachers have repeatedly claimed that the Pharisees emphasized strict obedience
to God's law. But Jesus often rebuked the Pharisees. So, if we teach that
people must obey the Bible, folks often rebuke us a being "a bunch of
Pharisees" like the people Jesus rebuked.
Jesus
often did rebuke the Pharisees. But not everything they believed was wrong:
remember, they were right about the resurrection! So, we should be careful to
condemn the Pharisees only for the things for which Jesus condemned them. Even
if history proves that Pharisees believed some idea, that fact alone would not
automatically prove that belief was wrong.
We want
to study exactly what Jesus really said about the Pharisees. Were they wrong
because they emphasized strict obedience to God's word? Then we want to examine
ourselves and consider whether or not we are like the Pharisees.
Consider
these characteristics of the Pharisees:
I. Strict Observance of Law
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Acts
26:5 - The Pharisees were known as the strictest sect among the Jews. But ask
yourself: Is Paul here criticizing or condemning that? If anything, he is
speaking favorably here (cf. Philippians 3:4,5; Acts 23:6-10; Matthew 23:2,3).
A. The Gospel of Jesus Repeatedly Teaches the Importance of
Obedience.
=====================================================
Matthew
7:21-27 - To enter the kingdom of heaven we must do God's will. One who hears
Jesus' words and does not do them is like one who builds a house on sand.
John 14:15 - If you love me, keep my commands.
Hebrews 5:9 - Jesus is the author of eternal salvation to all who
obey Him.
2
Thessalonians 1:8,9 - Those who do not obey the gospel will be punished with
everlasting destruction.
People
today often oppose teaching that emphasizes strict obedience to God's word, but
do these passages sound like Jesus would condemn someone for teaching the need
for obedience? What passage anywhere condemns the Pharisees for teaching strict
observance to God's word?
[John
14:21-24; 1 John 5:3; 2:3-6; James 2:14-26; 1 Peter 1:22,23; Romans 2:6-10;
6:17,18]
B. The Teaching of Jesus Repeatedly Rebuked People When They
Disobeyed God's Word.
=====================================================
Revelation 3:19 - Jesus reproved and chastened those whom He
loved. He required them to repent.
James 5:19,20 - Turning a sinner from his error saves a soul from
death.
2
Timothy 4:2-4 - Because people will turn away from truth and want preaching
that satisfies their own desires, we must preach the word and rebuke error.
People
today often object when others rebuke them for disobeying God's word, but does
this sound like Jesus objected to telling people they were wrong to disobey
God? Jesus' own teaching contains numerous examples in which He told people
they were wrong, including the Pharisees!
Amazingly,
some people heartily approve the fact that Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and told
them they need to change, then they immediately tell us we are un-Christlike if
we rebuke others and tell them to change! If Jesus did not believe in telling
folks they were wrong, why did He rebuke the Pharisees? And if telling people
they are wrong is such a bad thing to do, why do people approve of the fact
that Jesus rebuked the Pharisees?
[Galatians
6:1,2; 1 Thessalonians 5:14; Ephesians 5:11; Acts 6:9; 7:51-54; John 7:7]
C. Actually, Jesus Often Criticized the Pharisees because They
Were Not Strict Enough!
=====================================================
Some examples
*************
Matthew
15:1-9 - Jesus criticized the Pharisees for freeing people from the Divine
obligation to care for their elderly parents. Jesus was stricter than the
Pharisees!
Matthew
19:3-9 - Some Pharisees thought people could divorce for just any reason. Jesus
said His teaching would return to God's original law and would allow divorce
only for the cause of fornication. Jesus was stricter than the Pharisees!
Baptism
*******
Luke
7:30 - Jesus had been baptized by John, but the Pharisees refused. In so doing,
they rejected the counsel of God. Jesus was stricter than the Pharisees about
baptism!
Many
people today teach salvation by "faith only." When we teach that
baptism is necessary to salvation, they often accuse us of being
"Pharisees" because we emphasize strict obedience. But in fact, the
Pharisees were the first-century teachers who said that baptism was not
necessary. This was another point on which Jesus disagreed with them.
People
today need to realize that, when we teach baptism is necessary, we are agreeing
with Jesus. People who deny the necessity of baptism are the ones who are like
the Pharisees!
Matthew 23:23,24
****************
People
often use this passage to say that Jesus condemned the Pharisees for strict
observance of God's law. But contrary to popular belief, Jesus was not rebuking
the Pharisees here for being too strict. On the contrary, Jesus was seriously
rebuking them for not being strict enough!
The
Pharisees tithed little spices but neglected weightier matters. "These you
ought to have done, without leaving the others undone." This means they
"ought to" have been tithing the spices. Jesus was not rebuking the
Pharisees for tithing spices.
The
problem was what they left undone. They had neglected even more important
commands. So here - on the very passage where people think Jesus was rebuking
strict obedience to the law - the fact is that Jesus was stricter than the
Pharisees! He was rebuking them for leaving Divine commands undone!
There
are other passages where people think Jesus was more lenient than the
Pharisees. But this was because the Pharisees were keeping human traditions, or
because their motives were evil, not because the Pharisees were strictly
obeying God. (We will note some of these later.)
So when
people rebuke us for being like the Pharisees because we teach people to obey
God's word, we need to point out that there is not one word from Jesus or any
New Testament writer that condemns anyone for believing in strict obedience to
God's revealed will.
In
fact, when it comes to teaching people to obey the real meaning of God's law,
Jesus was stricter than that Pharisees. What He did sometimes condemn them for
was being too loose and not following God's word. So, when people today try to
excuse people who disobey God's law, they are the ones who are like the
Pharisees. And if we seek to be like Jesus, then we need respond in love and show
them their error!
II. Human Laws and Traditions Instead of Divine Law
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
A. The Practice of the Pharisees
================================
Pharisees followed human rules that differed from God's law -
Matthew 15:1-9,13,14
*****************************************************
They
condemned people who did not wash their hands before eating, while releasing
people from their God-given obligation to provide for elderly parents. These
rules were based on "the tradition of the elders" (v2). They made
God's command of no effect by their traditions (v6), teaching as doctrine the
commands of men (v9).
So
again, Jesus did not condemn the Pharisees for strictly following God's law.
What He condemned them for was binding man-made laws different from God's law.
They both bound what God had not bound and released men from what God had
bound, all on the basis of man-made rules.
They made technical distinctions to free people from God's
commands - Matthew 23:16-22.
*****************************************************
Jesus
gave examples of technical rules Pharisees made to release people from keeping
their commitments. If one swore by the temple or the altar, he could be
released from an oath. But if he swore by the gold of the temple or the gift on
the altar, he was bound.
Jesus
taught, if anything, the temple and the altar were greater than the gold and
the gift. But in fact, Jesus' disciples do not need oaths to confirm our word.
Christians should be known for always keeping their word (Matthew 5:37; James
5:12).
So,
rather than being overly strict in observing God's law, the Pharisees were
releasing people from obligations that God held them too. What they zealously
bound were their human traditions and human changes in God's law. Jesus rebuked
them because their human laws freed people from Divine requirements!
They
condemned acts of mercy on the Sabbath - Luke 14:1-6; John 9:13-18,30-34;
Matthew 12:1-14; John 5:5-10,16-19; 7:21-24
*****************************************************
The
Pharisees often claimed that Jesus broke the law by healing on the Sabbath.
Some people, even in the church, believe that this is an example in which the
Pharisees were wrong to insist on strict observance of God's law, whereas Jesus
released people from obeying God's law. But consider:
Luke 14:1-6
The
truth is that the Sabbath law permitted healing and works of mercy. It never
had forbidden them. The reason stories like this confuse people is that they
assume the Sabbath law forbade all kinds of work. But again, what the Pharisees
were binding was, not God's law, but their own human traditions. Note:
* Jesus
obeyed the law without sin (Hebrews 4:15; 1 Peter 2:21ff; 2 Corinthians 5:21).
Sin is transgression of the law (1 John 3:4). If Jesus had violated the Sabbath
law, he could not have been sinless.
* Jesus
explained that it was proper to pull a sheep out of a pit, even on a Sabbath
day. This could be considered work, but everyone agreed it could be done.
Nobody thought this was a sin. Why? Because God never intended for the Sabbath
law to forbid works of mercy to help people in their need. Even the Jews knew
this in other areas, yet they condemned Jesus for healing people on the
Sabbath.
So
everybody knew the Sabbath law did not forbid all kinds of work. For some of
us, even getting out of bed in the morning is a lot of work! The Pharisees had
endless rules about what kind of work violated the Sabbath law and what work
did not violate it.
When
the Pharisees condemned Jesus and His disciples regarding the Sabbath law,
Jesus said they were condemning the "guiltless" (Matthew 12:7). So,
Jesus did not violate the Sabbath. Again, the rules He violated were only human
traditions bound by the Pharisees, but not by God.
John 5:16,17
The
Jews wanted to kill Jesus because He healed on the Sabbath. But Jesus responded
that both He and His Father had been "working." Think about this in
context. In what sense had Jesus and His Father been working? Obviously, Jesus
was talking about working on the Sabbath. He was claiming that He wasn't the
only one who worked on the Sabbath. His Father in heaven worked on the Sabbath
too!
* The
Sabbath began because God rested instead of working on the seventh day of
creation. But Jesus Himself was the Creator, so He was the One who rested on
the seventh day (John 1:1-3). He ought to know what happened! That's what He
meant when He said He was "Lord of the Sabbath" (Matthew 12:8). If
anyone could properly interpret the Sabbath law, it should have been Him.
* But
Genesis 2:3 says only that God ceased the work of creation. In did not mean
that God ceased to do all kinds of work. In fact, God has always continued to
work on the Sabbath. He gives every good gift (James 1:17; Cf. Acts 17:25,28;
14:17; Matthew 5:45). He upholds all things by the word of His power
(Colossians 1:17; Nehemiah 9:6; Hebrews 1:3). If God were to cease working even
for a day, the world would cease to exist! The continued existence of the
Universe proves that God has worked every Sabbath from creation on.
*
Specifically, when Jesus did a miracle on the Sabbath, from what source did the
power come to do the miracle? From God. Miracles are "works" of God. So
the very fact that Jesus did miracles on the Sabbath of itself proved that God
believed in doing some works on the Sabbath. If God did not believe in working
on the Sabbath, then no miracle could ever have happened on that day! So to
condemn Jesus for doing a miracle on the Sabbath was really to condemn God,
since God must be the source of the power.
*
Further, the purpose of miracles was to confirm the word of the one through
whom the miracle was done (see John 5:36; 20:30,31; Mark 16:20; Acts 2:22; 14:3;
2 Corinthians 12:11,12; Hebrews 2:3,4; 1 Kings 18:36-39). If Jesus taught that
miracles could be done on the Sabbath and then He did miracles, that meant God
was confirming what Jesus taught, including His teaching that healing did not
violate the Sabbath law!
So,
Jesus' point here was that the Sabbath law forbade only certain kinds of work.
It never did forbid all kinds of work. The works He did were permitted by the
law. And what the Pharisees should have done when they saw His miracles,
instead of condemning Him for violating the law, they should have recognized
that the very fact that He could do miracles actually confirmed that He was
teaching the truth.
So once
again, in opposing Jesus' miracles, the Pharisees were not standing for strict
observance of God's law, but rather were defending their own human traditions.
B. Modern Applications
======================
Like
the Pharisees, many people today participate in religious practices because of
human tradition and command rather than Divine command.,
* Some
churches openly bind religious requirements on the basis of
"tradition." They have elaborate rituals and technical rules, like
the Pharisees, but they do not base them on Scripture. Instead, they justify
them on the grounds of tradition.
* Other
denominations follow other forms of human laws: decrees of councils,
pronouncements of human church officers, or official creeds written by leaders.
They appeal to these as their authority for doctrine and practice. These human
authorities, like the Pharisees' commands, sometimes bind what God has not
bound and sometimes release people from things God has bound.
*
Others may not have official creed books, yet in practice they determine what
they believe by "the way we've always done it." They will argue that
way when their practices are questioned. Even members of Jesus' church have
been known to do this.
* Still
other people hold their faith on the basis of family tradition. "My
parents (or other family members) believe this (or attended this denomination,
etc.). I was brought this way." Some refuse to change because they think
it would be disloyal to their family. All such views constitute following human
tradition.
So
people are mistaken when they rebuke others as "Pharisees" because
they teach the need for strict obedience to God's law. In fact, the people who
make this claim are usually themselves members of groups that follow man-made
creeds, decrees of councils, tradition, etc. And one of those human rules is
that people can be saved without seeking to seriously obey God's commands. In
other words, the doctrine that obedience to God's law is not necessary to
salvation is itself a man-made rule. So people who teach that doctrine are
following a human religious rule, just like Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for
doing!
So once
again, Jesus never rebuked the Pharisees or anyone else for teaching that
people need to carefully and respectfully obey Divine law. What He did rebuke
people for was binding human traditions or following human commands that differ
from God's law. Surely, we too need to take care to make sure we are not
guilty.
Why do
you believe and practice as you do? Are you following teachings that you simply
learned from your parents or loved ones, things you have just practiced for
years, or laws made by some church that differ from God's word? Or can you find
your religious teachings and practices in God's word?
III. Self-Righteous Pride
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
A. The Practice of the Pharisees
================================
Luke
18:9-14 - The Pharisee trusted in himself that he was righteous, boasting to
God about all his good works, claiming to be far superior to the tax collector.
Again,
some people think the Pharisee was wrong because he said the tax collector was
wrong. So, whenever anybody tells other people they are wrong, some people
accuse them of being self-righteous like the Pharisees. Yet we have studied many
Scriptures in which Jesus Himself told others when they were wrong, and He
commands us to do the same. In fact, He was rebuking the Pharisees in this very
passage!
So if
Jesus was not saying the Pharisees where self-righteous simply for saying other
people were wrong, why was He condemning the Pharisees? What is
self-righteousness?
They trusted IN THEMSELVES that they were righteous.
****************************************************
The
Pharisee boasted about his good deeds. He exalted himself instead of humbling
himself before God (v14). He did not confess his sins and plead for mercy (as
did the tax collector), but thought God should accept him because he did so
many good things. At no point did he acknowledge his sins or seek God's forgiveness.
Apparently, he thought he deserved salvation because he was so much better than
others.
This
does not mean it is wrong to teach and practice strict obedience to God's law.
We have seen we must do this to be saved. But no matter how good a life we
live, we have all sinned; and no matter how good our future life may be, we
could never be saved without God's grace to forgive the sins we have committed.
They despised others (set them at naught).
******************************************
The
Pharisee pointed out the tax collector's errors, not because he sincerely
desired to help the tax collector, but to brag about how much better he was!
This was typical of the Pharisees.
Matthew
9:10-13 - The Pharisees objected when Jesus associated with sinners and
publicans. They thought they were too good to be around sinners. They did not
recognize that they were just as deserving of punishment as other sinners.
Jesus
answered by teaching the importance of mercy: He came to call sinners to
repentance. Here is a fundamental difference between Jesus and the Pharisees.
The Pharisees treated others as sinners to make themselves look better than
others, then they refused to associate with them. But Jesus associated with
people in sin so He could teach them in mercy how they should change to save
their souls.
Luke
15:2 - The Pharisees again criticized Jesus for receiving sinners and eating
with them. Jesus responded with three stories showing how much God wants
sinners to be saved.
The story
of the Prodigal Son shows that sinners need to repent, and God's people should
rejoice when they do. But the older brother in the story was like the Pharisees
(15:25-32). Instead of rejoicing when his sinful brother repented, he was angry
and resentful.
This
shows that the Pharisees were actually the greater sinners. The prodigal son
and the tax collector both were willing to repent and ask for mercy, so both
were forgiven. The Pharisees, like the older brother, did not think they needed
forgiveness but should be accepted because they were so good. They did not
recognize their sins, did not repent, and so were not forgiven.
[Luke
7:36-50]
B. Modern Applications
======================
What lessons should we learn today?
Do we expect eternal life because we are so good or because of
God's grace?
*****************************************************
We must
strive to be right. God will not even forgive us until, like the prodigal, we
determine to turn away from wrong and do right. But this still requires us to
admit our need for forgiveness. We are saved, not because we have done no
wrong, but because God has mercifully offered forgiveness for our wrongs.
Ephesians
2:8,9 - This passage is misused to teach that obedience is not necessary to
salvation. But the proper application is to people like the Pharisees who
boasted about how good they were and thought God should accept them because
they are so much better than others.
But
what about us? If we don't guard our attitudes, we may become like the
Pharisees, patting ourselves on the back as though we deserve to be saved
because we are better than other folks. Good deeds are essential for God to
give us eternal life. But good deeds themselves can never make up for our sins.
We all need forgiveness. That means we must humble ourselves to recognize our
sins and plead for mercy (like the tax collector did). When God forgives us, we
must realize we did not earn salvation but will receive it only because of the
goodness and mercy of God.
Do we tell others about their sins to help them be saved or to
exalt ourselves?
*****************************************************
Some
folks, like the Pharisees, think they are right but do nothing to help the lost
be saved. They "despise others," criticizing their sins, laughing at
their errors, mocking and ridiculing, but making little effort to help them be
saved.
If they
do tell others their errors, they do it to win an argument, to prove they are
right and others are wrong. Rather than trying to exalt others by leading them
to the truth, they are trying to exalt themselves by showing that they are
better than others. That is what the Pharisees were like. Is there some of this
among God's people?
Remember
that Jesus told people they were wrong because He cared for their souls and
sought their salvation. What about us? Do we care enough about the lost to take
the time and effort to help them be saved? Do we speak to them out of sincere
concern for their souls?
I
disagree with people who say the Pharisees were wrong because they emphasized
strict obedience and told others to repent. But the fact remains that we must
guard our attitudes or we will become wrong like the Pharisees were in our
attitudes toward others.
[Matthew
23:5-12,29-36; 3:7-10; John 9:35-41; 7:32,45-52]
IV. Hypocrisy
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Luke
12:1 - "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy."
Hypocrisy is pretending to be better than we are, trying to lead people to
think we are good, when really we are not. Notice several ways in which this
characterized the Pharisees:
A. Emphasis on Outer Service without Inner Attitudes
====================================================
The practice of the Pharisees
*****************************
Matthew
23:23,24 - The problem for which Jesus really rebuked the Pharisees here was
emphasizing a relatively unimportant outer act (tithing minor garden spices),
while ignoring fundamental inner attitudes of righteousness. The problem was
not the outer obedience; it was the improper attitudes.
Matthew
23:25-28 - They were deeply concerned about outward appearances before men, but
did not care what they were really like on the inside. They were like people
cleaning the outside of a cup but leaving the inside filthy, or like a tomb
beautiful on the outside, but inside full of corruption and decay.
Matthew
15:8 - They professed great religious devotion in their speech, but it did not
affect their hearts. They were not really devoted to God's work. One of the
major characteristics of a hypocrite is they profess great devotion while
harboring evil hearts.
Books
and movies about the time of the Reformation portray the incredible hatred and
evil treatment practiced in the name of religion. Both Catholics and
Protestants often justified murder, assassination, violence, and the most
bitter hatred in the name of religion. Both sides professed great concern about
religion, but both often demonstrated horrible attitudes.
Jesus
has always insisted on proper attitudes as well as right conduct. In fact the
Scriptures often point out that truly godly conduct can come only from a godly
heart, because improper attitudes will sooner or later show in our conduct. (1
Corinthians 13:1ff; Proverbs 4:23; Romans 6:17,18).
Modern applications
*******************
Obviously many religious people today emphasize outward conduct
without inner purity.
* For
many, their worship consists of great displays of pomp and grandeur, yet
privately they may think nothing of fornication, filthy language, drinking,
gambling, and indecent entertainment. In fact, many churches use such
activities as fund raisers! What about members of the Lord's church? Could it
be that some of us likewise regularly attend church meetings but go home to
live as we please?
* Do we
talk about love and unity in our services, then go home to lose our tempers and
scream hateful things intended to hurt our spouse or children?
* Do we
insist that our worship assemblies be conducted according to the Scriptures in
every detail, then just go through the motions when we come? Do we daydream or
visit and joke with our neighbor, think about our sports or recreation, or make
little effort even to stay awake?
* Do we
insist that the church must not support any unscriptural practices from the
treasury, while we personally make little or no effort to help the sick,
shut-in, or the poor, or to teach the gospel to the lost?
* Do we
rebuke our brethren anytime they do something we think is out of line, no
matter how picky, but our manner leaves the impression we are mainly interested
in winning an argument, making others look silly, and proving how much Bible we
know?
Just as
Jesus taught the Pharisees, we do need to be concerned about being outwardly
right. But let us remember that service to God must come from proper attitudes,
and we are just as displeasing to God when our hearts our wrong as when our
words or deeds are wrong.
B. Improper Motives for Service
===============================
The practice of the Pharisees
*****************************
Matthew
23:5-7 - The Pharisees did acts of religious service to impress people and
receive their praises. They wanted special seats and titles as religious
honors. Whether or not they were pleasing God really did not matter much to
them; what really mattered was that other people thought they were pleasing
God. [Luke 14:7-11]
John
12:42,43 - Many knew Jesus was from God, but refused to confess Him because
they would be cast out of the synagogues. They loved the praises of men more
than the praises of God. Sometimes they were willing to disobey God if this
would please other people.
Matthew
6:1-6 [cf. v7-18] - Even when they did good things, they did them so they could
receive honor and praises from people. If they gave a charitable gift or prayed
to God, they did it with fanfare, so as many people as possible would know what
they did.
Matthew
27:18 - In the end they killed Jesus because of envy. They were embarrassed
because He kept telling them before the people that they were wrong [John 7:7].
He was receiving a major following, which meant they were losing followers.
Bible
accounts repeatedly state or imply that their conduct was determined by what
people thought of them.
[Luke
16:14]
Modern applications
*******************
What
about religious people today? Are they often motivated by a desire to impress
other people like the Pharisees were?
What about denominations?
* Many
leaders wear flowing garments and receive titles of honor ("Reverend"
and "Father") just like the Pharisees. They give special seats or
other honors to special guests, such as politicians or famous athletes.
* Often
when people make a special contribution, they want everyone to know about it.
They want their names placed on a plaque or a room in the building named after
them.
*
Churches want eloquent speakers and beautiful, fancy buildings to please the
people. They offer elaborate services with choirs, instrumental music, special
singing groups, and elaborate stage productions.
* To
attract crowds, they provide recreation and entertainment, fun and games, food
and frolic. Yet, little time or emphasis is placed on studying God's will.
* Many
of them will compromise the truth, refusing to preach things they know are in
God's word because they will lose members and money. Often they will not change
even when their error is revealed.
Yet
amazingly these are often the same people that accuse other people of being
like the Pharisees, because they emphasize carefully obeying God's word. In fact,
in all these ways they themselves are really the ones who are like the
Pharisees.
What about members of the Lord's church?
Do we sometimes see all these same tendencies among us?
*
Aren't there some members who want beautiful buildings, entertainment, and
recreation, to please the people?
* Do we
prefer leaders who are eloquent or have people-pleasing personalities over
those who courageously and in love speak the truth?
*
Aren't there members who would like to have the message of the gospel toned
down so it will not be so offensive to visitors?
*
Aren't we sometimes too conscious of what other people think of us as we lead
in the public assemblies, so others will praise us for our abilities in
singing, leading prayer, or speaking?
* Do we
sometimes wish people knew when we gave an extra large contribution or when we
taught someone the gospel, so we try to bring it into the conversation and get
a pat on the back?
*
Aren't there people who even get baptized and become part of the church mainly
to please family members, friends, boyfriend, or girlfriend?
We
definitely should emphasize careful obedience to God's word. But let's remember
that, if we aren't careful, we can be like the Pharisees in other ways.
C. Failure to Practice What We Preach
=====================================
The practice of the Pharisees
*****************************
Matthew
23:3,4 - The Pharisees were hypocrites because they required other people to
practice what they themselves would not do. They laid heavy burdens on others,
but would not carry them themselves. "They say, and do not do."
Romans
2:1,21-23 - This was a common problem among the Jews. They condemned other
people, yet they themselves practiced essentially the same things that they
condemned in others.
[Matthew
7:1ff]
Modern applications
*******************
Does
this problem exist among God's people? Do we practice things even though they
obviously contradict what we teach other people?
* Do we
teach kids not to cheat in school, but we cheat on income taxes?
* Do we
punish them for using bad words, but then they hear us use similar words?
* Do we
teach them they should practice good sportsmanship, but then they see us lose
our tempers and say hateful things when our team loses? When our 12-year-old
grandson's team won a game on a rule technicality, the whole group of parents
of the other team became so angry and used such abusive language that the
umpires had to eject them from the stands! What does such conduct teach the
children?
* Do we
teach people they should obey the law of the land, but we knowingly exceed the
speed limits?
* Do we
sing "More about Jesus let me learn" and teach our children in our
Bible classes that they need to study their Bibles, but the only time we study
is when we are in church meetings or when we are preparing to teach a Bible
class?
* Do we
teach our children never to become addicted to drugs, but we are addicted to
nicotine or alcohol?
* Do we
complain about how unruly other people's children are, while our own disobey us
without getting punished?
* Do we
pray "bring us back at the next appointed time," then make light,
frivolous excuses to stay home when we could come?
* Do we
sing "I want to be a worker for the Lord," and then try to avoid
helping with church work that obviously needs to be done?
* Do we
sing "Purer in heart, O God, help me to be," and "More holiness
give me," then we try to get just as close to sin as we can? In order to
go along with fashion, do we wear clothing that is as skimpy as we can without
someone absolutely being able to prove we have sinned? Do we really want more
holiness or would we really prefer more worldliness?
* When
we pray "May we spread the borders of the kingdom" and sing "I
love to tell the story," how long has it been since we have spoken to a
lost soul about Jesus?
* Do we
sing "I surrender all," but then we try to give just as little as we
can for church work?
The
truth is that there are lots of ways to be like the Pharisees. We need to
emphasize the importance of obeying God, and we need to speak in love to let
other people know when they need to change. But let us also remember all the ways
the Pharisees were wrong, and let us make application to our own lives of
lessons we can learn.
[Mat.
21:33-46; 3:7-10; 16:1-12; 22:15-22; John 8:1-11]
Conclusion
==========
As
Christians, we should not be intimidated simply because people say we are like
the Pharisees. The Pharisees were not wrong in everything they did. And they
were not always wrong in the ways people today say they were wrong.
But at the same time there are real lessons we should learn from
the Pharisees.
* We
must learn that obedience to God is essential to salvation, and we should not
excuse ourselves or other people for their disobedience.
* We
must learn the danger of human laws and traditions in religion.
* We must
learn to act out of sincere devotion to God, not out of self-righteous pride.
* We
must learn to not be hypocrites but to practice what we preach, maintain proper
attitudes as well as outward appearances, and always act from a sincere desire
to please God.
* And
ultimately we must learn that we can be saved only if we humbly seek God's
grace and mercy to forgive our sins by the blood of Jesus.
(C) Copyright 2012, David E. Pratte You are free to keep copies of this material on computer and/or in printed form for your own further study. If you have any other requests about the use of this material, please read our copyright guidelines at www.gospelway.com/copyrite.htm.
