“Jesus said to them, ‘Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’”
“’How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’ Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (Matthew 16:6,11-12 ESV)
So, who are the “Pharisees and Sadducees” of our time? They don’t have to be exact matches philosophically, but who are they spiritually, in relationship to God and to us other humans? What are their main characteristic traits?
The Pharisees of Jesus’ day were skilled at hypocrisy. Jesus described them in this way (based off Matthew 23:1-39):
• They do not practice what they preach
• They do their deeds to be seen by others
• They love places of honor; they love attention
• They lead people to hell on the promise of heaven
• They profess one thing but live the opposite
• They adhere to religious rituals but not to God’s righteousness
• They appear clean (righteous) outwardly but inwardly are evil
• They are full of wicked deeds, greed, hypocrisy and self-indulgence
• They persecute those who are truly righteous in God’s sight
Often Jesus coupled the Pharisees with the Sadducees or with the Scribes. They had their definite differences, but what they appeared to have in common is that their teaching was not right. It was not according to the Scriptures but it was twisted and self-serving, and it was deceptive and harmful to those who listened to it and who followed in its ways. And what is described above appears to fit with many of those professing to be pastors, elders, prophets, apostles and/or preachers of the gospel in America today.
For so many of them are building their earthly kingdoms and not the kingdoms of God. For they have incorporated their congregations as not-for-profit businesses under the state which they are then marketing to the world with worldly marketing schemes and tricks and goals. They want to grow in numbers, and they want to attract the world to their gatherings in order to “draw in large crowds of people from the world,” and so they alter the character of God/Christ and of his church and of his gospel.
So they do indeed lead people to hell on the promise of heaven, for they change the character of the gospel message to make it more acceptable to the ungodly and to human flesh in order to attract more people to their gatherings, and so as not to offend them with the truth, because they want them to want to come back to their meetings. And so they promise them heaven on the basis of a profession of faith in Jesus Christ but which is lacking in genuine repentance and in walks of obedience to the Lord.
And not only do they appear spiritually clean on the outside, but inwardly they are full of evil, but by diluting and altering the gospel message the way that they do, they are leading their followers to do the same. So those who adhere to their teachings end up remaining in their sins, still full of wicked deeds, greed, hypocrisy and self-indulgence, and the like, but while claiming Jesus as their Lord and Savior and heaven as their eternal destiny. And if they start to feel guilty for their sins, they are told to claim who they are in Christ, even though they may not even be “in Christ” by genuine faith.
And they do indeed persecute those who are truly righteous in God’s sight, because those who are truly righteous in the sight of the Lord are those who are adhering to the gospel that Jesus taught which is what they are then telling others. And that serves as a threat to the lies which these “Pharisees” are spreading, and so many of them are being trained to get rid of those with “strong convictions” who are holding to the gospel that Jesus and that his NT apostles taught (in context) so that they don’t offend their people.
“Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.” (Matthew 16:24-27 ESV)
So, what was the gospel that Jesus taught? You can read it here in this passage in Matthew 16:24-27 and in Luke 9:23-26 and in Mark 8:34-38. In the Luke passage it is recorded as Jesus saying “and take up his cross daily…” And what Jesus said here really is the essence of the message of the gospel, for it spells out for us the purpose for why Jesus gave his life up for us on that cross and what it means now for us to believe in Jesus Christ and to follow him with our lives. For this is not about lip service only.
For if we are believing in Jesus Christ with genuine God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in him, we must daily deny self, die daily to sin, and follow Jesus Christ in obedience to his commands (New Covenant). For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience, then we have the hope of eternal life with God, providing that we continue in that until the end, by the grace of God, and in the power of God.
To be ashamed of Jesus’ words is in this context of what else Jesus said, so this isn’t speaking merely about being afraid to verbalize his words before other people. This is about us being ashamed of his words to the point to where we will not obey his words. We will not deny self and die daily to sin and follow our Lord in obedience to his commands and according to his will and purpose for our lives. And that is because we want to live our lives our way according to our will and with regard to being accepted by other people.
But we need to know that if we don’t deny self, and if we don’t die to sin daily (in practice), and if we don’t follow our Lord in obedience to his commands (in practice) and according to his will and purpose for our lives, Jesus is going to be ashamed of us when he returns, and he will deny us, and he will say, “I never knew you! Depart from me you workers of lawlessness.” For then he will repay each person according to what he has done. So, please know what the Scriptures teach on this subject.
[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Peter 1:15; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZv3jzOTE70
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