Now the disciples “had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, ‘Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.’ And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, ‘Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?’ They said to him, ‘Twelve.’ ‘And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?’ And they said to him, ‘Seven.’ And he said to them, ‘Do you not yet understand?’” (Mark 8:14-21 ESV)
“’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 16:11-12 ESV)
Leaven is another word for yeast, which is used to make bread, but it is being used here in a figurative sense to speak of the spreading influence of what is typically concealed and of what is evil in nature. And Jesus was warning his disciples, cautioning them to watch out for and to beware this spreading influence of evil coming from those in positions of authority and rule and influence within the Jewish community, and in the name of God.
Now, in our world today, this would be Jesus warning us of the same kinds of influences, and coming from the same types of people with the same types of positions of power and influence within the Christian Community, whether Jew or Gentile by physical birth. And these people can certainly include politicians and kings and presidents of nations, as well as pastors, elders, and deacons, and/or those who call themselves prophets and apostles.
For just because someone has a particular title before his (or her) name, it does not mean that person is someone to be trusted. And even if that person appears to be pro-Christ or pro-Christianity, it does not necessitate that he is actually for Christ and for Christians and not against them, in secret. And so this serves as a warning to all of us to not be naïve, and to not assume that everyone is who he says he is, for many liars abound!
So many people professing themselves to be Christians are followers of other humans rather than or over than being followers of Jesus Christ. And so they end up following after and believing whatever so-and-so says without even checking to see whether or not what the person is saying aligns with the teachings of the Scriptures and/or if what he is teaching contradicts the teachings of Scriptures. So we need to be discerning here.
For not everyone is who he says he is, and not everyone speaks the truth. It appears these days to be the opposite of that, in that I wonder sometimes if there are many people left who actually tell the truth, in practice. Lying has become so commonplace and so widely acceptable, even within the gatherings of the church, and even among those in positions of church leadership who are following the marketing plans of their “businesses.”
So, it is necessary that we are warned against believing anyone just because of who he (or she) is, or because of who his parents were, or because of what seminary he graduated from or what credentials he has before his name, or what titles. For all of that can be surface only, and it can be very deceptive, and it may not be a true representation at all of who the person really is or of what he believes, or whether or not he tells the truth.
And this is why we are taught in the Scriptures that we must test the spirits (people’s character) to see if they are of God or not, and we are to test what they are teaching against the teachings of the Scriptures, but as taught in CONTEXT. For many lies are being spread by those who teach the Scriptures out of context and who thus twist them to say what they want them to say, even if that is opposite of what they really teach if taught in context.
[Matthew 7:15-23; Matthew 24:11-14; John 10:1-15; Romans 16:17-19; 2 Corinthians 11:3,13-15; Ephesians 4:11-16; Philippians 3:2; 2 Peter 2:1-22; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22; 1 Timothy 1:3-7; 1 Timothy 6:3-10; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 1 John 4:1-6; Jude 1:1-25]
For Jesus said that to come after him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our sinful practices, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we deny self, die daily to sin, and walk in obedience to his commands, we have eternal life. For he also said that not everyone calling him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only those doing the will of God in heaven.
[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]
Beautiful Lamb
“Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29
By Gary Miller
Beautiful Lamb of God, guiltless and pure as snow,
Gentle and merciful, beautiful Lamb of God.
Sent from the Father’s love,
Sent from the throne above,
Sent to redeem us with His blood.
Beautiful Lamb of God, guiltless and pure as snow,
Gentle and merciful, beautiful Lamb of God.
Behold the Lamb of God
Suff’ring great pain for us,
And by His wounds we all are healed.
Beautiful Lamb of God, guiltless and pure as snow,
Gentle and merciful, beautiful Lamb of God.
Like sheep we’ve gone astray,
Each turn to his own way,
But Jesus will take our sins away.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xo7wA3gZIgI
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