Matthew 23:1-36

 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, 3 so practice and observe whatever they tell you—but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice.

 4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. 5 They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, 6 and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues 7 and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.

But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. 10 Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. 11 The greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

 “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.”

 Pharisees were a distinctive group of Jewish leaders who lived during Jesus’ time  Pharisee comes from the Greek word Pharisaios which means separatist  They originated with good intentions: -They were concerned with the purity of the Jewish people in living the life God had called them to live -They had a passion and desire to know, live, and teach the Law of God given to Moses -However, they degenerated into a group that was primarily interested in outward appearances but not an inward relationship with God

Jesus clearly and strongly warned His disciples, “Beware the leaven of the Pharisees…” Matt. 8:15

 Our approach to religion and the Bible tends to promote a Pharisaic spirit, if we are not careful  I love the church of Christ but I have difficulty with the Church of Christ  I have experienced Pharisaism and I have fostered the Pharasaic spirit in the past  I never want to go there again  If we do not heed Jesus’ warning to “beware the leaven of the Pharisees,” we could go there again

 you consider the church roll the Lamb’s book of Life  you’re disgusted by the moral filth that is playing out of your own VCR/DVD player  you think Christianity is about rules rather than relationships

 you feel it’s your spiritual job to “fix” other people, because you only see what’s wrong in others and never what’s right  you’re so obsessed with traditions and religion that you miss that it’s all about Jesus  you think the KJV is owned and copyrighted by God

 you threaten to leave the church because you cannot get your way and there is a mad rush of people who want to hold the door open for you  no one dares to mention certain congregations, authors, preachers, or journals within hearing distance of you  you know the five fingers but don’t know Ephesians 2  you know the first part of Acts 2:38 by heart but not the second half

 you set yourself up as “the” spiritual authority- Matt. 23:1-3  you make rules you do not keep - Matt. 23:4  you do what you do to be noticed by other people - Matt. 23:12  you prohibit entrance into the kingdom of God - Matt. 23: 13-14

 you have a bigoted, unhealthy view of evangelism - Matt. 23:15  you fail to distinguish between the weightier matters of truth - Matt. 23:23  you are more concerned with image than you are with substance - Matt. 23: 27-28