You Might Be A Pharisee If...Lk11:37-52
Who Were The Pharisees ?
Jewish Separatists.
Only One Way Of Doing Things....And It Was There Way.
Aloof And Arrogant.
Believed In Traditions, And Rituals That They Created As Much As They Did The Word Of God.
Believed That Others Should Strictly Adhere To The Law.....But They Didn't Have To.
Word Synonymous With Pharisee.....”Hypocrite".
Some Of Jesus Most Passionate, And Pointed Sermons Were Preached Concerning The Pharisees.
Only About 1000 Pharisees In Days Of Jesus....Very Powerful Religious Force......Still Prevalent Today.
Possible That Some Of Their Actions, And Attitudes Have Become Imbedded In Our Hearts Today...
I. You Clean Outside,But Not Inside. 39-41
• Notorious for Outer Cleanliness!
They went to great lengths to make sure that their hands were clean before they ate. It was a ceremony......and it required cleansing the hands a certain way...and with only a certain amount of water...quarter of a log or about 1 and 1/2 egg shells.
This water was then poured on the hands and the hands were placed upwards...and the water had to run above their wrists...once this was done......the same amount of water was poured upon their hands the second time, and the hands were lowered...the water then had to run down their hands and drip off each finger.
This had to be done successfully twice before the hands were considered clean. Now this had to be done not only before meals, but after meals !
They also had regulations as to how to wash cooking and eating utensils.
They placed great emphasis on outer cleansing, and outer appearance.
From the outside.....they looked clean, but inwardly they were corrupt.
In other words they talked a good talk...and they appeared from the outside to be alright, but on the inside they were unclean spiritually.
Now let me tell you I'm all in favor of body hygiene....I believe in baths, showers, washing your hair, using deodorant, and all those things.....but do those things, and don't forget that which God sees....because God knows what on the inside......He knows those things in our life that are secret....those things we hide in the depths of our heart.....the envy..the private lies.....the bitterness......the evil thoughts.....the lustful thinking....
Those are the things which defile, and corrupt us. Those are the things that we must not tolerate in our hearts !
II. You Contribute To The Church, But Fail To Practice Love
The Pharisees believed in tithing.....they even went above what the law required.
There were some things that the law did not speak on....but the Pharisees tithed even on those things.........but they left out the more important things.....they forgot about love, and justice. They made sure that they brought their collections in.....but it did not matter to them that they did injustice to widow's and their brothers.
Tithing is important......it is scriptural......but we must not leave off loving the Lord, loving our brothers, and sisters.....loving the lost !
To do is to be a Pharisee....a hypocrite !
1 Cor 13
III. You Crave Recognition From Men More Than Approval From God.
Matthew 6:1-5
The alms chest which was used to receive collections for the poor and needy had holes in it where the money could be dropped. These were called trumpets.
The Pharisees would thrust their money into these holes with much force so that the money made a noise.....thus they were sounding the trumpet!
We need to be generous in our alm giving.
We need to be compassionate, and liberal in our giving to help those with needs, but we are to make sure that our motive is right. We are to do it out of a compassionate heart, and to it for the Lord, not to be seen of people ! Now there is certainly nothing wrong with praying in public places, but the Pharisee prays out in public only so he might impress people.
All that the Pharisees did was to impress other people.....what profit is it if we impress man, but fail in our efforts to please God. Are you seeking to live a life pleasing to the Lord ?
IV. You Claim To Be A Christian, But You Mislead Others.
Matthew 23:1-7
The Pharisees had all the appearance of being right with God....they appeared to be so spiritual !.....but they were misleading !
They hindered others from having a relationship with God because they were hypocrites ! Hell is going to be full of people who claimed to be Christian....who appeared to be righteous on the outside....who belonged to churches... What a shame it is to claim to be something......claim to have something...and be without !
Made converts of hell......Matt. 23:15
V. You Create Rules That You Yourself Are Not Willing To Abide By.45-46)
Jesus knew His audience.
These religious experts attached hundreds of additional obligations to the Law of God.
Yet they themselves were masters of the loophole. They even had ways of sidestepping the law of the Sabbath, which forbade carrying a burden on that day.
William Barclay quotes pharisaic tradition, which said, "He who carries anything, whether it be in his right hand, or in his left hand, or in his bosom, or on his shoulder is guilty; but he who carries anything on the back of his hand, or with his foot, or with his mouth, or with his elbow, or with his hair, or with his money-bag turned upside down, or between his moneybag and his shirt, or in the fold of his shirt, or in his shoe, or in his sandal is guiltless, because he does not carry it in the usually way of carrying it out."
VI. You Concern Yourself With The Mistakes of Others, But Forget Your Own.
The Pharisees had 20/20 vision when it came to seeing the faults in others, but were blind to their own faults. They were quick to point out the mistakes of others, but became defensive when they were accused.
Matthew 7:4
