Modern-Day Pharisees
The following question appeared recently in our Question Box: “Who is a modern-day Pharisee [online article by Outreach Magazine, ‘12 Signs You Are a Modern-day Pharisee’”]? First of all, it should be pointed out that this is not a publication produced by brethren; it is denominational, as is the author, Frank Powell. His article was published March 30, 2017.
After noting that people often decry the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and badmouth them (which most deserve), he lists twelve ways that Christians might be guilty of the same type of thinking. Powell writes: “The following things flow from my own personal struggles with legalism and being a Pharisee. In many ways, I am a recovering Pharisee.” So, what does he consider marks of modern-day Phariseeism?
Church Attendance
“1. You believe showing up for worship every Sunday makes you right with God.” No, it does not earn salvation. After all, a person’s car shows up as often as a person does, but the car is not righteous. So, Powell has a point when he says that attendance is not as important as transformation. If we think that attendance alone will save us, then we may well be Pharisees.
However, transformation occurs because of the teaching we receive when we are present (along with what we learn on our own at home). And we are commanded not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together (Heb. 10:25). Therefore, we are not Pharisees because we meet at regular worship times, but we could be if such is a mere formality rather than for the purpose of glorifying God and encouraging one another.
For Versus Against
“2. You spend more time talking about what you are against, not what you are for.” Hmph. I am for not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. Or is that negative? Powell says that modern-day Pharisees love to argue. Really? What does that do to Paul? He went into the synagogue and for three months was “disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God” (Acts 19:8). Later, he was “disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus” (v. 9).
Paul knew what he was against—false teachers, for one (Rom. 16:17-18). Yes, he opposed immorality, preaching to Felix of “righteousness, self-control, and judgment to come” (Acts 24:25). Yet Powell chastises those who “are against drinking, smoking, cursing, short skirts, talking back to parents, holding hands before marriage and so on.” Was not John the Baptizer put to death for saying that Herod was not entitled to be married to his brother Philip’s wife (Matt. 14:3-12)? Come to think of it, Jesus’ denunciation of the Pharisees in Matthew 23 is fairly negative.
But Jesus, John, and Paul also knew what they stood for—salvation and the kingdom of heaven. The truths we present to others are sometimes positive and sometimes negative; it does not need to be an either/or situation. Was God Pharisaical when He made eight of the Ten Commandments negative? The label of Pharisee does not seem to be appropriate in this instance.
Need
“3. You believe God actually needs you.” Well, of course, God does not need us to sustain Himself. Could He accomplish His will without the involvement of a single human being? Yes, but He has always involved us anyway. Did God need a volunteer when He asked, “Whom shall I send?” and “Who will go for us?” and Isaiah answered, “Here am I send me” (Isa. 6:8)? Did He need Philip to join himself to the eunuch’s chariot in Acts 8? Technically, He did not, but He chose to use a man. Jesus stressed the need for laborers (Luke 10:2). Perhaps the word need is too strong, but He does desire our labor. Nineveh would not have repented if someone (and God had chosen Jonah) had not preached the message. In what nation did anyone find Christians unless someone had been there preaching to them (Rom. 10:13-15)? Surely, realizing the need for evangelism does not make Christians Pharisees.
Sinless
“4. You don’t repent of sin because you believe you don’t have any ‘serious’ sin to repent of.” On this principle we agree with the author. Anyone who holds such a view does not realize how offensive all sin is to God; he also risks being guilty of one of the most devastating of transgressions—pride. Sins such as drunkenness, adultery, and murder are obviously wrong, but sins of pride and covetousness may be more subtle. We should always be careful to evaluate ourselves according to the teachings of the New Testament.
Black and White
“5. You make every issue black and white.” Unfortunately, the author does not make very clear what some of the grey issues are. It seems that most of society would like to put everything into the grey area and do away with absolutes. The Monkees recorded a song lamenting that very action as far back as 1967. The title expresses the doctrine—“Only Shades of Grey.”
The only pertinent comment is that Pharisees don’t consider motives—only actions. However, God took the life of Uzzah for touching the ark of the covenant (which had been specifically forbidden). His motive was pure—to keep God’s holy object from touching the ground. But in so doing, he nevertheless violated the law and therefore died (2 Sam. 6:6-7). Regardless of a person’s motives in committing sin, God keeps His word.
Actual Hypocrisy
“6. You condone in secret what you preach against in public.” Now, this is actual hypocrisy. Does not everyone agree that, if someone preached against looking at a woman to lust after her in his heart, he then went home to look at Centerfolds from Playboy Magazine, it would be wrong? Or viewed similar contents on the Internet? It is hypocrisy if we deliberately violate what we preach.
Works Versus Obedience
“7. Your salvation is based on your works, not on Jesus.” This one will undoubtedly be debated until the Lord returns. No one can be saved without obeying the gospel and living as much as possible the Christian life. Jesus is the author of eternal salvation to all those who obey Him (Heb. 5:9). However, keeping the commandments (which we always fall short of doing) does not merit salvation. Only the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross can remove sin. One wonders, “Who are all these people who think their works save them?”
Education or Confirmation?
“8. You read the Bible to substantiate your convictions, not to be shaped into God’s image.” Everyone should read the message in an effort to discover what God’s truth actually is—not what we would like it to say. It does happen, however, that what we have been taught does become reinforced, which is not Pharisaical.
Powell goes on to say: “Modern-day Pharisees…use the knowledge to convince others why they are wrong. The Bible is their personal weapon.” This seems an unfair criticism. If one believes in the absolutes that the Bible teaches (instead of manmade greys), then the only way he can point out error is by showing what the Bible teaches. Jesus told His disciples that if they continued in His Word, they would know the truth (John 8:31-32). He sent them the Holy Spirit, after He returned to Heaven, to guide them into all truth (John 16:12-13).
The only way to come to the right understanding (the truth) is to study the New Testament. We must be certain that we are teaching the ways of the Lord correctly. Unity will also be achieved if we regard the New Testament as the authoritative Word of God. Those who followed the apostles’ teaching experienced that unity (Acts 2:42).
Repent or Perish
“9. You believe church outsiders should conform to a certain lifestyle before they are accepted as ‘Christian.’” Anyone who knows he is sinning should repent—yes. Jesus told the people that, unless they repented, they would all likewise perish (Luke 13:3, 5). The first thing Peter told the people on Pentecost, when they asked what they should do, was, “Repent.” (The second thing, joined by the conjunction, and, was to be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins—Acts 2:38). Paul said, in Acts 17:30, that we no longer live in times of ignorance, “but now God commands all men everywhere to repent.”
Powell adds: “Before non-Christians can be considered ‘part of the group,’ they must conform to a certain lifestyle. Stop all of the cursing and drinking. And stop doing all the stuff ‘bad people’ do.” Okay. Perhaps he should answer this question: “Would Jesus have invited any of His followers to be an apostle if that man had a drinking problem? Would he be considered an appropriate representative of Jesus if he hooked up with some of the temple prostitutes on occasion?”
Christians do not expect other people to be perfect before obeying the gospel, but they must desire to give up sin as they learn more about what it is. Paul made it clear that a brother was not to be sexually immoral, an idolator, covetous, or a drunkard (1 Cor. 5:11). These are not “the group’s” standards—but God’s.
Convert Versus Transfer
“10. You don’t know the difference between a convert and a transfer.” The protest here seems to be that if someone moves in and becomes a member, that is not the same as someone being converted. While this observation is true, Christians can still rejoice in having a new family in their midst.
Clones
“11. All of your Christian friends look and act just like you do.” The point here is that Jesus selected disciples from various walks of life. One wonders how Simon the Zealot and Matthew the tax collector got along. However, most congregations that your congenial editor has been part of have been diverse—racially and economically. And they should remain that way; we should not all be clones of one another. A brief defense of sameness would be that the people we know and have the most in common with probably resemble ourselves; so, we must make a concentrated effort to teach those who are dissimilar.
Correction
“12. If someone tries to rebuke you, you get angry and offended.” Most people react somewhat defensively, but we do need to consider criticism fairly. It does not matter if the critic has bad motives or if he was unkind when he made his comments. The sole point of importance is, “Is what he said valid?”
The Pharisees of Jesus’ day rejected His rebuke of them (Matt. 23). Solomon wrote of them: “Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you” (Pr. 9:8). They did not love Jesus; that much is clear, since they crucified Him just days later. Thus, they were not wise men.
Although four or five points that Powell made were valid, he stretched some of the others too far. A modern-day Pharisee is just like his New Testament counterpart: He is more interested in form than substance, more interested in tradition than in truth, and more interested in how things look to others than in how they really are. May we all approach God in sincerity as well as in truth.