Israelites, Pharisees & Sadducees In The 21st Century Church

Pharisees are adept at vilification, bombing others “with God on their side.” In fact,
many of them don’t know what to do with themselves unless they’re fightin’ for Jesus.
4) Pharisees are quick to pass judgment, but slow to inquire and listen to those
they’re judging.
Pharisees wake up with criticism in their hearts, plotting against those they wish to
destroy, even before the coffee gets cold.
In this regard, Pharisees minister toxicity and death to those who love God (all in the
name of God).
For a Pharisee, it’s shoot first, ask questions later. The exact opposite of what James
told us (James 1:19; 4:11) and Jesus for that matter (Matthew 7:1-4; 7:12).
As E. Stanley Jones rightly pointed out, “The measure of my spirit of criticism is the
measure of my distance from Christ.”
Pharisees need to put the oxygen masks on before trying to correct others. They’d be
wise to learn the art of shadowing boxing, i.e., dealing with the dark shadows they cast
before pointing out the darkness they see in others.
5) It breaks a Pharisee’s jaw to admit they’re wrong or apologize to those they’ve
mistreated.
You’ll have a better chance seeing a hen floss her teeth than to witness a Pharisee
apologizing or admitting to a mistake.
In this regard, Pharisees exhibit a remarkable lack of self-awareness.
This also accounts for why they are so belligerent. They exist to correct others, never
turning the spotlight inward.
6) Pharisees only hang out with other Pharisees.
Because Pharisees establish dubious doctrinal criteria by which every Christian is
judged and condemned to hell, they only hang with their own kind.
In addition, they aren’t a terribly happy bunch of people. They weren’t in Jesus’ day
either. In one Greek manuscript, they are called “lemon suckers.” (Okay, I made that up.
But it’s not far off the mark.)
7) Pharisees impute evil motives to the hearts of others (but are clueless that
they’re merely revealing what’s in their own).
Page 67 of 176