Contemporary Pharisees

       Modern day Pharisees are alive and active around the globe and still do the same things that Jesus denounced in His day.  Recall that Jesus warned His disciples of the Pharisees and told them to beware of their doctrines and teachings.  The Greek base for ‘beware’ means more than just to take heed or be on guard, but it also means ‘not to do’ as they do.

     The same warning is in effect today.  No nation is presently exempt from the doctrine of the Pharisees.  Following are some doctrines the Pharisees espoused which Jesus adamantly denounced.

     The Pharisees of today are also self-righteous and still believe that salvation is based on personal effort and heritage.  As such they reject grace based on the vicarious death of Jesus on the cross.  Pharisees have never realized that the law, which no man could obey, was fulfilled by Christ.

     The Pharisees added countless rules to the law of God which they claimed carried the same weight as the Law of Moses.  Such additional rules were labeled ‘traditions of the elders’.  The Pharisees insisted that others follow such traditions while they exempted themselves from doing so. 

     Because such rules often superseded the God-given law, Jesus said that such laws ‘made the Law of God of no effect’. 

     Such contemporary ‘laws’ often protect the ‘rights’ of those who reject Christ and all He represents.  A common example would be the legal right to kill children while they are being protected and perfected in their mother’s womb.

     Pharisees of today are hypocritical, proud, and pretentious and are more interested in outward appearances than inward humility.  Efforts to please men are more important to them than pleasing God.  Current day Pharisees make decisions and draft legislation based on polls.  They are the epitome of political correctness. 

     They will often publicly voice their change of positions of significant issues based solely on appeasing the electorate.

     They will take credit for acts over which they have little or no control.  Their speech is recognized by the excessive use of the personal pronoun ‘I’.

     Pharisees did and do make phony oaths to impress others but which they often have no intention or power of keeping.  Such oaths provide the opportunity to avoid telling the truth. 

     Pharisees did and do base their security on their ancestry claiming that being the offspring of Abraham is sufficient to find favor with God.  The Bible, however, refutes such claim numerous times.

     “…nor are they all children because they are the seed of Abraham; but ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called’…”  Romans 9:7

     Pharisees did and do deny the deity of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit.  The Bible is very clear on this issue.  Such deniers are consigned to everlasting destruction.

     Historical Pharisees were engaged in the redistribution of wealth for their own selfish purposes as evidenced by their ‘devouring widow’s houses’.  Similarly redistribution is one of the keystone fiscal policies of this administration’s current progressive agenda.

     Contemporary Pharisees continue to promote unbiblical doctrines.  The consequence of such practice is their denial into the kingdom of heaven.  But even more serious their deceiving doctrines prevent others from entering.

     Jesus did not mince words on this matter.

     “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in…Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”  Matthew 23:13-15

     Therefore, one need only to look around and examine what is happening in this nation and the world today and compare to the immutable Biblical teachings to see how close or distant we are to God’s standard of righteousness and justice.  The presence of pharisaic doctrines is irrefutable.

     And recall the goal of the zealous Pharisee Saul and many around the world of like mind.

     “As for Saul, he made havoc of the church...”  Acts 8:3a

     To accept any of the doctrines of modern day Pharisees is to reject Biblical teachings.