(adapted from a message by Jeff Faull)
TEXT: MATTHEW 23:1-23
TITLE: “YOU MIGHT BE A PHARISEE IF...”
INTRODUCTION: A. You might be a member of the Christian church/churches of Christ if...
1. If you were an adult before you knew that guide, guard and direct wasn’t one word
2. If you can’t receive an offering until you’ve blessed the gift and the giver
3. If you plan to be at the building at the next appointed time
4. If you think it’s unscriptural to drain the baptistery,
5. If you think that Jesus really did turn the water in to Welch’s grape juice
6. If your minister owns a pair of waders but doesn’t fish
7. If there is a better than 50-50 chance your congregation’s first name is First
8. If you show up for Bible study without a Bible
9. If the dog-eared pages of your Bible start three-quarters of the way through
10. If you can’t clap in rhythm and you consider yourself “charismatically
challenged” and you’re okay with that
11. If you get mad at someone and decide to start your own church, college,
periodical, or independent mission organization.
12. If you have never sung the third verse of ANY hymn
13. If you raised your hands during a worship service and you’ve felt guilty ever since
14. If you’re old enough to get a senior citizen’s discount but not old enough to be
promoted to the next older Sunday school class
15. If you consider the church roll the Lamb’s Book of Life
16. If you’re part of a Unity Movement that has split twice
B. I love the Christian church/church of Christ
--those of us who consider ourselves “conservative” in the Restoration Movement have
a great heritage
1. We have some very distinct characteristics and we have some important doctrinal
distinctives
--Sometimes we can even chuckle at some of those distinct characteristics
2. However, we are not without flaw
a. Those of us who have a Restoration movement heritage, especially those of us
who consider ourselves conservative, need to take heed to the words of Jesus to
“Beware the leaven of the Pharisees...:
b. Because of that, I preach this message entitled “You Might Be a Pharisee If...”
c. I also want to let you know that this message is one that I borrowed from my friend
Matt Sullivan who borrowed it from Jeff Faull
1). it was originally preached at Hillsboro Family Camp several years ago
2). I’ve adapted and revised it somewhat
d. I believe it has great relevance for us today
1). June 27-30 is the North American Christian Convention in Louisville
2). This year marks the hundred year anniversary of the official recognition of the
split between ourselves and our non-instrumental brothers and sisters
3). The theme of the NACC this year is Together In Christ
--We’re seeking to heal that rift between us
4). We have invited our non-instrumental brothers and sister to join us in
Louisville
--Half of the main speakers and half of the workshop presenters are from our
fellow Christian in the non-instrumental group
3. Because of that and because it needs to be heard, this message is proclaimed
C. Some of you might be wondered what a Pharisee is
1. Pharisees were a distinctive group of Jewish leaders who lived during Jesus’ time
2. They originated with good intentions
a. They were concerned with the purity of the Jewish people in living the life God
had called them to live
b. They had a passion and desire to know, live, and teach the Law of God given to
Moses
c. However, they degenerated into a group that was primarily interested in outward
appearances but not an inward relationship with God
3. Understand one important thing: not all Pharisees were bad
--some of them lived with right intentions
a. But because many were self-righteous and bigoted, Jesus lumped them all into
one group
b. Some of Jesus’ harshest words were directed to the Pharisees and some of His
most scathing denunciations were delivered to the Pharisees
D. I assume that the words of Jesus in Matthew 23 when He spoke to and about the
Pharisees will speak for themselves, and that we will all be open to the words of Jesus
1. I’m praying that God will use me to lead in a time of self-examination
2. I’m also praying that if you find yourself in this message, you will hear God’s
conviction on your life and that you will heed its warnings
3. If you don’t find yourself in this message, simply listen so that when the urge to be
a Pharisee strikes, and it will, you’ll be a little better prepared to deal with it
4. Here are some indicators that you might be a Pharisee...
I. IF YOU SET YOURSELF UP AS “THE” SPIRITUAL AUTHORITY
--Matthew 23:1-3 – “Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: ‘The teachers of the law and the
Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what
they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
A. Jesus talks about sitting in Moses’ seat
--Literally Jesus says they had “seated themselves in Moses seat.”
1. God hadn’t put them there
--they had seated themselves
2. The implication is that they had the authority to add and enforce new laws
--Jesus said, “They were teaching as doctrine the precepts of men.”
3. When we begin turn our preferences and our opinions into doctrine, we become like the Pharisees
B. Paul said, “If the trumpet does not sound a clear sound no one will prepare for battle.”
1. I believe wholeheartedly that when we speak on clear matters of biblical teaching, we should speak
clearly and authoritatively
2. However, I see too many Christians who talk about their own personal philosophies and their personal
preferences and their methodologies as if those things were scriptural doctrine
--they set themselves up as the spiritual authority – their opinion is the only one that counts
a. Years ago, Dwight L. Moody preached against the sin of men having ruffles on their shirt and Billy
Sunday would preach against the evils of women chewing gum.
b. Here’s a news flash: when we steer away from clear Biblical precedent and “thus says the Lord...”
we can be wrong!
c. One of the most important early Restoration movement slogans is: “In essentials, unity. In non-
essentials, liberty. But in all things love.”
--If we stuck by that slogan, we’d be a lot more Christlike in our attitudes and actions
II. IF YOU MAKE RULES YOU DON’T EVEN KEEP YOURSELF
--Mt. 23:4 – “They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing
to lift a finger to move them.”
A. Jesus calls the Pharisees “hypocrites”
1. That term meant a play-actor
2. In the theatre of Jesus’ period, an actor may play several different roles in a play
--to distinguish the characters from each other, they would wear a different mask for each role
3. Being a hypocrite came to mean acting like someone you weren’t and someone you never intended to
become
B. A hypocrite is:
1. Someone who complains about the sex and violence on their own VCR or video disk player
2. Someone who encourages others to give the full tithe to the general fund and then offerings to the
mission and building funds but doesn’t give very well at all themselves
3. They are “arm chair” Christians
--they know how to tell everyone else what to do but they don’t follow their own rules
4. Jesus said that they bind heavy loads on others but refuse to lift a finger themselves
C. Mike Kieergard, a fellow that met just a few months ago at the National Preaching Summit in
Indianapolis, ventures these thoughts on “you might be a Pharisee if...”
1. If you pride yourself that your church has very few converts because it validates your thinking that
people won’t accept sound doctrine anymore
2. If you think that any church that runs a high attendance must be watering down the gospel
3. If on the one hand you insist that anything borrowed from the denominational world is sinful yet on the
other hand you insist on singing hymns written by Methodists while rejecting singing choruses written
by the Holy Spirit, you might be acting like a Pharisee.
III, IF YOU DO WHAT YO DO TO BE NOTICED BY OTHER PEOPLE
--Mt. 23:5-12 – “Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and the
tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in
the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them ’Rabbi.’
But you are not to be called ’Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not
call anyone on earth ’father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called
’teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant. For
whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
A. The Pharisees did what they did primarily to be noticed and recognized by other people
--examples
1. Blowing a trumpet when they put money in the temple treasury
2. Walking around with a gloomy face when they’re fasting
3. Having rules about having to have at least an eggshell and a half of water so that when they washed
their hands, the water would run down their hands and onto their wrists
--if not, you were “unclean”
4. At the designated times of prayer, they would stop wherever they were, even in the middle of the
street, and say their prayers so everyone could hear them
--no matter that they were blocking the street and holding up traffic
5. They wore large phylacteries and increased the length of the fringe on their garments
B. When we do what we do so that others will say, “There goes a fine Christian...’ we’ve fallen into the
trap of the Pharisees
1. Jesus said to let our light shine before men so that they may see our good works and glorify our
Father in heaven
2. When we do things because they will bring glory to God, we’re behaving in a Christ-like manner
--When we do things so that others will notice us, we’re behaving like the Pharisees
IV. IF YOU PROHIBIT ENTRANCE INTO THE KINGDOM
--Matt. 23:13-14 – “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom
of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.”
A. The Pharisees advocated that you had to “good” like them to enter the kingdom of heaven
1. Henry Drummond: “How many characters have been kept out of the kingdom of God by the
unlovely characters of those who profess to be on the inside?”
2. Something that grieves me deeply and I believe grieves Jesus deeply is when the salvation or integrity
of brothers and sisters in Christ are questioned when they exercise the same freedom that we insist all
Christians should have in matters of opinion
B. When we set boundaries that God has not set and prohibit entrance into the kingdom, we’re most like
the people that Jesus rebukes in this passage
1. When a brother or sister attends a convention, seminar, or gathering that I don’t approve of, I have no
right to prohibit their entrance into the kingdom
2. When a brother or sister comes to a decision to do something that I may not do, if there is no “thus
says the Lord” or clear biblical precedent, then I have no right to prohibit their entrance into the
kingdom.
3. When my brother or sister chooses to fellowship with someone that I may fellowship with, I have no
right to prohibit their entrance into the kingdom
4. Only Jesus Christ is the eternal judge
--I’m not and you’re not. We need to be careful deciding in our minds who is in the kingdom and who
is not
V. IF YOU HAVE A BIGOTED UNHEALTHY APPRAOCH TO EVANGELISM
--Mt. 23:15 – “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea
to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.”
A. The problem with the Pharisees is that they weren’t concerned about being a light to the Gentiles as God
commanded in the Old Testament
1. They were more concerned with turning Jews into Pharisees
2. They wanted you to convert you to their point of view on all things
3. One writer said they would turn the converted into the perverted
B. Someone: “You don’t have to be my twin to be my brother.”
1. We have a bigoted unhealthy approach to evangelism when our goal is to have people agree with
every single conclusion and opinion that we have
2. Our job is to convert people to Christ and encourage them to have the mind of Christ
VI. IF YOU HAVE TO DO DOCTRINAL CLAISTHENICS TO JUSTIFY YOUR POSITION
--Mt. 23:16-22 – “Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ’If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing;
but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools! Which is
greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? You also say, ’If anyone swears by the altar,
it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind men! Which
is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred? Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears
by it and by everything on it. And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells
in it. And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the one who sits on it.”
A. How foolish the Pharisees were in their assertions
1. I swore by the altar and not the gold on the altar
2. Can’t you hear a child saying, “I had my fingers crossed”?
B. If you read the Bible like you read the income tax code, looking for loopholes, you’re probably a
Pharisee
--We need to live our lives by God’s Word and obedience to it; not by some misguided loophole
VII. IF YOU FAIL TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE WEIGHTIER MATTERS OF THE TRUTH
--Mt. 23:23 – “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your
spices—mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice,
mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.”
A. Jesus said some things are more important than others
1. It’s more important how we treat people than it is following a set of rules
2. People will not accept the truth of your message until they know it is rooted in love
--“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”
B. One of the problems is that while we’re arguing over lesser matter, people are dying and going to hell
1. Our enemy, the devil, will keep us occupied with lesser things to keep us away from the weightier
things
2. Dr. Bob Lowery tells about doing a consulting job with a congregation that was having some
difficulties over worship styles. After talking to the church leadership, the church members were
invited to an evening meeting where anyone was allowed to come to the microphone and speak their
views on the issue. Some folks were very agitated and even hateful.
After Dr. Lowery heard everyone who wanted to speak, he stepped to the mic and shared his
comments on what he heard. He asked, “Who, in hell, cares?” After allowing that question to sink
in, he continued by saying, “Please don’t mistake what I said. I’m not trying to be vulgar. But the
question remains, ‘Who, in hell, cares?’ What I mean by that is this: Who, having died and gone to
hell, cares what kind of music you sing? Their concern is that you were too busy arguing over music
to reach the lost. Now they’ve died and gone to hell. So, who, in hell, cares?’”
3. Jesus says that we need to
VIII. IF YOU ARE MORE CONCERNED WITH IMAGE OVER SUBSTANCE
A. Francois Fenelon was the court preacher for King Louis XIV of France in the 17th century. One
Sunday when the king and his attendants arrived at the chapel for the regular service but no one else
was there but the preacher.
King Louis demanded, “What does this mean? Fenelon replied, “I had published that you would
not come to church today, in order that your Majesty might see who serves God in truth and who
flatters the king.”
IX. IF YOU DENY YOUR OWN VULNERABILTIY AND FRAILTY
A. One of our problems is that we sometimes look at the great people in the Bible as out of the the realm of
Humanity
1. James 5:17 starts off saying, “Elijah was a man just like us.”
2. The only reason the great people in the Bible could do great things is that they allowed God to do
great thing through them
B. Don’t try to make yourself look better than you are
1. In Mt. 23:27-28, Jesus continues his admonishment of the Pharisee
-- “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs,
which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything
unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you
are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”
2. Rom. 3:23 – “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”
a. Notice that “fall short” is in the present tense – signifies continuous action
b. We continually fall short of what God designed us to be
X. IF THIS SERMON BOTHER YOU OR ANGERS YOU
--These are the words Jesus said to the Pharisees and guess what? They got ticked off, too!
CONCLUSION: A. Hear some words from apostle Paul
1. Titus 1:16 – “They claim to know God, but by their actions, they deny him. They are
detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.”
2. 2 Tim. 3:5 – described as “having a form of godliness but denying its power.”
3. Fred Craddock: “There are two kinds of preaching people won’t listen to: poor
preaching and good preaching.”
--As a whole, the Pharisees hated the best preacher ever – Jesus Christ
B. You know what I think?
--I think there is a little Pharisee in all of us
1. I know there is some Pharisee in me
2. What should my response to that realization be?
--“Oh, God, be merciful to me, a sinner.”
