The Spirit of the Pharisee

I've been reading through the gospels a lot lately, and I'm seeing something that's very interesting as I look at the Pharisees. They were supposed to be the Spiritual leaders of their day, but they were corrupt, deceitful, and dirty in both heart and mind. The practiced tradition rather than what the Bible taught and they did everything for their own self-agrandizement and political gain. It was obvious they didn't care about the people they were supposed to be ministering to. In short, they had a form of godliness, but they denied the power thereof.

This is why when Jesus showed up they hated him. It's because he would not be corrupted as they were. We was not political nor was he interested in exalting them and their elistist group mentality. He viewed them as a bunch of great big PHONIES, SINNERS, and HYPOCRITES. It's because he pegged them for what they really were.

Is it no wonder then that we read the following in John 7 :1, "After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him."

Because of who they were and what they wanted to do to Jesus, he had to separate himself form them. That is to say, the Pharisees were so wicked and vile in their hearts (and remember their sins were INWARD, for they often made it a point to appear sinless in the eyes of men OUTWARDLY) that they wanted to CRUCIFY Jesus. They wanted Him DEAD! Why? Because he pricked their hearts. His standing against them made them so angry they wanted to completely give in to the basest desires of their flesh and KILL Jesus rather than endure him and his constant ignoring them and not giving them the worship they so badly desired.

They prided themselves on what they did for God. Yet they never dealth with the fact that didn't know God, didn't serve God of a pure heart, and belonged to a group that consistenly chose fame, fortune, and fellowship with man over a close relationship with God.

They were religious people who were carnal and its because of them being so they wanted to MURDER those who wouldn't recognize them as they wished to be viewed.

As I thought on this, it wasn't hard for me to make a correlation to the modern Church and it's religious leaders. The Church today is FULL of modern day Pharisees. I've seen them time and again. Haven't you?

They are easy to spot. They all have the same spirit. And it's not the Spirit of Christ.

So what is the spirit of a Pharisee? Let's look at some defining factors of the Pharisees to find out.

THE CARNAL vs. THE SPIRITUAL NATURE OF THE PHARISEE

The first thing we notice about the Pharisees of Jesus' day is they are all lost. They've never been regenerated. They might be claiming to be leaders of God, but they didn't know God. They were not saved. Thus, they were still in their old carnal, sinful nature. Is it then no wonder Jesus said to Nicodemus, "Ye must be born again!" Jesus could see their hearts and he saw a group who didn't care about truth, they only cared about control. They did not serve God out of conviction but rather out of convience. And they were not converted. They were still in their old fallen nature, desiring as little tyrants to rule over the people rather than to truly minister to them.

Jesus said of this crowd that they were then blind spiritually. And this love of their position in which they held lead to them not wanting to humble themselves to the will of God. The were prideful.

This is important. For pride is what damned the Devil. He thought he was better than God so he should just take God's place. The Pharisees felt the same, for when Jesus showed up -- God manifest in the flesh -- they wanted him dead, cause they thought they could do a better job at governing than he could. They were self-righteous and for this reason they did not submit themselves to the righteousness of God.

The Pharisees of today often have this exact same spirit. I'm not saying that all religious leaders of today are lost. Some might very well be born again, but it's interesting to look at these men and see that same self-righteous attitude in them, that same spirit of I'm a leader and I'm above reproach cause I'm of God! Yet, in the flesh they continually brag only upon themselves and their group, and they are quick to crucify anyone who doesn't go along with them and their traditions. Truly, they are carnal and quick to allow their flesh to rule them, even ridiculing others who don't do things they same way they do. I often wonder if Jesus would have come in our day instead of in the times of the Jews, if the modern Pharisees would not have crucified Jesus as well. For they seem to have the same spirit.

THE PHARISEES WOULD NOT LISTEN TO EXHORTATION

When Jesus spoke, the Bible says he spake as one having authority and not as the scribes (Mark 1:22). In other words, his speech was different than theirs. Why is this? It's because he spake the TRUTH while they were busy speaking lies.

The Pharisees didn't like to hear the truth. They wanted to be the ones who were right and try to claim that everyone else was wrong. So when Jesus showed up on the scene and exposed them for what they were, religious hypocrites who preached for vain glory, he warned the people about them. He further told them what they really were, going so far as to say they were a "generation of vipers."

Jesus wasn't the only one to tell the Pharisees the truth. Peter did as well. And so did Stephen. And in Acts 7:57 we find that the Pharisees, "Stopped their ears." That is they put their fingers in their ears like a bunch of little school children, rather than sit and listen to the truth when it pointed out their sins. And what did they do? They MURDERED Stephen in cold blood. They couldn't handle the truth. They would rather shut some one up rather than let him tell the truth about them.

In Jesus' day the same is true. They wanted to KILL him for no other crime than his telling them the TRUTH. Why was this? Because the truth exposed them as wrong. It further showed they were what the people really knew they were while they were trying so hard to pretend to be something different.

And, Jesus' preaching of the truth angered them greatly because it made them look bad. (Notice Pharisees only care about themselves and their group and anything that exposes them for what they truly are makes them want to murder others).

In Matthew 15:12 we read: "Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?"

Notice the Pharisees are also easily offended. We see this same spirit in the Pharisees of today. They are easily offended by truth. They cannot receive criticism. They cannot receive instruction. They will not even examine themselves and what they believe in light of the Scriptures to see if what they teach is true. They must immediately denounce their critics and in the flesh seek to destroy them. Why? Because this is the first instinct of the flesh and a flesh-driven person. Just like their great-great-great-great, etc. grandfather Cain, who was of that wicked one, their hearts are full of hatred and malice, and they want to KILL anyone who simply questions them, their works, or their beliefs. Their hearts are full of murder. And although modern day Pharisees might not literally kill someone they don't agree with, they are quick to crucify them with words and attack them mercilessly. That leads us to my next point.

THE PHARISEES LIVE ONLY TO ATTACK OTHERS THEY DEEM A THREAT TO THEM AND THEIR GROUP

The spirit of the Pharisees is a spirit of contention. And though the Bible teaches that we should earnestly contend for the faith, we find no where in the Scriptures that we are supposed to be contending just for the fun of contending. Nor do we find that our contending should be in the flesh. Neither are we to contend with others just to exalt ourselves. Biblical contention is to contend for doctrine not to contend just to exalt a man who calls himself a doctor. In other words, it's to defend God's truth rather than man's truth. And in scriptures, we find that there is a right way and a wrong way to do it. The scriptures tell us to "speak the truth in love" (Eph. 4:15) and in a "kind and tenderhearted" manner (Eph. 4:32). Why is this? It because we are supposed to exercise "brotherly love" and perfer others in "honor" (Rom. 12:10) as we "esteem others" better than ourselves" (Phil. 2:3). Yet, this is exactly what the Pharisees will not do. It's because they think only of themselves and because they are so self-righteous, they believe they are right and everyone else is wrong. It's because of this, they love to argue, ridicule, and belittle others. It makes them feel good about themselves. They love to put others down because it lifts them up. Because they are in the flesh, they want so badly to appeal to the flesh of others and in the flesh make their enemies appear to be inferior to them. This is why they toil endlessly in trying to discredit others. They want people to only follow them. They want to be viewed as the authority and anyone who doesn't exalt them and their group must be eradicated.

In Jesus' day we read time and again that the Pharisees came to Jesus over and over with the intention of trying to tempt him. They further tried to provoke a rise out of him, hoping he too would sink to their level so he would attack them in return. They further sought to push him so hard that it would get him to say something they could use against him. This way they could attack him even the more and claim his word and doctrine was heresy. They wanted so badly to use his own words against him to try to sway the people in thier favor.

Now apply this to the modern day Pharisees. You know anyone like this? I do. Pulpits are filled with men who claim to be Pastors of flocks and Ministers who rather than exhort others spend their days attacking, oftentimes resorting to the childish practice of name-calling towards their enemies in an attempt to mock them and make them look stupid. But where are the fruits of the Spirit in this? They aren't there. That's a FLESHLY practice that is a true sign of a Pharisee.

In the Bible we are instructed how to deal with others. And if someone be overtaken in a "fault" or in "false doctrine" we are not supposed to cuss at them and call them names. Rather, we are to encourage such people to do right, and "restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted" (Gal. 6:1).

Pharisees never do this. They don't consider themselves or do they have the spirit of meekness. Theirs is a critical spirit in which they look at themselves and their group as right and everyone else is wrong. And, rather than take the scriptures to show unto others the truth, they only appeal to the flesh in giving into their basest desires in attacking those with whom they don't agree. Where is the Spirit of Christ in this?

THE PHARISEES FIND STRENGTH IN NUMBERS

An interesting thing about the Pharisees is they are almost always found together. They like to be in a group. Not only do they live of the flesh and by the flesh, but they enjoy the company of other flesh. They are men worshippers. They worship themselves, and they worship men within their ranks whom they themselves deem worthy of special estimation. And because there is so much man worshipping man, man becomes the measure of all things. And the group quickly becomes a movement that devotes its time to exalting those within its group rather than exalting God.

Oh, they might say they are of God, but when you actually examine the group, you find that they follow each other more often than following God. They even stick up for one another and even cover one another's sins. Just look at the story of Jesus in John chapter 8. Some Pharisees came to Jesus with some stones in their hands and brought a woman taken in adultery (always thinking about killing, they were). They wanted to kill that woman, but Jesus wrote something on the ground that made them run off with their tails between their legs. What did he write? We might never know, but some theorize he simply wrote the verse which they tried to quote in allowing them to stone an adulterer. If that be the case, the verse says that both the MAN and the WOMAN under the law were to be stoned. Where was the man who committed adultery with that woman? Was it one of the Pharisees? We might never know. But Jesus' written note to them was so strong it convicted their hearts and made them drop their rocks and walk away. Some think it was because THEY were the adulterers. Who knows. But at any rate, they were protecting the man who adulterated by not bringing him as well. Pharisees will always do this. They will always protect their own. They have a mentality of "us first!" Their fellowship and society is not unlike Satan's many different "secret societies" in which men enter and defend their group no matter the cost. Yet they don't realize their membership cost them their soul.

We find that Pharisees often will never go against the status quo of their own camp. That is, they have a collectivism mentality. They do what's best for the group, and anything that isn't good for the group must be forbidden. This leads to much intimidation within their ranks, in which people who join them often find themselves in bondage to their system. They must conform or die. Or at least face ridicule for not following everyone else's way of doing things.

This leads to a very damnable society, one in which it makes it very hard to leave. Especially, if the whole becomes corrupt. For the more corrupt it becomes, the more devious its followers will be and the more malicious they will behave themselves towards those who of their own accord desire to leave their ranks in order to follow the truth, rather than corruption.

A good example of this is Nicodemus. The Bible tells us in John chapter 3 that he went by night all by himself to speak with Jesus. Why did he do this? I'm sure he feared ridicule by his peers for speaking with someone that they all viewed as the enemy. So in order to speak with Jesus, he went alone, in a time when he hoped no one would see him.

Notice how Phariseeism leads to fear. And as the Bible says, "The fear of man bringeth a snare" (Prov. 29:25).

The spirit of the Pharisee, then, is the spirit of "Convert to us and our group or die!" And this is ultimately what all Pharisees and their Phariseeical groups become--religious systems in which people must obey the laws of the group upon threat of ridicule, excommunication, and even death. See the Catholic Church and the Spanish Inquisition, the Masonic Lodge, The Illuminati, etc.

Sadly, modern day Christianity has become very Phariseeical and we are seeing the same spirit of those Pharisees of old running rampant today in modern Christian circles, denominations, and Churches. Even in my denomination, Independent Baptist, do we find this spirit of the Pharisees. And many of my peers are in a sad type of spiritual bondage in which they are afraid to come out and face the truth. For even questioning some of the things they have been taught could lead to loss of friends, support, fellowship, etc. Further, it could open one's self up to attack from others who portray this spirit of the Pharisees. For this reason they stay quiet and don't want to look at the corruption within their ranks.

As for me, I don't want anything to do with Pharisees. As I read the Bible, I'm faced with the same theme over and over again. It goes like this. A man starts out with God, but then he gets some followers. Eventually, they build a movement, but then it becomes a huge mass which eventually apostasies and falls headlong into corruption. God then sends a man to preach against it, and he then gets some followers and starts a movement that eventually apostasizes the bigger it gets and it becomes a corrupt Phariseeical organization, so then God has to send another man to come along and preach against that and the whole cycle begins anew.

But one thing I've noticed. God can do so much with just one man who's completly sold out to him, while a huge group who has the spirit of the Pharisee, although they might appear in the eyes of others to be doing a mighty work for God, is really not doing much but building a movement which eventually and consistently turns against God.

That's why it appears to me that the best thing to do in order to not have the spirit of a Pharisee is to separate yourself from men and their Phariseeical groups and just walk in the Spirit of God, serving him of a pure heart.

Are their Pharisees alive and well today? YOU BET YOUR LIFE THERE ARE! And they are everywhere! But at least now you know how to spot them. They are easy to find. For they are the ones who continually brag about themselves and what they do, exalting and magnifying men and their group rather than Jesus. They are continually in the flesh, and it shows as they have no charity whatsoever, and are quick to get offended. They also love to attack others and in the flesh ridicule and mock them, even calling them dirty and hateful names. And finally, they are those who faced with the truth would rather KILL you then hear what you have to say.

What's needed is someone to preach against them, their sin(s), and their apostate practices. Who is that man? In the Old Testament, it was many different prophets. What did they get for their service to God in preaching against corruption? Stoned, ridiculed, mocked, imprisioned, and even killed. But then Jesus showed up. What did he do? He preached against the Pharisees. What did they do? They crucified him!

So we see that it's not easy to go against the Pharisees and corruption. Yet, if you truly love God, then shouldn't you choose the Spirit of Christ rather than the spirit of the Pharisee?