I don't read the scriptures as much as I should and as much as I used to. I'm in college. But I have read the whole bible. I'm not as informed and as knowledgeable as most of the stand up full armor warriors for christ in here are, but I feel I can teach others what I have learned through my past experiences and how my experiences relate to scripture. In the church there are normally 3 types of people. Spiritual people that strive to please the Lord, non christians that may or may not believe the scripture, and modern day PHARISEES. I come to you humbly to teach you what I have learned through my experiences. I am in no way perfect. I struggle with lustful desires and I am weak in the flesh to be honest. Pray for me because I need it. I don't want any recognition I just want to teach others what I have learned through my experiences so they will be aware and they won't make the same mistakes many christians make when choosing a church or looking for a christian spouse.
Why is it important to be able to identify who is a modern day pharisee and who is not?
You could end up marrying a ruthless wolf in sheeps clothing if you are not careful.
You could sit under a pastor that is not really into saving souls but he is more concerned with the cleavage of the woman in the front row and lining his pockets with tithe money.
You could think Jane or Johnathan is a strong christian, so you let them baby sit your children. And lets just say that could be a big mistake.
There was this black guy I once worked with at Fed Ex years ago. He was intensely jealous of me so he tried his best to lower my self esteem. When that did not work, he would spread lies about me. Gossip about me whatever it took to see my downfall. Because of my curious mind, I checked his face book page. On his facebook page apparently he was a strong christian man, with a mission to spread the gospel to others. He would say things like, "preaching aint easy but somebody's got to do it.
Now fast forward to the future. He goes to theological seminary studying to be a preacher. Today he is a preacher. A modern day false apostle, wolf in sheeps clothing. He is what I would call a MODERN DAY PHARISEE.
On the bright side. The guy isn't very smart. I don't think his preaching empire will last long. He's gonna do some dumb stuff and expose himself eventually. He is one of the most evil hearted men I have come into contact with in my life time that wasn't completely sociopathic. I pray that he turns to christ as even though it's hard to pray such things for such a despicable person.
With that being said, let me tell you what the red flags or warning signs are of a modern day pharisee. Having some of these traits, don't necessarily make a person a modern day pharisee, but these are common traits of modern day pharisees.
1. Jealousy. Pharisees are fake fraudulent people. And when a real genuine person comes along and outshines them, it can causes them to feel insecure and hateful towards that person. Remember the Pharisees were jealous of Jesus.
2. Pride. Pharisees are proud. Whether it be of their preacher title or whatever it may be. They use religion as a tool to get praise and accolades from man. Sometimes even money. If you see a preacher constantly exalting other preachers affiliated with his church, (the guy in the story does this alot) including himself instead of giving God the Glory. They just may be a Pharisee. Also be very aware that if a Pharisee is jealous of someone he will usually try to make it seem like it is a moral issue they have with that person. I call it the moral facade.
3. Judging others. Pharisees judge others not because they truly abhor and are disgusted by a person's actions or sin. They judge others because it makes them feel superior to the person they are judging. They have no interest in correcting a person to help them, they just want to Lord their religious superiority over people.
4. Manipulative. The pharisees were manipulative. Jesus spoke truth and the pharisees were constantly looking for ways to outsmart him.
5. An extremely religious FRONT. Its a front don't believe it. They have an old saying that those that walk it don't talk it and those that talk it don't walk it. This is true most of the time although there are exceptions. Basically all I'm saying is if you really walk it, you don't have to throw it in everyones face and if you think someone is showing off, and trying to act all super spiritual like they walk on water, they are probably just showing out. Now not everyone who does this is necessarily a pharisee. But this is a common trait of pharisees.
6. Bad fruits. This is self explanatory.
7. Man's praise and approval is highly important to the Pharisee. They love the greetings they receive in the market place and they tell long drawn out prayers to impress the crowd. When they fast they are sure to let others see it.
They do nothing in secret.
I am not finished , but my classmate came to get help with his HW so I will have to pick this up later.
Why is it important to be able to identify who is a modern day pharisee and who is not?
You could end up marrying a ruthless wolf in sheeps clothing if you are not careful.
You could sit under a pastor that is not really into saving souls but he is more concerned with the cleavage of the woman in the front row and lining his pockets with tithe money.
You could think Jane or Johnathan is a strong christian, so you let them baby sit your children. And lets just say that could be a big mistake.
There was this black guy I once worked with at Fed Ex years ago. He was intensely jealous of me so he tried his best to lower my self esteem. When that did not work, he would spread lies about me. Gossip about me whatever it took to see my downfall. Because of my curious mind, I checked his face book page. On his facebook page apparently he was a strong christian man, with a mission to spread the gospel to others. He would say things like, "preaching aint easy but somebody's got to do it.
Now fast forward to the future. He goes to theological seminary studying to be a preacher. Today he is a preacher. A modern day false apostle, wolf in sheeps clothing. He is what I would call a MODERN DAY PHARISEE.
On the bright side. The guy isn't very smart. I don't think his preaching empire will last long. He's gonna do some dumb stuff and expose himself eventually. He is one of the most evil hearted men I have come into contact with in my life time that wasn't completely sociopathic. I pray that he turns to christ as even though it's hard to pray such things for such a despicable person.
With that being said, let me tell you what the red flags or warning signs are of a modern day pharisee. Having some of these traits, don't necessarily make a person a modern day pharisee, but these are common traits of modern day pharisees.
1. Jealousy. Pharisees are fake fraudulent people. And when a real genuine person comes along and outshines them, it can causes them to feel insecure and hateful towards that person. Remember the Pharisees were jealous of Jesus.
2. Pride. Pharisees are proud. Whether it be of their preacher title or whatever it may be. They use religion as a tool to get praise and accolades from man. Sometimes even money. If you see a preacher constantly exalting other preachers affiliated with his church, (the guy in the story does this alot) including himself instead of giving God the Glory. They just may be a Pharisee. Also be very aware that if a Pharisee is jealous of someone he will usually try to make it seem like it is a moral issue they have with that person. I call it the moral facade.
3. Judging others. Pharisees judge others not because they truly abhor and are disgusted by a person's actions or sin. They judge others because it makes them feel superior to the person they are judging. They have no interest in correcting a person to help them, they just want to Lord their religious superiority over people.
4. Manipulative. The pharisees were manipulative. Jesus spoke truth and the pharisees were constantly looking for ways to outsmart him.
5. An extremely religious FRONT. Its a front don't believe it. They have an old saying that those that walk it don't talk it and those that talk it don't walk it. This is true most of the time although there are exceptions. Basically all I'm saying is if you really walk it, you don't have to throw it in everyones face and if you think someone is showing off, and trying to act all super spiritual like they walk on water, they are probably just showing out. Now not everyone who does this is necessarily a pharisee. But this is a common trait of pharisees.
6. Bad fruits. This is self explanatory.
7. Man's praise and approval is highly important to the Pharisee. They love the greetings they receive in the market place and they tell long drawn out prayers to impress the crowd. When they fast they are sure to let others see it.
They do nothing in secret.
I am not finished , but my classmate came to get help with his HW so I will have to pick this up later.
