Continuing on with the 8 woes (Matthew 23)
- Woe 4 – False and deceptive oaths. Every oath is binding, even if we excuse ourselves. Why blind guides instead of “scribes and pharisees, hypocrites”? Perhaps because they’re not “acting”, they are trying to work through self-made loopholes, and their blind in see its uselessness.
- Woe 5 – Obsessed with trivialities and ignoring weightier matters. Covered all His bases by calling them hypocrites AND blind guides.
- Woe 6 – Ignoring sin, pain, etc. on inside, and stressing visible activity
- Woe 7 – Again emphasizing outside appearance. With their activities, they are fooling themselves into thinking they’re alright.
- Woe 8 – The profess to venerate the dead, but reject the living, proving that they are just like their fathers. In this, Jesus makes it clear that He will send prophets to these people that they will reject and kill. This goes against the false gospel of God taking all your problems away and giving your prosperity as a reward, and punishing you with calamity for your sin. The perfectly righteous, obedient prophets will be rejected and murdered.
How can we avoid the hypocrisy of the pharisees?
- Allow the Spirit to operate. Especially hard when things don’t go as we plan or people don’t do what we want. Don’t have a heart of Jonah. Oppose the proud, give grace to the humble.
- Never use good stewardship as an excuse to place money above what God wants.
- Accept the fact that not everyone we preach to will follow God
- We must hold the release of people’s gifts above our own interests
- Be honest in everything we do
- Never let religious duties overcome the weightier matters of justice, mercy, and faith
- Get consecrated and separate your self from the world. Never assume someone is “spiritual” because of their position or office.
- Weigh messages of correction according to Scripture. Desire to apply truth to your life
Hypocrisy leads us to walking in these woes, constructing a system that we have to uphold. Grace gets rid of all that.
Address your pile of crap and get rid of it.
Songs
Shaun Groves – No Better, from his album “Third World Symphony”. Used by permission. https://shaungroves.com/
Beautiful Eulogy – Release me from this Snare, from their album “Instruments of Mercy”, available from www.humblebeast.com. Used by permission.
This episode originally broadcast live on June 26, 2015 on KXEN 1010AM in St. Louis, MO
For more info:
Theme music: “The Resistance” by Josh Garrels (www.joshgarrels.com) licensed by Marmoset Music (www.marmosetmusic.com)