The Little Pharisee Within

Television commercials are quite clever. One advertising trick is to get the potential consumer to think of germs and fungi as ugly little creatures that live throughout the body. It depends on the medication being sold where they have set up housekeeping. The ads are effective or they wouldn’t be using them. The invisible is made visible with an accompanying personality. It might also help us to think of some sinful patterns in this way. Anyone who has read the Gospels of the New Testament knows something about the Pharisees. For one thing, as a group, they were treated more severely in Jesus’ teaching than any other. One can almost feel the heat from the rebuke of the Pharisees given by Jesus in Matthew 23. Among other things, they are called blind guides and hypocrites. They are said to be murderers of the prophets and are likened to snakes. This is strong stuff. What made the Pharisees public enemy number one according to Jesus? Before that question can be answered, we will have to recognize a sobering thought. There is a little Pharisee living inside each of us.

As a patriotic reaction to the encroachment of Hellenism within Judaism, the Pharisees developed sometime between 140 B.C. and 130 B.C. They were strong advocates of observance of the Mosaic Law and separation from the influences of pagan Greek culture. In order to insure greater loyalty to the law, the Pharisees led the way in developing a system of oral tradition in order to make the law workable in a Greco-Roman world. Their intentions were laudable but quickly created a legalistic system that suffocated mercy and grace within the nation’s spiritual life. A system of oral law began to supersede the true intent of God’s law for Israel. Ritualistic externalism developed within the ranks of the Pharisees. Prayer and giving were done for show. Sabbath observance became encumbered with an endless list of “laws,” such as making it unlawful to carry food from one house to the next, boiling an egg, fixing a leaky water barrel, or having to saddle one’s donkey the day before the Sabbath. These kinds of things were judged as work on the Sabbath. The Pharisees were theologically orthodox within the parameters of Old Testament Judaism, but were hypocritical and bitterly opposed Jesus. They were constantly looking for ways to kill Jesus (Lk. 4:28-30; Jn. 5:16; 8:37). He denounced their standard of righteousness, ostentatious worship, pride, and emphasis on externals while ignoring issues of the heart (Matt. 5:20; 23:5, 6; 9:12; 12:2). It was because the Pharisees had many doctrinal resemblances to that of Jesus that they were rebuked so strongly. The differences were far greater than the similarities and for this reason Jesus declared that “unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:20).

The Christian might be wondering at this point “how could there possibly be a ‘little Pharisee’ dwelling within? Weren’t they hostile to all that Jesus preached?” There lurks in every heart an inclination, a disposition if you will, to exalt outward conformity to rules over justice, mercy, and faithfulness (Matt. 23:23). We can fall into this pattern easily. We can make rules more important than people. We can overlook our own rudeness and sins in our zeal to judge others for what we perceive to be their wrongdoing. Legalism is a very slippery thing. We can say we are against it and even condemn it, while at same time be guilty of it. This is because it comes in different disguises. It can be thinking that makes actions meritorious and the adoption of a bargaining attitude toward God (“If I do this, God has to do that”). It can place acts over and above Scripture with the affect of adhering to man-made do’s and don’t’s as a way of attempting to please God (Matt. 15:1-9). True righteousness ends up being trivialized. For example, rules can be developed that govern dating, clothes, and music and made the measure of who is really committed to God. But being harsh, unmerciful, and judgmental can be excused in the name of a zeal for righteousness. Or someone can think “if I go to the evening service at church instead of watching the ball game, God will bless me this week.” God can never be bought by our behavior. We cannot indebt Him to us because of our performance.

Legalism, that mindset that attempts to use labors done for God to pry favor from God or to escape punishment, is a truth-obscuring and joy-killing monster. It takes our attention off loving service offered to Christ and places it on grim efforts. It brings about conflict and harshness in relationships. The reason for this is that legalism creates an elitist mentality where conformity is demanded and failure is not tolerated (Gal. 5:15, 26). Living in a college dorm with legalists well-distributed around you can be like living in a concentration camp. They are like undercover policemen ready to turn you in for the least little thing. Churches can become joyless places when self-appointed, self-righteous legalists spy out your liberty in Christ (Gal. 2:4; 5:15). You see, legalism is selective in the matters it chooses to promote. It will take parts of God’s law but ignore the rest. It is never consistent. An interesting feature of legalism is not what it forbids, but what it overlooks (Gal. 5:3). The legalist feeds on the idea that he is holding up the high standards of God, when in actuality it is a lower standard. The hoops that he jumps through are doable (a checklist of achievable deeds), but the weightier matters of the law like mercy and loving your enemies are left standing out in the cold.

Where is that little Pharisee? He can rear his ugly little head in our hearts in a minute when a married couple pride themselves in never having been divorced, but yet slice one another to pieces with their tongue, when we feel satisfied for having read our Bible through in a year, but refuse to get involved in the life of an unwed mother in the neighborhood, when we fill our lives with church activities, moral conformity, and great causes, but are unwilling to be reconciled to an offended brother or sister in Christ. Let us make that little Pharisee an unwelcome guest.

Dr. Howard E. Dial
Berachah Bible Church

The Gates of Heaven

Have you ever come to a street or neighborhood, hoping to drive on through and look at the homes, but were greeted by locked gates? A pass code was necessary and you didn’t possess it. There is a sense of rejection when our entrance is denied to a place we would like to enter. In a well known book entitled The Pilgrim’s Progress there is a fascinating scene that describes a man named Christian and his companion, Hopeful. Christian had been on a long journey from the city in which he was born and grew up known as the City of Destruction. There was a river to be crossed in order for Christian and Hopeful to enter the Celestial City, the heavenly Jerusalem. Upon fording the river (which represents death in the story), they came to the gate of the great city. The King of the city commanded that the gate be opened for the two weary pilgrims. The gate swung open and the men went into the city that “shone like the sun” and whose “streets also were paved with gold.” Of course all this is a picture of what happens when a Christian dies and goes into the presence of Jesus Christ, the King of Glory.

The man named Christian traveled along the highway of life to finally enter into his eternal rest. It is a vivid reminder of the necessity of preparing for our own death. No one is prepared to live until they are prepared to die. Why is this so? To answer that question we must know the story that God has told us in the only book He has ever written, the Bible.

God, the ruler of the world, created Adam and Eve to live in a paradise known as the Garden of Eden. If they had obeyed God, they could have enjoyed all the splendor of a perfect creation (Gen. 1:27, 28). But a tragedy of universal proportions took place. Adam and Eve disobeyed by eating of the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They had rejected God’s rule and as a result plunged, not only themselves, but also all of creation into the curse of death. They had sinned by rebelling against their Creator (Rom. 3:10-12). We, like they, are guilty of the same sin. We don’t want God to rule over us. We resist the idea of living life His way. We are determined to do things our way. And because of this, we pay a severe penalty, namely, the judgment of God. The price for rejecting God’s rule over our lives is everlasting punishment in hell separated from God’s goodness forever (Heb. 9:27).

But there is hope (remember Hopeful?). God has done something extraordinary. He loves us so much that He sent His Son, the man Jesus Christ, to die on a cross. Rebels against God deserve death, but Jesus Christ suffered the punishment of God against sin so that we can be forgiven and receive eternal life. The Son of God died as a substitute for rebels so that we might enjoy God’s presence and rule forever (1 Pet. 3:18). Jesus Christ endured the full measure of God’s wrath against sin so that we can be pardoned for all our sin against God. However, this would not have been possible had Jesus Christ not been raised from the dead. After He died on the cross, Jesus was placed in a tomb. But on the third day of His death He came to life again. Death had been defeated. Sin had been punished. Because of who Christ is and what He has done, we can delight in fellowship with God forever and ever. One day Jesus is coming back to this world as its Judge. All will be judged forever who have been unwilling to believe in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins (Jn. 3:18).

The gates of heaven are closed to all those who do not have the pass code, which is trust in Jesus’ death and resurrection (Jn. 3:36). When that time comes and the deep, dark river of death faces you, will you have made preparation to enter into heaven? Everyone who dies does not enter the gated city of heaven. It is an awful thing to die and suffer unendingly in that place God has prepared for the devil and His angels (Matt. 25:41). Would you not want to have the eternal pleasure of living in the paradise of God’s presence, the place where He will wipe away every tear, where there will no longer be any death, or mourning, or crying, or pain (Rev. 21:4)?

What must be done in order to enter God’s gated city when you die? First, acknowledge that you are a sinner by having rebelled against His rule and that you deserve to be punished. Second, submit to the rule of God over your life by putting your trust in Christ who died for you and rose from the grave. You may want to use the following prayer as you talk to God. Repeating these words will not save you, but they can help to put your desire for God’s salvation in Christ into words.

“Dear God, I know that I have rebelled against your rule. I know that I am a sinner. Because of my sin I deserve to be punished. I need your forgiveness. Thank you for sending Christ to die for me so that I may be forgiven. Thank you that He was raised from the dead to give me eternal life. I now put my trust in Christ to be my Savior. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

What happens next? You will want to start reading your Bible and praying regularly. You may want to begin reading the Gospel of Mark or the Gospel of John. Write down the things you learn about Christ. Find a church where the Bible is taught and where you can begin to grow as a Christian. The Christian life is a journey, a battle, and a joy. It takes time to mature in your Christian faith and become more like Christ. It is a battle. There will be a lot of combat against sin in your life. There are sinful habits that will have to be broken (like anger, lust, selfishness and many others). Tell others about your faith in Christ. Be prepared for pain and suffering. God will use trials in your life to change your heart and life. The Christian life is a joy because the better you come to know God, the more will be your delight in God.

Dr. Howard E. Dial
Berachah Bible Church

Worlds Apart

I recently received the following statement made by a youth worker. He said, “I have ministered to my kids every week for a year and I’ve come to this conclusion: we use the same words as our young people, but they mean totally different things. Words like truth, tolerance, respect, sin, the Holy Spirit, moral judgments, and salvation have a completely different meaning to my kids than they do to me. We were working from two different premises and I didn’t even know it. I’m convinced unless I can get my kids to rethink these most basic Christian concepts, I’ll never make it to square one with them.” The article, in a comment on these words, went on to say, “Families and churches may present the truth of Christ to our youth but most kids will interpret such presentations through the distorted prisms they have adopted from the culture around them.” These “distorted prisms” are the multiple non-Christian worldviews that have gathered around our cultural table. At one time Christianity sat at the privileged right hand of our culture and generally controlled worldview presuppositions and societal institutions. This is no longer true. Nihilism, Eastern pantheistic monism, naturalism, the New Age, and postmodernism have flowed into our collective interpretation of reality to create one grand stew of moral relativism and incoherent sensibilities.

It would be to our advantage as Christians to visit again the basic tenets of Christian Theism. These have been ably presented by James W. Sire in The Universe Next Door. This very useful “basic worldview catalog” sets forth “the essence of each worldview in a minimum number of succinct propositions.” The following propositions need to be pondered and impressed upon the young people for whom we as a church are responsible. This is not a statement of faith. That is a different matter and also must be given adequate attention in another place.

1. “God is infinite and personal (triune, transcendent and immanent, omniscient, sovereign and good.)” This concept is foundational to everything. Keep in mind, in a world apart, the naturalist believes that “matter exists eternally and is all there is. God does not exist.” The church of Jesus Christ must make much of God. Ignorance of the character of God is the mother of a million heresies. Perhaps the most conspicuous feature of the Old Testament is the constant attention given to the perfections of the Creator of the universe (Ex. 3:14; 34:6, 7; Deut. 6:4). And it is because of who He is that He rules sovereignly over all His creatures (“nothing is beyond God’s ultimate interest, control and authority”).

2. “God created the cosmos ex nihilo to operate with a uniformity of cause and effect in an open system.” The universe is not the result of chance through time (Isa. 45:18-19). Naturalism says, “The cosmos exists as a uniformity of cause and effect in a closed system.” The reason we live in an orderly and understandable world is because God made it. And He governs it. He is not like some disc jockey who lets the music play while he does other things. This world will not destroy itself through global warming. Humans can make significant changes in their environment but do not ultimately determine it course.

3. “Human beings are created in the image of God and thus possess personality, self-transcendence, intelligence, morality, gregariousness and creativity.” When this truth is denied and humans are placed in the zoo along side of apes as our next of kin, there will be frightful consequences. If all we are is a collection of molecules, then why not experiment with embryos and manage behavior by the drug recipes. Christianity is the champion of the dignity of human life (Gen. 1:26-27).

4. “Human beings can know both the world around them and God himself because God has built into them the capacity to do so and because he takes an active role in communicating with them.” How do we know what we know? Knowledge is possible because God made our brains and the natural world we observe. But we are dependent upon our Maker to reveal to us what we need to know. He has done this by general revelation (the created order) and special revelation (the Scriptures). The ultimate revelation of God to us is Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:2-3). Life is not meaningless because God is there and has spoken. Those who refuse to listen to Him consign themselves to the dank dungeon of despair. For those who came of age during the sixties and seventies the dismal lament of John Lennon’s “Nowhere Man” was intoxicating to many (“Doesn’t have a point of view, knows not where he’s going to, isn’t he a bit like you and me?”). God exposes the lie of existentialism (“existence precedes essence”) by His powerful and clear Word to us in the Bible and in Christ.

5. “Human beings were created good, but through the Fall the image of God became defaced, though not so ruined as not to be capable of restoration; through the work of Christ, God redeemed humanity and began the process of restoring people to goodness, though any given person may choose to reject that redemption.” Our world is broken and so are we. We don’t think right. We can’t get along with other people and our imagination creates idols. How did all this happen? Adam and Eve’s rebellion against God hijacked the beginning of a good story and turned it into a tragic drama. Sin slithered into the plot line and rendered man incapable of properly relating to his Creator. But God came to the rescue and provided a Savior in whom redemption is found. The road to eternal damnation is not the only one out of town. There is the narrow way of eternal life in Jesus Christ.

6. “For each person death is either the gate to life with God and his people or the gate to eternal separation from the only thing that will ultimately fulfill human aspirations.” The secular humanist, however, assures us that “death is extinction of personality and individuality.” When humanity is treated to a steady diet of such an outlook, the grave will have to be decorated with deceptions to make it palatable. One is left with such funeral bromides as “he (the deceased) lives on in you,” and “she abides forever in our memories.” No amount of sentimental language can alter the reality of human immortality. The fictions of reincarnation and personal extinction leave the grief stricken with hopelessness (1 Thess. 4:13). God has spoken boldly in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (“Death is swallowed up in victory.” 1 Cor. 15:54). Death has been defanged through the physical resurrection of Christ. Therefore, where sin is pardoned, death has no sting. The hungry jaws of hell can be avoided through faith in Christ.

7. “Ethics is transcendent and is based on the character of God as good (holy and loving).” The Christian worldview is not ambiguous regarding good and evil, right and wrong, and truth and error (Isa. 5:20; Psa. 119:68). Christian theism and other worldviews are worlds apart with regard to the foundation of values and virtues. We either see ethical issues through the lens of God as the measure of good or through the lens of human reason. Without a belief in God anything is possible and this is being demonstrated in the continued cultural decline. The lack of moral clarity is evident in discussions about premarital and extramarital sex, euthanasia, stem cell research, and abortion, to name a few.

8. “History is linear, a meaningful sequence of events leading to the fulfillment of God’s purposes for humanity.” Christian theism asserts that history is a story written by God. Human history began in the Garden of Eden and will end at the Great White Throne Judgment at the end of Christ’s kingdom on earth. Our modern world would have us believe that there is no metanarrative (the big story that explains everything) and insists that we have only the stories of individual cultures which are nothing other than power-plays and attempts to control others. David Wells in his excellent work, Above All Earthly Pow’rs, summarizes this postmodern rebellion by saying, “There is now no narrative which connects together the events of life into a single form of meaning. From a world that was once centered, we now have one that is decentered (p. 79).” Christians, we have much work to do. The church and the home must be truth-centers that show the next generation to think through the biblical paradigm of history and the glorious purposes of God.

This has been an all too brief summary of the tenets of Christian theism. As you can see, such a worldview is worlds apart from all other interpretations of reality. We who are Christ’s people, the church, must take our task seriously and prepare our young people for that “other world” of the high school and college campus. We are responsible for teaching the truth revealed in God’s holy, infallible, and inerrant Word.

Dr. Howard E. Dial
Berachah Bible Church

Martha's Kitchen

Love and discipline. It sounds like two weather fronts colliding. Our culture does not ordinarily link discipline to love. After all, as the popular thinking goes, love is something outside of one’s control. Is it not a feeling, an impulse that carries us along like the incoming tide? Discipline. Isn’t that what soldiers and athletes need if they are going to win battles and compete successfully? The resolution of these seemingly contrary virtues is found in the heart and life of the Savior of the world. It was God’s love for a fallen world that makes salvation from sin possible (Jn. 3:16). This love was no mere warm feeling. It revealed itself in the action of giving the perfect life of the Son of God for sinful people. Discipline is a choice that is made in the eternal best interest of hell-bound sinners. The same can be said regarding God’s particular, effective, selecting love toward his elect.” Jesus prayed, “I glorified Thee on the earth, having accomplished the work which Thou has given Me to do” (Jn. 17:5). The sufficient and efficient atoning work of Christ on the cross was accomplished through sacrificial, discipline-guided love. It is by this sublime model that we who are the children of God (“born ones of God,” 1 Jn. 3:1) know how to wed love and discipline in our personal lives. Because we love God we will make decisions that carry out our love for God and one another. Love fuels the exercise of discipline. The way in which we order our lives, establish our priorities, and make our decisions is through a love-driven process. We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. This is foundational for all day to day living.

The life of the Christian who is committed to God and his local church is filled with a multitude of opportunities and responsibilities. There are those who remain content with being pew-warmers, but those who don’t want to waste their lives look for ways to serve God. Here is the rub. We love God and discipline ourselves to show that love, but where do we draw the line in how much we do? A church that is alive with people eager to fulfill the Great Commission of Christ will have a lot of things that need to be done. We must keep the following principles in mind as we serve in the life of our church family.

Time is a valuable gift. It must be used wisely. Pray for wisdom which is practicing the skill of living life God’s way. We can’t rely on our natural instincts, personality, or upbringing. God’s Word has to inform us, not what our natural habits may dictate. A husband and wife must work together in the “unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:3). Signing up for child-care, class attendance, etc. must not be done at the expense of the other spouse. Pray about it. Discuss it and come to a mutual agreement. A decision made by one marriage partner is going to impact the other. Are you asking him or her to make a sacrifice without consent? There should be seasonal and time-of-life considerations. Certain times of the year are especially busy (e.g. Thanksgiving to Christmas). Plan ahead and do what you can to shrink the surprise gap. Are you newly married? It is best not to get overly committed during the first year of marriage. Do you have a quiver full of small children? Don’t try to live like you are single. There will be things you can do after the children are older and more independent. The physical condition of various family members may alter scheduling commitments. Poor health will dictate some limitations. Don’t assume everyone in the family has the same energy level that you do. Those who are on medication or who have to deal with chronic pain must be mercifully considered if you are attempting to plan their life for them.

Sacrifices for Christ’s sake will be a part of our decision making and commitments made. Are we willing to relinquish our rights for the sake of others (e.g. free time on Sunday afternoon or evening)? Teaching a Sunday School class for a quarter will mean some study time during the week. Helping with a youth outing as a chaperon may mean a little less sleep to be replaced by the rewards of encouraging young people to follow Christ. Personal sabbaticals are necessary in the routine of life. We need rest, a day off, and some diversion in the midst of the demands of life. Some people can emotionally and physically “crash and burn” due to a lack of relaxation and physical restoration. Our spiritual gifts require use if they are to be developed. If you have the gift of helps, are you helping? If you have the gift of administration, are you involved in organizing some area of church life? We don’t have to know what our spiritual gift is before we start to serve. Start serving and it will become evident as to how Christ has equipped you for ministry in the body of Christ. Do not take on responsibilities out of a sense of guilt or as an attempt to escape from other commitments. Beware of performance based Christianity. We can’t make God love us more, if we do more. You will not prosper financially and be healthy simply because you do something special for the church. A volunteer spirit can become contaminated by legalism. God cannot be bought or bribed by our good works.

Don’t over commit and miss the more important things. This is called the “Martha syndrome.” Jesus had to remind Martha of the importance of spending time with Him (Lk. 10:38-42). She had become irritated and grumpy because she thought Mary, her sister, was taking advantage of her. The Lord and His Word must be given priority, even our loving service for the Savior. Our zeal for good deeds must not crowd out our worship time, hearing God’s Word alongside our church family. Helping to set-up and clean-up for the fellowship time after the morning service and having guests in our homes are necessary, but must not become a “Martha’s kitchen.” Everyone must pull his or her own load. Yes, we are to each bear our own burdens (Gal. 6:5), but we simultaneously are to “bear one another’s burdens” (Gal. 6:2). One way this can be fulfilled is by taking part in child-care so others can worship and pray with their brothers and sisters in Christ. Singles and empty-nesters are not exempt from the congregational vows to work with parents in bringing up their children “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4).

Learn the biblical skill of balancing life’s demands. There are circles of priorities that every believer has to know. God is to be at the center of our life. Then through a series of concentric circles with God at the core of all things, “He can potentially touch each and every area of me as a person (self, world, family, church, work, government) . . . This takes priorities off a list and wraps them around a life (God).” Balancing Life’s Demands, J. Grant Howard. Wisdom is acquired over months and years of learning how to apply the Scriptures to every area of life. Its rewards are sweet.

Don’t assume a responsibility and then complain about it (Phil. 2:14). Complaint is a symptom of dissatisfaction with God. Israel griped at every difficulty she encountered when leaving Egypt and moving through the wilderness. This eventually led to the chastening of the Lord and an entire generation’s forfeiture of the joy of entering the Promised Land (Ex. 17:2; Num. 14:16). Problem-solving discussions are helpful but grumbling is a malignancy that fosters discouragement and joyless Christian living. Deny it a place at the table of your thoughts.

If we really love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength we will want to serve Him in our local church. But there is a trap into which we may fall. Teaching, sitting with the 2 and 3 year olds, serving on the youth committee or missions team, helping with AWANA, attending the Bible Institute, and the host of other good works must not become infected with a “worried and bothered” attitude. We all have our own “Martha’s kitchen.” But don’t banish the “good part” which is hearing and obeying Christ’s Word.

Dr. Howard E. Dial
Berachah Bible Church