Life of Christ 113
Note: This is the fourth in an eight part mini-series on the errors of the Pharisees.
The third error with
which Christ reproached the Pharisees was pride. 'Woe unto you, Pharisees! for
ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets'
(Luke 11.43).
Chicago's Pride parade, 2013 |
What an obvious sin
pride is! It cavorts through the life of the openly wicked, overflowing out of
them at every turn, on display in their schools, their offices, their
factories, their ball fields, their parties, and their facebook pages. Solomon
well said, 'Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness' (Proverbs 20.6),
and one of the hallmarks of a wicked man is his willingness to do so at the
drop of a hat, and to drop the hat. 'Look at me,' the wicked man thunders,
'notice me! See how amazing I am!' In its final stages it flowers openly as
pride in and about rebellious sin. It is no accident that the homosexual
movement has named its annual celebrations of debauchery pride parades.
Pride, however, is more than obvious. It is
often insidious. Its deceitful tendrils creep into the life of even God's
people. They are not so far gone as to be proud of their sin, but the venom is
just as deadly when the cause of the pride is spirituality as when it is
wickedness. The Pharisees were not proud of wickedness, no sir, but they were
proud of how good they were at being Pharisees, of how clean they were, of how
observant they were, of how strict they were, and of how pure they were. Their
pride wasn't found on display in the red light district of town but rather 'in
the synagogues.'
Pride, wherever it is
found, is anathema to God for by it we exalt ourselves into His place, taking ownership
of the glory that rightly belongs to Him. One could argue that pride was the
very first sin, birthed in the heart of Lucifer eons before the Garden of Eden,
when he looked at God and thought, 'I will be like the most High' (Isaiah
14.14). Another way of saying this is that God instinctively and immediately
recoils from pride, and from the proud person, whomever he may be, whether in
the sodomite marching haughtily down the big city street waving the rainbow flag
or in the Baptist deacon sitting smugly in his favorite pew, proud of his
position and reputation as a pillar of the church.
Pastor Jack Schaap, booking photo, 2012 |
The Pharisees were
highly esteemed by the common people of Israel. Steeped in the learning of the
past, and married to the concept of a strict religious purity, they almost
inevitably developed an egotistic self-satisfaction with their own
spirituality. It revealed itself in them distinctly as they looked down on
those around them who completely failed to measure up to the same strict
standards they themselves did. 'The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself,
God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust,
adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes
of all that I possess' (Luke 18.11).
Beloved, we may rightly
be glad that our theology is dissimilar from those Pharisees. After all, we
have embraced the Jesus of Nazareth whom they so cruelly crucified. But we are
not immune from those same temptations which befell them. Indeed, as
independent, fundamental Baptists, given by definition to a pursuit of strict
religious purity, we are actually highly susceptible to them. It is so easy
for us to become proud of our stand, our position, our manner of life, and our
firm adherence to the Word of God. In America, we live in a time of compromise
and appeasement, one in which the majority of Christianity have laid aside the
reproach of the cross and have embraced a pursuit of the world. But our King
James Bible, and short haircut, and Saturday soul winning time are nothing to
be proud about. Not now, and not ever.
'He hath showed thee, O
man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, But to do justly,
and to love mercy, And to walk humbly with thy God' (Micah 6.8).
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