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NASB | Matthew 16:6 And Jesus said to them, "Watch out and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 16:6 Jesus said to them, "Watch out and be on your guard against the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." |
Subject: Matt 16:6 explained |
Bible Note: The dangerous thing about Legalism is that at the surface it can appear to be obediance. The real problem is not that the Pharisees were being faulted for keeping the law, but rather in their TRUSTING THEMSELVES in obtaining righteousness through their strict keeping of the law. This is the essence of self-righteousness.. which I believe is one of the most, if not THE most dangerous places to fall into. Jesus was able to reach into the hearts of prostitutues, adulterers, extortionists, and murderers (man on the cross with him that joined him in paradise for one).. yet he met an unresistable force in the hardness of heart of the most religious adherants of His day. This yeast.. which is something added to the mix of keeping the law.. caused those infected to become satisfied with their own spiritual condition, and not recognizing the need for the saviour. This is a theme throughout the all of Scripture, not just the new testament. Despite all their strict adherance to following the law, their righteousness was still as "filthy rags". One of the first glimpeses into this condition was when the Lord began speaking to me of Cain and Abel. Cain brought forth an offering from the work of his hands (works) while Abel brought forth the blood of a sacrifice (redemption thru the spilled life of another). Unfortunately, the same yeast showed up nearly right away in the early church.. despite the very clear sound of grace being issued. A classic example (and there are many, many others) is Galations 3:1. No man is justified by the keeping of the Law, but rather through grace and the atoning work of the Cross. Again.. let me state clearly. Obediance FROM A RIGHT HEART, is absolutely essential for our faith to be alive (James illustrates this perhaps most clearly in all of scripture) and for us to live in Kingdom Reality in the here and now. So I am not suggesting or condoning "dead" faith in Christ thru grace as license to commit sin. They are opposite ends of the spectrum.. and constitue a turning to the left or the right. One turn is legalism, which is anethema to God as it decieves us into trusting ourselves instead of Christ and rests in pride and self-righteousness, the other is wanton sinning and disobediance and a jaded indifference to the consequences of living apart from the tenets of God. Neither place is where we want to be, but of the two.. legalism is the most dangerous, as it rests in OUR PERCIEVED goodness, rather than the darkness of our deeds which our hearts already know to be wrong and shameful. As I've said before and now say again, love is the most important of all. Love is a higher law than even the old covenant's laid out law.. and much more demanding. That is why Jesus pointed out it is easier to go thru the motions of keeping the law than it is to have the heart desire to keep it. IE.. "But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart." The thing that so infuriated the Pharisees was the Lord's willingness to show mercy, forgiveness, and compassion to those that the Pharisee's deemed "unworthy". We see this conflict everywhere we turn where the Lord encounted the religious teachers of the day. It pointed out to them that they were no better off than the "worst of the sinners" despite all their hard work. Thank you brother for this oppurtunity for me to share my thoughts with you. I pray that we will edify and build up each others faith and that no root of bitterness would spring up in any of the things we might see any differently on. However, from reading what you are posting, I certainly cannot say I disagree with what you have written in any substantial way. I do agree, for instance, that another BIG problem the Pharisees had was looking for the approval of men, rather than the approval of God and the hypocrisy of their actions in this regard. I am only saying that I don't believe that particular issue was the one that was being referred to as leaven. Rather I feel that is a SYMPTOM of self-righteousness and trusting in ourselves, rather than the root. Play acting and self-righteos pomp always "feel" better is we have an approving audience. |