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Sermons
Thursday, July 13, 2006
Pharisees
"So I say unto you, unless you be greater than the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall not enter the Kingdom of Heaven".(Matt. 5:20)

I'm going to go by the other name Jesus gave them: hypocrites. (Matt. 22:18)

So what the opening verse is saying is "Unless you're greater than the hypocrites, you won't enter the Kingdom of Heaven."

The definition of a hypocrite is: one who affects virtues or qualities one does not have (dissembler).

Does that sound familiar?

A hypocrite is someone who goes to Church to be seen, not to hear the Word and learn from it.

A hypocrite is someone who pretends to be saved, sanctified and filled with the Holy Spirit in church around other church folk, when out of sight, lies, cheats and steals the same as any sinner.

A hypocrite is someone eager to be critical of someone else's behavior, but doesn't move a finger to try and change their own.

The Lord has harsh words for these hypocrites. Matt. 23: 13-33 says it all.

In this passage, Jesus condemn the scribes and Pharisees for acting sanctified, all the while being underhanded, sneaky, and unscrupulous. They stole from widows, who in those days had no income besides what their parents and husbands left them, turned Solomon's holy temple from a place of worship into a self-serving shopping center, and worst of all, persecuted the messengers and prophets the Lord sent their way.

Does that sound familiar?

Do you snarl at someone whenever they bring the Word to you?
Do you get snide and reject them?
Do you bombard them with your opinion or other verses before they have a chance to really talk?
Do you make deride others for not going to Church and living the Christian life as you do?

Then how are you any different from the Pharisees?

They rejected any messenger and prophet that God sent to them, and if the answer is yes to any of those questions, you're doing the same.

Lucky for you, you don't have to be condemned to the same fate as the Pharisees.

Just re-commit yourself to Jesus and start again.

God is merciful. Repent of your behavior, start again and you will earn his forgiveness. No matter what you think you've done, NOTHING is too horrible for the Lord wash away with His blood. His mercy is boundless (PS. 108:4) abundant (1 Pet. 1:3) and eternal (PS. 103:11,17). The waters of Life are open to all who seek it (Rev.22:17). Please come and drink.

The doors right now are open to all; come in, before it's too late: for once the door is closed, all the money, all the threats, all the pounding in the world won't open them again once they're closed.

Repent, my brothers and sisters. There's no need for you to go to hell for all eternity.

God is waiting for you at the gate. Amen.

Posted by planet/thelambssancturary at 6:33 PM EDT
Updated: Wednesday, August 9, 2006 10:24 PM EDT
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