The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Pastor Jonathan Hansen

Matthew • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

Matthew 16:1–12

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Opening:

Good-morning again Connection Church! I am so glad you have come to worship God with us. It is a beautiful thing to worship God on the Lord’s Day. All that we do here are acts of worship. So often we only think of the singing of songs as worship. This is untrue. we are here to worship God. That is our primary cause. That is why we gather. That is why we call this the “Lord’s Day.” It is our sabbath. A day set aside to worship God. We worship God through singing of psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. We worship God through fellowship. We worship God through the learning of truths. We worship God through our giving. We worship God through the reading and preaching of God’s Word. We worship God through all that we do here today. Our mission is to worship God and see the whole world worshipping God.

Introduction of the Text:

Now we are transitioning to our time of worshipping God through the public reading of God’s Word and the preaching of God’s Word. With this in mind, open with me to Matthew 16:1-12. If you do not have a Bible, we have Bible’s on the table by the door. If you do not own a Bible, keep that as our gift to you. Again we are in Matthew 16:1-12. Once you have located the text, I would ask the congregation to stand with me for the reading of God’s Word.

Reading of the Text:

Matthew 16:1-12

16 And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven. 2 He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ 3 And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.

5 When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. 6 Jesus said to them, “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 7 And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” 8 But Jesus, aware of this, said, “O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? 9 Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? 11 How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12 Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

The Word of God, Let’s Pray.

Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for who you are. Lord, you alone are worthy of worship. We are blessed to be able to gather here and worship you. Help us not to lose sight of you. You are the reason we are here. May today be a fragrant offering to you. May we not be focused on ourselves but upon you.

Lord, we thank you for your word. The Scriptures are a blessing we so often take for granted. We thank you for preserving all we need. Scripture is true and sufficient for our lives. You have given us the unchanging truth of Scripture. That is a blessing. Thank you for revealing all we need to know for salvation and righteousness. Thank you for giving us an unchanging standard of truth that we can weigh all other claims against.

Lord, I pray that you would continue to draw us unto you. May we live our lives completely committed to you. Help us to grow closer to you. May we learn more about you and may we learn the truth. Keep us from false teachers. Protect us from being led astray by the false teachers and false prophets of our age. Please protect us from believing the teachings of those false teachers. May we submit all we believe, say, or do to the authority of your Word.

Lord, I ask finally for myself. Please help me to be a good teacher. Please do not let me teach falsely, on purpose or accidentally. Help me to submit all things to your Word. Make me a good shepherd to your sheep. Please protect my mouth from teaching anything against you or your Word today. I ask this Jesus name, Amen.

Transition:

As we open this text we see the Pharisees and Sadducees demand a sign.

The Pharisees and Sadducees Demand a Sign.

Explanation:

Jesus has dismissed the four thousand He has fed, then He and the disciples travel to the region of Magadan on the Sea of Galilee. Likely Jesus is doing ministry there. Everywhere He went, He taught and healed some. Likely it is the same here in Magadan. However, this is not a place where Jesus can work in peace for long. The Pharisees and the Sadducees come to Jesus. We have covered some of who the Pharisees were, but who were the Sadducees? The Sadducees were a rival teaching group in Israel. Honestly, they were as much if not more heretical than the Pharisees. The Pharisees and Sadducees did not get along at all. They had major doctrinal differences. The most clearly recorded in Scripture is that the Sadducees did not believe in a resurrection from the dead while the Pharisees did affirm that clear teaching from Scripture. Easy way to remember this is that the Sadducees did not have hope of a future life, and that made them sad you see.

These enemies of Christ are not long to leave Him alone. Again and again these hypocrites and false teachers come to confront Jesus. These groups hate Christ. They have been plotting to kill Him for some time now.

Matthew has shown us again and again the conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees. It has been made abundantly clear that the Pharisees and Sadducees are not friends with Jesus. They have been witness to His miracles on many occasions, yet they still deny who He is. They are blind and refuse to repent of the sin that Jesus has called them out for.

Even now they are not genuine. Matthew reveals that they came to test Jesus.

They Came to Test Jesus.

It was not in pure motivation that they came to Jesus. They came to put Him to the test. Specifically they do so by demanding a sign. These two groups were natural enemies. It is a clear sign of their hatred of Christ that they laid aside their differences and sought to attack Christ. They wanted to put Jesus to the test. In essence they are commanding Jesus to give them a sign. “Perform for us!” is their cry. They want to see some sign or miracle from heaven. As I said, the Pharisees and Sadducees had been witness to many miracles of Christ. While we do not know if all of the men in these groups had been personally witness to one of Jesus’ miracles; the most likely scenario is that there were some among them who had been personally witness to some of them. Jesus had healed many and done many mighty works. His reputation has grown to immense proportions at this point. Just look to the previous passages about crowds following Him.

The motivation of the Pharisees and Sadducees was clear and Jesus rebukes them.

Jesus Rebukes Them.

Here we see one of the acts of civil disobedience that Jesus engages in. The Pharisees and Sadducees were leaders in the Jewish community. In many ways they were the lesser magistrates of that time and place. They had commanded Jesus to perform a sign. However, this was not the will of the Father. Therefore, Jesus rightly refuses. He then theologically rebukes these men. He begins to speak to them of the sky.

Jesus tells them that they are able to interpret the weather based on the sky. it was common practice to look at the sky and see a red sky in the evening and predict fair weather for the next day. It was also easy to see a red sky in the morning and predict pour weather. Now I must stop here and say something that I hope you all know. Jesus is not here saying that every red sunset means fair weather the next day. Nor is Jesus saying that every red sunrise means bad weather. Jesus is not confirming these practices. This is not some weather fortune telling secret. Likely there are times it will work. Likely there are times it won’t work. Jesus is here using an example of a common practice of the day. In Israel in the first century, this was how they told the weather. Anyone who knows older farmers knows that they all have secrets and tricks to work out the weather. Many of them are quite accurate. That is all this is.

Jesus is using this simple example to rebuke the teachers of the Old Testament. We see this by what He compares the practice of weather interpretation to. Jesus says, “You can interpret the skies, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.” What does He mean by “You cannot interpret the signs of the times?”

“You Cannot Interpret the Signs of the Times.”

That phrase “signs of the times” gets used so often when people are discussing theories of the end times. And there is reason for it to be used in this way. It is an eschatological term. That means that it is a term that speaks of the end of the age. However, this use of the phrase really has nothing to do with the final events of earth. Christ is using it to speak of the end of the Old Covenant and the beginning of the New Covenant. Jesus’ coming was a great change, just as His second coming will bring another great change.

Jesus’ coming was prophesied over and over and over again in the old testament. There were many signs to watch for. There were many signs of the time of the coming of the Messiah recorded in the Old Testament. Jesus is rebuking the teachers of the Old Testament for not knowing and recognizing the signs of the times. He is ridiculing them for being able to interpret weather patterns but being unable to see His fulfilment of all of the signs of the times. We do not have time to cover even a fraction of the signs of Christ’s coming. However, we should cover the one that these wicked teachers had come to test. They came demanding a sign or a miracle. Miracles were a sign of God’s work. But what is a miracle?

What is a Miracle?

In our day we tend to overuse that term. John MacArthur says that we find a parking place at the mall and claim it to be a miracle. So how do we define a miracle? Well, pulling from John MacArthur again, he defines a miracle like this. “A miracle from God may be defined as follows: an observable phenomenon delivered powerfully by God directly or through an authorized agent (dynamis), whose extraordinary character captures the immediate attention of the viewer (teras), points to something beyond the phenomenon (semeion), and is a distinctive work whose source can be attributed to no one else but God (ergon).” That is a very technical definition. I even left out the Greek in it. Don’t feel bad if you didn’t get it. I had to read it about five times to get it.

Simply put, a miracle is a supernatural event done by God or someone He authorizes. It points to something specific outside of just the miracle. It is a completely unique event that can only be attributed to God. We tend to think that in the Bible miracles are commonplace. If we aren’t careful we can incorrectly think that miracles are happening left and right. However this is not the case. Miracles are rare. There are often long periods of time between miracles. The times where miracles happen regularly are even more rare. There are roughly three times in Scripture where miracles happen often. “The Three Ages of Miracles” if you will.

First we have Moses and Joshua performing many miracles and signs during the time of the exodus, the wandering, and the entering into the promise land. Second we have Elijah and Elisha performing many miracles and prophets speaking against the wicked kings like Ahab. Third and finally we have Jesus and the Apostles ushering in the new age and the New Covenant. There are miracles that happen at differing times than these in Scripture, but these three times are incredible periods of massive amounts of signs and miracles. Of the three, Jesus coming on the scene had the most miracles.

But why is this significant? And pivotal times, God confirmed things through signs and wonders. At the time of Moses and the Exodus the people could not go back to Scripture to confirm what was happening. God made it abundantly clear. Then as God inspired Moses to write the first five books of the Bible, He gave clear instructions. Deuteronomy 13:1-5 says“If a prophet or a dreamer of dreams arises among you and gives you a sign or a wonder, 2 and the sign or wonder that he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods,’ which you have not known, ‘and let us serve them,’ 3 you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams. For the LORD your God is testing you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. 4 You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him. 5 But that prophet or that dreamer of dreams shall be put to death, because he has taught rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you out of the house of slavery, to make you leave the way in which the LORD your God commanded you to walk. So you shall purge the evil from your midst.”

Even if someone gives a sign or wonder, but it is against the Word of God then that prophet is a false prophet and under the Old Covenant should be executed. This is one of God’s standing orders concerning prophets. This told the Jews to be on the lookout for those who taught the truth according to Scripture and was empowered by God. This definition fit Elijah and Elisha. Then in the prophetic books, the prophets prophesied that the Messiah would be a great worker of Miracles. God would confirm His ministry through healings and resurrections. It was clear that the New Covenant would be ushered in with the evidence of signs and miracles. Jesus arrives on the scene and begins to heal many and raises the dead. He empowers the Apostles to perform these wonders as well. This should have been a clear indication of the Messiah’s arrival to anyone who was familiar with the Old Testament Law and Prophets.

This is why Jesus rebukes these men. They should have clearly seen who Jesus was. It should have been as obvious as the nose upon their face. But God had blinded them. To use the Scriptural language Jesus uses about these men, they were not of His sheep. They did not know His voice. They are still without excuse. They should have recognized the blind seeing, the deaf hearing, the lame walking, the dead living. They should have seen. So Jesus rebukes them. They see the subtilties of the sky, but are blind to the clear teaching of Scripture.

Jesus then repeats what He told the last ones of these groups who demanded a sign in Matthew 12. He calls them evil and adulterous for seeking a sign. He then tells them that the only sign they will be given is the sign of Jonah.

The Sign of Jonah.

What does Jesus mean by the sign of Jonah? Jesus is referring to how Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights. Listen to how Jesus phrases it last time He said this. Matthew 12:39-40 39 But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Jesus is saying that the only sign that will be given to these false teachers is that of His death and resurrection. This is the chief sign of the truth of the gospel. It is the primary and chief sign of the truth of the gospel. Were it the only sign, it would be enough to testify to the truth. But it is not. All through Christ’s ministry and the Apostolic Age there were miracles of signs and wonders that confirmed the gospel. These were amazing signs but the greatest and chief sign and miracle is Christ’s death and resurrection.

Application:

Beloved, I think the application of this section of our text is clear and obvious. Do not seek signs to put God to the test.

Do Not Seek Signs to Put God to the Test.

Now I do not mean that we do not come to God with our needs. I hope we covered that well last week. If you are sick or in need, go to God and come to us. If you are sick, it is right and good to pray for healing. According to James, I as the elder of this church am commanded to come to you and pray for your healing. That was the application last week. Call me when you are sick and I will come and pray for you. We are not promised physical healing but we know our God can heal physically.

However, this is a fundamental difference between seeking a miracle from God and testing Him through demanding a sign. One is good and commanded, the other evil and sinful. So do not seek signs in order to test God. We are not to say to God, “If you really are there, do this for me.” or “If you love me, do this.” God is not manipulated. God is God.

Another thing we do not do is seek a sign to confirm the gospel. That was the essence of what the Pharisees and Sadducees did. “Prove what you are saying is true.” The sign of Jonah was given to them and is still given to all who demand proof of the gospel. Christ rose from the dead. And this sign was prophesied. It is a perfect fit with Scripture. It perfectly fits Deuteronomy 13:1-5. The signs of Jesus and the Apostles prove the truth of the gospel.

This was a fight during the reformation. The Roman church demanded that Luther provide miracles and signs for the gospel the reformers were preaching. The reply came back from Luther. Paraphrased it was, “We are preaching the same gospel that Jesus and the Apostles preached. Their signs attest to what we preach, for it is the same gospel. You are the ones preaching a false gospel. What signs to the truth of it do you give?” Now obviously regardless of weather or not they could fake a miracle, the Roman church was and is still in violation of Deuteronomy 13 and a variety of other passages.

The clear application is that we do not seek for signs. The signs have been given. We repent and believe the gospel.

Transition:

After this encounter with these false teachers, Jesus and the disciples leave to the other side of the sea of Galilee. When they land, He tells the disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Beware the Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Explanation:

Look with me again at the text. Starting at the end of verse 4. So he left them and departed.

Jesus finishes rebuking the false teachers and then strongly warns them against the leaven of the Pharisees. Notice how He says it. He says “Watch and beware.” This is a strong warning. They are to be on watch against the leaven of the Pharisees. They are also to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. In other words, be on the lookout for and avoid the leaven of the Pharisees.

However, what follows is rather comical to me. The Disciples misunderstand.

The Disciples Misunderstand.

We have seen the disciples put their feet in their mouths and do ridiculous things on many occasions. They are in essence our representatives in these stories when they do things like this. We often do and say and think such dumb things. I read of what they do and cringe because likely, it is exactly what I would do. On this occasion it is recorded that they forgot to bring bread. This is such a real example. They travel to the other side of the sea of Galilee and forget to bring bread. With their minds clearly occupied on food, Jesus tells them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees. They hear the word “leaven” and that is as far as they get. They begin to talk amongst themselves. “What does He mean? We forgot to bring bread.”

It is clear that their lack of bread was a concern to them. They are obviously taken by this realization that they forgot to bring bread. However, our Lord gives them a good reminder. Jesus reminds them that He can provide food for them.

Jesus Reminds Them that He can Provide Food for Them.

Jesus rebukes the disciples. He then reminds them of the miracles they had just witnessed. He reminds them of the five loaves of bread that He fed the five thousand people with. Then He reminds them of the seven loaves that He fed the four thousand with. These men should not be concerned about bread. They are with the one who they have seen bring bread into existence. He has fed thousands. How easy would it be for Him to feed twelve men? They again in their time of need forgot about the work of Christ. They were quick to forget who they were with.

They ought not to do this. Jesus calls them “you of little faith?” He clearly had an expectation of them to know what He meant. In short, Jesus verbally slaps some sense into these twelve. They deserve it. And often, we deserve it. As I said, in times where the disciples miss it, they are our surrogates. So often we miss what Christ has done and said. We are so naturally blind. Pray that you would not do this. Pray that you would be less forgetful of what God has done.

Jesus rebukes them, then He tells them again to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. Then the disciples understand. The Leaven is the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

The Leaven is the Teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Explanation:

Here the point is made clear. Jesus is not warning them about bread or eating leaven. Jesus is not warning them to avoid purchasing leavened bread from the Pharisees and Sadducees. Jesus is caring for them and warning them to watch for and avoid false teachers and teachings. He is telling them to be on lookout for false teachers and teachings. In this passage, we see the term leaven used as it so often is within scripture. It is used to describe something bad and foreign that must be avoided.

This is a type of fulfilment of the picture of the ceremony of eating unleavened bread during passover. At the installment of and observance of passover, the Jews would make special loaves of bread. They would keep leaven from being put into the dough. This would keep the bread from rising. Even a little leaven, and the whole lump of dough would be leavened. This is why leaven is often used as a negative example. Most commonly it represents sin or false teaching. Because a little bit of sin is so corrupting. It works its way through the whole. In the same way, a little bit of false teaching is so corrupting. it works its way through the whole. In fact, the only time that I know of where the picture of leaven is used positively is when Jesus compares the kingdom of God to leaven. He is using this to emphasize how the kingdom will infiltrate and permeate the whole world.

Argumentation:

Jesus here is warning against the danger of false teaching. This is a common theme in the whole of Scripture. We see it again and again in the Old Testament. We are to be watchful against false teachers and prophets. It also permeates the New Testament. There are not many things that are included in almost every book of the New Testament, but one of them is a warning against false teachers and false prophets. This is warned against in all but a few books in the New Testament. Perhaps this is because it is such a vital warning.

Obviously we should heed and pay close attention to every word within Scripture. God wrote this for us for our benefit. We should heed it and obey it all. However, there things of utmost importance. For example, the gospel and salvation is more important than the debate over what Paul meant in 1 Corinthians about women wearing head coverings. But how do we determine what is of more importance and what is okay to disagree on? In terms you’ve heard me use, how do we determine what is primary, secondary, and tertiary? There are several ways. In general, we look for how clearly and how often Scripture addresses the topic. Something that is clearly stated must be clearly obeyed. Something that is muddled and simply mentioned in passing is not something we should build our whole theology around. We shouldn’t ignore it, but it is not a cornerstone of our doctrine. In the same way, when we see something repeated again and again throughout all of Scripture, it is likely something we should pay closer attention to than something that is mentioned once. Those are generic rules of thumb.

Because of this, and because of the constant warnings against false teachers, false prophets, and false teachings; we should be on constant guard against those things.

Application:

And this is the application for us in this text. We must also head Jesus’ and almost every other author of Scripture’s warning against the Pharisees, Sadducees, false teachers, false prophets, and false apostles. We must watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees

We Must Watch and Beware of the Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

But how do we do this? First I think we must define what we mean. We don’t have the religious leaders of the Jewish Pharisees and Sadducees. So what are we to watch for? Well, there were many sins of the Pharisees and Sadducees. They are shown to be prideful and arrogant. They abused their power. They opposed Christ. So what are we to watch for? How are we to narrow it down? What is a modern Pharisee? This is compounded by the fact that the term Pharisee is overused in our day and age. I heard someone one time comically answer the question “who is a pharisee?” by saying “Any Christian I disagree with.” However, sadly that is true. So who are the modern Pharisees?

Thankfully, this passage gives a clue. The Leaven Jesus spoke of was specifically their teachings. Because of this, I purpose to you that they are the ones doing the same things that the Pharisees did in Jesus’ day. Specifically, I define a modern Pharisee as such:

A modern day Pharisee is anyone who adds their own opinions or the teachings and traditions of man on equal level to Sacred Scripture. In short, a Pharisee is a false teacher.

This can be done in many ways, but from what we see in Scripture, this is the primary sin of the Pharisees and Sadducees. This is what Jesus and the Apostles attack. This is what they warn against. And we have many modern day Pharisees. And the modern day Pharisees are not limited to one camp. We can point to the Roman Catholic church and an extreme example where the truth of the gospel is denied and replaced with tradition and manmade teaching to the point of being a false church. We also see this in legalistic churches. These are the churches that command works in order to be made right before God. They reinstitute the Law for holiness. We also see it in so much of the Charismatic movement, in the teachings and words of knowledge that they so often place on top of, or in place of, Scripture. We see it in such diverse places within the church. This is not one small sect of the church. it can be anywhere.

This is because false teachers and false teachings can be anywhere within the church. It may be more prevalent in places, but it can be anywhere. Some denominations or movements may be more susceptible than others, but it can find its way into any denomination and movement. This is why we must be on the watch for it and avoid it. But how do we do so? I believe we do this in three ways.

Transition:

First, Do not be Pharisees.

1. Do Not be Pharisees (False Teachers)

What do I mean by this? Submit everything you teach others to the Word of God. I know that you may be thinking that you don’t teach others. However, this is not true. We all teach others. If you are married, husbands teach your families. This means you lead your wife and kids the truths of the faith. But for all of us, we are teaching when we share the gospel and evangelize the people we know. We must make submit all that we know to the word of God. we must submit all that we pass on to the Word of God.

Transition:

Second, do not follow Pharisees.

2. Do Not Follow Pharisees (False Teachers)

Be watchful of the teaching you submit yourself to. You must submit all that you learn to the Word of God. The sad fact of the matter is that there are many wolves in pulpits pretending to be sheep. It is evil and we must not submit ourselves to their teaching! Perhaps you are wondering how to identify a false teacher. This is a great question. If we are to avoid false teachers, we must be able to identify them. There are several ways to identify false teachers, but the primary way to spot them is to compare them to the Word of God. If what they are saying does not line up with what the Bible is teaching, they are false teachers. This is what Paul is saying when He says, “8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.” Galatians 1:8

Now there is another explicit command within this. In order to recognize when something is not lining up with the teachings of Scripture, you must know what the Scriptures teach. If you are not reading and studying the gospel and the Bible, then you will be taken in. This is Paul’s warning to the Ephesians in Ephesians 4:11-16. “11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.”

But perhaps you are studying the Word and are still wondering how else to identify a false teacher. A good rule of thumb is that any preacher who makes little of Scripture and much of anything else is not to be trusted. They may use good language and sound convincing, but they are not to be trusted. They may use a verse here or there, but they are not to be trusted. A pastor’s job is to rightly handle the Word of Truth, which is Scripture. Listen to 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5. “14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

4 I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. 3 For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 5 As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

As a Pastor, perhaps the part that stands out to me most is verse three of chapter four. Paul says people will not endure sound teaching. We see this clearly in our day. If you wish to be rich and famous as a preacher, you do not preach the Word. You preach a feel good message. You preach the health and wealth gospel. You must never preach the glory of God. And perhaps this is the chief test of a teacher. If a preacher or teacher is speaking about how to make your life better, they are likely a false teacher. If they are preaching and teaching about the glory of God, they are likely sound. If they focus on man, avoid them. If they focus on God and His glory, they are likely sound. I suppose there are exceptions, but these are easy tests. I cannot encourage strongly enough the studying of God’s word to test teachers. Put me to the test. If what I say makes you feel good, but is in violation of the Word of God, reject it! If it offends you and makes you angry, but is in line with scripture, accept it. This is not about your feelings. This is about the Word of God.

Transition:

Third and finally on how we mark and avoid false teachings and teachers, we warn others of Pharisees. This is a clear application of this passage. We must warn others of Pharisees.

3. Warn others of Pharisees (False Teachers)

This is not politically correct in the church today. Paraphrasing Voddie Baucham’s criticism of our modern state, he says that the eleventh commandment in the church today is “be nice.” We must not ruffle any feathers. We must not offend anyone. And above all, we must not call out false teachers by name. However, this falls completely apart when we examine Scripture. Remember, almost every book in the new testament has a warning against false teachers, false teaching, false prophets, or false apostles. Some of these accounts clearly call out movements or teachings while some call out people by name. Paul even publicly rebukes Peter for false actions. In our culture, we seem to think we can never call out false teachings or teachers by name. This is not the example we get from Scripture.

Scripture is filled with warnings against false teachings and teachers. This passage is a clear example of Jesus warning people He loved about avoiding a specific false teaching. We should echo this warning. We should be bold enough, brave enough, and loving enough to warn those we know of false teachings and teachers they may be following. It is not loving to let another person’s eternal soul sit under teaching that is wrong! The loving thing is to warn them.

I love you. This is why I warn you of false teachers and teaching. I attempt not to needlessly name names just for attention. But if there is a false teaching that a specific teacher teaches, I warn you about them from the pulpit. You have heard me publicly denounce the word of faith or health wealth gospel and it’s teachers. You have heard me publicly denounce the deconstructionist movement in the church along with it’s teachers. This is not an act of anger or aggression. This is an act of love. It is out of love for God and His truth as well as love for you.

We must be willing to have the hard conversations with those who are sitting under false teachers. We must love them enough. We must love their eternal souls enough. We must love God and His truth enough. We must love enough to warn people of the false prosperity gospel, the false deconstructionist gospel, the false social justice gospel, of the false critical race theory gospel. We must love people enough to warn them against teachers like Benny Hinn, Joel Osteen, T.D. Jakes, Steven Furtick, Richard Rohr, Rob Bell, and many others. Jesus and the Apostles did this, and they challenged us to be bold enough to do the same.

One final note. If you are concerned about a teacher or have questions about a teaching or teacher, come ask me. I am here for you and would be happy to examine a teaching or teacher with you. I want you to be safe and grow in holiness and sound doctrine. Let’s close out in prayer.

Prayer:

Closing Hymn:

Closing Benediction:

2 Peter 3:17-18 17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. 18 But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.

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