Judging Pharisees and Lawyers

Luke 7:30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him (John the Baptist).
We can even learn lessons from the religious leaders who sought to thwart Jesus, if we pay attention. Self-awareness plays a key role in these lessons. One might ask his or her self, Are any of these traits found in them, existing in me? It is easier to see faults in others than it is to look at our own. Perhaps, instead of being quick with a pointy finger, we might quickly do a self-examination with Holy Spirit’s help. It’s easy to be judgmental of others while overlooking our own hypocrisy in so doing.
Romans 2:1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.
Other people’s attitudes and actions often serve a mirror, which reflect back shortcomings we despise in ourselves. Obviously, this is one reason we can be quick to point the finger. Those who are the most critical of others, generally have a lot of criticism reserved for themselves. The irony is it’s easy to be critical of critical people. Maybe, we can tap into compassion instead, because they are dealing with some inner conflicts of various shapes and sizes.

A Lesson From Pharisees and Lawyers

Notice our opening passage says, “they rejected the counsel of God against themselves.” It is clear these particular religious leaders did not recognize or acknowledge John as a prophet. They rejected the message of repentance, which was underscored by the fact they were not baptized by him. His baptism was the baptism of repentance. Self-righteous people seldom see the need for it, because in their view they are righteous. Unfortunately for them, it is not the righteousness received by faith in Jesus.
By rejecting God’s counsel, which came through John, they fought against themselves. Moreover, they rejected God’s will for themselves. This passage can also be rendered as, “But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.”
The bottom line is when a person rejects the Word of God, he rejects His counsel, will and purposes for his life. In so doing, he is not actually fighting against God; he fighting against himself. Think about it: who is going to win a fight against God? That is spiritual suicide.

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Compromise

Stating the obvious, there’s been a lot of compromise in the Church over the years. Some might argue, more so now than ever. One may also say, hypocrisy has grown out of proportion. Nevertheless, there are believers who desire purity, both in themselves and the Church. They desire a life without compromise and hypocrisy. Do you yearn for that purity?

Even while combatting sin, one could enter into compromise and hypocrisy, without realizing it. How so? The short answer is self-righteousness. It is very subtle in nature. It has a way of ensnaring even those with the best of intentions, by using religious bread crumbs to lead them down the path of pride. After all, self-righteous is nothing more than pride pretending to be holy. Once a person becomes self-righteous, he or she has already compromised.

When it comes to witnessing to the lost, self-righteousness pushes more people away from Jesus than the other way around. How receptive would you be, if you felt you were being judged by a hypocrite? Apart from love, there is no such thing as truth. Self-righteousness enjoys feeling superior to others, while “putting them in their place.” The appearance of holiness is more important than the lost soul.

To be clear, people have neglected speaking the truth in the name of being seeker friendly. In some instances, they fail to mention repentance as being part of the Gospel, because they’re afraid others might be offended. Truth does offend people, especially if they feel exposed.

John 3:19-20 And this is the condemnation, that Light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the Light, neither cometh to the Light, lest his deeds should be reproved.

Broadly speaking, we have handled other people’s sins poorly in some instances. Instead reconciling them unto God, we’ve imputed their sins against them. In other words, we became a stumbling block, because of our self-righteousness. How does one deal other people’s sins without compromise?

Deal With Yourself First

Matthew 7:1-5 Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote (speck) that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam (log) that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.

Do you find it frustrating to see someone point the finger at someone, while he commits the same transgression? It happens all the time, people point out the very faults in others that they themselves carry.

Romans 2:1-3 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?

If we find yourself pointing the finger at others, it would be good idea to look in the mirror. We have to deal with our own issues before we can legitimately help anyone else. Clearly, it is easier to deal with someone else’s garbage than our own. The problem is we can get so focused on “fixing” everyone else, we fail to receive that which we need. Without the clarity that comes with repentance and healing, our ability to help others is greatly impeded.

Dealing with ourselves requires humility, and the willingness to see what God desires us to see. If we do not humble ourselves, self-righteousness will have its way, and that is not a good place to find ourselves.

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