The Pharasees of Today

Photo: Scene from movie The Passion of the Christ

Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not. For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues, And greetings in the markets, and to be called of men, Rabbi, Rabbi. But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren.
Matthew 23:1-8


Throughout the gospels, Jesus spoke several times about the Pharisees and quite frankly, didn't have much good to say about them. As we read through and see the descriptions of the Pharisees, we picture someone of high status that is corrupt, as we would see on the movie The Passion of the Christ. When we hear of people so hypocritical as the Pharisees, we tend to look down on them. We see them as a villain of a movie or time period that could never exist in our world today. Even non-believers condemn hypocrites.


But I want to think about something that brings the teachings about the Pharisees to practical light. Jesus primarily taught people to not be like the Pharisees, not because they were wicked people by the world's standards, but because they lost sight of what God's word is and what it means to have a relationship with God. Yes, they knew the Bible quite well, even prided themselves on having the Bible practically memorized, but they were lacking something.


As we see in the above passage, they knew the Bible, they knew what God commanded, but did not act. These were the leaders who taught the people as we see they sat in Moses' seat as the religious leaders of that time. They would be like today's pastors and were highly regarded by the people, I imagine. But as we see, they did not follow God's law, they took the offerings for themselves, they indulged on their own pleasures without regard to God's word, even though they knew it well, and even paid to have Christ crucified.


Do we not have this problem today? I think what we need to take from this is that the religious leaders aren't the only people who can become the "Pharisees" of today. What the Pharisees were guilty of is the same thing that all too many people are guilty of. How many people study the Bible, memorize verses, read Christian books, read through the entire Bible, attend church faithfully, tithe every week, and know the right verse for each issue? But how many people really act on it?


I know this because I have found that I have been guilty of this. I faithfully read my Bible, memorize scripture, and study the Bible deeply, and see what God wants each of us to do, yet seem to keep it to myself. God calls each of us to spread His word and to live in a way that honors Him. And I believe that the more we know, the more responsibility we have. God calls us to grow and mature as Christians, but that cannot happen without us being willing to live out His word and be the light in this world. He wants us to live a life that reflects Him and grow our relationship with Him. And I'm sure most of us realize this and have even known these truths from a young age, but how many of us act on it? I know some denominations don't even encourage to live out a righteous life and separate ourselves from the world. Some denominations allow a sinful life, as long as you continue to learn the Bible and confess every so often. But my question is how can someone study God's word and see that it is OK to live out a sinful life and still expect rewards from God?


We need to strive to be less like the Pharisees and more like the disciples who lived for Christ and, for some, even died in His name. We have two examples in the Gospels: one of a hypocrite and one of a faithful, dedicated follower of Christ. I encourage each Christian to strive to be more like the disciples and more importantly, like Christ so that in the end, you may hear "well done, good and faithful servant".

Why Churches Should Continue to Have Services Christmas Day

To be quite honest, I'm not much a celebrator of holidays and this includes Christmas. So naturally, I wouldn't really post much about holidays, but I feel that this year, it would be warranted as Christmas Day lands on a Sunday. I have seen some churches debate over whether or not to have services on that Sunday and have heard people talking about how they think church should be cancelled to celebrate Christmas. But I want to encourage churches to continue with their services and this is why:


1. The Origin of Christmas
This may be abrasive to some people (a lot actually), but the idea of Christmas is a Catholic holiday and doesn't have a Christian origin. It is widely believed amoung many theologians that Jesus was really born sometime in either late fall or early spring. That is up to debate as to which one but truth is, we don't know what day he was born on. But the point is, Jesus was not born on December 25th. So why do we celebrate it on this date? It goes back to ancient Rome. The Romans had a holiday called Saturnalia. The purpose of this holiday was to have a week of lawlessness. All courts and law enforcement closed down and people were allowed to do what they wanted with no punishment by law. On the 25th (the last day of the holiday), the Romans would arrest the person who, during that week, was selected as lawgiver that was against the Roman government. After arresting this person, they would execute him.


During the week of this holiday, there would be rituals involving sex, drug use, drinking, human sacrifice, rape, dancing naked, everything you would picture in a pagan ritual. When Christianity started to take over in Rome, those who participated in Saturnalia wouldn't convert unless they could keep a part of their previous belief. This happened a lot throughout history (including the Vikings and the Irish) when the Catholic missionaries would try to convert pagans. The pagans would convert, but the Catholics would allow them to keep a part of their pagan beliefs and tie it into the Christian beliefs. In this case, they kept Saturnalia. As time passed, eventually Christianity adopted the date of the holiday and made it Christmas. So why would we cancel church, a time to worship Christ, over a holiday with a pagan origin?


2. Faith Based on the Bible
One point I want to bring up shortly is that our Christian faith is based on the forgiveness of our LORD and on the Bible. We do not base our faith around holidays and do not compromise with the worldly idea of holidays. To cancel a church service is telling God that our pleasure of having the "day off" and having the day to ourselves and our families is more important than fellowshipping with fellow Christians and preaching his word. We should not sacrifice this opportunity to open the doors of the church. I have a strong conviction about this. I also believe that it is each individual's choice on whether he/she will attend the church service on Christmas and that is a personal choice. But I also believe that those who are committed and want to attend the service should be allowed to be continuing with a service. That may be the only time some people will ever step foot in a church.


3. Being an Example
I feel this point coincides with my last point. We are commanded to be separate and set apart from this world and to be a godly example in Romans 12:1-2, 2 Corinthians 7:1, and Galatians 2:20. When we take advice from unsaved on spiritual matters or follow their lead, it is saying that as Christians, we are no different. When we continue to open our churches on Christmas day when everyone else is staying home, it says that we are different, it says that we are dedicated, and moreover, it says that we have an awesome God that is worth skipping Christmas morning tradition to serve God and show him that we love him.


As I conclude, I do want to express that I am not against Christmas. Even though I'm not much of a celebrator doesn't mean that I'm 100% against it. Within the Christian circle, we have used this date to look upon our LORD and remember His coming and sacrifice for us and His love for us. It's a day that can redirect our attention to our saviour. But we do need to remember that it is still just a holiday and is not the basis for our faith and is certainly not the source of our salvation or happiness. I encourage each church to keep your doors open on Christmas day. I encourage you to not follow the rest of the world. Finally, I encourage you to show God that you love him by placing him above a national holiday.