Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev19970330.htm

MATTHEW: JESUS AS ISRAEL'S MESSIAH AND HIS MESSIANIC KINGDOM
Part XI. The Crisis Of The Messiah's Offer Of The Kingdom
H. Discerning And Responding To Artificial Spirituality Among Conservatives
(Matthew 23:1-36)
  1. Introduction
    1. There are many Evangelicals who would agree with the vast majority of statements we make in Nepaug Church's Statement of Faith. Yet, there are fewer with whom we recommend unqualified fellowship.
    2. To explain the reason why we recommend a limited fellowship with many Evangelicals with whom we even theologically agree, we view Christ's teaching on this subject in Matthew 23:1-36 as follows:
  2. Discerning And Responding To Artificial Spirituality Among Conservatives, Mtt. 23:1-36.
    1. Following a discussion with the Pharisees in which they showed a failure to apply their own excellent exegesis of Psalm 110:1 to conclude that Messiah was God incarnate, Jesus criticized them, Mtt. 23:1-3.
    2. In the criticism, Jesus urged people to heed the theology of the Pharisees, but not to live like them, 3a,b.
    3. The reason for this unusual warning about a group with excellent theology was the discrepancy between their beliefs and actions: they believed what was correct, but they didn't live it, Mtt. 23:3c!
    4. In an extended section, Jesus itemized this discrepancy between belief and action, and that revelation has direct application to our times when even many Evangelicals hold correct theology but don't live it well:
      1. Jesus denounced extra-Biblical burdensome RULES the theologically conservative lay on people, 23:4.
      2. Jesus denounced ungodly showmanship tendencies of theologically conservatives, Mtt. 23:5-12.
      3. Jesus denounced the lifestyles of theologically conservatives that are a bad witness, Mtt. 23:13.
      4. Jesus denounced the futile witnessing efforts of theological conservatives who work hard, but due to a bad witness actually turn their followers away FROM the truth, Mtt. 23:15. (Verse 14 (a) is absent in the earliest and best manuscript evidence from the Alexandrian, Western and Caesarean text types, and (b) the manuscripts having the verse don't agree where it should go. Later scribes apparently inserted the verse to match Mark 12:40 or Luke 20:47, Metzger, A Text. Com. On The Gr. N.T., p. 60.)
      5. Jesus denounced theologically conservatives who intentionally misled their hearers, 23:16-22:
        1. The Pharisees would make oaths that appeared to others with whom they were entering into contracts to bind themselves to these dealings when they were really inwardly setting up loopholes to get out of their o bligations and to take advantage of others, Bib. Know. Com., N.T., p. 74.
        2. This intentional misleading effort was condemned by Jesus, Mtt. 23:19-22.
      6. Jesus denounced the theologically conservative who were picky about small commands of God's Word while overlooking much weightier concerns of the Lord in their lives, Mtt. 23:23-24.
      7. Jesus denounced the theologically conservative who outwardly appeared righteous when inwardly they were godless with artificial spirituality, Mtt. 23:25-28.
      8. Jesus denounced the theologically conservative who honor PAST heroes of the faith while mistreating contemporaries who espouse those heroes' beliefs today, Mtt. 23:29-33. In fact, God sends to such hypocrites godly men to be mistreated by them to set up grounds to judge their sin, Mtt. 23:34-36.
Lesson: (1) When theologically conservative parties (a) push burdensome, extra-biblical rules on others, (b) use showmanship tactics, (c) live lives that actually harm their witness, (d) work hard at witnessing but by their efforts actu ally turn people off from the truth, (e) mislead others to take advantage of them, (f) get picky on minute issues of the Word while themselves disobeying weightier ones, (g) appear upright to others when their hearts are evil and (h) mistreat godly people who actually heed the beliefs and actions of past spiritual giants, they are hypocrites whom God wants us NOT to imitate. (2) If persecuted by such parties, it doesn't mean one is wrong, for he should EXPECT such trouble if there is hypocrisy present even among theological conservatives, Mtt. 23:2-3, 34-36! (3) The way to TELL if a persecuted party is right or wrong is NOT then by majority consent; rather, SCRIPTURE is the sole guide to who is right and who is wrong! (4) It is reasonable for believers not to seek fellowship with parties involved in such hypocr icy, cf. 2 Tim. 2:22; 3:1-5!