The Making of a Disciple- Part VII- The Disciple's Vigilance
The Making of a Disciple • Sermon • Submitted
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· 1 viewIf we are to be disciples of Christ, we must vigilantly guard against the errors so prevalent among the religious leaders of Jesus day.
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Last week we took a fresh look at a familiar passage in Matthew 14 as Jesus fed the five thousand. In this passage we saw “The Disciple’s Opportunity,” as Jesus involves the disciples in the work He is doing and affords them the opportunity to be a conduit through which Gods’s awesome power may flow.
Today we are going to examine another interaction between Jesus and His disciples. This time Jesus is sounding out a warning against the false teachings of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
The disciple of Christ must be vigilant to avoid the errors which were so prevalent among these religious leaders. The fact that we have believed on Christ does not make us immune to false teaching, so we must be constantly on guard against it.
So the question that must then be asked is “What were the errors of the religious leaders?”
We must vigilantly guard against
Hypocrisy (of the Pharisees)
Hypocrisy (of the Pharisees)
Hypocrite- One who feigns to be what he is not; one who has the form of godliness without the power, or who assumes an appearance of piety and virtue, when he is destitute of true religion.
Sermon on the Mount- be not as the hypocrites. Matthew 23:13-29 - Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees hypocrites...
Notice especially Matthew 23:27-29- here Jesus strikes at the heart of the problem which was the Pharisees’ hearts. They appeared religious and spiritual to the outward observer and yet within their hearts were filled with hypocrisy and iniquity.
The legalism and traditionalism of the Pharisees were the direct result of their hypocrisy. They were so focused on outward forms of religion while they wholly neglected the inner spiritual life.
Jesus warned his disciples to guard against hypocrisy. There is so great a tendency in us to profess to believe something, but to fail in the practice of our beliefs.
The Pharisees loved to appear spiritual and religious but they lacked true spirituality and were wholly unfamiliar with true religion.
Our Christianity must be much more than simply looking the part. Many believers are content to appear spiritual, all the while lacking true spirituality and often remaining carnal and worldly beneath the facade.
The disciple of Christ must be sincere in his faith living out himself those principles and doctrines which he professes to believe. We must be concerned much more with the inner spiritual life than with the appearance of spirituality.
The disciples of Christ were not immune to this danger as is seen in the life of Peter.
But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.
Over and over again in the New Testament we find some in the church who attempted to emphasize appearance, ritual, and tradition over the inner spiritual life.
It is much easier to place the emphasis here, for we can appear spiritual without the real work of allowing God to search and change our hearts.
Hypocrisy is still all too common among believers today as is evidenced by...
Many Christians profess that church is important and yet they cannot seem to attend faithfully. Many believers profess that the Bible is the Word of God but they largely ignore it. Many would be disciples give “lip-service” to the fact that it is our responsibility to share Christ and yet never actually make any effort to do so.
Short-Sightedness (as the Sadducees)
Short-Sightedness (as the Sadducees)
The Sadducees consistently denied resurrection altogether, as well as denying the existence of angels and spirits.
According to Historians the Sadducees believed-There was no fate. Man has free will; "man has the free choice of good or evil". The soul is not immortal; there is no afterlife.T here are no rewards or penalties after death.
For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.
Mark 12:18-27- their lack of belief in the afterlife.
The Sadducees sought wealth, popularity, and worldly influence and denied eternal realities focusing instead upon temporal gain.
Their great error was their focus upon the physical world, and refusing to recognize the reality of the spiritual realm.
Jesus warned his disciples to guard against this great error on many occasions. Likely the most well known of these warnings actually is given by the Lord Jesus a few verses later in Matthew 16:24-26 - what shall it profit a man to gain the whole world
There is also a natural tendency in each of us to place a greater emphasis upon that which we can see and touch than that which is invisible and eternal.
We must be vigilant to guard against the temptation to lose sight of the eternal because we are so intently focused upon the temporal.
All the success, popularity, and wealth we can gain in this life will not secure for us any reward in the life to come.
We must consistently and intentionally live this life with the reality of eternity and the spiritual realm always in view. It is an unfortunate tragedy that so many believers have succumb to this error and are living their lives without any serious thought of the spiritual realm or of eternity.
We must not be deceived into believing as some do that Jesus Christ came so that we can be “healthy, wealthy, and wise” and achieve all our earthly ambitions.
We must remember that Jesus came to save us so that we could be set free to live for Him that we might glorify God and point men to Christ.
Jesus did not come to give you “Your Best Life Now.” Instead He came to give you the opportunity to receive eternal life and to gain eternal rewards.
Demeaning of Jesus Christ (Pharisees and Sadducees)
Demeaning of Jesus Christ (Pharisees and Sadducees)
Both the Pharisees and the Sadducees failed to recognize Jesus as the Messiah which had been promised. They constantly demeaned him even to the point of suggesting that he was in league with Satan himself.
This is the most dangerous of the errors of the religious leaders. As disciples, our entire duty consists of making much of Christ and pointing men to Him!
We must not do anything that might demean Him or that would cause others to turn away from Him.
The greatest error of the Pharisees and the Sadducees was their personal rejection of Jesus Christ and even worse, their use of their influence and power to cause others to reject Him too.
It was the Pharisees and Sadducees who ultimately bear the responsibility for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. They were threatened by His teachings and His influence and rather than accept the obvious truth, they chose to believe a lie and then to promote the lie causing others to reject Him as well.
The true disciple who has sincerely placed his faith in Christ may not reject Christ in the strongest sense, but there is still the danger of living in such a way as to become a hinderance to the faith of others.
We must be vigilant to guard against any action or behavior that would cause those around us to doubt the claims of the gospel or to reject Jesus Christ.
The Pharisees and Sadducees were constantly demeaning Jesus Christ and they did all that they could to cause others to doubt the truth of the claims which He made concerning Himself.
These religious leaders, who should have been pointing men to the Messiah who could save them from their sins, were instead guilty of leading men away from Christ and causing them to reject the offer of salvation.
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.
Let we who desire to be disciples never allow ourselves to do anything that might cause others to doubt the truth of the gospel or the efficacy of Jesus Christ.
When we name the name of Christ, we must recognize that we bear a great responsibilty as we live our lives as a testimony to the power of the gospel.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
It is likely that a great many unbelievers have rejected Christ because of the poor testimonies of His disciples. How vital it is that we live in such a way that the power of the gospel and of Jesus Christ can be clearly seen in our lives!
Conclusion
The disciple of Jesus Christ must be constantly on guard against the temptation to allow the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees to creep into our lives.
We must be vigilant in guarding ourselves against the hypocrisy of the Pharisees!
We must be vigilant in guarding ourselves against the short-sightedness of the Sadducees!
We must be especially vigilant to guard agains the error which both groups shared of demeaning Jesus Christ!
May our lives ever be a testimony to the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ!
Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;