Authentic Purity Sample

Do Not Be A Pharisee 

In Matthew 23, Jesus gives a long discourse about the Pharisees. In fact, many Bible scholars refer to this as the woes of being a Pharisee. Jesus declares wrath and sorrow for those who act the part but do not practice what they preach. Doing so is hypocrisy and the opposite of being an authentic Christian.

Jesus said the Pharisees kept themselves and others from going into the kingdom of heaven. They aggressively sought to get people to believe like them, but when they did, made them twice as much children of hell. The Pharisees were blind guides, the blind leading the blind. They had selective obedience and were masters of evasion and excuses when they wanted to sin. 

The Pharisees emphasized minors over majors. Jesus said they strained out a gnat but swallowed a camel. They gave so much attention to minute things, yet forgot the big things of God such as loving others and doing what is right. They cared more about giving their tithe to God than loving people. Yes, we should tithe—but let’s not forget to focus on the greater things God has asked of us. 

The Pharisees focused on the exterior. They cleaned the outside of the cup, but inside it was full of garbage. They appeared spiritual, but behind closed doors they had not dealt with their sins. They had focused on making the exterior look clean, but internally they were filthy. Jesus said they were like whitewashed tombs, pretty from the outside but inside simply full of death. Jesus was harsh with the Pharisees because they were people with knowledge of the law but no actions of love. They had selective amnesia and had learned to fake holiness, but were only deceiving themselves.

The Word of God says that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body, but the words that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart. We get so hung up on the outward things we forget that what is inside is the reason for how things appear. Therefore, if you clean up the inside, the outward will follow. Jesus can transform all of our ugliness and filth. We need Him. He is our washer. 

Do not be a Pharisee. If there are areas in your life where you find yourself being inauthentic or maybe even hypocritical, take them to Jesus. He is able to clean those ugly areas, but He needs you to be real and honest with Him.