Watchman Magazine

Pharisees (1): Who Were They Then?The word “Pharisee” or a form of it is used 101 times in the New Testament. That those references are overwhelmingly negative is not news to anyone remotely familiar with the Bible. Our purpose in this study is to identify why the Pharisees were the repeated object of our Lord’s condemnation. To understand that, we must not turn to secular history to give us the answer, but to the Bible.

The most detailed statement from Jesus showing the reason for His condemnation of the Pharisees is found in Matthew 15 and Mark 7. Since Mark 7 explains the background more fully, let us see what it says:

And there are gathered together unto him the Pharisees, and certain of the scribes, who had come from Jerusalem, and had seen that some of his disciples ate their bread with defiled, that is, unwashen, hands. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, except they wash their hands diligently, eat not, holding the tradition of the elders; and when they come from the market-place, except they bathe themselves, they eat not; and many other things there are, which they have received to hold, washings of cups, and pots, and brasen vessels.) And the Pharisees and the scribes ask him, Why walk not thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with defiled hands? And he said unto them, Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, This people honoreth me with their lips, But their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, Teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men. Ye leave the commandment of God, and hold fast the tradition of men. And he said unto them, Full well do ye reject the commandment of God, that ye may keep your tradition. For Moses said, Honor thy father and thy mother; and, He that speaketh evil of father or mother, let him die the death: but ye say, If a man shall say to his father or his mother, That wherewith thou mightest have been profited by me is Corban, that is to say, Given to God; ye no longer suffer him to do aught for his father or his mother; making void the word of God by your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things ye do (Mark 7:1-13).

This passage makes it clear that Jesus condemned the Pharisees because of their failure to adhere to the pattern of Scripture, instead substituting “the tradition of the elders” as being on a par with God’s word. The process by which they did so is made plain.

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It is important for us to note closely the question of this study. The question is not “Are God’s laws hard?” but rather it is “Are God’s Laws too hard?” Are God’s laws beyond our ability and do God’s laws demand more than man can give? God’s laws can be hard because life is hard and because of the constant temptations of the devil. Our task in this study is to consider the idea of whether God’s laws are too hard.

A. Life Is Hard. “In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground…”(Gen.3:19). Life on this earth was, at one time, truly to live in a “garden” (Genesis 2). Then, sin entered the picture. Man was punished with work becoming toil and labor and the woman with “sorrow” and travail (Genesis 3:16-19). Life on earth became hard for saint and sinner! How often do we hear some brother in his prayer mention the “uneven pathways of life” or that this life is a “vale of tears”? Life is not easy. We may not all face the same problems or carry the same burdens, but no one escapes the toils, heartaches, and trouble of life. The writer said in Proverbs 13:15: “The way of transgressors is hard.” But, David also said in Ps.34:19 that, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous.” Is there a life on this earth that’s not hard and difficult? No.

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When Jesus had His conversation with the Jews in John 8:31-47, He told them, “If ye abide in my word, then are you truly my disciples; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” To possess the Word of God and to therefore be able to know the Truth, is indeed a privilege beyond comparison in our lives. And yet man has been dealing with the question of “What is truth?” since Jesus was asked that question by Pontius Pilate (John 18:37-38). To those individuals who are willing to “…Fear God, and keep his commandments;…” (Ecclesiastes 12:13), this should not be any problem at all. We are totally able to “know the truth” and are absolutely confident in the assurance that “the truth will make you free”!

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Romans 2:12-16 says: For as many as have sinned without law will also perish without law, and as many as have sinned in the law will be judged by the law (for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified; for when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things contained in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law to themselves, who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.

Romans 1 had established that the Gentiles are in sin and need salvation. The point of chapter two is to show that the Jews likewise are in sin and need salvation just like the Gentiles. The point of the above verses (vv. 12-16) is an amplification of the point in v. 11 (God is no respecter of persons). So, his point is that God will condemn those who sin whether they be Jew or Gentile. Those who sin without the law (Gentiles), God will condemn. Those who sin in the law (Jews), God will condemn.

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While the Israelites were assembled at Mount Sinai (Ex. 19:1) God delivered through Moses the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:1f). Moses was the Lawgiver. He received the Law from God and delivered it to the children of Israel. Even before the words of the Law had been put down in writing the Jews promised Moses, “All the words which the LORD has said we will do.” (Ex. 24:3). In the second giving of the Law, Moses clearly states that the covenant was not made with the Gentiles or even with the Israelites’ forefathers, but only with the nation of Israel whom God had led out of Egyptian bondage.

“And Moses called all Israel, and said to them: ‘Hear, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to observe them. The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. The LORD did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive” (Deut. 5:1-3).

The Old Testament law was given to a specific group of people, the Jews and was never said to have been given to anyone else. The Law was never designed for Gentiles or even Christians. Where is the Scripture that shows this covenant was made with anyone else?

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Introduction

“For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man,” wrote the apostle Paul in Romans 7:22. He was discussing the internal battle in every saint between the knowledge of what is right and the temptation to indulge what is not.

Paul expresses for us what ought to be the natural attitude of every child of God, an abiding affection and appreciation for the law of God which directs and chastens us toward good and away from evil (Matt. 6:13). It is commonly taught today that the New Testament of Jesus Christ is nothing more than a love letter from God to man. The supposition is that a love letter includes no conditions and so is devoid of anything approaching the concept of law common to the Old Testament.

Is this distinction scriptural? If so, what are its implications?

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One thing that escapes many is the fact that God’s rules have a purpose or reason behind them. Unfortunately, many have the idea that if they follow God and the Bible then they will be “oppressed,” “held down,” etc. In other words, people are led to believe that if we follow the will of God then we are somehow giving up our “freedoms.” In fact, the opposite is true. When we follow God’s word, we will be free. Jesus said, “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed” (Jn. 8:36). God’s commands, (the “thou shalts” and the “thou shalt nots”) have a purpose behind them.

First and foremost, their purpose is to save men from sin. Paul said, “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith” (Rom. 1:16-17). The goodness of God demanded His will be revealed to us so that we could be saved. The love of God motivated Him to send His Son to die for us (Jn. 3:16; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21). Having said these things, we ought to also realize that God’s laws have been given to us that we might not only enjoy spiritual blessings, but also physical blessings. Perhaps we have not thought in terms like this, but it is true that by following God’s will we can enjoy many physical blessings. Paul told Timothy, “refuse profane and old wives’ fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come” (1 Tim. 4:7-8). Godliness is the only truly practical way for a person to live. Paul says it benefits one in this life and that which is to come. In other words, it benefits the here and now and well as the hereafter. There is not a realm or relationship of this life that is not bettered as the result of one living a godly life. Even one’s general relationship in society is bettered when one keeps in mind the “golden rule” as it is called (Matt. 7:12)! Let us consider some of God’s laws and learn the physical blessings that come through obedience.

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“But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.”
In addition to Paul’s attribution of goodness of God’s law in 1 Tim. 1:8-11, the Psalmist praised the effects of God’s law upon those who walk in it. Consequently, those who keep God’s law are they who:

1. Are considered undefiled because of their walk.
2. Do no iniquity.
3. Are not ashamed.

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This article is a review of David Mathews’ article, Slandering the Denominations.

David Mathews has written for Watchman before. He had an article in the November 1998 issue of the magazine, Neither Black Nor White which was a fine piece dealing with the sin of racial prejudice. However, since that time correspondence with David concerning material presented by others in Watchman revealed that he takes issue with our approach to the defense of truth. David submitted an article to this editor on February 7, 1999 which clearly expresses his convictions in this regard. In my estimation, his attitude toward controversy is shared by what is a growing number of Christians. He freely admits that this attitude is a change from that he held at an earlier time. While I found disturbing his previous attitude, (expressed in the first paragraph of his article), his present attitude I find alarming as well. Especially in that he is not alone in holding to it. Thus, I consider it appropriate to publish his article together with this review. All readers are encouraged to read both articles, and consider carefully what is written.

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