Some of the most loving words I have ever heard and gestures I have ever seen have come from the hearts of brethren; unfortunately, some of the most spiteful, vitriolic speech, and some of the most cruel of actions have also come from deep in the heart of brethren. "From the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way." Jas 3:10.
Recently, a brother expressed concerns and changes in conviction on an internet "list" which is largely made up of preachers, with the intent of getting a dialogue going to see if his thoughts stand up under scrutiny. This is not unusual; I do the same with men I love and respect. Many of his thoughts were unorthodox; some were quite within the pale of orthodoxy.
While I do not share all his convictions, yet I am compelled to admit the correctness of some of his observations. One is that it seems when a brother begins to disagree with us, we question either his honesty, sincerity, or sanity. This reaction is not unusual; the Pharisees expressed a great deal of contempt with those who would dare to disagree, Jn 7:47-49; 9:34. Yet, is this any way to grow in Christ? When we study, either with those in the denominational world or with our brethren, we should approach it with the understanding that it just may be possible that we are wrong--because we just may be. This was the attitude of the Bereans that searched the scriptures to see if Paul was correct; it should be ours as well.
This is not the only similarity we at times share with Pharisees. On one hand, they had traditions that would excuse them from the Law of God, Mt 15:1-9. We also may seek to excuse ourselves from the will of God, and incur the same condemnation.
On the other hand, we may seek to bind laws where God had made no laws, which is equally worthy of condemnation. This is a valid point to be made from Mt 12:1,2; the disciples were guilty, not of breaking the Law, but of the man-made tradition that was designed to keep them within the Law (See Johnson, B.W., The Peoples New Testament with Notes).
Finally, it should be obvious that one of the major problems of the Pharisees was that they had a form of religion without substance; they valued the act more than heart behind the act. This is what was condemned in Hos 6:6 (quoted by Christ in Mt 12:7): "For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings," (ESV; Loyalty, NASB). Not that God didn’t require the sacrifice--He did; but it was worthless without the heart behind it. The Pharisees were scrupulous in keeping the Law (tithing even the most worthless of spices), but had forgotten the "weighter matters" of it: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. We, as children of God, must be careful not to have the same sort of problem.
Interestingly, someone has observed that perhaps this is the very reason that so much has been preserved about the Pharisees in scripture: there are some traps that the righteous man is more apt to fall into than others, and we are being warned of the dangers. While not all the Pharisees were this way (i.e., Nicodemus, Saul, and others), we must be careful ourselves not to fall into the traps of hypocrisy, self-righteousness, loosing or binding where we ought not, and heartlessness that most did fall into.
It is said that, "Because the ideal of the Pharisees was high, and because they reverenced learning and character above wealth and civil rank they had a tendency to despise those who did not agree with them" (ISBE, Pharisees, IV, 1). May it not be said of us as Christians as well.
