On one occasion we were traveling as we often do, and my wife was reading to the family a passage of scripture for our devotional reading. The chapter that she read was Matthew 16. Many times before I had read this same chapter, but this time verse six seemed to catch my attention as never before: “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” The disciples, at first, thought that Jesus was referring to bread, but after Jesus’ gentle rebuke they understood that what he was actually talking about was the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
What was the doctrine of the Pharisees? Whatever that doctrine was, we are clearly warned to beware of it. It must have been dangerous; it must have been spiritually unhealthy; otherwise, Jesus would not have taken the time to so clearly warn against it. It was so important that three out of the four gospel writers record Jesus’ words of warning. It must have been significantly important, and we ought to “listen up” and take heed.
What was this dangerous doctrine? A better question would be, “What is this dangerous doctrine?” You see, it has survived the centuries and is very much alive today, many times in places least expected. What is this doctrine? It is any teaching that adds to or amends the gospel and then relies on the keeping of those amendments for salvation. Not only that, but this doctrine requires all others to abide by those amendments as well.
Yes, I know that no one is going around claiming that what they teach is an “add-on” to the gospel. Those who teach this doctrine feel that they have some type of biblical backing, however obscure or remote that might be.
The Pharisees truly felt that they had Scriptural backing for what they taught as well. They took the simple command, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy” and as one man said “rode off into the sunset” on their hobby-horse, defining what “God failed to make clear.” Incrementally, over the centuries, the Pharisees had accumulated hundreds of amendments to define what God meant when He instructed us not to do any labor on His holy day. They defined as labor carrying anything heavy, and since iron was heavy it was wrong to carry anything of iron or containing iron. So, since some shoes had tacks in them, those shoes were not to be worn on the Sabbath. See how their logic went? They felt that what they taught was Scriptural.
Most false doctrine today claim biblical support as well, and indeed most false doctrine can be traced back to some biblical passage. It is almost without exception based on circular reasoning. Just as the Pharisees would make an assumption based on scripture, then on the basis of that assumption draw other conclusions, in that exact same way do some, over the period of many years, develop extra-biblical teachings. It is not my purpose here to identify those teachings, but rather encourage the reader to lead his life based on the “unleavened gospel.
Is the doctrine of the Pharisees really as dangerous as Jesus led us to believe? I believe that it is. Here are just a few of its dangers that we should consider (1) Any time we go beyond what the Bible clearly teaches in what we require of others, we start down a slippery slope with no place to stop. The moment we define anything more strictly than what God said it, we have just added “leaven,” and it will grow.
2) When we add amendments to what God has said to better define what He meant, we make a serious reflection on God, and question the relevance of His eternal Word to our day. We break down its credibility with those who would be followers. His Word becomes merely a nice place to start and from there we stretch it in any direction we like.
3) Leaven dilutes the gospel, rendering it weak and dependent upon human interpretation.
4) A “leavened” gospel greatly hinders evangelism by stifling all healthy enthusiasm. It is somewhat difficult to get excited about propagating such a gospel. It is difficult to feed spiritual babes a gospel that has been submitted to human tampering. Maybe that is why we are becoming less and less evangelistic and why our churches are increasingly smaller. It seems that we are focusing so much of our attention on our controversies over how far to carry the latest “add-on,” instead of preaching the gospel to every creature.
The gospel does not need human tampering to make it well-rounded and complete. Is there anything missing in a gospel that says: “Whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple?” Or can anything be more radical than a gospel that says: “Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple?” Is there any thing lacking in the part that says: “I beseech you ... that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service?” Can any improvement be made on II Cor. 5:17: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new?”
You can add “leaven” to the gospel if you want to, but as for me I’m perfectly happy with the gospel of Jesus Christ just as He gave it to us. It is something that I can get excited about. I can agree with the Apostle Paul when he said “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth...”
What was the doctrine of the Pharisees? Whatever that doctrine was, we are clearly warned to beware of it. It must have been dangerous; it must have been spiritually unhealthy; otherwise, Jesus would not have taken the time to so clearly warn against it. It was so important that three out of the four gospel writers record Jesus’ words of warning. It must have been significantly important, and we ought to “listen up” and take heed.
What was this dangerous doctrine? A better question would be, “What is this dangerous doctrine?” You see, it has survived the centuries and is very much alive today, many times in places least expected. What is this doctrine? It is any teaching that adds to or amends the gospel and then relies on the keeping of those amendments for salvation. Not only that, but this doctrine requires all others to abide by those amendments as well.
Yes, I know that no one is going around claiming that what they teach is an “add-on” to the gospel. Those who teach this doctrine feel that they have some type of biblical backing, however obscure or remote that might be.
The Pharisees truly felt that they had Scriptural backing for what they taught as well. They took the simple command, “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy” and as one man said “rode off into the sunset” on their hobby-horse, defining what “God failed to make clear.” Incrementally, over the centuries, the Pharisees had accumulated hundreds of amendments to define what God meant when He instructed us not to do any labor on His holy day. They defined as labor carrying anything heavy, and since iron was heavy it was wrong to carry anything of iron or containing iron. So, since some shoes had tacks in them, those shoes were not to be worn on the Sabbath. See how their logic went? They felt that what they taught was Scriptural.
Most false doctrine today claim biblical support as well, and indeed most false doctrine can be traced back to some biblical passage. It is almost without exception based on circular reasoning. Just as the Pharisees would make an assumption based on scripture, then on the basis of that assumption draw other conclusions, in that exact same way do some, over the period of many years, develop extra-biblical teachings. It is not my purpose here to identify those teachings, but rather encourage the reader to lead his life based on the “unleavened gospel.
Is the doctrine of the Pharisees really as dangerous as Jesus led us to believe? I believe that it is. Here are just a few of its dangers that we should consider (1) Any time we go beyond what the Bible clearly teaches in what we require of others, we start down a slippery slope with no place to stop. The moment we define anything more strictly than what God said it, we have just added “leaven,” and it will grow.
2) When we add amendments to what God has said to better define what He meant, we make a serious reflection on God, and question the relevance of His eternal Word to our day. We break down its credibility with those who would be followers. His Word becomes merely a nice place to start and from there we stretch it in any direction we like.
3) Leaven dilutes the gospel, rendering it weak and dependent upon human interpretation.
4) A “leavened” gospel greatly hinders evangelism by stifling all healthy enthusiasm. It is somewhat difficult to get excited about propagating such a gospel. It is difficult to feed spiritual babes a gospel that has been submitted to human tampering. Maybe that is why we are becoming less and less evangelistic and why our churches are increasingly smaller. It seems that we are focusing so much of our attention on our controversies over how far to carry the latest “add-on,” instead of preaching the gospel to every creature.
The gospel does not need human tampering to make it well-rounded and complete. Is there anything missing in a gospel that says: “Whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple?” Or can anything be more radical than a gospel that says: “Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple?” Is there any thing lacking in the part that says: “I beseech you ... that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service?” Can any improvement be made on II Cor. 5:17: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new?”
You can add “leaven” to the gospel if you want to, but as for me I’m perfectly happy with the gospel of Jesus Christ just as He gave it to us. It is something that I can get excited about. I can agree with the Apostle Paul when he said “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth...”
