Matthew 21
The Parable of the Two Sons
28″What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work today in the vineyard.’
29″ ‘I will not,’ he answered, but later he changed his mind and went.

Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.

hy·poc·ri·sy
1. a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess.
2. a pretense of having some desirable or publicly approved attitude.

Christian beware! The yeast of the Pharisees (Luke 12:1) is making it’s way through the dough… And you may be surprised at how it’s happening.

There are hard lessons to be learned in this life, and most come while looking honestly in the mirror. You see, to be honest, I dislike myself. I want to change things. I want to talk more gently, I want to be “nicer”, love better… Today, while running through my list of most despised vices I keep thinking at the end of this I just want to be like Jesus.

You know being honest with ourselves is very difficult. I believe it is that fact that prompted Jesus to warn us about the “yeast of the Pharisees”. Not only that, but it has laid a foundation for a church that actually promotes hypocrisy.

Look honestly at what we have come to value in Christian circles. Gentle answers, nice friendly speech… in general the first priority is making people feel good, appearing genuinely at peace in any circumstance.

My own mother used to give me this advice: “if you don’t have anything good to say don’t say anything at all.” It is very wise. Say only good things and people will like you, you will succeed, you will prosper.

It’s in the bible: “a gentle answer turns away wrath” or “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure…” … WAIT JUST A MINUTE! Let’s look at that list again:

Philippians 4:8
whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

The very first word is TRUE. Here’s the bad news. It has to be TRUE. No credit for lying. Why would there be? Satan is the father of lies. In fact Jesus emphasized TRUTH, in fact… He wasn’t always nice.

What a dilemma! How many of you are thinking: “well you ain’t Jesus” right now? LOL, you are right. So of course I shouldn’t try to be like him… Wait a minute that is what we are supposed to do! What happened here?

That is the yeast, spreading through the dough, once it is there it is impossible to remove. The pigeon hole leads us to an emphasis on making people feel good, perfecting a Buddah-Ghandi personality, and claiming Jesus’ life to be all peace despite what he himself said. We promote people like that, put them in charge, and watch as they teach everyone else to be like them… and not like Jesus.

This isn’t a matter of physical violence. Don’t make the mistake Peter made. It is spiritual violence, and I can assure you it is just as dangerous if not more so (Matthew 11:12). Put away your sword true believer. Your battle is not against flesh and blood.

Satan would have the church become a place where words and deeds are far separated. He would have us so busy practicing our Sunday school answers in the mirror with a smile that we never actually live any of it for real. We say “sure God, we’ll do it” but never show up to the vineyard, while the people who had the nerve to say no initially actually get their hands covered in the red juice of the harvest.

I’ll say this without hesitation, the “tax collectors and the prostitutes” may well be still entering ahead.

So next time you are taken aback by not-so-nice but honest words of another, consider this… Would you prefer they just make something up that they figure you want to hear? Is that what God values?

Finally, have you seen this 200 year old list before?

1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I really am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?
2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?
3. Do I confidentially pass on to another what was told to me in confidence?
4. Can I be trusted?
5. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work, or habits?
6. Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?
7. Did the Bible live in me today?
8. Do I give it time to speak to me everyday?
9. Am I enjoying prayer?
10. When did I last speak to someone else about my faith?
11. Do I pray about the money I spend?
12. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?
13. Do I disobey God in anything?
14. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?
15. Am I defeated in any part of my life?
16. Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy, or distrustful?
17. How do I spend my spare time?
18. Am I proud?
19. Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisees who despised the publican?
20. Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold a resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I doing about it?
21. Do I grumble or complain constantly?
22. Is Christ real to me?

These are 22 questions the members of John Wesley’s Holy Club asked themselves in their private devotions. I was shown this list by a national pastor here. Plain and simple, I fail at every point. God help me.

-ICA