LEAVEN OF THE PHARISEES

by Neal Griffin 10514 Bar X Trail Helotes, Texas 78023 ngrifflnl2@aol.com

Jesus accused the Pharisees of missing the entire point of Scripture. Their searching had not produced the buried treasure of the Bible. He accused them of having more regard for the message than for its Author. He accused them of searching the Scriptures because in them they thought they had eternal fife. They were confused about the source of eternal fife. They did not realize that
salvation is in a Person and not in a book. The very book they read revealed that Person, and yet they found in it something other than Jesus. How familiar this sounds, for such is the case today. Men are promoting themselves as if their knowledge of the Bible is the key to eternal life. They are finding, in Scripture, almost everything but Jesus. Many, as a result, are having a very real
relationship with their Bibles, with their religious organizations, with their Pope, with their preachers, and some even with their home church movements, while Jesus plays second fiddle. Their promotion is not the Christ to Whom all Scripture points. The treasure of the Bible remains buried to them. They have missed the point and, as a result, Jesus is not the primary object of the Spiritual affection. The purpose of Scripture is to bring us to Christ and is new covenant but, while all Scripture is good for our admonition, we must be careful that we don't fall victim to the same error that ensnared the Pharisees, and that error is to elevate the written word higher than the Incarnate Word.

Jeremiah prophesied that the laws of the new covenant, unlike a law book, would be written on our hearts, and Paul confirmed this in 2'nd Corinthians 3:3. We should be able to see from this that the written words of the New Testament do not constitute the new covenant, and neither do they constitute "the' gospel. Those who so argue have fallen victim to the leaven of the Pharisees. Grievous wolves, who would impose for doctrine the commandments of men, conveniently argue that the gospel is made up of the entire New Testament book. Having established this as their premise, anyone who disagrees with them on any issue, has denied the gospel and forsaken the faith. He is a false teacher- an apostate. Who can withstand so powerful and argument? Obviously, not very many. The gospel is simple. It is the good news that salvation has been brought down. It has to do with the facts of Jesus. It has nothing to do with the current issues. It is faith in the gospel of Jesus that saves, and not faith in the alliances of men. The New Testament writings confirm Jesus and His new covenant. They do not constitute "the" new covenant. Neither do they constitute a new legal code by which men can achieve salvation. It is the gospel that is the power of God unto salvation, and not the writings which tell of it. It cannot be confined to the written page, and it has nothing to do with whether or not our "church" uses an instrument, or fermented juice, or a single cup, or whether or not it supports orphanages, colleges, and/or radio-T.V. broadcasts, or whether or not it allows its women to speak, or whether or not its women must wear head covers. Jesus is the focal point of the gospel. In Hun alone do we have the hope of salvation, and certainly not in our positions on the current issues. There are many moral reprobates who mistakenly place their trust for salvation in their alignment on man made issues. Salvation accrues to us by reason of the precious blood of Jesus, and if we miss this point, we have simply missed it all. Let us pray that Satan does not sidetrack us with the leaven of the Pharisees.

Please search the Scriptures to see if these things be true. I believe them to be true to the Word.