[quote=efw]I suppose there is a significant difference between a love for God which translates to a love for His word vs a love for His word because it validates ones need to be right. The Pharisees certainly seemed to be live they were showing reverence for God's word but failed to keep its spirit.

Of course Christ showed His love for God's word by citing it constantly. .......................



Yes, I see and understand your post and I don't have an issue with it but there is an aspect of the heart that I consider when looking at the Pharisees. Their hearts were wrong, filled with impurity and as is says like "whitewashed tombs" filled with death and bones.

Were they showing "reverence?" I don't know, but their big problem was in the heart. I seem to see that "out of the heart" comes the man, the character and the witness. A heart that is unclean will not be very good at all in supplying service to the kingdom. A deed might look good on the outside but if not done for the Lord, it is of no mind. Good, not harmful but not impactful for the kingdom; a relatively meaningless earthly deed at best. I have done them by the boatloads.

If one's heart is filled with dead bones, I would suspect that reverence, behavior and good deeds associated with that heart are, in the end, to be found to be prideful and totally self-serving.

I suspect most Pharisees of that day may be like those of today; lovers of themselves, filled with pride etc; no matter how good they look on the outside, it is the heart that counts.

Take the proverbial cool drink of water. If offered by a Pharisee to Jesus only so the Pharisee can be seen doing the good deed then it is likely of no eternal consequence. If offered in love to quench Christ's thirst, then the deed likely has eternal significance.

We seem to have many people today who do good things and support noble causes. Are they doing these things to only make themselves feel good? To be seen by others and then hence done for one's own pride and ego?

Same idea with the widow's mite.

I am sure you get the idea, just another aspect of the heart of the Pharisee.


Last edited by TF49; 08/25/16.
The tax collector said: “Lord Jesus, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Jesus said he went home “justified.”