Author Archives: Pastor Brian

Making Disciples who Make Disciples — Part 2

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Why make disciples?

The easy answer—and the most straightforward answer—to why we should make disciples is “because Jesus told us to do so.” I mean, that should be enough, shouldn’t it?

When you ask your 5-year-old to do something and he says to you, “why?” In a moment of parental exasperation, we say, “Because I told you to. That’s why!”

While this answer is true, it’s often not adequate. There’s more to the why question than a matter of simple obedience. The “why question” might be reframed into a “what question.”

What exactly is happening when a person becomes a disciple of Jesus?

And here we need to understand that every single human being on this planet—all who have ever lived and all who ever will live—every single one of us are born “on the wrong side of the tracks”—spiritually speaking.

The Bible teaches us that at one time we were all “by nature children of wrath” (Eph 2:3), and we were spiritually dead in our trespasses (Eph 2:5). Our sin had separated us from God so that there was a wall between us and God (Isa 59:1–2).

We all deserved God’s wrath to be poured out on us. We weren’t innocent—not one of us. We have earned his righteous wrath (Rom 6:23).

But God in his grace sent his Son into the world. His Son lived a perfect life. His Son was innocent in every sense of that word.

And then that innocent Son went to the cross to bear the penalty that we owed for our sin. As he died on that cross, he wasn’t dying for his sin—remember, he was innocent. No, he was dying for our sins. He was paying the price that we owe.

And then after he died, he was buried, and on the third day he rose victoriously from the grave and defeated even sin, death, and the devil.

So, let’s return to the original question. Why do we make disciples? Yes, we do it because God told us to, but more a important “big picture” answer. The reason we make disciples is because this is the way God rescues sinners from the punishment they deserve.

When you speak to “Unbelieving Bob” about Christ, and Bob turns from his sins and trusts in Christ, let me tell you what just happened. At that moment when Bob trusts in Christ, God rescued him from an eternal hell.

The reason we make disciples is because it’s God’s means of rescuing lost sinners into a relationship with him.

Do you know any sinners in need of rescue?

 

[I’m grateful for Colin Marshall and Tony Payne and their book, The Vine Project, available here. Many of the ideas in this series of blogs have come from this book.]

Making Disciples who Make Disciples — Part 1

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What’s the main point of the Great Commission?

If you’re anything like me, you’ve heard countless sermons on the Great Commission.

Matthew 28:18–20
18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

But as much as we hear this passage preached, so many people still don’t really have a grasp on what the main point of this passage is.

Is the point of this passage the “authority” that Jesus has? He tells us that he has ALL authority in heaven and on earth—that’s a lot of authority! But, as important as that authority is, that’s not the main point of the passage.

So, maybe the main point is the “going.” Jesus tells us in verse 19 to “go” and make disciples. I know at least half of the sermons I’ve heard on this passage have made “going” the major thrust of this passage, but as important as “going” is, it isn’t the major thrust of the passage.

The word that’s translated, “go,” in the English is actually a participle in the original Greek language. Participles usually serve as adjectives and nouns, rarely (if ever) as main verbs, so we know this isn’t the major thrust of the passage.

There are two other participles in this passage. They are the words that are translated “baptizing” and “teaching.” Once again, “baptizing” and “teaching” are very important, but these things are not the main point of the passage.

In fact, in the Great Commission there’s only one command given. There’s only one thing which Jesus tells his followers, “DO THIS.” And that one thing is found in verse 19. Jesus tells us to “make disciples.”

Really, it’s that simple, friends. Immediately before Jesus ascended into heaven, his final command given to his disciples was to make more disciples.

Over the course of the next few blog posts, I’ll be unpacking what it means to make disciples who make more disciples.

Radical Individual Autonomy and Physician Assisted Suicide

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It’s been a slow and steady progression, but little by little contemporary culture continues to chip away at the biblical notion of human dignity, and ironically enough, the method used to chip away at human dignity is radical individual autonomy. In 1973, the Roe v. Wade decision gave the woman radical individual autonomy over the baby in her womb. No one could compel her to carry the baby to full term. It was her choice and her choice alone. In 2015, the Obergefell v. Hodges decision gave individuals radical autonomy over whom they could marry. And today the LGBT movement promises radical individual autonomy even over one’s gender (or “perceived gender”). One’s gender identity has become sacrosanct.

Physician assisted suicide (PAS) is yet another example of radical individual autonomy. With PAS, individuals have radical autonomy over when and how they choose to die. In 2001, the Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalize PAS. Since that time, other countries have followed suit, along with five US States (California, Colorado, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington). The State Legislature of Maryland tried unsuccessfully as recently as this past March (2017) to pass PAS legislation, but the bill was thankfully defeated.

Christians must learn to think through this issue from a biblical worldview. How does the Bible help Christians when it comes to this important issue? PAS denies two equally important biblical realities. First, PAS denies that God is the author of life (Acts 3:15). He is not only the Creator of life (Gen 1:1), but he is the author of life. God alone has the authority to write the script of human life. He created human beings in his image (Gen 1:27) so Christians recognize the sanctity of all human life—from conception to natural death. Human beings have inherent dignity and worth. God has ultimate authority over life and death (1 Sam 2:6; Ps 139:16).

Second, PAS sees suffering as unprofitable, but this is not true. The author of Hebrews writes that Jesus “learned obedience through what he suffered” (5:18). The Apostle Paul writes, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Rom 8:28–29). Suffering, for the believer, serves the important purpose of conforming the believer into the image of the Son. Suffering is not pointless. Nor is suffering pointless for the unbeliever. Suffering points to the reality of sin and brokenness and to the need for healing and restoration that are ultimately found in Christ Jesus himself. There is much to profit from suffering.

But, some still argue, aren’t Christians supposed to have compassion? Isn’t that what Jesus modeled? True compassion is not found, as some suppose, in escaping suffering, but true compassion is found in recognizing that the Creator has a purpose for allowing suffering to be a part of one’s life (Rom 8:18ff; 2 Cor 4:7–12; 2 Cor 4:16–5:9). Part of that redemption involves making sure that pain and suffering are alleviated while the living still live, not by causing that life’s end.

Suffering itself is not anything new. Suffering has been a part of human life since Genesis 3. The Christian recognizes the reality of suffering in this broken world. Sin has thrown God’s good creation into chaos and God’s image bearers suffer as a result. But with advances in modern medicine, one need not turn to PAS to relieve suffering. Palliative care is a viable option for suffering. Compassion can and should be shown by providing palliative care to those who experience tremendous suffering.

Christians should be the first ones to recognize and decry suffering in this world, but even in the midst of suffering, Christians trust the hand of the all sufficient and benevolent Creator who has a purpose for everything he does. Christians must stand against the rise of radical individual autonomy that sees matters of life and death as individual choices. Christians should stand united against PAS as they recognize the value and dignity of all human life.

“A Vision for the Lost,” by William Booth

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I recently read this illustration by William Booth. It cut me to the quick.

 

An-Illustration-of-William-Booth-visionI saw a dark and stormy ocean. Over it the black clouds hung heavily; through them every now and then vivid winds moaned, and the waves rose and foamed, towered and broke, only to rise and foam, tower and break again.

In that ocean I thought I say myriads of poor human beings plunging and floating, shouting and shrieking, cursing and struggling and drowning; and as they cursed and screamed they rose and shrieked again, and them some sank to rise no more.

And I saw out of this dark angry ocean, a mighty rock that rose up with its summit towering high above the black clouds that overhung the stormy sea. And all around the base of this great rock I saw a vast platform, I saw with delight a number of the poor struggling drowning wretches continually climbing out of the angry ocean. And I saw that a few of those who were already safe on the platform were helping the poor creatures still in the angry waters to reach the place of safety.

On looking more closely I found a number of those who had been rescued, industriously working and scheming by ladders, ropes, boats and other means more effective, to deliver the poor strugglers out of the sea. Here and there were some who actually jumped into the water, regardless of the consequences in their passion to “rescue the perishing.” And I hardly know which gladdened me the most—the sight of the poor drowning people climbing onto the rocks reaching a place of safety, or the devotion and self-sacrifice of those whose whole being was wrapped up in the effort for their deliverance.

As I looked on, I saw that the occupants of that platform were quite a mixed company. That is, they were divided into different “sets” or classes, and they occupied themselves with different pleasures and employments. But only a very few of them seemed to make it their business to get the people out of the sea.

But what puzzled me most was the fact that though all of them had been rescued at one time or another from the ocean, nearly everyone seemed to have forgotten all about it. Anyway, it seemed the memory of its darkness and danger no longer troubled them at all. And what seemed equally strange and perplexing to me was that these people did not even seem to have a care—that is any agonizing care—about the poor perishing ones who were struggling and drowning right before their very eyes . . . many of whom were their own husbands and wives, brothers and sisters and even their own children.

(William Booth, A Vision for the Lost, as quoted in The Vine Project by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne, pages 55-56, Matthias Media)

Pursuing Holiness

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Nearly 300 years ago John Wesley came up with over 20 questions that he asked of himself and of everyone whom he was discipling. I’ve narrowed the questions down a bit, but they’re still great questions to ask today about pursuing personal holiness.

BeHoly

  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 a slave to dress, friends, work or habits?
  3. Did the Bible live in me today?
  4. Do I give the Bible time to speak to me every day?
  5. Am I enjoying prayer?
  6. When did I last speak to someone else of my faith?
  7. Do I pray about the money I spend?
  8. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?
  9. Do I disobey God in anything?
  10. Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy or distrustful?
  11. How do I spend my spare time?
  12. Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold a resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I doing about it?
  13. Do I grumble or complain constantly?
  14. Is Christ real to me?

The character of Christians is to reflect the character of their divine Father. How are you doing in the area of personal holiness?

Sarah, Here’s Your Letter to Sign Up for the Selective Service.

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It’s a letter with which every 18-year-old young man is familiar. It’s almost like a right of passage. It comes as a measure of your age, not necessarily your maturity. Uncle Sam sends this letter to every young man reminding him of his responsibility to sign up for the selective service. While the United States hasn’t had a military draft since the early 1970s, the selective sewomen in combatrvice registration requirement allows the government to populate a list of eligible young men should a future military draft be necessary.

While there are individuals who are devout pacifists, the selective service requirement for young men is largely a non-issue in our culture. But now there is talk from top military leaders that young women ought to be required to sign up for selective service as well.

This is outrageous, but we didn’t get into this situation overnight.

Feminism has long championed the cause that a woman can do any job that a man can do. They’ve argued that there isn’t any difference between men and women. And this anti-biblical logic ultimately led to the announcement on December 3, 2015, by Defense Secretary Ash Carter that women are now eligible for all front line combat roles.

What kind of society sends their mothers and daughters to the front lines to fight their wars? A broken society!

Now, you might argue that these women are all volunteers and they’ve sought ought these front line roles. While this may be true for the time being, it doesn’t make it right. But what’s equally important is this. If women want full equality with respect to roles, then full equality is exactly what they’ll get. This is why top military leaders are talking about requiring women to sign up for selective service. And if there really isn’t a difference between men and women as the feminists insist, then women should be required to sign up for the selective service.

But, oh, by the way . . . if the draft is re-instituted and your daughter or your wife’s number is called, she won’t get her choice of “non-combative” assignments. She will be sent to the front lines along like the men. And why? Because we’ve denied the obvious differences in creation and claimed that there isn’t any difference between men and women.

Friends, this is ludicrous. Anybody with a simple basic anatomy knowledge knows that there are inherent differences between men and women. This isn’t to say that one gender is superior to the other gender. Neither gender is superior to the other. They simply are different.

In the Christian community this discussion centers around two poles, egalitarianism and complementarianism.

Egalitarians argue that men and women are equally created in the image of God. They argue that men and women have equal worth before God and before our fellow human beings. And they argue that it is inherently wrong to insist that men and women aren’t capable of fulfilling the same roles.

Complementarians also argue that men and women are equally created in the image of God. They also argue that men and women have equal worth before God and before our fellow human beings. But complementarians recognize that God has created men and women differently and with diversity, not because one is “better than” the other, but so that they can “complement” each other.

I, for one, don’t want to live in a society in which we send our mothers, sisters, and daughters to the front lines to kill or be killed. I would much prefer to live in a society in which the men cared for and protected women and treated them with gentleness and respect. Not because women aren’t “tough” or that they somehow can’t take care of themselves, but because a man’s God-given role is to provide safety and shelter.

I want to see men care for women and treat them with respect because I believe this honors God.

No, women aren’t yet required to sign up for the selective service, but if things keep going in the direction in which they’re heading, it won’t be long until you need to call your daughter and say, “Sarah, here’s your letter to sign up for the selective service.”

For His Glory,
Pastor Brian

Christian Discipleship

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Christian Discipleship

Christian discipleship is the process of making Christian disciples. Discipleship is not a program, a class, a production line, or a Bible study. Discipleship is a work of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God through a life-on-life process whereby we serve one another by helping each other progress toward Christlikeness—moving from spiritual infancy to spiritual maturity—to reproduce our lives to the third and fourth generations (Rom 8:29; gospel-centered22 Cor 3:18; 2 Tim 2:2). Disciple making is a lifelong process that is marked by progress, not perfection. Disciples are made through gospel-centered worship, gospel-centered community, gospel-centered service, and gospel-centered multiplication.[1]

 

  • All Christians are disciples who are born anew to spiritual life when they choose to follow Jesus.
  • Both the starting point and the goal of spiritual formation and discipleship is transformation to the image of Christ.
  • Together discipleship and spiritual formation provide a full New Testament perspective of the process of growth of Christians.
  • Spiritual formation and discipleship must be biblically and theologically grounded.[2]

 

What does it mean to be a gospel-centered church? Gospel-centered means that the gospel is not simply the entry point into the Christian life but that it is also the foundation and power that shapes all we do as followers of Jesus Christ, both in our daily lives and in our experience as the corporate body of Christ. The gospel is not only the fire that ignites the Christian life, but it is also the fuel that keeps the Christian life going.

Joe Thorn writes, “A gospel-centered church is a church that is about Jesus above everything else. That sounds a little obvious, but when we talk about striving to be and maintain gospel-centrality as a church we are recognizing our tendency to focus on many other things (often good and important things) instead of Jesus. There are really only two options for local churches; they will be gospel-centered, or issue driven.”[3]

For His Glory,

Pastor Brian

[1] These four “gospel-centered” categories are adapted from The Village Church.

[2] Bill Hull, The Complete Book of Discipleship: On Being and Making Followers of Christ (Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2006), 39.

[3] Joe Thorn, Gospel Centered

The Church

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From the beginning God has meant the church to be distinct. The New Testament word for church, ecclesia, literally means, “those whochurch building are called out.” In one sense this word refers to the universal church. Wayne Grudem defines the universal church as “the community of all true believers for all time.”[1] But in another sense the word refers to the local church. In fact, the vast majority of the time when this word is used, it is used to refer to the local church.[2]

What a church is not. If you are a Christian, the church is not:

  • a physical building;
  • a denomination;
  • a club;
  • a voluntary organization where membership is optional to you;
  • a friendly group of people who share an interest in religious things; or
  • a service provider where the customer has all authority.

So, then, what is a church? A church “is a group of Christians who regularly gather in Christ’s name to officially affirm and oversee one another’s membership in Jesus Christ and his kingdom through gospel preaching and gospel ordinances.”[3]

Jesus has given authority to the church to affirm and give shape to my Christian life and yours. In other words, the church is the place where life-on-life discipleship is to take place. Jonathan Leeman writes, “Just as the Bible establishes the government of your nation as your highest authority on earth when it comes to your citizenship in that nation, so the Bible establishes the local church as your highest authority on earth when it comes to your discipleship to Christ and your citizenship in Christ’s present and promised nation.” [4]

What then does it mean to be a member of a local church? Again, Leeman is helpful when he writes, “A church member is a person who has been officially and publicly recognized as a Christian before the nations, as well as someone who shares in the same authority of officially affirming and overseeing other Christians in his or her church.”[5] Once a person has made a credible profession of faith in Christ, he or she should be baptized and become a member of a local church.

To become a member of a church is to covenant with like-minded believers in pursuing Christ and growing into maturity in Christ. A covenant is more than a commitment to another group of believers although keeping covenants do require commitment. Covenants result in a fundamental change of identity. When a man enters into a marriage covenant with a woman, his fundamental identity is changed. He is now the husband of this woman. Now, a church covenant is not the same as a marriage covenant, but they do have similarities. Both involve “a commitment of the whole person in such a dramatic fashion that it bends our very identity.”[6]

[1] Wayne A. Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2004), 853.

[2] For the purposes of this document, the word “church” will always refer to the local church unless otherwise specified.

[3] Jonathan Leeman, Church Membership: How the World Knows Who Represents Jesus. Building Healthy Churches (Wheaton: Crossway, 2012), 52.

[4] Ibid., 25.

[5] Ibid., 29.

[6] Jonathan Leeman, The Church and the Surprising Offense of God’s Love: Reintroducing the Doctrines of Church Membership and Discipline (Wheaton: Crossway, 2010), 249.

The Lord’s Supper

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Different names are used, the Eucharist, Communion, the Table, or the Lord’s Supper, but all of these names point to the same reality. It is one of two ordinances that Christ left for his church.[1] And as there are many names for this ordinance, there are multiple times as many questions about it. For example,

Who is allowed to administer the Lord’s Supper?
How often should Christians take the Lord’s Supper?
Lords SupperIs the Lord’s Supper open only to church members or are all Christians invited to the table?
What is the meaning of the Lord’s Supper?
Why do we celebrate the Lord’s Supper?

And the list could go on and on. But this article will focus on one question.

When and where is the Lord’s Supper to be received? Is it for individual Christians to receive and celebrate or is a godly husband permitted to lead his family to take the Supper or is the Supper intended to be received and celebrated only when the church is gathered? In other words, is it an individualistic Christian ordinance or is it a corporate Christian ordinance?

To help answer this question, we will turn to the Scriptures. The longest sustained teaching on the Lord’s Supper is found in 1 Corinthians 11:17–34.

1 Corinthians 11:17–34
            17 But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, 19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. 20 When you come together, it is not the Lord’s supper that you eat. 21 For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. 22 What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not.
23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. 27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. 29 For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30 That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. 31 But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world.
33 So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for one another—34 if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home—so that when you come together it will not be for judgment. About the other things I will give directions when I come.

So, what may we conclude from this passage about the individualistic or corporate nature of the Lord’s Supper?

[Note: Epistemological integrity would demand that dogmatic conclusions not be reached. In other words, there are no “slam dunk” arguments about this question that can be made from this passage (or any other passage). There are, however, implications that strongly suggest the Lord’s Supper should be viewed as a corporate celebration and not as an individualistic celebration.

Argument

We will consider seven lines of argument from this passage that suggest that the Lord’s Supper is a corporate ordinance. These arguments are not listed in any particular order of importance. My arguments will be brief. This blog isn’t intended to be a treatise on this topic.

First, we must ask to whom this letter (1 Corinthians) was written. First Corinthians 1:2 clearly shows us that the letter was written to the whole church. If the letter was written to the whole church then those who “come together” (11:17, 18, 20, etc.) to celebrate the Supper are the church.

Second, the pronoun “you” in this passage is always in the plural. In this sense Greek is a more precise language than English. In English it isn’t always clear whether “you” is referring to an individual or a group of individuals. This isn’t the case in Greek. There are different words for a singular “you” and a plural “you.” In South Carolina we distinguish this by saying y’all when we mean plural—but I digress.

Third, five times in this passage the phrase “when you come together” is used in this passage and one time “when you come together as a church.” A honest reading of the text tells us that Paul here is speaking of the church gathering together corporately.

Fourth, Paul admonishes the Corinthians because he has received word of divisions existing among the believers and these divisions have surfaced around the Lord’s Table. Divisions can only exist in community, not individually.

Fifth, the Corinthians were taking the Supper in a way that promoted individualism rather than unity so Paul asked the question, “Or do you despise the church of God?” Again, this seems to suggest that the Supper is for the church.

Sixth, Paul asks another question, “Do you not have houses to eat and drink in?” This question implies that the Supper is for our corporate gathering. If you’re just hungry do that at home.

Seventh, there is a self-examination that is done in conjunction with the Supper, but even that examination is not individualistic but it is done in conjunction with the corporate gathering. The church body helps to affirm that we are indeed walking in the faith.

Application

Given the teaching that the Lord’s Supper is to be taken as a church, what points of application may we deduce? Let me suggest two.

We ought not to take the Lord’s Supper as a Sunday school class or home group or biological family to the neglect of the church gathered. The Lord’s Supper is an ordinance given to the church for the church. We shouldn’t celebrate it on our own. While this author is unsure of whether celebrating apart from the church should be considered sin, it surely is unwise to celebrate it on one’s own.

But what about faithful church members who are “shut-in” due to age or infirmity—would it be proper to serve the Supper to them in their homes (or nursing homes)? First, we must be careful to teach these shut-ins that there isn’t anything salvific in the Supper. In other words, taking the Lord’s Supper doesn’t guarantee one’s salvation and not taking the Supper doesn’t guarantee someone’s perdition. The Supper is a time to remember and celebrate what Christ has accomplished on our behalf.

But for these faithful Christians who are no longer able to attend, they, by nature of their infirmity, are no longer able to participate in this celebration. It would seem prudent and loving to allow the Lord’s Supper to be served to these saints under the following two conditions. First, again, the shut-ins (and the church) should understand that the Supper isn’t salvific. Second, the gathered church should be publicly informed and invited to participate as the Supper is served to these shut-ins.

Conclusion

In the Supper the Lord has given us a wonderful visual picture of gospel. As Christians we should not only rejoice in the gospel, but we should rejoice when we gather together to see dozens or hundreds or perhaps even thousands of others all confessing the same gospel as they take the Supper.

For His Glory,
Pastor Brian

[1] The two ordinances are baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Some refer to these ordinances as “sacraments.” For a helpful discussion on the use of the terms “sacrament” and “ordinance,” see John S. Hammett, 40 Questions about Baptism and the Lord’s Supper,” (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2015), 19–24.

Raising a Little Pharisee

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Pharisee. The average evangelical Christian almost cringes at the very sound of the word. No one likes to be called a Pharisee. Why is that?

Pharisees were known to keep the Law of God fastidiously. While the Phariseeaverage Christian hasn’t even read the entire Pentateuch (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), Pharisees would have had the entire Pentateuch committed to memory—word-for-word!

But because they were so careful to keep the Law and because they were so interested in outward expressions of holiness, the Pharisees would often look down on those who weren’t quite as “spiritual” as they were. Consider the prayer of the Pharisee in Luke 18,

“The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’”
Luke 18:11–12

Jesus had some harsh words for Pharisees (see, for example, his seven “woes” in Matthew 23). The Pharisees were often hypocrites. They thought they were better than others because they were so meticulous in keeping the Law. But they were themselves spiritually blind. They didn’t see that even they, like everyone else, were in desperate need of God’s grace.

While the institution of “official” Pharisee-ism no longer exists, the church is nevertheless full of many modern day Pharisees. So, how did the church get so many modern day Pharisees? In large part, the church culture has done a good job of raising them.

So, how does one go about raising a modern day Pharisee? Let me suggest four ways in which you can encourage your children to grow up to be Pharisees.

First, many Christian parents focus on externals rather than internals. We raise our children not to act like those “other children” who “have no manners or upbringing.” In so doing we focus our attention as parents on controlling the external behaviors of our children rather than focusing on our child’s heart—which is what ultimately controls our behavior.

This works fairly well as long as our children are in our homes and under our thumbs, but when our children leave the nest, their true heart begins to show. Paul Tripp writes of the “principle of inescapable influence: Whatever rules the heart will exercise inescapable influence over the person’s life and behavior” [Paul David Tripp, Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change (Phillipsburg: P&R, 2002), 68, italics in original].

Tripp writes,

“This is what happens to the teenager who goes through the teen years fairly well under the careful love, instruction, and oversight of Christian parents, only to go off to college and completely forsake his faith. I would suggest that in most cases he has not forsaken his faith. In reality, his faith was the faith of his parents; he simply lived within its limits while he was still at home. When he went away to school and those restraints were removed, his true heart was revealed. He had not internalized the faith. He had not entrusted himself to Christ in a life-transforming way. He did the ‘Christian’ things he was required to do at home, but his actions did not flow from a heart of worship. In the college culture, he had nothing to anchor him, and the true thoughts and motives of his heart led him away from God. College was not the cause of the problem. It was simply the place where his true heart was revealed. The real problem was that faith never took root in his heart. As a result, his words, choices, and actions did not reveal a heart for God. Good behavior lasted for a while, but it proved to be temporary because it was not rooted in the heart.”
(Tripp, Instruments, 64)

A failure to trust in Christ in a life-transforming way can cause a child to abandon the faith of their childhood, as Tripp writes here, but it can also cause them to hold on to merely the externals of the faith (i.e., external behaviors) with having a true heart change. This latter problem is characteristic of the Pharisee.

If we want to avoid raising little Pharisees, we need to focus our attention on our child’s heart.

Second, some Christian parents also find their identity in their children and in how their children behave. This point is closely related to the first, but it is different. Here the parent desires to be considered a “good parent.” The parent either wittingly or unwittingly is seeking the parenting approval of others. Instead of finding her identity in Christ, she finds it in how her children are judged by those around her.

“My, my, aren’t Mrs. Smith’s children so well-behaved?”

“You’re children are so precious. They are always so well-behaved.”

These comments feed her sense of self-worth and so she focuses all the more to make sure her child is well-behaved. The parenting emphasis is increasingly on the external behaviors and never on the heart.

It’s not on the heart because heart attitudes are so much harder to see. The dad who receives his self-worth from how well he parents rarely hears, “Your child’s heart attitude is so Christ-like.” So, he focuses on the externals and he raises a little Pharisee.

If we want to avoid raising little Pharisees, parents need to find their identity in Christ, not in how well their children perform.

Third, parents often teach their children to compare themselves to other children. This is done in any number of ways—through athletic prowess, through academic achievement, through moral obedience.

“At least my child doesn’t drink and do drugs . . .” (see previous post). And so children are taught to look down on those children who have made “significant” moral failures. Some sins are counted as worse than other sins.

Remember the prayer of the Pharisee in Luke 18? “I thank you that I am not like other men . . .”

And so drinking, drugs, and sexual promiscuity are “worse” than ungratefulness, selfishness, and pride. Pharisee-ism is so insidious that we even teach our children to be “proud” that they aren’t like those other children. And then somehow we are shocked that we’ve raised a little Pharisee.

If we teach our children that some sins are “worse” than other sins, we’ve taken a large step in raising a little Pharisee.

Finally, some parents actually teach their children to become Pharisees by withholding love and affection from children whose behavior doesn’t measure up to mom’s or dad’s (often Pharisaical) standards.

It doesn’t take little Megan long to learn, “Dad only shows me affection when I’m a good little girl.” Megan, in turn, begins to perceive her self-worth from her external behavior and a little Pharisee has been born.

Being a parent isn’t for cowards. It’s hard work and sleepless nights. But we don’t want to raise “little Pharisees” who do the right things but whose hearts are far from the Lord. So, find your identity in Christ and focus on your heart and your child’s heart and you’ll go a long way toward stunting the Pharisee in your child.

To His Glory,

Brian