"Crhistian" Fundamentalists are wolves in sheep`s clothing - modern day pharisees

[dude21]

this is a summary of this article here:

Jesus is not a fundamentalist: Christian Fundamentalists: Are they wolves in sheep`s clothing ?

Here is the short of it:

1. Enter the false prophets

Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. (Matt 7:15-17)

2. What is the "sheep`s clothing" ?

Sheep`s clothing is having the APEARANCE of righteousness.

In this example we can use "fasting" as a metaphor for righteousness:

Isaiah 53:

4 What good is fasting when you keep on fighting and quarreling? This kind of fasting will never get you anywhere with me.

5 You humble yourselves by going through the motions of penance, bowing your heads like a blade of grass in the wind. You dress in sackcloth and cover yourselves with ashes. Is this what you call fasting? Do you really think this will please the LORD?

6 "No, the kind of fasting I want [...]

(So, is all this stuff wrong then ? No, Jesus Himself recomends fasting. )


3. What are the good fruits that bring SALVATION (real righteousness)

(Isaiah 53 Continued)

5.[...] Do you really think this will please the LORD?

6 "No, the kind of fasting I want calls you to free those who are wrongly imprisoned and to stop oppressing those who work for you. Treat them fairly and give them what they earn.

7 I want you to share your food with the hungry and to welcome poor wanderers into your homes. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help.

8 "If you do these things, your salvation will come like the dawn. Yes, your healing will come quickly. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind.

4. Avoiding false righteousness yourself

2 “So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men.

5. What is a corupt tree and what is a good tree ?

What is a “good tree” ?

The Holy Spirit is an example of a good tree, and theese are its fruits in our hearts and souls:

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance

John 15:5 "I am the vine. You are the branches. Those who live in me while I live in them will produce a lot of fruit. But without me, you can't produce anything ."

So, if we have theese qualities in our hearts we are a good tree, and not a corupt tree.

What is corupt tree:

"within are full of hypocrisy and iniquity."

breaking the commandment "love your neigbour" by comitting Bibliodolatry (bible - idolatry) - by putting legalism above mercy.

and:

...neglecting "the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness"

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! [...] , and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; (Matt 23:23)



6. Is the Holy Spirit available to anybody ? ...and who gets to heaven ?

John 14:22 Judas (not Iscariot) saith unto him, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?

23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

"If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."

This is why He will "know" you. Because, when you start to apply this law:

Galatians 6:2 "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

...then:

John 14:21 “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.”

See also one of the previous sections called - "What are the good fruits that bring SALVATION".


7. The pharisees were examples of False Prophets, wolves in sheeps clothing

Matt 23:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward (APEARANCE of righteousness) , but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. 28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.

"Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto
men" - sheep`s clothing.

"but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity." - "inwardly they are ravening wolves"

Matt 23:15 "How terrible it will be for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to make a single convert, and when this happens you make him twice as fit for hell as you are.

Theese pharisees werent exactly layzy were they ? They were pretty fervent and active, preaching to sinners and stuff... Making converts...



8. The law was made for man, and not man for the law

Galatians 6:2 "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.

[Mark 2:27] Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath."

Jesus **did not** dispute the validity of the law prohibiting harvesting grain on the Sabbath. He instead put things in right perspective:
the Sabbath was for man's benefit, not to restrict him, and human needs take precedence over the law of the Sabbath. This actually is a broad principle and applies to more than the Sabbath; human law was made for human welfare.

Jesus says:

[Matthew 12:3] Have you not read what David did, when he was hungry, and they that were with him; 4. How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the showbread, which was not lawful for him to eat

which was not **lawful** for him to eat

[Matthew 12:5] Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the Sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?

are **blameless**

[Matthew 12:7] "But if you had known what this means, 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,' you would not have condemned the innocent.

**innocent** -- because -- 'I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,' -- the purpose of the law is compassion and not sacrifice.


9. Why is the OT law so harsh ? (stone to death and stuff)

1 Timothy 1:9: "Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

Galatians 3:19 "Wherefore then serves the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made…



10. Jesus is AGAINST the strict, condemning attitude regarding the law:

Jesus ministered to people's needs, even if he broke the law by doing so.


11. Jesus is not for abolishing the law either, but for understanding it better


Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. - Matt. 5:17,18

12. Jesus is the ultimate authority, not "the bible"

The pharisees clinged to the letter of the law as the final authority, but the etter of the law is not the final authority, the spirit of the law is, and that is embodied in Jesus. (and the word became flesh...)

You can see that clearly in the conflicts between Jesus and the pharisees.

13. Are the today`s fundamentalists the same as yesterday`s pharisees ?

43 “For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit.

And now He comes to the part where He explains that the coruption of the tree is in the heart, and the goodness of a good tree is also in the heart:

45 “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.

14. This article is not for condamnation, but to help you discern

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. 38 “Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.” - Luke 6:37

15. “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private...”

“If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. 16 “But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED.
17 “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.- Mathew 18:15

[newsbone]

A very interesting observation from a very biased perspective!

'You can only see what you are looking for' Me

[sk8joyful]

all that to say, you're not a fundamentalist What a lecture!
Encounters like that, discourage even folks like me from church-participation.

Good thing!, there's still a few around with whom PRAISing God is fun...

out of curiosity, do you ever ASK questions yourself? You know, intending learning something new...

[JSB]

Excellent post. I couldn't agree more. I think Fundamentalists mean well, and believe they are right, but they seem to have missed the point completely. Pharisees indeed!

[JSB]

Originally Posted by JSB

Excellent post. I couldn't agree more. I think Fundamentalists mean well, and believe they are right, but they seem to have missed the point completely.

If Jesus were to show up again, they'd be the first to condemn him as a dirty, unpatriotic, pacifist, trouble-making hippie.

Pharisees indeed!

[sk8joyful]

re "If Jesus were to show up again, they'd (fundamentalists) be the first to condemn
him as a dirty, unpatriotic, pacifist, trouble-making hippie.
Pharisees indeed!"
-------------------- Almost all of that may be, sadly, true.
so might it be better:
1. to first accept Jesus as your Savior;
&
2. past ignoring bad apples (as you said), just enjoy
the fellowship of a individuals, like here in this forum,
who do Enjoy! being in God/Jesus' divine company

[ProbableReality]

As an ex-christian, I fall through painful trap doors with threads like this. I just can't resolve all the issues with christianity.

Fortunately, I know how to live my life deliberately now and focus on how I want things to be. It is not necessary to justify or condemn anyone else's religion. Sometimes I am tempted to demonize fundamentalists, but I know it is my own baggage.

Life is good now.

[EllaR0109]

Is a church perfect or a religion perfect or anything perfect? I've never seen it. Do we have an obligation, or even an inside need, to participate and work to make life better in a real way? I think so. There are many reasons and arguments for not being part of anything anywhere, but in the end, it comes down to a real inside need to connect to a higher being that to me logically exists. Genesis was written two thousand years ago. Read the first chapter and read the theory of the big bang. They match. How? Back then people thought the world was flat and we might fall off. lolol First a shapeless void then the world formed then it was covered by water, then land appeared, then plants, then water animals, then land animals and last people. We know more now, as people, but still not much. At least we now know the world is round.

[seirwyn]

Yes, Pharasees totally exist today! I liked your post because I feel very condemned and confused when I read the bible. It was nice to be pointed to the verses about compassion.

[seirwyn]

Originally Posted by ProbableReality

As an ex-christian, I fall through painful trap doors with threads like this. I just can't resolve all the issues with christianity.

Fortunately, I know how to live my life deliberately now and focus on how I want things to be. It is not necessary to justify or condemn anyone else's religion. Sometimes I am tempted to demonize fundamentalists, but I know it is my own baggage.

Life is good now.

What issues are they? Im working through a lot of misconceptions with funamentalism at the moment.

[seirwyn]

Originally Posted by ProbableReality

As an ex-christian, I fall through painful trap doors with threads like this. I just can't resolve all the issues with christianity.

Fortunately, I know how to live my life deliberately now and focus on how I want things to be.
Life is good now.

NO! You are not meant to be happy! Happiness is WRONG!! You are not meant to have what you want-only what you need!! (Im joking!!)