Things Jesus Said — A Wake Up Call to the Church
He who has ears to hear, let him hear. (Mark 4:9, Mark 4:23, Matthew 11:15, Mathew 13:9)
Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. (Luke 13:5)
Whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:4)
Go, and sin no more. (John 8:11)
Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have come not to abolish them, but to fulfill them. (Matthew 5:17)
If you love me, keep my commandments. (John 14:15)
My yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:30)
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness. So you also outwardly appear righteous to others, but within you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. (Matthew 23:27-30)
The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. (Matthew 23:2-5)
What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and they defile a person. (Mark 7:20-23)
“For judgement I came into the world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind.” Some of the Pharisees near him heard these things, and said to him, “Are we also blind?” Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no guilt; but now that you say ‘we see,’ your guilt remains. (John 9:39-41)
The prophet Isaiah said, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil.” (Isaiah 5:20)
Church, wake up!
Are your leaders teaching you to call evil evil? Are they calling for wickedness to be exposed? Are they calling for the wicked to repent? Are they laying heavy burdens on you from the traditions of men, rather than what God’s word says in context and in line with the character of God?
What is the character of God? What does the Bible say about God’s character? My current pastor advised me to read the Psalms and journal every verse that talks about who God is. It has been very helpful. Here is what has stood out to me: God hates wickedness.
Take a look at Psalm 7. God judges the people. He tests the minds and hearts. He saves the upright in heart. He is a righteous judge. He feels indignation every day. He aims deadly weapons against the unrepentant.
Are you aware of God’s anger toward wickedness? If you expose wickedness, do your leaders listen and call evil evil? Or are they whitewashed tombs who lay heavy burdens on you? Do they abuse scripture to justify looking the other way when sin is exposed? If you expose the heinous evildoing of another, do they turn the tables and place the burden on you to “remove the plank from your own eye”? Do they “level” the sin of others by comparing your heart to those who sin against you? Do they accuse you of gossip when you are blowing the whistle on wickedness? Do they threaten you to forgive by telling you it is your responsibility to forgive before God will forgive you?
God is angry at sin. Anger is an appropriate response to being sinned against. Anger is an appropriate response to injustice. Church people, wake up. Call evil evil. Expose the wickedness, and refuse to be shamed for doing so. I encourage you to not be ashamed of your anger at evil. When people are bullied by self righteous malignant narcissists in the church and in the home, it is wrong. And God hates it.
Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. (Romans 12:9)
Jesus told us his burden is light. Let us resist and refuse the heavy burdens of man’s traditions. Look at the character of God. Look at the words of Christ. See and hear!!!
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This post was submitted to us by a new follower of our blog. The text has been slightly edited by Barb. I, Barb, want to apologize to the guest poster for not running the edited version past her before it was published. I simply can’t remember who submitted it! I’m very sorry; I’ve been so busy.
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- Posted in: Unjust church responses
- Tagged: evil, guest post, Pharisees biblical/modern
A Cry For Justice 
I know who it is. I’ve contacted her 🙂
Thanks I Can See. 🙂
I think it is important that through all of this, God’s purpose is to bring restoration and new creation. It’s just that the church seems to have the opposite strategy than what is taught in the Bible. The church thrives on looking good and sweeping sin under the rug, but God says who cares what you look like, expose the sin. The church thrives on honoring the rich and powerful in its midst, but God says that the leaders in the church should be honoring the weak and powerless.
I’ve been struggling with my natural hatred of people who have abused me and others, and I realize that their abuse is not an excuse for me to treat them with hatred. How then does the church treat even the wolf with love, yet expose their deeds? Jesus did not withhold his rebuke of the Pharisees and yet when Nicodemus came in private, Jesus showed him grace.
[Some leaders] are so busy looking at the imperfections (ie worldliness, trench-warfare of the flock) that they feel a cut above, and do not see their own short comings, no, grand sins or sins of grandeur…they are in positions of power with their own sins of greed and covetousness. Give us your money, give give give more more more we want we want we want not what they need, mind you. Never consider the true needs of others, and never of those of the flock. …
AMEN!
Thank you Barb, the editing looks great.
This was a note I published on my FB page after meeting with my two pastors for counseling and being belittled by them. They assigned me a mentor who also downplayed the hurtful behavior of my husband against me. She first expressed sympathy for my pain, acknowledging that what my spouse had done was wrong. But then she slammed me with the question, “Is this who God wants you to be?” To which I referred to the above scriptures. Yes, THIS IS who God wants us to be. We are created in His image, and He hates sin; therefore, WE hate sin.
My mentor then tried rebuking me for attempting to be my husband’s Holy Spirit by trying to convict him of his sin. I pressed on, replying that Jesus told us to treat one another the way we wanted to be treated. Why does this not apply to marriage? When my husband does something hurtful toward me, he’s going to hear about it. And as a Christian, I expect him to repent so I can forgive him and achieve a restored relationship. No forgiveness without repentance. No restoration. No peace.
My exasperated mentor sighed and prayed for me to have peace. Peace. Hmpf! She totally refuses to see that peace WILL NOT come without justice! I went to these blind guides at my church for help, but what I received was further attempts at keeping me in trapped in spiritual and emotional bondage!!! Beware!!!!
Hi renewedbyday! Thanks for that info; bless you. 🙂 I must have been pointed to your comments on FB. 🙂
Since this is your first comment on the blog, welcome! We always like to encourage new readers to check out our New Users’ Info page as it gives tips for how to guard your safety while commenting on the blog.
Did I say that Barb it sounds like me only better? Your speaking to my heart how refreshing!!!
Welcome to the blog, dear sister. 🙂
I changed your screen name to DGM as a precaution. If you want us to change it to something else, just email The woman behind the curtain: twbtc.acfj@gmail.com — she will be more than happy to assist. 🙂
We always like to encourage new readers to check out our New Users’ Info page as it gives tips for how to guard your safety while commenting on the blog.
Great post! Thank you.
This must be preached from the mountain tops! So many well-intentioned church leaders sweep evil under the rug or become entwined in evil themselves. They then feel pressure to maintain a facade of perfection and the sin grows deeper until it strangles the entire church body. Of course, when a member tries to discuss this situation, they are blamed and shunned. Sadly, there is nothing new under the sun. Satan wins when we keep silent. Have courage, keep the faith and never lose hope in God. Faith can move mountains!
My father was a pastor and I clearly remember him preaching on this when I was a young child. At the time I was puzzled by the imagery. I thought, it doesn’t seem like the Jesus I’ve been taught about in Sunday school. And, just what exactly is inside the tombstones?
Now I know. I understand how disturbing the contents of those tombstones would be if they were opened. I understand that Jesus is not quite the insipid character taught to children. Jesus meant everything He said when he chose to compare the Pharisees to whitewashed tombstones. And I realize my father had good reason to be preaching that sermon to those church people that day.
Thank you for that sentence, KayE. It was powerful.
This is excellent.
Thank you for sharing it!
The first time I heard the term whited sepulchre was while reading secular fiction. I have to say….I learned a deeper appreciation and understanding of the term than I did from any pastor’s preaching.
I attended a “c”hurch that could be likened to the entire crypt.