Reg
11-14-2004, 05:35 AM
" CAN YOU TRUST ME ? " CAUTION:SCRIPTURES
Trust is not something that can be demanded or legislated. It is gained or lost on the basis of integrity and honesty. People who say what they mean and live consistently with their ideals are people you can trust, and more consistency is required of spiritual leaders as a demonstration of spiritual authenticity. Now let's go back and look at the word hypocrisy....
hypocrisy / act of playing a part: Feigning to be what one is not or to believe what does not: false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion.
Another characteristic of false spiritual leaders is that they attempt to affect virtues of qualities they do not have. And they have a different set of rules for themselves than everyone else. They are hypocrites.
The Double life of False Spiritual Leaders
Mat 23:3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do. But do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.
4 For they bind heavy and hard-to-carry burdens and lay [them] on men's shoulders. But they will not move them with one of their finger.
Verse 3 begins with a curious statement: "...all that they tell you, do and observe." The obvious question is, if they are false teachers, why listen to anything they say? In fact, in Mat 16:6, Jesus said of this same group, "Beware [literally: hold yourself back from] of the leaven of the Pharisees." Mat 16:12 indicates the disciples understood the leaven Jesus spoke of was the Pharisees' teaching, which was legalistic. He said it was wrong - "hold yourself back from it." Why then, in Mat 23, would He tell them to do and observe all that they say?
The frightening fact is that even false leaders often use Scripture. The Pharisees and scribes knew the Bible (of their day)better than anyone. They spent their lives memorizing it. But Jesus' directive in Mat 23:3 simply means this: The degree to which even a false teacher uses scripture faithfully, do it and observe it. The Word of God is Good, even if people who handle it are not. Don't throw out God's Word. But be wise about whom you receive it from and what they demand of you
External control for sin is no control at all. That's why Jesus said to the Pharisees in Mat 23:25, "25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of extortion and excess."
As pertaining to leaders who "appear" trustworthy, it is incredible how "shiny" they appear on Sunday morning.
What is Our Only Hope?
At the beginning of Jesus' ministry. He laid out principles of kingdom life that, if understood, unlock the door to real freedom and the spiritual life. He said new and wonderful things, as in Mat 5:3, "Blessed are the broken. "The language of brokeness is very easy to spot. It simply says, I can't." Not, I'm sad," "I'm sorry," "I feel bad" - but "I can't do it." "I need help." "I can't save myself."
When people finally realize that, they begin to develop a hunger for their only hope, which is God's saving grace. "For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Eph 2:8-9 )
We cannot save ourselves. Nor can we sanctify ourselves. When we are redeemed, we are given a brand new heart, implanted by the Holy Spirit. (See Ezek 37 & Heb 11) With this new heart comes a new desire to love God, to serve Him, to live Holy. But the question still remains: How? The answer given too often is, "Try hard, do more, really mean it this time." Interject the language of brokeness into that approach. "I can't: I can't subdue it, I can't control it, I am powerless." When we come to that terrifying realization - which we will do everything to avoid - we begin to develop a hunger for our only hope: sancifying grace.
(Exerpts from the book, "The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse" by David Johnson & Jeff VanVonderen)
Here are some more excerpts from the book.
Jesus said, "Blessed are they who mourn" in Mat 5:4 The word "mourn" in the Greek is penthos. There are many Greek words describing various dimensions of grief and mourning. What captures our attention about this word penthos is that it specifically speaks of a visible external expression of internal pain. In other words, "to mourn" means "to show on the outside what is going on inside." Think about that. Isn't that different than putting a lid on it? In fact, it is the complete opposite. Blessed are those who can show on the outside what is happening on the inside. Quite pretending you have no sadness, pain, fear or sin, and get out into the open where it can be dealt with, where God can really heal it. This is humility - and also integrity.
When there is no freedom to show on the outside what's on the inside, and no real brokeness , then there is no room for the grace of God. Sin has been pushed underground, and the result is a double life.
As we know, even our best spiritual leaders can become abusive of others while sadly leading double lives.
A mark of false spiritual leadership is people who, in their effort to look good, lie. They don't talk straight. They rarely say what they mean, and because of that, some of their followers may actually sense that these people are hard to trust. In conversations, everything seems somehow veiled, or hidden, or else people are told they are not spiritual enough to understand teachings or decisions of leaders. The leaders sound pious enough, even spiritual. But we are left with the vague sense that something is missing. They will give you the "right" answer, but rarely will you get the "real" answer. Everything has a double meaning. One result is that you cannot confront them or pin anything down. It will be difficult to know where you stand.
In Mat 23:16 Jesus was uncovering obvious spiritual double-talk. These leaders would "swear by the temple" to get others to believe them. But when confronted later for not following through, they would never think of saying ,"I'm sorry" Instead, they covered up with another lie. Double-talkers are, in slang terms, "slippery."
This kind of lying destroys people. The reason why a person who is caught in abuse will lie and make bold promises is to gain our trust. Once they have convinced you they are safe again you can relax around them. And when you relax, they can do anything that they want, or get anything that they want. False spiritual leaders slowly stick in the spiritual knife and drain the life blood from you. This is why victims of abuse have a terrible time trusting people. They have tried that already.
Trust is not something that can be demanded or legislated. It is gained or lost on the basis of integrity and honesty. People who say what they mean and live consistently with their ideals are people you can trust, and more consistency is required of spiritual leaders as a demonstration of spiritual authenticity. Now let's go back and look at the word hypocrisy....
hypocrisy / act of playing a part: Feigning to be what one is not or to believe what does not: false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion.
Another characteristic of false spiritual leaders is that they attempt to affect virtues of qualities they do not have. And they have a different set of rules for themselves than everyone else. They are hypocrites.
The Double life of False Spiritual Leaders
Mat 23:3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, observe and do. But do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do.
4 For they bind heavy and hard-to-carry burdens and lay [them] on men's shoulders. But they will not move them with one of their finger.
Verse 3 begins with a curious statement: "...all that they tell you, do and observe." The obvious question is, if they are false teachers, why listen to anything they say? In fact, in Mat 16:6, Jesus said of this same group, "Beware [literally: hold yourself back from] of the leaven of the Pharisees." Mat 16:12 indicates the disciples understood the leaven Jesus spoke of was the Pharisees' teaching, which was legalistic. He said it was wrong - "hold yourself back from it." Why then, in Mat 23, would He tell them to do and observe all that they say?
The frightening fact is that even false leaders often use Scripture. The Pharisees and scribes knew the Bible (of their day)better than anyone. They spent their lives memorizing it. But Jesus' directive in Mat 23:3 simply means this: The degree to which even a false teacher uses scripture faithfully, do it and observe it. The Word of God is Good, even if people who handle it are not. Don't throw out God's Word. But be wise about whom you receive it from and what they demand of you
External control for sin is no control at all. That's why Jesus said to the Pharisees in Mat 23:25, "25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of extortion and excess."
As pertaining to leaders who "appear" trustworthy, it is incredible how "shiny" they appear on Sunday morning.
What is Our Only Hope?
At the beginning of Jesus' ministry. He laid out principles of kingdom life that, if understood, unlock the door to real freedom and the spiritual life. He said new and wonderful things, as in Mat 5:3, "Blessed are the broken. "The language of brokeness is very easy to spot. It simply says, I can't." Not, I'm sad," "I'm sorry," "I feel bad" - but "I can't do it." "I need help." "I can't save myself."
When people finally realize that, they begin to develop a hunger for their only hope, which is God's saving grace. "For by grace you are saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, [it is] the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." (Eph 2:8-9 )
We cannot save ourselves. Nor can we sanctify ourselves. When we are redeemed, we are given a brand new heart, implanted by the Holy Spirit. (See Ezek 37 & Heb 11) With this new heart comes a new desire to love God, to serve Him, to live Holy. But the question still remains: How? The answer given too often is, "Try hard, do more, really mean it this time." Interject the language of brokeness into that approach. "I can't: I can't subdue it, I can't control it, I am powerless." When we come to that terrifying realization - which we will do everything to avoid - we begin to develop a hunger for our only hope: sancifying grace.
(Exerpts from the book, "The Subtle Power of Spiritual Abuse" by David Johnson & Jeff VanVonderen)
Here are some more excerpts from the book.
Jesus said, "Blessed are they who mourn" in Mat 5:4 The word "mourn" in the Greek is penthos. There are many Greek words describing various dimensions of grief and mourning. What captures our attention about this word penthos is that it specifically speaks of a visible external expression of internal pain. In other words, "to mourn" means "to show on the outside what is going on inside." Think about that. Isn't that different than putting a lid on it? In fact, it is the complete opposite. Blessed are those who can show on the outside what is happening on the inside. Quite pretending you have no sadness, pain, fear or sin, and get out into the open where it can be dealt with, where God can really heal it. This is humility - and also integrity.
When there is no freedom to show on the outside what's on the inside, and no real brokeness , then there is no room for the grace of God. Sin has been pushed underground, and the result is a double life.
As we know, even our best spiritual leaders can become abusive of others while sadly leading double lives.
A mark of false spiritual leadership is people who, in their effort to look good, lie. They don't talk straight. They rarely say what they mean, and because of that, some of their followers may actually sense that these people are hard to trust. In conversations, everything seems somehow veiled, or hidden, or else people are told they are not spiritual enough to understand teachings or decisions of leaders. The leaders sound pious enough, even spiritual. But we are left with the vague sense that something is missing. They will give you the "right" answer, but rarely will you get the "real" answer. Everything has a double meaning. One result is that you cannot confront them or pin anything down. It will be difficult to know where you stand.
In Mat 23:16 Jesus was uncovering obvious spiritual double-talk. These leaders would "swear by the temple" to get others to believe them. But when confronted later for not following through, they would never think of saying ,"I'm sorry" Instead, they covered up with another lie. Double-talkers are, in slang terms, "slippery."
This kind of lying destroys people. The reason why a person who is caught in abuse will lie and make bold promises is to gain our trust. Once they have convinced you they are safe again you can relax around them. And when you relax, they can do anything that they want, or get anything that they want. False spiritual leaders slowly stick in the spiritual knife and drain the life blood from you. This is why victims of abuse have a terrible time trusting people. They have tried that already.