It’s spring time in Indiana. We Hoosiers have waited six long months to see blue skies, sunshine, and have temperatures that are enjoyable. And although we get lots of rain in Indiana, we do get some really gorgeous days that just make all the cold and gray days of the fall and winter worth it.
When my wife and I take a walk outside (which we love to do) we fight some nasty critters. This has been a terrible year for ticks. We find ourselves getting 2-3 ticks on us each time we are outside for more than 5 minutes. Mosquitoes are out and they are terrible pests. And then we have something called chiggers. They are a parasitic creature too small to see with your eyes. If you get them on you they leave a multitude of painful and itchy sores. And then when walking in the woods in Indiana you see dead elm trees and dead ash trees everywhere due to invasive beetles that have decimated the populations.
What does this have to do with you? Well those elm trees and ash trees were just minding their own business. Doing their job helping the ecosystem. And out of nowhere comes these beetles. And these beetles kill those trees. For no good reason. And for my wife and I taking a walk, we are just out having a good time. Not hurting anyone or anything. And yet here come the mosquitoes, ticks, and chiggers to try take life away from us for their gain. That happens in the spiritual realm too.
You may be a good Christian who is out there serving God. You are growing and serving. Maybe you are an encourager for others or a source of joy and peace to your family. You are living for Christ and minding your own business. And here comes a spiritual parasite or pest.
Jesus taught us in John 10:10 that the thief comes but to steal, kill, and destroy. And there are people on assignment from the wicked one to come into your life to fulfill that assignment.
These folks may come in like a modern-day Pharisee. Someone who appears very spiritual and can even quote the Bible. But Jesus taught us to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees (Mt. 16:6) and that they were sons of hell.
Pharisees will come into your life and like to debate doctrine. Pharisees like to be known for having perfect doctrine. But remember even though they studied long and hard they could not recognize Jesus Christ as the Messiah. Jesus is the very object of every verse in the Bible and yet with all their study they were blinded to His Deity.
As a believer in Christ who is growing and zealous, it is just like going for a walk at dusk in the springtime in Indiana. The mosquitoes are just drawn to you! And Pharisees are drawn to Christians who are growing and zealous. They like to come into your life and begin spiritual conversations. The zealous Christian is often unaware that they are being baited and is excited to enter in to such a conversation. But then little by little the modern-day Pharisee begins to bring up divisive doctrines and majors on minors.
The Pharisees have a head knowledge of Jesus. And they are eager to gather disciples after themselves to impart that head knowledge unto. The problem with this is that Jesus declares that when someone follows a Pharisee, they become twice the son of hell that the Pharisee is.
Pharisees focus on doctrinal purity and are divisive in nature. Now we need good doctrine. That is very important. But good doctrine is not divisive. When someone is divisive, that is not the spirit of Christ. And what I see happen from time to time is a divisive person can wear down the zeal and faith of a genuine Christian.
After such an encounter, it could be something as inconvenient as a mosquito bite. It leaves a sore spot for a few days. But it could be something as serious as an Emerald Ash Borer that gets inside that ash tree and kills it. 2 Timothy 2:18 speaks of how 2 terrible men who were preaching false doctrine overthrew the faith of some. I’ve seen Christians who were on-fire in their faith and serving God in a great church with a loving shepherd walk away from that for a lifeless and dead religion because someone talked them into some legalistic and faithless doctrine that was intended to divide and not unite.
Back in 2012 Franklin Graham the evangelist came to Indianapolis to do a statewide prayer event at our statehouse. We had a group from our church there and there were several thousand people in attendance. But not only were there people there to support the rally and prayer, there were a few people going through the crowd who were there just to argue doctrine. These were people who considered themselves to be Christians. As a matter of fact, they considered themselves to be the only Christians that would make it to heaven. And they were attending an event that another ministry advertised, planned, paid for, and put
on. And they came in with divisive doctrines and their only reason for being there was to try to divide Christians.
Folks, this is real stuff. You hate to have to think about these things. You just want to serve God. You just want to do your part in the Kingdom. But the devil wants to take you out. He doesn’t come as the devil. He comes as many forms. And today I feel divinely inspired to warn you about when he comes in as a Pharisee. From such turn away!
Titus 3:9-11 NKJV But avoid foolish disputes, genealogies, contentions, and strivings about the law; for they are unprofitable and useless. Reject a divisive man after the first and second admonition, knowing that such a person is warped and sinning, being self-condemned.
