#105 Lu. 12:1-2 A WARNING ABOUT FALSE DOCTRINE Introduction: In our previous text the scribes and Pharisees bombarded Jesus with a series of trick questions. The questions were designed to trap Jesus and get Him to say something that they could use against Him to bring about His death. In this text Jesus warns His disciples about the Pharisees. Particularly He warns them about the leaven of the Pharisees. I. The occasion V. 1, "In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people..." The picture here is that of a large crowd gathering around Jesus and the Pharisees. The Pharisees were still questioning Jesus. I am sure that the crowd could sense that the questions were not at all friendly and that the Pharisees were trying to trap Him. Jesus, of course, was getting the best of the Pharisees at every turn with His answers. He not only answered all their questions without giving them any ammunition that they could use against Him, but He defeated them in every sense of the word. He showed them up as being inferior in their understanding of spiritual matters. This was highly embarrassing to the Pharisees, but it was a delight to the common people. There was almost always a crowd of people around Jesus and there was on this occasion even when the questioning started. But the hostile atmosphere attracted an even greater crowd. The more the Pharisees questioned Jesus the bigger the crowd became. Luke tells us that it became an innumerable multitude of people. (V. 1), "...insomuch that they trode one upon another..." That is, the crowd was packed in tightly close around Jesus in an effort to hear and see. As they packed in tighter and tighter there was bound to be a little pushing and shoving and some of the people got stepped on. Luke does not say whether anybody was seriously hurt. II. The warning Jesus gave His disciples (V. 1), "...he began to say unto his disciples first of all..." When the conversation with between Jesus and the Pharisees came to an end, before turning to the great crowd of people and raising His voice to address them, He first turned to His disciples who were right up close to Him and spoke to them in a much quieter voice that for the most part only the disciples would hear. Jesus spoke to His disciples and warned them against what He called "The leaven of the Pharisees." (V. 1), "...Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." This is not the first occasion in which Jesus warned His disciples of the leaven of the Pharisees. In Matthew chapter 16 Jesus and His disciples got on a boat and made a hasty trip without first purchasing food. When the disciples discovered that they had forgotten the food they were upset and wondered what in the world they would do for food. While they still had their minds on their lack of food, Jesus warned them of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The disciples thought He was warning them not to buy bread--that is literal bread--from the Pharisees and Sadducees. Jesus informed them that He was not talking about literal bread. He was talking about spiritual matters. He reminded them that on two separate occasions He had miraculously fed a multitude of people. If literal bread were the problem He would have no trouble providing the bread. Matthew said that it was then that the disciples understood that Jesus was talking about the false doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees, Matt. 16:11-12. III. The leaven of the Pharisees The Pharisees were the largest religious group in Israel. They took great pride in claiming to believe in the law of Moses. However, when it came right down to brass tacks, they based their religious beliefs on the traditions of the forefathers rather than on the inspired word of God. On this occasion in our text, Luke says nothing about the Sadducees. He says only that Jesus warned them about the leaven of the Pharisees. Once again Jesus was talking about the doctrine of the Pharisees and Jesus said that their leaven was hypocrisy. Their doctrine was hypocrisy. The things they believed and practiced was hypocrisy. For example, you are familiar that they believed in the ceremonial washing of hands before meals as a part of their religious practice. They believed that by washing their hands and their arms up to the elbows that they were made spiritually clean in the eyes of God. No matter what ungodliness they might be guilty of they thought they were made acceptable in the sight of God by the ceremonial washing of their hands. A similar thing was true in all their religious activity. Their doctrine did not require a man to repent of his sin and get his heart right with God. Instead it called on him to make a good public show of righteousness. It was a pretense. It was hypocrisy. Their whole religion was based on hypocrisy. They pretended to be right with God. They pretended to serve God. They pretended to obey God. They pretended to be righteous in the sight of God, but it was nothing but hypocrisy. They were not right with God in their hearts and they were not right with God in their lives. IV. The danger which their doctrine posed for the disciples Jesus warned His disciples not to be deceived by the hypocrisy of the Pharisees. He warned them not to follow the doctrines of the Pharisees. There was no way to follow their doctrines without also becoming hypocritical. Now there was certainly no danger that the disciples would lose their salvation as a result of the doctrine of the Pharisees. All but Judas Iscariot were saved and the same power of God that saved them would keep them saved. Likewise I do not think that there was much danger that the disciples of Jesus would turn completely away from Him and follow after the Pharisees instead. As long as Jesus was with them, they would be true to Him and follow Him. That is, all but Judas Iscariot, who was unsaved and who would betray Jesus would be loyal to Him. But Jesus would soon be off the scene. Soon after His crucifixion and resurrection He would leave this world and go back to Heaven from which He had come. The disciples would no longer be under His strong leadership and He knew that they might be tempted to turn back to the religion of their childhood days. There was the strong possibility that there would be the temptation to listen again to the men who had been their religious teachers in their childhood years. Jesus was warning them not to do so. He was informing them that the religion of the Pharisees was hypocrisy. There was no better example of their hypocrisy than this very occasion. Those Pharisees were guilty of hypocrisy right on this very occasion. In their questioning of Jesus they were pretending to be interested in religious truth, but what they were really interested in was in putting Him to death. How can religious leaders be godly men when they are plotting the death of another human being? How can they be godly when the man whose death they plot is the very Son of God in human flesh? V. A warning to all Christians down through the years Let me say to you that the warning that Jesus gave to those disciples in that day should serve as a warning to all Christians down through the years. There should never an room in Christianity for the doctrines of the Pharisees in any generation. But the sad fact is that there have arisen numerous leaders right within the ranks of Christianity who hold to the doctrines of the Pharisees. That is, at the very least, their own doctrines are patterned after the doctrines of the Pharisees. There have arisen men who teach a plan of salvation that is based on works rather than on repentance and faith. Like the Pharisees, some of them openly claim that the keeping of the law of Moses is necessary in order to go to heaven. Like the Pharisees, they themselves do not keep the law of Moses. But they put on a show of righteousness before men and claim to keep it. Others in our modern times have substituted their own brand of religious ceremonies for the handwashing and other ceremonies of the Pharisees. But the principle is the same. They teach that it is by the practice of some religious ceremony that one is made right in the eyes of God. Some teach that baptism has some kind of saving power and is therefore necessary for salvation. Some teach that the observance of the Lord's Supper has some kind of saving power and is therefore necessary for salvation. In fact some teach that you must eat the Lord's Supper every Sunday or you will lose your salvation and you won't make it to heaven. Others include all manner of good works as a means of making it to heaven. With them it is not a matter of repentance and it is not a matter of faith in Jesus Christ. With them it is strictly a matter of having enough good works to outweigh the bad works. If you have enough good works to outweigh the bad you make it to heaven and if you do not have enough good works to outweigh the bad you go to hell. The Bible, however, teaches that salvation is not by works at all. Salvation comes when one repents of his sin and trusts in Jesus Christ for salvation. In Acts 20:21 the Apostle Paul said that he preached repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:8 says that salvation is by grace and verse 9 says that it is not of works lest any man should boast. In Titus 3:5 we are told that salvation is not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to the mercy of God. In Galatians 3:11 we are told that no man is justified in the sight of God by the keeping of the law of Moses. Romans 4:4 says that Abraham believed God and that his faith was counted unto him for righteousness. I thank God that some folks who preach works for salvation also preach repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. In addition to that they will tell you that if you do not do enough works you won't make it to heaven. But a lot of their followers are going to make it to heaven because they have repented and they have trusted Jesus Christ as Savior and they are saved in spite of the fact that they are further taught that they have to work for salvation. Some of them may not be expecting to make it to heaven because they have been led to believe that they cannot make it because their works were not sufficient. But still there was that point of time in their life when they repented of their sin and called upon Jesus Christ and asked Him to save their soul. They are going to be surprised to wake up in heaven after they die. On the other hand there will be a lot of people who are expecting to make it to heaven on the basis of their works who are going to be just as surprised and just as sadly disappointed. Let me call your attention to something else right here. The words of Jesus warn His disciples of more than just the wrong way of salvation. Jesus warned His disciples against all false doctrines of the Pharisees. In our modern times this should be especially important to us. There are lot of people who are right on the plan of salvation, but they are wrong on what it takes to make a New Testament church. They are wrong on what it takes to make scriptural baptism. They are wrong on many other things about the operation of a New Testament church and how to live the Christian life. We should be careful not to be misled by any false doctrine no matter what it is. False doctrine always leads men astray in their conduct and it always displeases God. Not all of will send its followers to hell, but it does displease God never-the-less. Conclusion: But believing in the right plan of salvation is vitally important to the unsaved person. He cannot get to heaven without believing in the right plan of salvation. He cannot stay out of hell-fire without believing in the right plan of salvation. He cannot afford to follow the plan of the old-time Pharisees nor the modern Pharisees nor anybody else who teaches a false way of salvation. But it is not only important to be informed in the right way of salvation, it is equally important that you act upon that plan. It is vital that you acknowledge your sins to God and seek His forgiveness by calling upon the Lord Jesus Christ to save your soul. I am calling upon you first to believe the Bible way of salvation. Then I am calling upon you to turn to the Lord right now and ask Him to save your soul and keep you out of hell. I am going to ask each one of you who are saved to give yourself in service to the Lord Jesus Christ who has saved you.