Accidental Pharisee, Part 1

At a recent conference, Larry Osborne gave a talk about becoming an “Accidental Pharisee.” He promised a book would be coming soon. When the book comes out, I would recommend reading it.

The subtitle of his talk was: “The hidden dangers of high-commitment Christianity.” In other words, what starts out as a very good thing can become toxic and harmful. As Osborne pointed out, the Pharisees excelled in the qualities of what a disciple of the true God should be. But they went from passionate, to becoming self-appointed defenders of God, to morphing into the enemies of God.

This can happen to us, too.

In his talk, Dr. Osborne highlighted six danger signs that indicate you might be in “Pharisee-land.” The first is:

A tendency to look down on everyone else.

This is the sin of arrogance. Dr. Osborne pointed out Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector in Luke 18. He emphasized that it is a small step from being discerning to becoming critical. What are some symptoms that you might have stumbled into “Pharisee-land”?

1. No one matches up with you except those in your tribe--and, sometimes, just a subset of your tribe. If your overall attitude toward fellow believers is to test their doctrine as a first step, you may be in serious danger. If you feel like you can’t even trust your own tribe, arrogance may be a serious issue in your life.

2. You begin to lose grace for blind spots people might have. Even God forgave people’s blind spots and weaknesses. Some of His most effective servants had blind spots. If everyone else is unworthy and flawed in your view, you may be falling to the sin of arrogance.

3. You lose your mercy for the struggling. Pride is really a big deal. Osborne made a dramatic point by saying: "Jesus would rather have you struggle with porn than pride. Why? Because he says he hates pride. This is what caused Lucifer to be cast out from the presence of God.” Neither sin is acceptable, but pride is more destructive than we realize.

Dear friends, be on guard against becoming and accidental Pharisee! Take refuge humbly and repentantly in living Word of God. Let the Good Shepherd restore your heart and soul.

Next Installment: Danger Sign #2: You Trust in Your Own Righteousness.