luvroftheWord
Puritan Board Sophomore
[quote:c51722d35b][i:c51722d35b]Originally posted by fredtgreco[/i:c51722d35b]
[quote:c51722d35b][i:c51722d35b]Originally posted by luvroftheWord[/i:c51722d35b]
Was Nehemiah being a Pharisee when he condemned the Jews for buying fish on the Sabbath? [/quote:c51722d35b]
No. The problem with the Pharisees was not that they encouraged or demanded obedience to God's law. The problem was that they believed that obedience to the law gave them standing before God.
I was struck by this when reading Matthew 23 for evening worship tonight. It contains the verse about the Pharisees tithing herbs. Read it slowly, you probably thought it said something else. (I did)
Matthew 23:23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, [b:c51722d35b]without leaving the others undone.[/b:c51722d35b]
Christ does not set obedience to the law [u:c51722d35b]against[/u:c51722d35b] faith and mercy and justice. He simply shows the [i:c51722d35b]priority[/i:c51722d35b] of faith, mercy and justice. Not that he does not say it would have been better to have done mercy and justice and left undone the tithing. He said you ought to have done both. [/quote:c51722d35b]
I agree with you, Fred. The question was rhetorical in regards to someone's comments about making lists of dos and don'ts as being Pharisaical. Nehemiah was obviously not a Pharisee.
[quote:c51722d35b][i:c51722d35b]Originally posted by luvroftheWord[/i:c51722d35b]
Was Nehemiah being a Pharisee when he condemned the Jews for buying fish on the Sabbath? [/quote:c51722d35b]
No. The problem with the Pharisees was not that they encouraged or demanded obedience to God's law. The problem was that they believed that obedience to the law gave them standing before God.
I was struck by this when reading Matthew 23 for evening worship tonight. It contains the verse about the Pharisees tithing herbs. Read it slowly, you probably thought it said something else. (I did)
Matthew 23:23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, [b:c51722d35b]without leaving the others undone.[/b:c51722d35b]
Christ does not set obedience to the law [u:c51722d35b]against[/u:c51722d35b] faith and mercy and justice. He simply shows the [i:c51722d35b]priority[/i:c51722d35b] of faith, mercy and justice. Not that he does not say it would have been better to have done mercy and justice and left undone the tithing. He said you ought to have done both. [/quote:c51722d35b]
I agree with you, Fred. The question was rhetorical in regards to someone's comments about making lists of dos and don'ts as being Pharisaical. Nehemiah was obviously not a Pharisee.