Pharisee: A Label For Your Fellow Believer?

Note: This entry is a revision of an earlier post.

A good friend of mine (who has now gone home to the Lord) once told me how he had been labelled a Pharisee (for the most part, but not in every case, the term Pharisee will be used here in a pejorative sense) by some people in his church (including the leadership). With tears in his eyes he told me how he had been working hard in the church, to build it and support it, and because of his adherence to the Word of God, they called him a Pharisee. You could see it had broken his big old heart. Now I knew this brother and the last thing he could be called is a Pharisee, so it got me to thinking what is this preponderance in the Post Modern Church (though I hope it is on the wane now) to label fellow believers a Pharisee? It also caused me to wonder what the Bible had to say about the Pharisees that the term might be used in a pejorative sense in this era. What follows are my opinions/answers to these queries.

This brief examination of the modern use of the term Pharisee is in no way definitive, but what I think happens in many cases is that some mistake zeal, commitment, love for the Word/God/Jesus or whatever you might label it, for legalism. Then they somehow equate this with being a Pharisee. Perhaps this is because many of our churches have lost their way with regard to the Scriptures in the following manner:

• 1. The Scriptures are not always the final authority on any given subject.
• 2. The Scriptures are often twisted to suit the stance of the denomination/preacher. 
• 3. Too many of us sit passively and listen to our Pastors/Preachers without checking the Scriptures for ourselves (See Acts 17:10-11 here).

Of course these assertions could be applied to a wider field of examination than just the term Pharisee. Indeed, many in the Post Modern Church are unable to understand truth from error because many of us lack a commitment to studying the "meat" of the Word (see 1 Corinthians 3:2  here). Therefore, many have fallen for lies/exaggerations/fables. I speak from experience here so I consider myself particularly qualified to comment.

So how can we avoid mis-labelling someone a Pharisee? By finding out what the Scriptures have to say!

Keep in mind this will be no thorough study on the Pharisees in the New Testament, but I hope to offer enough to show why we should NOT label our innocent fellow church-goers as such. Lets look at just two faults attributed to the Pharisees.

1. Hypocrisy. Did you know that Jesus actually told his disciples and the crowds to obey the Pharisees (and the Scribes) and to do everything they tell them to? Look at Matthew 23:1-3 1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: ² “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. ³ So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. So on the one hand Jesus told them to heed what the Pharisees say, but not to copy what they do, because they were being hypocritical. There are other verses which demonstrate the hypocrisy of the Pharisees in the time of Jesus (see Matt 23:13-30, Luke 11) but suffice it to say that during the time of Jesus, they were described as being hypocritical. 

Was that last person one of us labelled a "Pharisee" a hypocrite? If not, they were mis-labelled.

2. The doctrines & traditions of men. We see in Matthew 15 some Pharisees (and Scribes) come to Jesus and ask him why His disciples transgress the traditions of the Elders, because they had not washed their hands. Read the whole episode for yourself (Matthew 15) but we see how Jesus takes the opportunity to in turn ask them why they transgress the commandments of God because of their traditions. Apparently the Pharisees had made it possible for one to avoid supporting his parents if he said that certain items were put aside as a dedication to God, even while still being in possession of them. This in clear violation of the Biblical commands to honour one's parents (Exodus 20:12). Jesus went on to say "Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." (Matthew 15:6b-9). So we see here that another fault of the Pharisees in Jesus' day was going beyond what was written and promoting their own teachings/traditions above God's.

These two examples show us that at this time, the Pharisees could be seen as hypocritical and teachers of man-made doctrine. Let's keep this in mind before we incorrectly label anyone a 'Pharisee'. Just because someone is zealous for God and his Word, it does not mean they can be labelled a Pharisee. I can tell you that my friend who was labelled one was no hypocrite and was a "stickler" for the Word of God when he taught or preached, as opposed to being a purveyor of some self-help programme which is so often served up as Gospel in our churches today.