What a scary concept, that religious leaders are not going to make it to heaven! Here is what Jesus said: "For I say unto you, that except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:20). 

Two things come to mind: 1) I don't want to be a Pharisee; 2) I don't want to be shepherded by a Pharisee.

Paul presents the contrast between when he was a Pharisee to when he was a true follower of Christ

The false circumcision: (dogs, evil workers. put confidence in the flesh - Phil. 3:1-11).

  1. Did all the right religious ceremonies – circumcised
  2. Had the right heritage – trained by the best religious leaders
  3. Righteous behavior – kept the laws of God perfectly
  4. Zeal for God – A persecutor of those he thought were heretics

The true circumcision: (worship in the Spirit of God, glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh)

  1. Suffer the loss of all things to gain Christ
  2. Know Christ intimately - found in Christ
  3. Righteous through faith in Christ's work on my behalf
  4. Experience Christ’s power flowing out through me

I have made the same transition Paul made in my own life, from a pharisee to a true believer in Jesus Christ, and I pray that if you need to make this transition, this blog will illumine your path.

Jesus speaks about corrupt religious leaders (their character, actions, and ultimate judgment)

  1. They don’t practice what they preach (Matt. 23:3)
  2. They make the path to God hard. "You shut off the kingdom of heaven from people; for you do not enter in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in." (Matt. 23:4,13)
  3. You make your followers twice as much a son of hell as yourselves (Matt. 23:15)
  4. They love titles, being noticed and honored, and they are NOT servant leaders (Matt. 23:5-12)
  5. Their hearts are full of robbery and self-indulgence (Matt. 23:25)
  6. They have a twisted focus on legalism rather than seeing truth (Matt. 23:16-24)
  7. For a pretense they make long prayers; they will receive greater condemnation (Matt. 23:14)
  8. They kill the prophets, they are of their father the devil (Matt. 23:29-38; Jn. 8:44)
  9. They reject sinners (Lk. 7:36-50)
  10. They attribute the miracles of the Holy Spirit to satan (Lk.11:14-23)

More discussion by Jesus about false religious leaders is found in Luke 11 and 18 and John 8.

Choosing to be free from phariseeism

Wow! OK, so they are not saved and not going to heaven. That means I do NOT want to have the traits of phariseeism, nor do I want to be mentored, pastored or shepherded by a pharisee, as it will lead me on the path of eternal destruction. I need to find fellowship with true believers who are pursuing the path of the Spirit and the righteousness which comes by faith in the finished work of Christ.

What is the path to freedom from phariseeism?

Graciously, God saw that Paul’s heart was fervent for Him, so God dramatically intercepted Paul’s life on the Damascus road with a blinding vision and a direct spoken word from heaven: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" (Acts 9)

This got Paul’s attention, so he got alone with God, spending time in the wilderness (Gal. 1:15-18), allowing the Holy Spirit to teach him and reveal truth to him. He came back from the wilderness having put away his bad theology, which was created by the traditions of man and which invalidated the Word of God. This is something Jesus specifically addressed.

'BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME, TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.' Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men. He was also saying to them, 'You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition'" (Mk. 7:7-9).

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My personal story of freedom from phariseeism

Since I was taught by my religious leaders that God no longer speaks today, I did what I believed to be the next best thing. I lived out of the Bible. However, the Bible says to live and walk by the Spirit (Gal. 5:25). From Genesis to Revelation we see that people heard God's voice and honored it. Jesus' guarantee is: "My sheep hear My voice" (Jn. 10:27).

My passionate search for the voice of God was rewarded in 1979 as I took a year to simply focus on learning how to identify God’s voice within me. As with Paul, God honored my passionate heart, and woke me up with a booming bass voice, saying, "Get up, I am going to teach you to hear My voice.”

I went to my pastoral study and God showed me Habakkuk 2:1,2 and the four keys the prophet used to hear God’s voice. He taught me to do as Habakkuk did: quiet myself down, fix my eyes on the Lord, recognize His voice as spontaneous flowing thoughts and then journal out this flow within me.

On this day I was transformed. Now I could actually live and walk by the Spirit because I could hear God's voice and see His visions. I stepped from living out of religious laws into a relationship with Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. I write about it in 4 Keys to Hearing God’s Voice. I estimate that by now well over a million believers have learned how to use these four keys and enter into communion with God through two-way journaling and returned to God's original intent, walking and talking with Him in the garden in the cool of the day.

The TRUE CHURCH offers the ONLY answer to the pain the world is in today

At this point, most people feel they are not getting the truth from the newscasters, the government, the CDC, the health care profession, or the educational system. I agree. These are all failing, and it is probably because the Church has itself failed to provide Truth and power. The church in which I was saved told me that God was not speaking and there were no more miracles today. They lied. They did not offer me Truth or power. The Church and the world need Truth and power. These are both available through the Holy Spirit.

  • Truth: When He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth (Jn. 16:13)
  • Power: You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you (Acts 1:8)

Action Steps

  1. Learn to hear God’s voice and move in the power of the Spirit.
  2. Do not follow a religious leader who has the characteristics which Jesus describes as being present in dangerous religious leaders who are not going to heaven.
  3. Register for our free worldwide video event, 49 LIES – 49 Religious Lies Jesus Told Me to Stop Believing beginning April 8, 2022.