Leaven of the Pharisees
A Sermon on Luke 12:1-12
Scripture
God Knows and Cares
1Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2But there is nothing covered up …
1In the mean time, when there were gathered together an innumerable multitude of people, insomuch that they trode one upon another, he began to say unto his disciples first of all, Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2For there is nothing covered, that …
Sermon Description
In his sermon on Luke 12:1–12 titled “Leaven of the Pharisees,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones visits the topic of hypocrisy and how it relates to Christians today. He asks, “What is the enemy to the Christian life?” and the answer is hypocrisy. It remains a terrible liability to the believer’s walk because, as Dr. Lloyd-Jones defines, it is a desire to be both Christian and non-Christian. Good hypocrites, like the Pharisees, take pleasure in defining themselves by their own self-satisfactory terms. This mindset is a direct reflection of the heart, Dr. Lloyd-Jones says, and the believer has a responsibility to look after his or her heart. Here, Dr. Lloyd-Jones breaks down the three archetypes for Christian hypocrites: the intellectual, the emotional, and the practical. Each has its own habits, but are similar in their desperate need for the Spirit. What is the opposite of hypocrisy? Dr. Lloyd-Jones states that it is the admission of weakness and acknowledging that a person cannot live both a Christian and non-Christian life. In turn, this admission creates a dependence on God that dispels this dishonest duality and replaces it with even more of His Spirit. In closing, he reminds to not let the fear of people drive Christians to hypocrisy, but rather to trust in the heavenly Father and His plan for the fullest life.
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Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.