has a pretty good philosophy as to the source of evil. While only five, he’s absolutely convinced that the source of his problem is wrapped up in his sister. It’s difficult to convince him otherwise. He is so much like us, no matter what our ages might be. We need to see where sin comes from, and go to the root, or the heart, of our problem as Jesus point ed out. The Pharisees also failed to dis cern the true meaning of signs (Matt. 16:1-4). The signs and mira cles which Jesus gave in His earthly ministry were to authenticate His person. He showed individuals that He was precisely whom and what He said He was. Jonah was a sufficient sign for them. They needed no more. In this Old Testament personality is pre-figured for us the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Gentile Ninevites re pented when the prophet preached to them. Now, with the Messiah Himself p resen t, th e Jews still wouldn’t believe. John says of signs that they were given “that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, ye might have life through His name” (John 21:31). Let us discern the errors of the Pharisees. We must d is tin g u ish man’s word from God’s. We must recognize the true source of evil which is in the heart. We must dis cern the meaning of signs, seeing that they divinely authenticate the Person and the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the only way in which we can escape the judg ment of the Pharisees. Never let a difficulty stop you. It may only be sand on your track to prevent skidding. God’s man ought to put God’s mark on every dollar he handles. TEMPTATION is the balance where character is weighed. 19
sees?” In Matthew 15, Christ tells the Pharisees in effect, “You don’t distinguish man’s word from that of God.” You see, the Pharisees, be lieved that when they slept a demon would come and rest upon their hands. For them to neglect the wash ing of their hands ceremoniously the following day, or before a meal, would necessarily mean that they were contaminated by this evil spirit from the night before. That’s why they said that the disciples were transgressing the tradition of the elders by not washing before they ate bread. Jesus wasn’t saying that there was something wrong in wash ing hands. That isn’t the point. It was the tradition of the elders in believing in the existence of the de mon. God’s record ought to be placed above any word that man would de vise. John declares our Lord to say, “He that is of God heareth God’s words” (8:47). Scripture must be shown to be pre-eminent. Jesus con demned the Pharisees because they didn’t distinguish between man’s word and God’s. Again, Pharisees didn’t recognize the true source of evil (Matt. 15:18- 20). It’s not what goes into a man that defiles him. Rather, it’s what proceeds from the heart. These are such things as evil thoughts, mur ders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witnesses, and blasphemies. There are many theories today as to where the evil in our society comes from. Some say it’s our environ ment. But think how perfect was the Garden of Eden before sin en tered into it. Others accuse wrong education or even politics and philos ophy. Make no mistake, the true source of evil is much deeper than any of these. Sin is found in the heart of every man and woman. The Pharisees, like so many of us, were always ready to confess somebody else’s sins. I have a son at home who is grow ing up very rapidly. I find that he
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