One of the tactics of the narcissist is to accuse others of what the narcissist is doing and the others are not. They make up in their mind what they want to believe about us and over time they actually believe it. they think just choosing to believe something makes that thing true.
The Pharisees were desiring to find something against Christ because of their rebellion against God. They were more concerned about outer appearances than they were about devotion to God. They were liars and manipulators attempting to discredit Christ so they feel justified in not listening to Him.
Matthew 23:5-7 "…5 All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels. 6 They love the places of honor at banquets, the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 the greetings in the marketplaces, and the title of ‘Rabbi’ by which they are addressed.…"
The attitudes of the Pharisees is the same as the attitude of many pastors today. They love to be seen as special and superior, the very reason they refuse to be corrected and believe no one is led by the Holy Spirit except those who have been to Bible college or Seminary.
We must evaluate ourselves according to the Bible not according to the opinions of others who think they know us but are driven by their contempt for us because of our desire to follow Christ.
1 Samuel 16:7
"But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have rejected him; for God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”
We are living in a world almost completely hostile to God. Even those who say they are Christians often negate and resist the teachings of the Bible while at the same time claiming they believe in it. They do not understand that "saying" you believe does not make it so. When we believe in something we trust it to the point of actually obeying it.
Many will say they believe in Christ but they do not. They attend churches every week thinking the act of attending is the same as obeying all the scripture.
Our world is a world of fantasy now, many people are convinced that if they just say something that makes it true. They think if they just know something it is the same as doing something.
John 14:15-16 "15 If you love Me, you will keep My commandments."
Just saying something, or just reading something is not the same as obeying what you say or what you read.
Matthew 15:7-9 "…7 You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you: 8 ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. 9 They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’ ”…"
We must evaluate ourselves!!! We must evaluate ourselves according to the Bible not according to the culture. We must not evaluate ourselves based on feelings or the accusations of those who pretend to be Christians but have never had a born-again experience.
The culture will attempt to make us believe we are doing something wrong when we speak of Christ and His principles. We know this is true because of what happened to the apostles and to Christ Himself.
John 15:17-19 "17 This is My command to you: Love one another. 18 If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first. 19 If you were of the world, it would love you as its own. Instead, the world hates you, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world.…"
The greatest love we can give to the people around us is the truth. When we remain silent to avoid rejection we are only thinking of ourselves. As we are led by the Holy Spirit we must speak truth, not mincing words but straight talk, is what is needed in these end times.
If we believe God then we will not believe the world when it accuses us of dong wrong when we are obeying Christ.
Proverbs 29:27
"An unjust man is detestable to the righteous, and one whose way is upright is detestable to the wicked."
Isaiah 66:5
"5 Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at His word:
Your brothers who hate you, who exclude you on account of My name, Have said, ‘Let the Lord be glorified, so that we may see your joy.’ But they will be put to shame."
