Matthew 23
"1 Then Jesus spoke to the crowds and to His disciples: 2“The scribes and Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.
3 So practice and observe everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
4 They tie up heavy, burdensome loads and lay them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
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.
8 But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers.
9 And do not call anyone on earth your father, for you have one Father, who is in heaven.
10 Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Christ.
11 The greatest among you shall be your servant.
12 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
13 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.
15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You traverse land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of held as you are.
16 Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’
17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes it sacred?
18 And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.’
19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes it sacred?
20 So then, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.
21 And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the One who dwells in it.
22 And he who swears by heaven swears by God’s throne and by the One who sits on it.
23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You pay tithes of mint, dill, and cumin. But you have disregarded the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. 24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish,f so that the outside may become clean as well.
27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside, you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous.
30 And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’
31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets.
32 Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your fathers. 33 You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape the sentence of hell?
34 Because of this, I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify, and others you will flog in your synagogues and persecute in town after town.
35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
36 Truly I tell you, all these things will come upon this generation."
The leaders of these gatherings devise a leadership structure that God never intended while intimidating people into submission to them instead of encouraging their followers to seek the Holy Spirit and obey Him.
And, sadly these same leaders discourage obedience to God's Word with their cultural ways that dishonor God. They place pressure on those under them to follow their rules instead of God's Word.
When we break away from these oppressive systems our eyes are opened and our joy returns. No longer do we work to please people but we are resting in joy of the Holy Spirit Who knows exactly what is best for us.
It is amazing how so many people in these religious systems think it is their duty to force others to think as they do, do what they do, and elevate them as special, even above the Authority of the Holy Spirit.
God never commanded leaders to intimidate and attempt to emotionally manipulate the believers into doing what the leaders want. Leaders are to lead by example and teaching, they have no authority over the people. They only have authority to teach and preach when led by the Holy Spirit but they have no authority to control the people.
When you are in a system that disallows conversation and correction of the preachers then is time to walk away when they are in error but will not listen.
Never feel pressured to remain in a cult-like group that demands everyone remain silent except the teachers. God called for all believers to be led by the Holy Spirit, no one person has the power over everyone else.
1 Corinthians 14:29-30 "29 Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. 30 And if a revelation comes to someone who is seated, the first speaker should stop."
All the men are allowed according to God to speak in the gathering as they are led by the Spirit. The rule that only one man gets to speak and no one should interrupt him is man's tradition, not what God taught in His Word for the gathering of believers.
May those who want the truth be willing to change their thinking from the man-made rules to God's teachings in the Bible.
