The Pharisees were those who wanted to have power over people. They were not interested in being led by God, only that they were seen as special and superior to others.
Matthew 23:4-6 "…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,…"
Luke 20:46-47
“Beware of the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, and they love the greetings in the marketplaces, the chief seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets. / They defraud widows of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation.”
If you think we don't have Pharisee types in our day, think again. The very way church gatherings are conducted today, with hierlings who are viewed as the authority over the gatherings, is Pharisaical.
We have many Pharisee types today who cannot "feel" religious unless they have a following who are elevating them above others.
Whenever someone makes rules and rituals God never commanded, often, even using scripture out of context to prove their point, we are watching ungodly people who care about dominating and ruling over others without concern for knowing God.
When someone is judged as less spiritual because they do not practice the rituals of the gathering, there is a false faith based on appearances and pretense.
The world is full of these types today, whose biggest concern is their elevated status; they care little if their preaching is accurate according to the Word of God. And, worse, they require the praise and adulation of the congregation. We know this because of the pulpit elevated above the congregation and the pews all facing the preferred preacher. The early church had no such hirelings, pulpits, or pews facing the speaker. This model of gathering was added later by those who perverted the nature of the gathering to be able to have power over the people.
God made it clear that leaders in the gathering were no more special than anyone else, it was their calling not a title or a position. Leaders who love Christ will lead by example and teaching not by "authority over."
Some godly men today use those pulpits and pews because it is what always has been for most people. To come against it would disrupt the faith of some, so they leave it alone and go with whatever the culture is doing. This is not wrong to use these things to avoid controversy. Sometimes we have to accept things that are not the best but are not sin.
God made it clear that a believer may eat meat from the market place that was offered to idols because it means nothing to them. However, if they knew another believer had a weak conscience, they were not to eat it in front of the other believer or offer it to them. 1 Corinthians 8
I see the pulpit and the pews this way too, if someone does not know the better way and is accustomed to the pews and the pulpit it is better not to make an issue of it. Sadly, though, most gatherings where there is a special building, pews, and a pulpit, there is also much false doctrine based on human wisdom.
Much of what is done in the modern church was adopted from the Catholic model of a hierarchy, where the authority was the priest, not the Holy Spirit.
Some people, a small number, are leaving the organized church system to remain in the home with other believers because of all the other things within those buildings that are not Biblical and even devastating to the people who attend.
I am astounded when I meet people who pressure others to go to those buildings to meet when there is no biblical mandate to do it. The command is not to forsake the gathering; this has nothing to do with meeting in designated buildings, which are viewed as the "meeting place of God." When the veil was torn from top to bottom in the temple and Christ rose from the dead, the gathering of believers was not a place, but a state of being able to meet anywhere at any time on any day. There was no longer a temple shaped like a building. The Temple was now the body of every believer.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 "19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore glorify God with your body.…"
The idea that we must meet in a large building made by men for the purpose of worship is not Biblical. We can meet in a building like this, but it has become the "rule" for everyone, even placing pressure on people who don't attend those places as though they are not obeying God in "not forsaking the gathering." The people have believed for a long time that the gathering had to be in those places with a paid-pastor.
God said that there would come a time when we would worship in "Spirit and in Truth"; that time has come. We gather to edify one another in Christ so that we will all go out from that gathering, living our lives for Christ, speaking the truth to our neighbors and anyone else the Holy Spirit leads us.
Many are meeting online these days due to a lack of Biblical teaching in the modern buildings. Every time we meet with believers on the internet we are fulfilling the mandate not to forsake the gathering. This principle is telling us to connect with one another as much as we can to be able to encourage and support Spiritually and emotionally our brothers and sisters in the Lord wherever they are in the world and whatever God has called them to do.
Those who have a very narrow view of "how we should meet" based on what they have been accustomed to all their lives are missing out on so much. The way it has always been done the past few hundred years has managed to silence the congregations when they should all be participating. It has left the brothers and sisters lacking in fellowship. Every born-again believer needs an outlet for their faith, a way to connect with others through Jesus Christ while expressing themselves as led by the Holy Spirit.
And YES, the Holy Spirit moves in everyone who is born-again. We ought never to silence someone who is on fire for Christ.
Romans 14:4-6 "…4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand. 5 One person regards a certain day above the others, while someone else considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes a special day does so to the Lord; he who eats does so to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God."
Satan loves that the people in the pews remain silent while one man tells them what to believe. The people look to that man for their direction and wisdom not to the Holy Spirit. This was devised by the devil to quench the Holy Spirit in those sitting in the pews.
Colossians 2:16-17
"Therefore let no one judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a feast, a New Moon, or a Sabbath. / These are a shadow of the things to come, but the body that casts it belongs to Christ."
1 Timothy 4:12 "Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity."
1 Peter 5:3 "Not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock."
Only the Holy Spirit has authority over every believer who is indwelt by Him.
1 Corinthians 11:1 "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ."
Do not ignore the last part of this verse, "as I am of Christ." Paul was not telling us to follow Him no matter what he said or did. He was telling us to follow him when he followed Christ. In other words, we are to follow Christ, not a man.
1 Peter 5:2 "Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly;"
Shepherds are to protect the flock through teaching, example and encouragement to continue obeying the Word. It is the Holy Spirit Who guides each believer in specific ways. The Shepherds are to support believers as they fulfil their personal callings from Christ, not dictate to them what their callings will be.
2 Timothy 4:3
"3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;"
Mark 12:38-40
"In His teaching, Jesus also said, “Watch out for the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, to receive greetings in the marketplaces, / and to have the chief seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. / They defraud widows of their houses, and for a show, make lengthy prayers. These men will receive greater condemnation.”
These are those who make rules using Scripture out of context, who can speak openly about God, and who can not. Ofte,n they raise up those who are educated by men above those who have been educated by the Holy Spirit. Depending on a seminary degree from a man-accredited institution, they demean and exclude those who walk in obedience to Christ but have no formal credentials from those institutions favored by the establishment.
My heart grieves every time I meet a woman who has been trained by a husband to never speak the things of the Lord to anyone because of their gender. It sounds like an exaggeration that anyone like this exists but they do, I have met them.
These men have convinced their wives that it is a sin to speak of things of the Lord because it is the job of the men to do this. They have been taught through control and intimidation that they are not called to speak of the Lord.
The Samaritan woman at the well was the first woman evangelist. When she had met Jesus and become born again she rushed to town to share her experience and the news of His identity to others. She did not lead a gathering but she spoke to others about who Christ was and what He did for her. John 4
Mary Magdaline was another woman who was the first at the open tomb of Christ who shared the news of His resurrection. John 20
Pricilla and Aquilla worked together as a husband and wife team to share the gospel to others.
A person is not a women's libber or rebellious one because she believes the Bible about the calling of women to speak the truth of the Bible to others. Some leaders have trained their congregations that women are never allowed to speak the gospel to people they meet outside the gathering. They are to remain silent all the time in all cases when it comes to the gospel or Scriptural principles.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their actions.
Every born again believer is commanded to speak the truth to anyone as led by the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 4:25
"25 Therefore, ridding yourselves of falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, because we are parts of one another."
