Evangelical Pharisees: The Gospel as Cure for the Church's Hypocrisy
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- Create Date：2023-02-27 06:53:00
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Michael Reeves
- ISBN：1433581175
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Summary
In This Follow-Up to Gospel People， Michael Reeves Calls Evangelicals Away from Pharisaism to True Reformation
Scripture warns believers of hypocrisy—called the “leaven of the Pharisees”—and its potential to spread quickly in the church。 Outwardly appearing as devout religion， this legalism hides destructive pride， idolatry， and even apostasy。 Unfortunately， pharisaism is still a problem among evangelicals today。 How does Jesus instruct the church to recognize and defeat one of its deepest theological issues？
In this clear， compelling call to spiritual reformation， Michael Reeves helps believers reject pharisaism and embrace gospel integrity。 Studying 3 essentials of Christian doctrine that the Pharisees misunderstood—their approach to Scripture， understanding of salvation， and disregard of regeneration—Reeves shows readers how to embrace a biblical， Trinitarian， and creedal understanding of the gospel necessary for true reformation。
Explains the 3 Essential Rs of the Gospel: Teaches readers about revelation， redemption， and regeneration
A Great Resource for Pastors and Congregations: Addresses the threat of hypocrisy in the church， and tackles in-house issues from partisanship to pragmatism
A Follow-Up to Gospel People: Reeves continues his study of timely evangelical topics
Scripture warns believers of hypocrisy—called the “leaven of the Pharisees”—and its potential to spread quickly in the church。 Outwardly appearing as devout religion， this legalism hides destructive pride， idolatry， and even apostasy。 Unfortunately， pharisaism is still a problem among evangelicals today。 How does Jesus instruct the church to recognize and defeat one of its deepest theological issues？
In this clear， compelling call to spiritual reformation， Michael Reeves helps believers reject pharisaism and embrace gospel integrity。 Studying 3 essentials of Christian doctrine that the Pharisees misunderstood—their approach to Scripture， understanding of salvation， and disregard of regeneration—Reeves shows readers how to embrace a biblical， Trinitarian， and creedal understanding of the gospel necessary for true reformation。
Explains the 3 Essential Rs of the Gospel: Teaches readers about revelation， redemption， and regeneration
A Great Resource for Pastors and Congregations: Addresses the threat of hypocrisy in the church， and tackles in-house issues from partisanship to pragmatism
A Follow-Up to Gospel People: Reeves continues his study of timely evangelical topics
Reviews
Adam Kareus
，
In a short and straightforward fashion， Reeves points out how the Pharisees go wrong and how we can drift away just like them。 Looking at revelation， redemption， and regeneration， Reeves outlines the danger of looking away from God and toward others' opinions， self-focus， and self righteousness which Pharisees are known for。 In a short and straightforward fashion， Reeves points out how the Pharisees go wrong and how we can drift away just like them。 Looking at revelation， redemption， and regeneration， Reeves outlines the danger of looking away from God and toward others' opinions， self-focus， and self righteousness which Pharisees are known for。 。。。more
Jennifer Ritchie
，
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review。 But I would have gladly paid full price for it！ Michael Reeves is my favorite living Christian author， and his books are always worth reading。 No matter what problem he’s tackling or subject he’s exploring， Reeves always brings the reader to the contemplation of the beauty of God， stirring the heart and encouraging one’s faith。 This particular book deals with the problem of hypocrisy， since the same errors committed by the Pharisees a I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review。 But I would have gladly paid full price for it！ Michael Reeves is my favorite living Christian author， and his books are always worth reading。 No matter what problem he’s tackling or subject he’s exploring， Reeves always brings the reader to the contemplation of the beauty of God， stirring the heart and encouraging one’s faith。 This particular book deals with the problem of hypocrisy， since the same errors committed by the Pharisees are still a danger in the modern church。 Reeves writes， “Pharisaism is not just the crankiness that comes with a hardening of the spiritual arteries。 First and foremost， it is a theological issue。”Reeves argues that the Pharisees—both ancient and modern—fail to truly understand revelation， redemption， and regeneration。 He structures his book around unpacking these three areas。 His analysis is deeply biblical， with Bible verses on almost every page。 And because Reeves is so steeped in the writings of historical Christians， his pages are also littered with quotes from the early church fathers， Reformers， Puritans， and others。 So even though the book is only about 100 pages long， it’s jam-packed with wisdom。“Small wonder evangelicalism is too often known for its superficiality: the gravitational pull of our hearts and our culture strains hard against such an apparently bleak verdict。 Who wants to hear that we are dead in sin？ Yet when that is relinquished， what else have we to offer？ Jesus as a guru or butler？ The Spirit as a spiritual endorphin？ A self-help book and a glass of port can do all that。”“[The Pharisee’s] real problem was with the nature and character of God。 The god he perceived was a merciless being for whom holiness was little more than a show。 His god was， at best， a conditionally loving god。 Small wonder that his idea of godliness was unyielding and harsh: it reflected his understanding of God。 So it must be for all hypocrites。 They do not love their god， or find satisfaction in him， yet still they become like him （and not like the living God）。 They become like what they worship， in the image of their proud and closefisted deity。”“The glory of God in the face of Christ has always been the lodestar or guiding light of reformation and refreshment in the church。 When Christians have appreciated and adored God as all-necessary， all-sufficient， all-beautiful， and all-satisfying， they have been awakened and made fruitful。” 。。。more
David Steele
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Evangelicals can be accused of many things。 But of the most offensive things to be accused of is being a Pharisee。 These ancient “high-brow theologians” knew their Bibles and worked hard at being religious， yet Jesus called them， “white-washed tombs。”Evangelical Pharisees: The Gospel as a Cure of the Church’s Hypocrisy by Michael Reeves tackles this subject in a straightforward and biblical fashion。 The author remarks， “Pharisaism， after all， is the sort of heartless formal religion that marks t Evangelicals can be accused of many things。 But of the most offensive things to be accused of is being a Pharisee。 These ancient “high-brow theologians” knew their Bibles and worked hard at being religious， yet Jesus called them， “white-washed tombs。”Evangelical Pharisees: The Gospel as a Cure of the Church’s Hypocrisy by Michael Reeves tackles this subject in a straightforward and biblical fashion。 The author remarks， “Pharisaism， after all， is the sort of heartless formal religion that marks the first subtle step in the spiritual decline of a church before it ever flies into outright hypocrisy。”Reeves argues that the Pharisee's primary problem was with the gospel: “The Pharisees were as they were and acted as they did because they denied the gospel … Their character was a manifestation of their theology。”According to Reeves， the critical theological mistakes of the Pharisees lay in three areas: 1） Their approach to Scripture， 2） Their understanding of salvation， and 3） Their disregard of regeneration。 The core of the book focuses on these three areas， namely - revelation， redemption， and regeneration。Anyone familiar with Michael Reeves will attest that his treatment of a given topic is always fair， thought-provoking， and most importantly - biblical。 After exploring the three theological mistakes of the Pharisees， he summarizes his central argument:In the gospel we receive the revelation of the Father， the redemption of the Son， and the regeneration of the Spirit。 Through the gospel shines the light of the knowledge of the glory of a speaking God， a merciful and gracious God， a God who is love and who therefore looks more on the heart than the appearance。 The gospel brings us to enjoy him。 I’ve never known a Christian who didn’t bristle at the thought of being labeled as a Pharisee。 However， Reeve’s book shines the spotlight on sinful hearts and reveals that lurking beneath is the spirit of the ancient Pharisee。 Evangelical Pharisees is the proper response to the problem that plagues us all。 May we return to the heart of the gospel， which is the cure for our hypocrisy。I received this book free from the publisher。 I was not required to write a positive review。 。。。more
E
，
Reeves gets the point across， though this book lacks the verve of some of his other work。 He discusses a pharisaical approach to Christ， his Word， and his salvation， then demonstrates those same tendencies in much of the church today。 It is good to be reminded of these temptations。 I'm not sure I buy the idea of the "church's hypocrisy，" as the subtitle has it。 I suppose the visible church， sure， but not true believers。 Reeves gets the point across， though this book lacks the verve of some of his other work。 He discusses a pharisaical approach to Christ， his Word， and his salvation， then demonstrates those same tendencies in much of the church today。 It is good to be reminded of these temptations。 I'm not sure I buy the idea of the "church's hypocrisy，" as the subtitle has it。 I suppose the visible church， sure， but not true believers。 。。。more
Geoff Watson
，
Guilty， as charged！ Remedy: Christ is everything to the Father。 Let Him be Your treasure also。It was， at once， one of the most difficult books to read， but like a moth to a flame， I returned to it again and again。 Its light attracted me。 The words on the page invited me， with kind insistence， to forsake my tendency， yea， my attitudes of Phariseeism， and to humbly behold God in all His glory。 If Moses could behold the glory of God in the cleft of the rock， how much more accessible is God to His p Guilty， as charged！ Remedy: Christ is everything to the Father。 Let Him be Your treasure also。It was， at once， one of the most difficult books to read， but like a moth to a flame， I returned to it again and again。 Its light attracted me。 The words on the page invited me， with kind insistence， to forsake my tendency， yea， my attitudes of Phariseeism， and to humbly behold God in all His glory。 If Moses could behold the glory of God in the cleft of the rock， how much more accessible is God to His people in the face of Jesus the Christ！ Yes， beloved， we have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ Jesus。Restore me from my blindness， from the distractions of the world， from fleshly desires and habits。 Rekindle my love for Jesus。 Re-energize my weak knees and make my path straight。 Renew me from the inside out。In a mere 100 pages or so， Reeves goes beyond the symptoms of legalism to its very roots。 For this reason， it is not a book to read in a few brief sittings， but one to be read slowly and thoughtfully。 Gospel integrity is the key to life， and in these perilous times of cultural upheaval， the author shines the light on “the gospel。”This book has encouraged me to never think I can get beyond the gospel。 Michael Reeves demonstrates， through theological insights， the gospel is our only hope as sinners saved by grace through faith。 This book has encouraged me to pray， and to look unto Christ， and to call no man master。 How many books can claim to do that？ Thank you， Michael Reeves。 。。。more
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