Beware of the Leavening of the Pharisees!

Brethren, we're in the middle of these days of unleavened bread. We've been avoiding leavening during these days, and there's a place in Scripture where Christ warns His disciples and says, beware of the leavening of the Pharisees. And so this also comes to bear as far as leavening that we should avoid. And so I have this handout. Let's go to Matthew 16 because as it was brought out in the first message, and people get confused about where God's true Church is. Or some will say that our church is a sect, which is a kind of a negative connotation. But let's go to Matthew 16 verse 6. In Christ talking to His disciples, He said, Then Jesus said to them, Take heed and beware of the leavened of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Well, the leavening, as you can read in verse 12, it defines it here. Another example of the Bible interpreting itself. Verse 12, Then they understood that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine, that is, religious teachings of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. And Luke called the Pharisees a sect. That's in Acts chapter 15. We'll go there. Acts 15 verse 5. So we do see a term used in the Bible about being a sect. It says, But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying it is necessary to circumcise them and to command them to keep the love of Moses. So there was a sect of the Pharisees. Now do we want to be part of a sect? I certainly don't. And so that term is thrown around about different churches. Who then are part of the true church and who truly are the sects in the world? That's a very important question. Let's go to Acts chapter 24 verse 5. Just a little bit. A couple pages over. Acts chapter 24 verse 5. They were talking about Paul here.

And these were the high priests and elders came down. As you can see in verse 1. And then it says about verse 5. He says, For we have found this man, talking about the Apostle Paul, a plague, a creator of dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.

So the Bible tells us that in this first period, the church was known to be the followers of Jesus of Nazareth. That's what the term Nazarenes means. But they already had him as a sect. In other words, Pharisees and high priests, they considered themselves as the true church. And this was a false church. And the term sect actually means a branch that separates from the main group. That's where you have this term sectarian. Something that is a branch that just separates from the main group. And so who is part of a sect and who is part of the main tree?

It's very important for us to understand this. The church is called in 1 Timothy chapter 3 verse 15, the pillar and ground or other translations have it, the pillar and foundation of the truth. It is a small flock, as Luke 12, 32 tells us, that has never been a sect and is the one that keeps the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, as it tells us in Revelation 14, 12.

Here's what we presently know about our church's history and those that separated from it and became part of the world's false sects. So here's an outline, a basic spiritual outline and timeline and the history of God's true church, which has never been a sect. In other words, we're part of the original true church that spans all of man's history from the time of Adam and Eve.

We're part of that original group, but all these other groups separated from the main tree of way of life that God has given us. And this isn't rocket science. This isn't something confusing. So I want to go over the Old Testament history to show you what was the original church at that time that God was working through and those that separated who became the sects, the separators of the true church. To me, it's very important because it's so easy for the press to say, oh, this is a little sect of Christianity. Well, in their eyes, but the true church has always been a small flock.

It hasn't been the majority of human beings. And so, as we go through Old Testament history, as you can see here, we need to find the roots of God's true way of life and follow it because we don't want to participate of the false beliefs. Just like it talked about the Pharisees and the Sadducees, they were having false beliefs.

They had leavening in their teachings, which means corruption, lies, and we don't want to be part of that. So, which are the roots of God's true way of life? Notice Jeremiah 6, verse 16. By the way, this is a handy outline. I know you could just photocopy and reduce it down. Maybe put it in the back of your Bible because people are going to come up and they say, well, you're this small little sect, aren't you?

No, we're not. We're not the sect. We are the main tree, but the branches that have separated are the sects. In Jeremiah 6, verse 16, it says, Thus says the Lord, Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it. Then you will find rest for your souls. But they say we will not walk in it. So we're always going to have people that are going to refuse, reject, and resist the truth. But it tells us, go back to the original teachings of God and continue in these true teachings.

It doesn't matter how many follow it or not. God's Church is not based on numbers. It's based on who has God's Spirit and has yielded to that Spirit to grow in grace and knowledge. Another scripture, Isaiah 8. This is a book previous to this, Isaiah chapter 8 and verse 20.

It says, To the law and to the testimony, if they do not speak according to this word, of course talking about the Bible, it is because there is no light in them. So if you base your religion on something that is separate from the Bible, it says here that there is no light, there is no truth. It can be a mixture of truth and error, but if you have 95% good food and 5% cyanide, you're still going to die. So you can't have half and half or a mixture to follow it. So let's go through the Old Testament and the New Testament. And what I've done is I've separated the righteous group is above the timeline. These are representatives of all the faithful people, and then below the timeline are the false sects, the sects that have separated over time. Those listed below are not a sect, but are the Old Testament church, those who keep the commandments of God and have the true faith. Revelation 14, 12. So we begin, just like in the first message, talking about righteous Abel, the first of the faith. Notice what it tells us in Matthew 23. This was the first converted person in history.

In Matthew 23 verse 35, it says, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel, that's what he's called, to the blood of Zechariah, son of Barakiah, whom you have murdered between the temple and the altar. So the first person who followed God's way, he was the first one persecuted. And of course, at that time, it wasn't just Cain and Abel who lived. Notice what it tells us in Genesis chapter 5, because people sometimes say, well, who else was on earth at that time? Well, it tells us here, verse 3, and Adam lived 130 years and begot a son in his own likeness after his image and named him Seth. And begot Seth, the days of Adam were 800 years, and he had sons and daughters. So the Bible's not going to record every child that Adam and Eve had. According to a Jewish tradition, Adam and Eve had 23 sons and 35 daughters, of which Cain and Abel were the first ones. But then they had siblings along the way. And that's why Cain was so concerned that some of these siblings were going to avenge the blood of Abel. Next, we have righteous Enoch in Hebrews 11 verse 5.

Hebrews 11 verse 5. Enoch lived before the flood.

It says, verse 5, by faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death and was not found because God had taken him. For before he was taken he had this testimony that he pleased God. He was a righteous man. He followed God's way of life.

So we have this is part of the true church. These are members of the true church. God provided that Holy Spirit to very few individuals in the Old Testament, but these are some of them because they were righteous. Then we have Noah and his family. In 1 Peter chapter 3 verse 20, talks about who were rescued from that flood. 1 Peter chapter 3 verse 20. It says, Who formerly were disobedient went once a divine long-suffering waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared in which a few, that is eight souls or eight people, were saved through water. They were the only ones deemed to be righteous at that time. The rest were wicked. Now, if somebody would have been living at that time and they would have said, where is Noah? Where is he living? What does Noah obey? What kind of religion is Noah? Everybody else would have said, well, they're a little sect. They only have eight people in that little house. They're a little sect of religion. We're millions of people. We've got the right, the sect of Noah. Well, Noah was the true church. Everybody else was a sect, although Satan didn't want them to know that. That's the irony of this, how Satan twists things around. And then you have, of course, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They were part of the true church. Exodus 3, 15.

It tells us Exodus 3, verse 15.

Moreover, God said to Moses, Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. This is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations. This is something God wants us to remember Him. So that's another way to identify the true God. He's the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They were part of the true church. Now again, if Abraham and Isaac and Jacob would have been gathering together, what would the Canaanites have said? What would the Egyptians, with their mighty civilization? Well, what church is Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Oh, that's a little sect. That's a little sect. Wandering Hebrews. They don't have the truth. Look at us. Look at the majesty of Egypt. Look how God has blessed us in all of these Egyptian gods that we worship. That's the way Satan works, with numbers, but not quality, not spiritual quality, because God measures things through the spiritual quality, the Spirit that's in us, that Holy Spirit. So let's continue. Next is Joseph, the son of Jacob. Hebrews 11 verse 22. Was he part of the righteous family?

That true tree and not some branch that has been taken away. Hebrews 11 verse 22.

It says, By faith Joseph, when he was dying, made mention of the departure of the children of Israel, and gave instructions concerning his bones. By faith. He walked by faith. Didn't matter what generation they were in, what moment in history, how many.

In the time of Joseph in Egypt, when he was there, he was the only converted man there was. Even the Pharaoh marveled because Joseph was receiving instructions that was able to interpret the Pharaoh's dreams. And later Pharaoh recognized this man is close to God. He has access to all of these things, and they put them there. But Pharaoh would have said, well, he's just a little Hebrew. It's just a little religion. Egyptian religion is so much more powerful. So again, don't get confused between what impresses man and what impresses God. Jesus Christ once said that about the Pharisees and the Sadducees and all the power that they had there. And he said, look, what man esteems as sublime to God is esteemed as an abomination. God has a different way of examining who is right and who is wrong. So next we have Moses and Aaron, Exodus 4, 13 through 16. Exodus chapter 4, in verse 13 through 16. In verse 13, he says, but he said, oh, my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever else you may send. Moses didn't want to be sent. He said, send somebody else. So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses. And he said, is not Aaron the Levite, your brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, he's also coming out to meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. Moses had a complex about not speaking very articulately. Now you shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do. So he shall be your spokesman to the people, and he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God. And so these two men that Israel through those 40 years, till Aaron died first and then eventually Moses. But these are faithful people. Again, did the world take them into consideration? No. They were a bunch of slaves that left Egypt. How dare they? The rebels, they left, and they left their Egyptian gods. And now they're going to Canaan, where the Canaanites are saying, this is a little sect, a little sect of the Hebrews. So you see, you're never going to have people that are going to admit who is the true church and who are the sects. Then we have Joshua, Caleb, and his loyal team, Numbers, chapter 40.

Numbers, chapter 14 is what I meant. 14, verse 30-31. God is talking to the Israelites, and he says in verse 30, he said, Except for Caleb, the son of Jephana, and Joshua, the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in. But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall know the land which you had despised. But as for you, your carcasses, which means your bodies, shall fall in this wilderness. So again, there's a separation between those that are following faithfully God's way and those that are maybe following the Egyptians. They really didn't want to go along on the trip.

Then we have the 12 Judges of Israel, Judges 2, 16 through 19.

Judges chapter 2, verse 16. And it says, Nevertheless, the Lord raised up judges during that whole period, who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them. Yet they would not listen to their judges, but they played the harlot with other gods. Yet other religions they secretly kept and bowed down to them. They turned quickly from the ways in which their fathers walked in obeying the commandments of the Lord.

They did not do so. Again, key here is obeying the commandments of the Lord. And when the Lord raised up judges for them, the Lord was with the judge and delivered them out of the hand of their enemies all the days of the judge. For the Lord was moved to pity by their groaning because of those who had oppressed them and harassed them.

And it came to pass when the judge was dead that they reverted and behaved more corruptly than their fathers. By following other gods to serve them and bow down to them, they did not cease from their own doings nor from their stubborn way. So when the Israelites were in Canaan, the Canaanites that still survive would say, well, you should come over and fellowship with us.

After all, we're the ones that have been here first, and we got these nice gods of fertility and all of these blessings that they can bring. All you have to do is bow your knee and you'll see things are going to come along real well.

So that still happens today in this society. Bow your knee to this society. Oh, they will reward you. But behind that is Satan. Continuing on, David and a few other kings in Israel, in Hebrews 11.31, David is mentioned as being righteous by faith.

Then we have the Old Testament prophets. They are also mentioned in the same verse, Hebrews 11.32, all these men and women of faith. But how many were there? Small amount of people. It has never been the great majority. It's always this tiny minority of people that want to put God first in their lives.

Do you remember the moment that you decided to put God first in your life? There were sacrifices that had to be made. I had to do it when I was 17 years old. I had to leave father, mother, career, everything because I wanted to obey God's ways and commandments. And I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it with people that were not doing it. There's a moment when, as it says here in the book of Judges, that you have to follow God first and God will bless you abundantly.

And then you have Ezra, Yeshua, Sarababell, and Nehemiah. They revived the faith. They continued. They brought the way of life back to Israel after those 70 years of Babylonian captivity. So the Old Testament ends with the faithful people in Israel as a majority. There were still some in Babylon that were also of the faith, but they never came along. But God's way continued in time, always surrounded by a majority of other teachings and other religions around. And now we look and see the other groups that are below this timeline.

These are the Old Testament sects. The word sect comes from Heresis, which means a separate group. These are the ones that apostatized. They fell away from the faith. They left the commandments of God. And so the first ones were Adam and Eve. Romans chapter 5 verse 14 tells us that they were the ones that sinned and did not change their way of life. They didn't repent. In Romans chapter 5 verse 14, it says, nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned according to the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is a type of him who was to come.

So Adam represents mankind. Jesus Christ represents the righteous way. Later we have Cain and his way of life, which again in the first message Mike touched on that in Jude verse 11. Jude verse 11.

It's very important what it says here in verse 11. It says, woe to them, for they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam, for prophet and paris in the rebellion of Korah. But notice it's a way of Cain. It's a way of life. So you're either part of the way of Cain or you're the way of Abel. That's where it separates. And there's always this small, narrow road. Very few people take it. As Christ mentioned, we're going to cover that in a moment.

Let's see. Had that scripture. It's in Matthew. Matthew. Let's go to Matthew chapter 7.

In verse 13 of Matthew 7, it says, enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction. And there are many who go by it. The great multitudes go into this. The very broad and you can accommodate your life. You don't have to put God first. Just have one foot in the world and one foot with God if necessary. No, he says, this is the narrow gate. Verse 14, it says, because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life. And there are few who find it. Those are the ones that are following the righteous way. So then, after Cain started his way of life, which the great majority follow. That's why those who follow Cain, they're the majority. They look at those who follow Abel, that's that little sect. Insignificant, unimportant in the world. They don't have the power, the wealth, the influence that those who follow the way of Cain do. After this, you have the majority of the brief-flood world that perished. Genesis 6, 5 says that the whole world basically is following the way of Cain. Wickedness, selfishness, blaming others. And then, in Genesis 10 through 11, we have Nimrod and those who built the Tower of Babel. So again, the defiance. They don't want to obey God. They want to do it their own way. And then Genesis 11, 9 says after the confusion of the tongues, they form the pagan religions. Genesis 11, 9. I'm going to read that. Genesis 11, 9, because it's very exemplary here. It says, therefore its name is called Babel because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth and from there the Lord scattered them abroad over the face of all the earth. And so they took their false religions, but then according to their language and culture. But they're all based on paganism. And false Christianity is a mixture of paganism with some biblical principles.

Continuing on, we have the majority of their first generation of Israelites who apostasize. Yeah, they're not going to be part of that first resurrection. They had their chance. They could have followed faithfully Moses, but they didn't. And so they are part of those that separated from the truth.

Then we have Solomon and the majority of the kings of Israel and Judah who apostatized. Nehemiah 13. Let's go to Nehemiah 13. And of course, I'm going through this a little fast, but you have your handouts to make a Bible study out of this. Study it more carefully and slowly. Nehemiah 13. verse 25 to 27. It says, so Nehemiah says, I contented with them and cursed them, struck some of them and pulled out their hair and made them square by God, saying, you shall not give your daughters as wives to their sons, nor take their daughters for your sons or yourselves. Did not Solomon, king of Israel, sin by these things, yet among many nations, there was no king like him who was beloved of his God, and God made him king over all Israel. Nevertheless, pagan women caused even him to sin. So we see that there are many ways of falling away.

We've got to maintain that love of the truth. And then the house of Israel was led into captivity because of its sins. And then the house of Judah was taken into captivity. Many Jews apostatized at that time. So that takes us to the end of the Old Testament. Let's go to the New Testament. We have here, and I really am running out of time. Maybe I can take a few more minutes, but the New Testament history and beyond God's people, those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. First, we have John the Baptist and Jesus Christ teach God's true way. So these are the two that begin the Gospels. Then the apostles and the church follow the true way. Acts 2, 41 through 43, it says they followed the teachings of the apostles, which Jesus Christ had given to them.

And then in the second century, at least these are the ones that we're very sure were part of the true church. Polycarp, papayas, poliquities, and others follow God's way. So after the New Testament ends, the next generation over in the second century, these are the ones that are following God's way of life. And we consider this part of the Ephesian era of the church. In the second century, to the 500s, they were called Nazarenes. We heard that name before. They keep God's laws and the faith of Jesus. Then in the 600s to the 1000, we know of Constantine of Mananali in the 650s, was the leader of those called the Paulicians, who kept God's way of life.

We go from the Ephesian to the Smyrna to the Pergamos era. And then in the 900s to the 1100s, we have those Paulicians, and then their successors, the Bogomils, were known to keep the Sabbath and the rest of God's laws. This begins the Thyatira era. And then in the 1100s to the 1500s, we have these church leaders, Peter the Breeze, Henry, and some Waldensons. And some Anabaptists. We have historical records of them keeping the Sabbath and God's laws.

Then we come to the New World, which we consider about this period of time, the Sardis era of the church. In 1664, Stephen Mumford brings the Sabbath-keeping to the New World. The name would be the Seventh-Day Baptists. They were the first ones who keep the Sabbath here in the U.S. Many places people brought the Sabbath, the Catholic Church was in control, destroyed them, the Inquisition was in charge, but not in the U.S. And not in England. Those were the two main areas where God's church could be found during that period of time. Then in the 19th century, the Church of God Seventh-Day, they refused to follow the Seventh-Day Adventists and the doctrine of Ellen White. She was the one that led Sabbath keepers to form the Seventh-Day Adventists and base their teachings on what she wrote. Well, the Church of God's Seventh-Day, those people said, no, we're going to follow God and we're not going to follow Ellen White's revelations. Then in the 1930s, the worldwide Church of God was the one that was the principal church of God at that time. We still had the Church of God Seventh-Day, but it was scattered. And so the worldwide Church of God until 1995 was the one that preached the gospel to the world and prepared disciples. But then, until 1995, when leaders there went against the laws of God, and so those who continued keeping God's commandments had to eventually leave or hide out within the Church.

But they had no influence. Those that still were hiding inside. And by the way, now it's very few. I just heard from someone that the worldwide Church of God announced there would be no Sabbath services around the earth anymore. So you just have to be a Sunday keeper, or you will be persecuted. They used to tolerate just to keep some of the people inside the group. And then we have the United Church of God and other Church of God groups up to the present that continue with the commandments of God and with the faith of Jesus. So we believe we're part of that Philadelphia era until now. And then later will come the Laodicean era of the Church. So that's where the true Church is. Now how about the sects? Those that are separate. Let's look at the timeline. Below are the false sects that were formed during the New Testament period and up to today. So during the time of Jesus and John the Baptist, the majority of the Jews rejected Christ and left the truth. John 1, 11 says that they did not accept him, he who came.

The word. In the end of the first century, much of the Church apostatizes. Jude 3 through 4, they're talking about brethren stick with the truths with the faith once given to the saints. And then in 3rd John 9 through 10, we just went through that in a Bible study this previous time about diatrophies and others who had been appointed by the apostles who started separating, and forming false Christianity. Those are the sects that multiplied until today. Then we have the formation of the Roman Church and other sects. You can look it up at the description Revelation 17, very powerful, very rich. The kings of the earth come and bow before this church. Then we have the Nicene Council AD 325. It consolidates the Catholic Church. So now the Roman Empire basically is Catholic. The synod of Laodicea, Rule 29, bans Sabbath keeping. That's in 364 AD. So after Constantine, people were still keeping the Sabbath, and so the Catholic Church had to put a ban on it, saying you are not to keep the Sabbath, and if you do, you will be persecuted. You will be punished. The dark ages of the true church, persecuted by the Catholic Church, was from 325 AD from that Nicene Council to around 1585. Those 1260 years in Revelation 12. It talks about the women having to go to her place. And then we have the false church who rides the European beast, the Pope and the Emperor, and its successions, Revelation 17.

Then many of the church are apostatized due to the fierce persecution during this time. So this is the dark ages. This is where the Catholic Church has the Inquisition, has the Crusades. So if you would have lived keeping a Sabbath in Europe at that time, you would probably be dead. They persecuted you. They had spies. They had the Dominicans, the Jesuits, and others who were spies for the Pope to check people out. And then they said, are you keeping the Sabbath? You're arrested. And usually you were killed, either tortured or burnt to death.

And then during the Protestant movement in the 1500s, many Waldenses apostatized and start keeping Sunday. So after 400 years of being persecuted, a lot just were exhausted and just said, we're going with the Protestants. So the majority of the Waldenses today keep Sunday. And then many Anabaptists also adopt Sunday instead of the Sabbath. So Anabaptists were, at least a group of them, were Sabbath keepers. They also give up many Seventh-day Baptists adopt the Trinity in the 1700s. So those that came, Stephen Mumford, others, eventually part of that group started keeping adopting the Trinity. And then in 1995, the majority in Worldwide Church of God reject biblical truths taught by Mr. Armstrong and other leaders. 1 John 2.4 says, He who says I know Him and does not keep the commandments is a liar and the truth is not in Him. And then more apostatized through the false teaching of the successors of Worldwide Church of God, they form a church called Grace Community International. And that continues. It's just a watering down of the truths and a weakening of the spiritual character. You don't want to be around people that are going to weaken you. You want people that are going to energize you, to encourage you. I'll end with one scripture, Hebrews chapter 10.

Does the Apostle Paul here was encouraging the brethren about not following false teachings? It says in Hebrews chapter 10, verse 23 through 25, it says, Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promises is faithful.

And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching. So brethren, this is a little outline, little humble outline, but it packs a pretty powerful punch. So hopefully it'll help young and old stick with the truth.