Preface

For more than a century, J. C. Ryle was the leader of the evangelical 
party in the Church of England.  His policy was to encourage the 
conservative men to remain in the church rather than to abandon ship and 
leave the liberals to pursue their program unhindered. 

J. C. Ryle is best known for his plain and lively writings on practical 
and spiritual themes.  His great aim in all his ministry, was to 
encourage strong and serious Christian living.  But Ryle was not naive in 
his understanding of how this should be done.  He recognized that, as a 
pastor of the flock of God, he had a responsibility to guard Christ's 
sheep and to warn them whenever he saw approaching dangers.  His 
penetrating comments are as wise and relevant today as they were when he 
first wrote them.  His sermons and other writings have been consistently 
recognized, and their usefulness and impact have continued to the present 
day, even in the outdated English of the author's own day.  
 
Why then should expositions already so successful and of such stature and 
proven usefulness require adaptation, revision, rewrite or even editing?
The answer is obvious.  To increase its usefulness to today's reader, the 
language in which it was originally written needs updating.

Though his sermons have served other generations well, just as they came 
from the pen of the author in the nineteenth century, they still could be 
lost to present and future generations, simply because, to them, the 
language is neither readily nor fully understandable.

My goal, however, has not been to reduce the original writing to the 
vernacular of our day.  It is designed primarily for you who desire to 
read and study comfortably and at ease in the language of our time.  Only 
obviously archaic terminology and passages obscured by expressions not 
totally familiar in our day have been revised.  However, neither Ryle's 
meaning nor intent have been tampered with.
                                                  Tony Capoccia


All Scripture references are taken from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL 
VERSION (C) 1978 by the New York Bible Society, used by permission of 
Zondervan Bible Publishers.  

This updated and revised manuscript is copyrighted (C)1998 by Tony Capoccia.
All rights reserved.


                        Warning #4 to the Church

                         Pharisees and Sadducees
                                   by
                               J. C. Ryle
                               (1816-1900)


                    "Be careful," Jesus said to them. 
                   "Be on your guard against the yeast 
                    of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  
                                          (Matthew 16:6)


Every word spoken by the Lord Jesus is full of deep instruction for 
Christians.  It is the voice of the Chief Shepherd.  It is the Great Head 
of the Church speaking to all its members--King of kings speaking to His 
subjects--the Master of the house speaking to His servants--the Captain 
of our salvation speaking to His soldiers.  Above all, it is the voice of 
Him who said, "I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent 
me commanded me what to say and how to say it" (John 12:49.)  The heart 
of every believer in the Lord Jesus ought to burn within him when he 
hears his Master's words: he ought to say, "Listen! My lover!" (Song of 
Solomon 2:8).

And every word spoken by the Lord Jesus is of the greatest value.  
Precious as gold are all His words of doctrine and teaching; precious are 
all His parables and prophecies; precious are all His words of comfort 
and of consolation; precious, the not least of which, are all His words 
of caution and of warning.  We are not merely to hear Him when He says, 
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened;" we are to also hear Him 
when He says, "Be careful and be on your guard."

I am going to direct attention to one of the most solemn and emphatic 
warnings which the Lord Jesus ever delivered: "Be on your guard against 
the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."  On this text I wish to erect 
a beacon for all who desire to be saved, and to preserve some souls, if 
possible, from making their lives a shipwreck.  The times call loudly for 
such beacons: the spiritual shipwrecks of the last twenty-five years have 
been deplorably numerous.  The watchmen of the Church ought to speak out 
plainly now, or forever hold their peace.

I. First of all, I ask my readers to observe "who they were to whom the 
warning of the text was addressed."

Our Lord Jesus Christ was not speaking to men who were worldly, ungodly, 
and unsanctified, but to His own disciples, companions, and friends.  He 
addressed men who, with the exception of the apostate Judas Iscariot, 
were right-hearted in the sight of God.  He spoke to the twelve Apostles, 
the first founders of the Church of Christ, and the first ministers of 
the Word of salvation.  And yet even to them He addressed the solemn 
caution of our text: "Be careful and be on your guard."

There is something very remarkable in this fact.  We might have thought 
that these Apostles needed little warning of this kind.  Had they not 
given up all for Christ's sake? They had.  Had they not endured hardship 
for Christ's sake? They had.  Had they not believed Jesus, followed 
Jesus, loved Jesus, when almost all the world was unbelieving?  All these 
things are true; and yet to them the caution was addressed: "Be careful 
and be on your guard."  We might have imagined that at any rate the 
disciples had little to fear from the "yeast of the Pharisees and of the 
Sadducees."  They were poor and unlearned men, most of them fishermen or 
tax collectors; they had no desire to follow the teachings of the 
Pharisees and the Sadducees; they were more likely to be prejudiced 
against them than to feel any drawing towards them.  All this is 
perfectly true; yet even to them there comes the solemn warning: "Be 
careful and be on your guard." 

There is useful counsel here for all who profess to love the Lord Jesus 
Christ in sincerity.  It tells us loudly that the most eminent servants 
of Christ are not beyond the need of warnings, and ought to be always on 
their guard.  It shows us plainly that the holiest of believers ought to 
walk humbly with his God, and to watch and pray so that he won't fall 
into temptation, and be overtaken with sin.  None is so holy, that he 
can't fall--not ultimately, not hopelessly, but to his own discomfort, to 
the scandal of the Church, and to the triumph of the world: none is so 
strong that he cannot for a time be overcome.  Chosen as believers are by 
God the Father, justified as they are by the blood and righteousness of 
Jesus Christ, sanctified as they are by the Holy Spirit--believers are 
still only men: they are still in the body, and still in the world.  They 
are ever near temptation: they are ever liable to misjudge, both in 
doctrine and in practice.  Their hearts, though renewed, are very feeble; 
their understanding, though enlightened, is still very dim.  They ought 
to live like those who dwell in an enemy's land, and every day to put on 
the armor of God.  The devil is very busy: he never slumbers or sleeps.  
Let us remember the falls of Noah, and Abraham, and Lot, and Moses, and 
David, and Peter; and remembering them, be humble, and be careful so that 
we don't fall.

I may be allowed to say that none need warnings so much as the ministers 
of Christ's Gospel.  Our office and our ordination are no security 
against errors and mistakes.  It is true, that the greatest heresies have 
crept into the Church of Christ by means of ordained men.  Ordination  
does not confers any immunity from error and false doctrine.  Our very 
familiarity with the Gospel often creates in us a hardened state of mind.  
We are apt to read the Scriptures, and preach the Word, and conduct 
public worship, and carry on the service of God, in a dry, hard, formal, 
callous spirit.  Our very familiarity with sacred things, unless we watch 
our hearts, is likely to lead us astray.  "Nowhere," says an old writer, 
"is a man's soul in more danger than in a minister's study."  The history 
of the Church of Christ contains many dismal proofs that the most 
distinguished ministers may for a time fall away.  Who has not heard of 
Cranmer recanting and going back from those opinions he had defended so 
stoutly, though, by God's mercy, raised again to witness a glorious 
confession at last?  Who has not heard of Jewell signing documents that 
he most thoroughly disapproved, and of which signature he afterwards 
bitterly repented?  Who does not know that many others might be named, 
who at one time or another, have been overtaken by faults, have fallen 
into errors, and been led astray?  And who does not know the mournful 
fact that many of them never came back to the truth, but died in hardness 
of heart, and held their errors to the end?

These things ought to make us humble and cautious.  They tell us to 
distrust our own hearts and to pray to be kept from falling.  In these 
days, when we are especially called upon to cleave firmly to the 
doctrines of the Protestant Reformation, let us be careful that our zeal 
for Protestantism does not puff us up, and make us proud.  Let us never 
say in our self-conceit, "I shall never fall into the errors Roman 
Catholicism or any New Theology: those views will never suit me."  Let us 
remember that many have begun well and run well for a season, and yet 
afterwards turned aside out of the right way.  Let us be careful that we 
are spiritual men as well as Protestants, and real friends of Christ as 
well as enemies of antichrist.  Let us pray that we may be kept from 
error, and never forget that the twelve Apostles themselves were the men 
to whom the Great Head of the Church addressed these words: "Be careful 
and be on your guard."

II. I propose, in the second place, to explain "what were those dangers 
against which our Lord warned the Apostles."  "Be careful," He says, "Be 
on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees."

The danger of which He warns them is false doctrine.  He says nothing 
about the sword of persecution, or the love of money, or the love of 
pleasure.  All these things no doubt were perils and snares to which the 
souls of the Apostles were exposed; but against these things our Lord 
raises no warning voice here.  His warning is confined to one single 
point: "The yeast of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees."  We are not 
left to conjecture what our Lord meant by that word "yeast."  The Holy 
Spirit, a few verses after the very text on which I am now dwelling, 
tells us plainly that by yeast was meant the "doctrine" of the Pharisees 
and of the Sadducees.

Let us try to understand what we mean when we speak of the "doctrine of 
the Pharisees and of the Sadducees." 

(a) The doctrine of the Pharisees may be summed up in three words: they 
were formalists, tradition-worshippers, and self-righteous.  They 
attached such weight to the traditions of men that they practically 
regarded them of more importance than the inspired writings of the Old 
Testament.  They valued themselves on excessive strictness in their 
attention to all the ceremonial requirements of the Mosaic law.  They 
thought much of being descended from Abraham, and said in their hearts, 
"We have Abraham for our father."  They fancied themselves because they 
had Abraham for their father that they were not in danger of hell like 
other men, and that their descent from him was a kind of title to heaven.  
They attached great value to washings and ceremonial purifyings of the 
body, and believed that the very touching of the dead body of a fly or 
gnat would defile them.  They made a great deal about the outward parts 
of religion, and such things that could be seen by men.  They made broad 
their phylacteries, and enlarged the fringes of their garments.  They 
prided themselves on paying great honor to dead saints, and garnishing 
the graves of the righteous.  They were very zealous to make converts.  
They prided themselves in having power, rank, and preeminence, and of 
being called by men, "Teacher, Teacher."  These things, and many things 
like these, the Pharisees did.  Every well-informed Christian can find 
these things in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark (See Matthew 15 and 23; 
Mark 7).

Remember, all this time, they did not formally deny any part of the Old 
Testament Scripture.  But they brought in, over and above it, so much of 
human invention, that they virtually put Scripture aside, and buried it 
under their own traditions.  This is the sort of religion, of which our 
Lord says to the Apostles, "Be careful and be on your guard."

(b) The doctrine of the Sadducees, on the other hand, may be summed up in 
three words: free-thinking, skepticism, and rationalism.  Their creed was 
far less popular than that of the Pharisees, and, therefore, we find them 
mentioned less often in the New Testament Scriptures.  So far as we can 
judge from the New Testament, they appear to have held the doctrine of 
degrees of inspiration; at all times they attached greater value to the 
Pentateuch [first five Books of the Old Testament] above all the other 
parts of the Old Testament, if indeed they did not altogether ignore the 
latter.  

They believed that there was no resurrection, no angels, and no spirits, 
and tried to laugh men out ot their belief in these things, by bringing 
forward difficult questions.  We have an instance of their mode of 
argument in the case which they propounded to our Lord of the woman who 
had had seven husbands, when they asked, "At the resurrection, whose wife 
will she be of the seven?"  And in this way they probably hoped, by 
rendering religion absurd, and its chief doctrines ridiculous, to make 
men altogether give up the faith they had received from the Scriptures.

Remember, all this time, we cannot say that the Sadducees were downright 
infidels: this they were not.  We may not say they denied revelation 
altogether: this they did not do.  They observed the law of Moses.  Many 
of them were found among the priests in the times described in the Acts 
of the Apostles.  Caiaphas who condemned our Lord was a Sadducee.  But 
the practical effect of their teaching was to shake men's faith in any 
revelation, and to throw a cloud of doubt over men's minds, which was 
only one degree better than infidelity.  And of all such kind of 
doctrine: free thinking, skepticism, rationalism, our Lord says, "Be 
careful and be on your guard."

Now the question arises, Why did our Lord Jesus Christ deliver this 
warning?  He knew, no doubt, that within forty years the schools of the 
Pharisees and the Sadducees would be completely overthrown.  He that knew 
all things from the beginning, knew perfectly well that in forty years 
Jerusalem, with its magnificent temple, would be destroyed, and the Jews 
scattered over the face of the earth.  Why then do we find Him giving 
this warning about "the yeast of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees")

I believe that our Lord delivered this solemn warning for the perpetual 
benefit of that Church which He came to earth to establish.  He spoke 
with a prophetic knowledge.  He knew well the diseases to which human 
nature is always liable.  He foresaw that the two great plagues of His 
Church on earth would always be the doctrine of the Pharisees and the 
doctrine of the Sadducees.  He knew that these would like two large 
rocks, between which His truth would be perpetually crushed and bruised 
until He came the second time.  He knew that there always would be 
Pharisees in spirit, and Sadducees in spirit, among professing 
Christians.  He knew that their succession would never fail, and their 
generation never become extinct, and that though the names of Pharisees 
and Sadducees were no more, yet their principles would always exist.  He 
knew that during the time that the Church existed, until His return, 
there would always be some that would add to the Word, and some that 
would subtract from it, some that would tone it down, by adding to it 
other things, and some that would bleed it to death, by subtracting from 
its principal truths.  And this is the reason why we find Him delivering 
this solemn warning: "Be careful and be on your guard against the yeast 
of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees."

And now comes the question, Did not our Lord Jesus Christ have good 
reason to give this warning?  I appeal to all who know anything of Church 
history--was there indeed not a cause?  I appeal to all who remember what 
took place soon after the apostles were dead.  Do we not read that in the 
primitive Church of Christ, there rose up two distinct parties; one ever 
inclined to err, like the Arians, in holding less than the truth, the 
other ever inclined to err, like the relic worshipers and saint 
worshipers [of the Roman Catholic Church], in holding more than the truth 
as it is in Jesus?  Do we not see the same thing coming out in later 
times, in the form of Roman Catholicism?  These are ancient things.  In a 
short paper like this it is impossible for me to enter more fully into 
them.  They are things well known to all who are familiar with records of 
past days.  There always have been these two great parties, the party 
representing the principles of the Pharisee, and the party representing 
the principles of the Sadducee.  Therefore our Lord had good cause to say 
of these two great principles, "Be careful and be on your guard."

But, I desire to bring the subject even nearer at the present moment.  I 
ask my readers to consider whether warnings like this are not especially 
needed in our own times.  We have, undoubtedly, much to be thankful for 
in England.  We have made great advances in arts and sciences in the last 
three centuries, and have much of the form and show of morality and 
religion.  But, I ask anybody who can see beyond his own door, or his own 
living room, whether we do not live in the midst of dangers from false 
doctrine?

We have among us, on the one side, a group of men who, wittingly or 
unwittingly, are paving the way to the Church of Rome [Catholicism]--a 
school that professes to draw its principles from primitive tradition, 
the writings of the Fathers, and the voice of the Church--a teaching that 
talks and writes so much about the Church, the ministry, and the 
Sacraments, that it makes them like Aaron's rod which swallows up 
everything else in Christianity, a teaching that attaches vast 
importance to the outward form and ceremony of religion, to gestures, 
postures, bowings, crosses, holy water, seats of honor for the clergy, 
altar cloths, incense, statues, banners, processions, floral decorations, 
and many other like things, about which not a word is to be found in the 
Holy Scriptures as having any place in Christian worship.  I refer, of 
course, to the school of Churchmen called Ritualists.  When we examine 
the proceedings of that school, there can be but one conclusion 
concerning them.  I believe whatever be the meaning and intention of its 
teachers, however devoted, zealous, and self-denying, many of them are, 
those whom has fallen the cloak of the Pharisees.

We have, on the other hand, a school of men who, wittingly or 
unwittingly, appear to pave the way to Socinianism, a school which holds 
strange views about the absolute inspiration of Holy Scripture, and 
stranger views about the doctrine of sacrifice, and the Atonement of our 
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, strange views about the eternity of 
punishment, and God's love to man, a school strong in negatives, but very 
weak in positives, skillful in raising doubts, but impotent in removing 
them, clever in unsettling and unscrewing men's faith, but powerless to 
offer any firm rest for man.  And, whether the leaders of this school 
mean it or not, I believe that on them has fallen the cloak of the 
Sadducees.

These things sound harsh.  It saves a vast deal of trouble to shut our 
eyes, and say, "I see no danger," and because it is not seen, therefore 
not to believe it.  It is easy to cover our ears and say, "I hear 
nothing," and because we hear nothing, therefore to feel no alarm.  But 
we know well who they are that rejoice over the state of things we have 
to deplore in some quarters of our own Church.  We know what the Roman 
Catholic thinks: we know what the Socinian thinks.  The Roman Catholic 
rejoices over the rise of the Catholicism: the Socinian rejoices over the 
rise of men who teach such views as those set forth in modern days about 
the atonement and inspiration.  They would not rejoice as they do if they 
did not see their work being done, and their cause being helped forward.  
The danger, I believe, is far greater than we are apt to suppose.  The 
books that are read in many quarters are most mischievous, and the tone 
of thought on religious subjects, among many classes, and especially 
among the higher ranks, is deeply unsatisfactory.  The plague is abroad.  
If we love life, we ought to search our own hearts, and try our own 
faith, and make sure that we stand on the right foundation.  Above all, 
we ought to take heed that we ourselves do not drink the poison of false 
doctrine, and go back from our first love.

I feel deeply the painfulness of speaking out on these subjects.  I know 
well that speaking plain about false doctrine is very unpopular, and that 
the speaker must be content to find himself being thought of as very 
uncharitable, very troublesome, and very narrow-minded.  Thousands of 
people can never distinguish differences in religion.  To the bulk of men 
a clergyman is a clergyman, and a sermon is a sermon, and as to any 
difference between one minister and another, or one doctrine and another, 
they are utterly unable to understand it.  I cannot expect such people to 
approve of any warning against false doctrine.  I must make up my mind to 
meet with their disapproval, and must bear it as I best can.

But I will ask any honest-minded, unprejudiced Bible reader to turn to 
the New Testament and see what he will find there.  He will find many 
plain warnings against false doctrine: 

"Watch out for false prophets" (Matthew 7:15).

"See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive 
philosophy" (Colossians 2:8).

"Do not be carried away by all kinds of strange teachings" (Hebrews 
13:9).

"Do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they 
are from God" (1 John 4:1).

He will find a large part of several inspired epistles taken up with 
elaborate explanations of true doctrine and warnings against false 
teaching.  I ask whether it is possible for a minister who takes the 
Bible for his rule of faith to avoid giving warnings against doctrinal 
error?

Finally, I ask any one to mark what is going on in England at this very 
day.  I ask whether it is not true that hundreds have left the 
Established Church and joined the Church of Rome [Roman Catholic Church] 
within the last thirty years?  I ask whether it is not true that hundreds 
remain within our boundaries, who in heart are little better than 
Romanists?  I ask again whether it is not true that scores of young men, 
both at Oxford and Cambridge, are spoiled and ruined by the withering 
influence of skepticism, and have lost all positive principles in 
religion?  Sneers at religious newspapers, loud declarations of dislike 
to "denominations," high-sounding, vague phrases about "deep thinking, 
broad views, new light, free handling of Scripture, and the barren 
weakness of certain schools of theology," make up the whole Christianity 
of many of the rising generation.  And yet, in the face of these 
notorious facts, men cry out, "Hold your peace about false doctrine.  Let 
false doctrine alone!" I cannot hold my peace.  Faith in the Word of God, 
love to the souls of men, the vows I took when I was ordained, alike 
constrain me to bear witness against the errors of the day.  And I 
believe that the saying of our Lord is eminently a truth for the times: 
"Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and of the 
Sadducees."

III. The third thing to which I wish to call attention is "the peculiar 
name by which our Lord Jesus Christ speaks of the doctrines of the 
Pharisees and of the Sadducees."

The words which our Lord used were always the wisest and the best that 
could be used.  He might have said, "Be careful and be on your guard 
against the doctrine, or of the teaching, or of the opinions of the 
Pharisees and of the Sadducees."  But He does not say so: He uses a word 
of a peculiar nature--He says, "Be careful and be on your guard against 
the 'yeasts' of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees."

Now we all know what is the true meaning of the word "yeast."  The yeast 
is added to the lump of dough in making a loaf of bread.  This yeast 
bears but a small proportion to the lump into which it is mixed; just so, 
our Lord would have us know, the first beginning of false doctrine is but 
small compared to the body of Christianity.  It works quietly and 
silently; just so, our Lord would have us know, false doctrine works 
secretly in the heart in which it is once planted.  It insensibly changes 
the character of the whole mass with which it is mingled; just so, our 
Lord would have us know, the doctrines of the Pharisees and Sadducees 
turn everything upside down, when once admitted into a Church or into a 
man's heart.  Let us mark these points: they throw light on many things 
that we see in the present day.  It is of vast importance to receive the 
lessons of wisdom that this word "yeast" contains in itself.

False doctrine does not meet men face to face, and proclaim that it is 
false.  It does not blow a trumpet before it, and endeavor openly to turn 
us away from the truth as it is in Jesus.  It does not come before men in 
broad day, and summon them to surrender.  It approaches us secretly, 
quietly, insidiously, plausibly, and in such a way as to disarm man's 
suspicion, and throw him off his guard.  It is the wolf in sheep's 
clothing, and Satan in the garb of an angel of light, who have always 
proved the most dangerous foes of the Church of Christ.

I believe the most powerful champion of the Pharisees is not the man who 
bids you openly and honestly come out and join the Church of Rome: it is 
the man who says that he agrees on all points with you in "doctrine."  He 
would not take anything away from those evangelical views that you hold; 
would not have you make any changes at all; all he asks you to do is to 
"add" a little more to your belief, in order to make your Christianity 
perfect.  "Believe me," he says, 

      We do not want you to give up anything.  We only want you to 
      hold a few more clear views about the Church and the 
      sacraments.  We want you to add to your present opinions a 
      little more about the office of the ministry, and a little 
      more about episcopal authority, and a little more about the 
      Prayer-book, and a little more about the necessity of order 
      and of discipline.  We only want you to add "a little more" 
      of these things to your system of religion, and you will be 
      quite right.  

But when men speak to you in this way, then is the time to remember what 
our Lord said, and to "Be careful and be on your guard."  This is the, 
yeast of the Pharisees, against which we are to stand upon our guard.

Why do I say this? I say it because there is no security against the 
doctrine of the Pharisees, unless we resist its principles in their 
beginnings:

1. Beginning with a "little more about the Church"--You may one day place 
the Church in the place of Christ.  

2. Beginning with a "little more about the ministry"--You may one day 
regard the minister as "the mediator between God and man."

3. Beginning with a "little more about the sacraments"--You may one day 
altogether give up the doctrine of justification by faith without the 
deeds of the law. 

4. Beginning with a "little more reverence for the Prayer-book"--You may 
one day place it above the Holy Word of God Himself. 

5. Beginning with a "little more honor to Bishops"--You may at last 
refuse salvation to every one who does not belong to an Episcopal Church. 

I only tell an old story: I only mark out roads that have been trodden by 
hundreds of members of the Church of England in the last few years.  They 
began by faultfinding at the Reformers, and have ended by swallowing the 
decrees of the Council of Trent [Roman Catholic Doctrinal Council].  They 
began by crying about the way things were, and have ended by formally 
joining the Church of Rome.  I believe that when we hear men asking us to 
"add a little more" to our good old plain Evangelical views, we should 
stand upon our guard.  We should remember our Lord's caution: "Be on your 
guard against the yeast of the Pharisees."

I consider the most dangerous champion of the Sadducee school is not the 
man who tells you openly that he wants you to lay aside any part of the 
truth, and to become a free-thinker and a skeptic.  It is the man who 
begins with quietly insinuating doubts as to the position that we ought 
to take up about religion, doubts whether we ought to be so positive in 
saying "this is truth, and that falsehood," doubts whether we ought to 
think men wrong who differ from us on religious opinions, since they may 
after all be as much right as we are.  

It is the man who tells us we ought not to condemn anybody's views, lest 
we err on the side of the lack of love.  It is the man who always begins 
talking in a vague way about God being a God of love, and hints that we 
ought to believe perhaps that all men, whatever doctrine they profess, 
will be saved.  It is the man who is ever reminding us that we ought to 
take care how we think lightly of men of powerful minds, and great 
intellects (though they are deists and skeptics), who do not think as we 
do, and that, after all, "great minds are all more or less, taught of 
God!" 

It is the man who is ever harping on the difficulties of inspiration, and 
raising questions whether all men may not be found saved in the end, and 
whether all may not be right in the sight of God.  It is the man who 
crowns this kind of talk by a few calm sneers against what he is pleased 
to call "old-fashioned views," and "narrow-minded theology," and 
"bigotry," and the "lack of liberality and love," in the present day.  
But when men begin to speak to us in this kind of way, then is the time 
to stand upon our guard.  Then is the time to remember the words of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, and "Be careful and be on your guard against the 
yeast."

Once more, why do I say this? I say it because there is no security 
against Sadduceeism, any more than against Phariseeism, unless we resist 
its principles in the bud.  Beginning with a little vague talk about 
"love," you may end in the doctrine of universal salvation, fill heaven 
with a mixed multitude of wicked as well as good, and deny the existence 
of hell.  Beginning with a few high-sounding phrases about intellect and 
the inner light in man, you may end with denying the work of the Holy 
Spirit, and maintaining that Homer and Shakespeare were as truly inspired 
as Paul, and thus practically casting aside the Bible.  Beginning with 
some dreamy, misty idea about "all religions containing more or less 
truth," you may end with utterly denying the necessity of missions, and 
maintaining that the best plan is to leave everybody alone. 

Beginning with dislike to "Evangelical religion," as old-fashioned, 
narrow, and exclusive, you may end by rejecting every leading doctrine of 
Christianity--the atonement, the need of grace, and the divinity of 
Christ.  Again I repeat that I only tell an old story: I only give a 
sketch of a path which scores have trodden in the last few years.  They 
were once satisfied with such divinity as that of Newton, Scott, Cecil, 
and Romaine; they are now fancying they have found a more excellent way 
in the principles which have been propounded by theologians of the Broad 
school!  I believe there is no safety for a man's soul unless he 
remembers the lesson involved in those solemn words, "Be on your guard 
against the yeast of the Sadducees."

Let us be on our guard against the "insidiousness" of false doctrine.  
Like the fruit of which Eve and Adam ate, at first sight it looks 
pleasant and good, and a thing to be desired.  Poison is not written upon 
it, and so people are not afraid.  Like counterfeit coin, it is not 
stamped "bad:" it passes for the real thing because of the very likeness 
it bears to the truth.

Let us be on our guard against the "very small beginnings" of false 
doctrine.  Every heresy began at one time with some little departure from 
the truth.  There is only a little seed of error needed to create a great 
tree.  It is the little stones that make up the mighty building.  It was 
the little timbers that made the great ark that carried Noah and his 
family over a deluged world.  It is the little leaven that leavens the 
whole lump.  It is the little flaw in one link of the chain cable that 
wrecks the gallant ship, and drowns the crew.  It is the omission or 
addition of one little item in the doctor's prescription that spoils the 
whole medicine, and turns it into poison.  We do not tolerate quietly a 
little dishonesty, or a little cheating, or a little lying: just so, let 
us never allow a little false doctrine to ruin us, by thinking it is but 
a "little one," and can do no harm.  The Galatians seemed to be doing 
nothing very dangerous when they "were observing special days and months 
and seasons and years;" yet Paul says, "I fear for you" (Galatians 4:10, 
11).

Finally, let us be on our guard against supposing that "we at any rate 
are not in danger."  "Our views are sound: our feet stand firm: others 
may fall away, but we are safe!"  Hundreds have thought the same, and 
have come to a bad end.  In their self-confidence they tampered with 
little temptations and little forms of false doctrine; in their self-
conceit they went near the brink of danger; and now they seem lost 
forever.  They appear given over to a strong delusion, so as to believe a 
lie.  Some of them are praying to the Virgin Mary, and bowing down to 
images.  Others of them are casting overboard one doctrine after another, 
and are stripping themselves of every sort of religion but a few scraps 
of Deism.  Very striking is the vision in Pilgrim's Progress, which 
describes the hill Error as "very steep on the farthest side;" and "when 
Christian and Hopeful looked down they saw at the bottom several men 
dashed all to pieces by a fall they had from the top."  Never, never let 
us forget the caution to beware of "yeast;" and if we think we stand, let 
us "be careful that we don't fall!"  

IV. I propose in the fourth and last place, to suggest "some safeguards 
and treatment against the dangers of the present day--the yeast of the 
Pharisees and the yeast of the Sadducees."

I feel that we all need more and more the presence of the Holy Spirit in 
our hearts, to guide, to teach, and to keep us sound in the faith.  We 
all need to watch more, and to pray to be held up, and preserved from 
falling away.  But still, there are certain great truths, which, in a day 
like this, we are specially bound to keep in mind.  There are times when 
some common epidemic invades a land, when medicines, at all times 
valuable, become of special value.  There are places where a uncommon 
malaria prevails, in which remedies, in every place valuable, are more 
than ever valuable in consequence of it.  So I believe there are times 
and seasons in the Church of Christ when we are bound to tighten our hold 
upon certain great leading truths, to grasp them with more than ordinary 
firmness in our hands, to press them to our hearts, and not to let them 
go.  Such doctrines I desire to set forth in order, as the great 
prescription against the yeast of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.  
When Saul and Jonathan were slain by the archers, David ordered the 
children of Israel to be taught the use of the bow.

(a) For one thing, if we would be kept sound in the faith, we must take 
heed to our doctrine about the "total corruption of human nature."  The 
corruption of human nature is no slight thing.  It is no partial, 
skin-deep disease, but a radical and universal corruption of man's will, 
intellect, affections, and conscience.  We are not merely poor and 
pitiable sinners in God's sight: we are guilty sinners; we are 
blameworthy sinners: we deserve justly God's wrath and God's 
condemnation.  I believe there are very few errors and false doctrines of 
which the beginning may not be traced up to unsound views about the 
corruption of human nature.  Wrong views of a disease will always bring 
with them wrong views of the remedy.  Wrong views of the corruption of 
human nature will always carry with them wrong views of the grand 
treatment and cure of that corruption.

(b)  For another thing, we must take heed to our doctrine about "the 
inspiration and authority of the Holy Scriptures."  Let us boldly 
maintain, in the face of all the opposers, that the whole of the Bible is 
given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that all is inspired completely, 
not one part more than another, and that there is an entire gulf between 
the Word of God and any other book in the world.  We need not be afraid 
of difficulties in the way of the doctrine of absolute inspiration.  
There may be many things about it far too high for us to comprehend: it 
is a miracle, and all miracles are necessarily mysterious.  But if we are 
not to believe anything until we can entirely explain it, there are very 
few things indeed that we shall believe.  We need not be afraid of all 
the assaults that criticism brings to bear upon the Bible.  From the days 
of the apostles the Word of the Lord has been incessantly "tried," and 
has never failed to come forth as gold, uninjured, and spotless. 

We need not be afraid of the discoveries of science.  Astronomers may 
sweep the heavens with telescopes, and geologists may dig down into the 
heart of the earth, and never shake the authority of the Bible: "The 
voice of God, and the work of God's hands never will be found to con
tradict one another."  We need not be afraid of the researches of 
travelers.  They will never discover anything that contradicts God's 
Bible.  I believe that if a man were to go over all the earth and dig up 
a hundred buried Ninevehs, there would not be found a single inscription 
which would contradict a single fact in the Word of God.

Furthermore, we must boldly maintain that this Word of God is the only 
rule of faith and of practice, that whatsoever is not written in it 
cannot be required of any man as needful of salvation, and that however 
plausibly new doctrines may be defended, if they are not in the Word of 
God they cannot be worth our attention.  It matters nothing who says a 
thing, whether he be bishop, archdeacon, dean, or presbyter.  It matters 
nothing that the thing is well said, eloquently, attractively, forcibly, 
and in such a way as to turn the laugh against you.  We are not to 
believe it except it be proved to us by Holy Scripture.

Last, but not least, we must use the Bible as if we believed it was given 
by inspiration.  We must use it with reverence, and read it with all the 
tenderness with which we would read the words of an absent father.  We 
must not expect to find in a book inspired by the Spirit of God no 
mysteries.  We must rather remember that in nature there are many things 
we cannot understand; and that as it is in the book of nature, so it will 
always be in the book of Revelation.  We should draw near to the Word of 
God in that spirit of piety recommended by Lord Bacon many years ago.  
"Remember," he says, speaking of the book of nature, "that man is not the 
master of that book, but the interpreter of that book."  And as we deal 
with the book of nature, so we must deal with the Book of God.  We must 
draw near to it, not to teach, but to learn, not like the master of it 
but like a humble scholar, seeking to understand it.

(c) For another thing, we must take heed to our doctrine respecting "the 
atonement and priestly office of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."  We 
must boldly maintain that the death of our Lord on the cross was no 
common death.  It was not the death of one who only died like Cranmer, 
Ridley, and Latimer, as a martyr.  It was not the death of one who only 
died to give us a mighty example of self-sacrifice and self-denial.  The 
death of Christ was an offering up to God of Christ's own body and blood, 
to make satisfaction for man's sin and transgression.  It was a sacrifice 
and appeasement; a sacrifice typified in every offering of the Mosaic 
law, a sacrifice of the mightiest influence on all mankind.  Without the 
shedding of that blood there could not be, there never was to be, any 
remission of sin.

Furthermore, we must boldly maintain that this crucified Savior evermore 
sits at the right hand of God, to make intercession for all that come to 
God by Him; that He there represents and pleads for them that put their 
trust in Him; and that He has delegated His office of Priest and Mediator 
to no man, or set of men on the face of the earth.  We need none besides.  
We need no Virgin Mary, no angels, no saint, no priest, no person 
ordained or unordained, to stand between us and God, but the one 
Mediator, Christ Jesus.

Furthermore, we must boldly maintain that peace of conscience is not to 
be bought by confession to a priest, and by receiving a man's absolution 
from sin.  It is to be had only by going to the great High Priest, Christ 
Jesus; by confession before Him, not before man; and by absolution from 
Him only, who alone can say, "Your sins are forgiven: go in peace."

Last, but not least, we must boldly maintain that peace with God, once 
obtained by faith in Christ, is to be kept up, not by mere outward 
ceremonial acts of worship, not by receiving the sacrament of the Lord's 
Supper every day, but by the daily habit of looking to the Lord Jesus 
Christ by faith, eating by faith His body, and drinking by faith His 
blood; that eating and drinking of which our Lord says that he who eats 
and drinks shall find His "body to be meat, and His blood to be drink 
indeed."  Godly John Owen declared, long ago, that if there was any one 
point more than another that Satan wished to overthrow, it was the 
Priestly office of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  Satan knew well, 
he said, that it was the "principal foundation of faith and consolation 
of the Church."  Right views about that office are of essential 
importance in the present day, if men would not fall into error.

(d) One more remedy I must mention.  We must take heed to our doctrine 
about "the work of God the Holy Spirit."  Let us settle it in our minds 
that His work is no uncertain invisible operation on the heart: and that 
where He is, He is not hidden, not unfelt, not unobserved.  We do not 
believe that the dew, when it falls, cannot be felt, or that where there 
is life in a man it cannot be seen and observed by his breath.  So is it 
with the influence of the Holy Spirit.  No man has any right to lay claim 
to it, except its fruits, its experimental effects, can be seen in his 
life.  Where He is, there will ever be a new creation, and a new man.  
Where He is, there will ever be new knowledge, new faith, new holiness, 
new fruits in the life, in the family, in the world, in the Church.  And 
where these new things are not to be seen we may well say, with 
confidence, there is no work of the Holy Spirit.  These are times in 
which we all need to be on our guard about the doctrine of the work of 
the Spirit.  Madame Guyon said, long ago, that the time would perhaps 
come when men might have to be martyrs for the work of the Holy Spirit.  
That time seems not far distant.  At any rate, if there is one truth in 
religion that seems to have more contempt showered upon it than another, 
it is the work of the Spirit.

I desire to impress the immense importance of these four points upon all 
who read this paper: 

(a) clear views of the sinfulness of human nature. 

(b) clear views of the inspiration of Scripture.

(c) clear views of the Atonement and Priestly office of our Lord and 
Savior Jesus Christ.

(d) clear views of the work of the Holy Spirit.  

I believe that strange doctrines about the Church, the ministry, and the 
Sacraments, about the love of God, the death of Christ, and the eternity 
of punishment, will find no foothold in the heart which is sound on these 
four points.  I believe that they are four great safeguards against the 
yeast of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

I will now conclude this paper with a few remarks by way of practical 
application.  My desire is to make the whole subject useful to those into 
whose hands these pages may fall, and to supply an answer to the 
questions which may possibly arise in some hearts.  What are we to do? 
What advice have you got to offer for these times?

(1) In the first place, I will ask every reader of this paper to find out 
whether he has "saving personal religion for his own soul."  This is the 
principal thing after all.  It will profit no man to belong to a sound 
visible Church, if he does not himself belong to Christ.  It will avail a 
man nothing to be intellectually sound in the faith, and to approve sound 
doctrine, if he is not himself sound at heart.  Is this the case with 
you?  Can you say that your heart is right in the sight of God?  Is it 
renewed by the Holy Spirit?  Does Christ dwell in it by faith?  O, rest 
not, rest not, till you can give a satisfactory answer to these 
questions!  The man who dies unconverted, however sound his views, is as 
truly lost forever as the worst Pharisee or Sadducee that ever lived.

(2) In the next place, let me entreat every reader of this paper who 
desires to be sound in the faith, to study diligently the Bible.  That 
blessed book is given to be a light to our feet, and a lantern to our 
path.  No man who reads it reverently, prayerfully, humbly, and 
regularly, shall ever be allowed to miss the way to heaven.  By it every 
sermon, and every religious book, and every ministry ought to be weighed 
and proved.  

Would you know what is truth?  Do you feel confused and puzzled by the 
war of words which you hear on every side about religion?  Do you want to 
know what you ought to believe, and what you ought to be and do, in order 
to be saved?  Take down your Bible, and cease listening to man.  Read 
your Bible with earnest prayer for the teaching of the Holy Spirit; read 
it with honest determination to abide by its lessons.  Do so steadily and 
perseveringly, and you shall see light: you shall be kept from the yeast 
of the Pharisees and Sadducees, and be guided to eternal life.  The way 
to do a thing is to do it.  Act upon this advice without delay.

(3) In the next place, let me advise every reader of this paper who has 
reason to hope that he is sound in faith and heart, to "take heed to the 
proportion of truths."  I mean by that to impress the importance of 
giving each truth of Christianity the same place and position in our 
hearts which is given to it in God's Word.  The first things must not be 
put second, and the second things must not be put first in our religion.  
The Church must not be put above Christ.  Ministers must not be exalted 
above the place assigned to them by Christ; means of grace must not be 
regarded as an end instead of a means.  Attention to this point is of 
great moment: the mistakes which arise from neglecting it are neither few 
nor small.  Here lies the immense importance of studying the whole Word 
of God, omitting nothing, and avoiding partiality in reading one part 
more than another.  Here again lies the value of having a clear system of 
Christianity in our minds.  

(4) In the next place, let me entreat every true hearted servant of 
Christ "not to be deceived by the superficial disguise" under which false 
doctrines often approach our souls in the present day.  Beware of 
supposing that a teacher of religion is to be trusted, because although 
he holds some unsound views, he yet "teaches a great deal of truth."  Such 
a teacher is precisely the man to do you harm: poison is always most 
dangerous when it is given in small doses and mixed with wholesome food.  
Beware of being taken in by the apparent earnestness of many of the 
teachers and upholders of false doctrine.  Remember that zeal and 
sincerity and fervor are no proof whatever that a man is working for 
Christ, and ought to be believed.  

Peter no doubt was in earnest when he told our Lord to spare Himself, and 
not go to the cross; yet our Lord said to him, "Get behind Me, Satan."  
Saul no doubt was in earnest when he went to and fro persecuting 
Christians; yet he did it ignorantly, and his zeal was not according to 
knowledge.  The founders of the Spanish Inquisition no doubt were in 
earnest, and in burning God's saints alive thought they were doing God 
service; yet they were actually persecuting Christ's members and walking 
in the steps of Cain.  It is an awful fact that, "Satan himself 
masquerades as an angel of light" (2 Corinthians 11:14).  Of all the 
delusions prevalent in these latter days, there is none greater than the 
common notion that "if a man is in serious about his religion he must be 
a good man!"  Beware of being carried away by this delusion; beware of 
being led astray by "serious-minded men!"  Seriousness is in itself an 
excellent thing; but it must be seriousness in behalf of Christ and His 
whole truth, or else it is worth nothing at all.  The things that are 
highly esteemed among men are often abominable in the sight of God.

(5) In the next place, let me counsel every true servant of Christ to 
"examine his own heart" frequently and carefully as to his state before 
God.  This is a practice which is useful at all times: it is especially 
desirable at the present day.  When the great plague of London was at its 
height people remarked the least symptoms that appeared on their bodies 
in a way that they never remarked them before.  A spot here, or a spot 
there, which in time of health men thought nothing of, received close 
attention when the plague was decimating families, and striking down one 
after another!  So it ought to be with ourselves, in the times in which 
we live.  We ought to watch our hearts with double watchfulness.  We 
ought to give more time to meditation, self-examination, and reflection.  
It is a hurrying, bustling age: if we would be kept from falling, we must 
make time for being frequently alone with God.

(6) Last of all, let me urge all true believers "to contend for the faith 
that was once for all entrusted to the saints."  We have no cause to be 
ashamed of that faith.  I am firmly persuaded that there is no system so 
life-giving, so calculated to awaken the sleeping, lead on the inquiring, 
and build up the saints, as that system which is called the Evangelical 
system of Christianity.  Wherever it is faithfully preached, and 
efficiently carried out, and consistently adorned by the lives of its 
professors, it is the power of God.  It may be spoken against and mocked 
by some; but so it was in the days of the Apostles.  It may be weakly set 
forth and defended by many of its advocates; but, after all, its fruits 
and its results are its highest praise.  No other system of religion can 
point to such fruits.  Nowhere are so many souls converted to God as in 
those congregations where the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached in all 
its fullness, without any mixture of the Pharisee or Sadducee doctrine.  
We are not called upon, beyond all doubt, to be nothing but 
controversialists; but we never ought to be ashamed to testify to the 
truth as it is in Jesus, and to stand up boldly for Evangelical religion.  
We have the truth, and we need not be afraid to say so.  The judgment-day 
will prove who is right, and to that day we may boldly appeal.

Transcribed by
Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
Box 314
Columbus, New Jersey, USA, 08022
Website: www.biblebb.com
Email: tony@biblebb.com
Online since 1986