You Tube Theology

And the heart of the Pharisee's problem was this. He didn't know what God is like. He didn't perceive the true nature of God's glory. So the glory of God's mercy and love had entirely escaped his notice. Think of the Pharisee standing there in the temple in the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. The Pharisee doesn't even seem to be aware there is such a thing as mercy. Just, "I thank you God, I'm not like other men." So, "You deal with me according to my desserts, and that's how I'll deal with other people too." No mercy. In other words, the Pharisee's real problem was with the nature and character of God. He thought God was a merciless being. For whom holiness was a superficial show. His God was at best a conditionally loving God. And so, you become like what you worship. He became a conditionally loving man. And so it must be for all who are like the Pharisees. They don't love God. They don't find satisfaction in him. They don't see his mercy. But they become like the God they imagine in heaven. Close-fisted, ungenerous, merciless.