Welcome back to the podcast. Well, coming up soon, I believe on Wednesday of next week,

as we read the Bible together, and we read the first section of Matthew 23 where Jesus confronts the religious rulers of his day and to anticipate that

text which is itself loaded with a full days worth of reflection.

We have a cluster of thoughts and questions

from a listener named Jim who lives just outside of Nashville.

Pastor John, hello to you,

I'm a bivocational elder in some time preacher at my little church, Jim

writes.

I have always been drawn to Jesus's words about the Pharisees in Matthew 23 verses 1 to 5.

The text is instructive to me about preaching and personal holiness.

It seems to suggest at least four things.

One, hypocrites can preach truth.

Jesus says of these Pharisees that they are truth-tellers,

therefore observe whatever they tell you, verse 3. That line is startling.

There's an obligation to obey the truth of what they get right even though

they, the Pharisees, are hypocrites. Does that hold true today, irrespective of

whether we know a preacher is truly obedient and private, we receive the truth of their preached words.

It also seems to apply to men who are later disqualified for sin and people are left wondering about all the truth that they learn from

that preacher over the years. So one, number two it seems to speak to a

preacher's assurance it suggests that preachers who preach truth well do not find in that

homiletical skill the grounds of their personal assurance if their private life does not

measure up.

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