Sadducees, A Warning!!!

Sadducees, A Warning!!!

by Heather Collver

It's not always safe to take what you hear as truth without first checking it with God's Word. Has there ever been a time when you have heard a spiritual leader say something that just didn't align with The Word? It is important to know the truth yourself as every leader has their own perspective on things, even me.

Matthew 16:5-12 (Amplified Bible)
5When the disciples reached the other side of the sea, they found that they had forgotten to bring any bread.
6Jesus said to them, Be careful and on your guard against the leaven (ferment) of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
7And they reasoned among themselves about it, saying, It is because we did not bring any bread.
8But Jesus, aware of this, asked, Why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? O you [men, how little trust you have in Me, how] little faith!
9Do you not yet discern (perceive and understand)? Do you not remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many [[a]small hand] baskets you gathered?
10Nor the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many [[b]large provision] baskets you took up?
11How is it that you fail to understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But beware of the leaven (ferment) of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
12Then they discerned that He did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.


Sadducees were the spiritual leaders of the time, they were the High Council and Jesus warned his disciples of their teachings. Their Doctrine was in the way of the Truth.

Many people ask me what denomination I am, or where I worship. They mainly want to know what I am. It is crazy, since I never became a Christian because of any certain religion or doctrine. I recognized a relationship that was void in my life and I wanted it, I needed to know my creator, so I discovered Him through reading His Word and worshipping with other fellow believers. I am not defined by the denomination that my church falls under. Thank God that our church has a good mix of spiritual leaders, all which stress the importance of a personal relationship with our creator. We have Nazarene, Catholic, Church of Christ, Baptist and other influences in the teaching, but the truth is only what aligns with the Word of God.

So be careful, in any religion, doctrine or gathering, not everyone tells the truth. It is so fun to listen to other perspectives and I have learned a great deal about things by being open to listening to opinion, it has strengthened my faith as I spend those moments checking what my Lord says about certain things in His Word.

Where did the Sadducees fall short, what were they teaching that was so wrong that God warned the others about them? They didn't believe Jesus was the Son of God and they didn't believe in Resurrection. That's a start and I think pretty much enough information to see that they were not teaching truth.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFURxgaLxEE&feature=related

Dear Lord, thank you for those who choose to serve you through spiritual teaching. What a HUGE job for them to teach the truth according to your word. At times it is overwhelming to think that there are just as many people teaching your truth as those who are teaching lies. I ask Lord as you prepare the way for us, that we will not get caught up in other's teachings and that we would have discernment to know what is right. May our relationship with you be so deep that we know when others are leading us astray, let us teach others according to your word as well, always speak truth through me, especially in this devotional, do whatever it takes to get my attention if I have the wrong idea about a certain subject. I love you and praise you for your Word, our guide, Your Spirit, our guide. Amazing.

Sadducees, The unbelief.

Sadducees, The Unbelief
by Heather Collver

Can you actually believe in God and not Jesus? Can only part of the Bible be true? Have you ever read something that contradicts itself in the Bible? Which is more important to you: a right relationship with God through Jesus Christ or a religion? Is believing in a resurrection really all that important?

Sadducees: Jewish religious leaders. One of the two major parties of the Jewish High Council.

The Sadducees believed only the Pentateuch alone (Genesis - Deuteronomy) to be God's Word. This party of religious leaders descended mostly from priestly nobility. John the Baptist criticized this group of leaders for using religion to advance their political position.

Matthew 3:7 But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming to watch him baptize,[a] he denounced them. “You brood of snakes!” he exclaimed. “Who warned you to flee God’s coming wrath? 8 Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. 9 Don’t just say to each other, ‘We’re safe, for we are descendants of Abraham.’ That means nothing, for I tell you, God can create children of Abraham from these very stones. 10 Even now the ax of God’s judgment is poised, ready to sever the roots of the trees. Yes, every tree that does not produce good fruit will be chopped down and thrown into the fire.

The Sadducees were a lot like I was before I accepted the Word of God. They thought that they could pick and choose what was God's Word and that if they were good, then that was all that mattered. How can we know God's word and be fruitless? It happens all the time. Something gets in the way. Either an alternative motive or we truly don't believe. God changes us by his word, he transforms our lifeless limbs to fruitfulness. When the Sadducees came to be baptized it was more for show. They did not really believe in the coming wrath of God, nor did they care. Their outward appearance was more important.

Has there ever been a time when you have used your religious standing to gain more power, advance your political position, or to seem like someone you are not?

Check out this video clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl40wVuCJUA

Dear Lord, I praise you for your Word today. I find the peace that I need when reading it, but feel called to action at the same time. You are the King of all Kings and deserve our praise today. I am reminded of what you went through, the persecution, to save us from our own selves. You have to know each of us by name to do that. To willingly give up your life as our ultimate sacrifice. What an amazing gift. I only pray that I will be fruitful, a sweet aroma to you. Praise God. Amen.

Please pray with me today for those who have not yet heard the Word of God. Who have no idea that we are loved beyond our circumstances, that we can serve a mighty and powerful God who will part the seas for us, who sacrificed his own son on our behalf so that he could spend eternity with us.