Overzealous
faith has a dark side. And sometimes Christians, despite best
intentions, end up pursuing an overzealous model of faith that ends
up sabotaging the work of the Lord. (17)
The
zeal is not the problem. We are to be zealous for the Lord. “The
problem is unaligned spiritual passion, a zeal for the Lord that
fails to line up with the totality of Scripture.” (18)
Accidental
Pharisees don't set out to be that way. They just end up there.
Osborne
begins by looking at what a Pharisee is and what it means to be one.
Then he investigates how one becomes a Pharisee, identifying the
early warning signs, becoming confident in one's own righteousness
and looking down on others. He also offers techniques for parents and
spiritual leaders to make sure they do not foster that Pharisaical
dark side.
He
turns some of the current buzz words (such as radical, missional, New
Testament Christianity) on their heads. He brings reality to those
concepts.
Using
Joseph of Arimathea as an example, Osborne wonders if any of us has
the absolute devotion we think we do, even those “who trumpet such
devotion as the only acceptable mark of genuine discipleship.” (36)
He
tackles seven issues:
Pride
(when comparison becomes arrogance)
Exclusivity
(keeping the riffraff out)
Legalism
(Pharisees love a litmus test)
Idolizing
the past (blind to the beauty of the present)
Uniformity
(it's not biblical unity)
Gift
projection (everyone should be called as I am)
There
are discussion questions for each of the seven sections. This book
would make a great choice for a small group of a Sunday School class.
Beware.
You are bound to find your self in this book. I did.
I
think just about every Christian will find some correction in this
book too.
Are
you a “jerk for Jesus”? Read this book!
Larry
Osborne is a teaching pastor at North Coast Church in northern San
Diego County. Osborne speaks extensively on leadership and spiritual
formation. He has written several books. He and his wife live in
Oceanside, California. Find out more at http://larryosbornelive.com/.
Zondervan,
197 pages
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