Pharisees Imagine That God Is Their Father When Actually Satan Is Their Father
The Pharisees imagined God was their father, but in reality, Satan was their father, and this false identity led to their characteristics and actions.
Zac Poonen delivers a powerful sermon on the importance of truly knowing God as our Father through our love for Jesus. He highlights how Jesus confronted the Pharisees, revealing that their true father was the devil due to their accusatory and condemning nature. Poonen emphasizes the need for Christians to bear fruit in their lives as evidence of their relationship with God, cautioning against mere lip service without genuine transformation. He challenges church leaders to prioritize truth over reputation and to earnestly seek the salvation of souls to avoid the weight of unconverted hearts on their hands.
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Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love Me....ou are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father" (John 8:42, 44).
Jesus told the Pharisees to their faces that their father was the devil. Some preachers believe that no human being is a child of the devil. But Jesus stated otherwise; and He knew the truth about this better than any of us do. Those Pharisees imagined that God was their father, when in fact Satan was their father. It is the same with Pharisees today. Children manifest the nature of their father; and Pharisees are "accusers of the brothers", like their father the devil. It is simply amazing that so many "Christians" keep on accusing and condemning other believers and yet don't seem to realise that these are the characteristics of Satan. So he must be their father! How can such people imagine that their father is God? That is total blindness! The Pharisees in the first century didn't believe what Jesus told them. And today's Pharisees don't believe it either.
I have sometimes told people who have attended our church for many years that I did not feel that they knew the Lord, despite their having repeated the words, "Lord Jesus, come into my heart" at some time in the past - because I did not see any fruit in their lives that indicated that they knew the Lord. Many church leaders are not faithful (like Jesus was) to tell people the truth. They are more interested in their own reputation than in saving people from hell. Thus the blood of those unconverted people is on the hands of such leaders.
Sermon Outline
- The Pharisees' False Father
- Characteristics of the Pharisees' Father
- Consequences of False Leadership
- Unconverted people are not saved
- Leaders' reputation over people's souls
Key Quotes
“You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father” — Zac Poonen
“Children manifest the nature of their father” — Zac Poonen
“That is total blindness!” — Zac Poonen
Application Points
- We must examine our own hearts and actions to see if we are manifesting the nature of Satan or the nature of God.
- Church leaders have a responsibility to tell people the truth and save them from hell, not to prioritize their own reputation.
- The fruit of knowing the Lord is evident in a person's life, such as love, kindness, and humility.