Beware of Modern Sadducees

The point: Take heed and beware of the leaven (teaching) of contemporary Sadducees.

Describes the Sadducees' flat denial that bodies eaten by beasts or disintegrated in tombs would ever be resurrected, highlighting their rationalistic rejection of the supernatural.

They that say resurrection. Now in language that cannot be misunderstood, it was one of the outstanding things, one of the most important religious tenets of the Sadducees, that the notion that the bodies of dead men that go into the graves, that are eaten by the wild beasts, that are eaten by sharks in the sea, or that disintegrate in their tombs, would ever be resurrected, reconstituted by the power of God at the last day. Flatly denied that any such experience awaited mankind in the future. There is no resurrection. Now the secular historian Josephus affirms that the Sadducees also denied t...

9:28 - 10:55 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: He poses the first question: 'What were the dominant religious principles and practices of the Sadducees according to Scripture?' and answers by detailing their denial of the…

Paul's appearance before the Sanhedrin is recounted, where he strategically mentions the resurrection, causing a 'free-for-all' between the Pharisees and Sadducees, illustrating their deep doctrinal divisions.

parenthesis, which is close conjunction between the high priest and those that are closely associated with him, namely the sect of the Sadducees. And once again, when we go outside of the pages of Scripture, there is some very formation found, again in Josephus, the Jewish, historian, that indeed the whole priestly class was controlled by and perpetuated within the framework of the Sadducees. But we cannot go that far. We can go as far as Scripture allows us to go in saying that they were closely allied with, if not the dominant element in the priestly class. And then the fourth thing we know,...

13:15 - 14:31 Read in full sermon

Driving home: This is the benchmark. This is the standing kick of religious liberalism. It treats cynicism and unbelief everything that is distinctly supernatural in the Bible.

Compares the Sadducees' rejection of anything not 'reasonable' or empirically provable to the 'canons of the religion of a Sadducee,' which forbid accepting tenets of faith outside observation and scientific method.

A rejection of any tradition as authoritative. But remember, the Sadducees rejected the traditionalism of the Pharisees. And yet, a religion with its scripture tradition that is shot through rationalism and clericalism. You see, the basic working principle in the so-called theology of liberalism, though I hate to prostitute the word theology by even using it in conjunction with liberalism, but the basic working principle is, if it is not reasonable, it is not feasible. If it is not reasonable, and what they mean by reasonable is this, if it does not meet of what to be reasonable, then it is no...

20:40 - 22:07 Read in full sermon

Driving home: This is the benchmark. This is the standing kick of religious liberalism. It treats cynicism and unbelief everything that is distinctly supernatural in the Bible.

Details how religious liberalism treats biblical supernaturalism with 'sneers' and 'open laughter,' from the historicity of Adam and Eve, to the speaking serpent, Old Testament miracles, the virgin birth, Christ's miracles, substitutionary atonement, bodily resurrection, and a literal hell.

The opening words of the Bible are done with a sneer. The historicity of Adam and Eve is looked upon with an even greater sneer. And then if one should indicate that he actually believes that there was a creature made by God called a serpent that actually spoke and became the mouthpiece of the devil, and there was a real temptation and a real truth resulting in a real fall, by now the sneer has turned into open laughter unless social politeness restrains the laughter outwardly. And right through the Old Testament, the miracle of a parted sea and a parted Jordan River, the miracle of manna from...

23:54 - 25:22 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin addresses the second question: 'What is the most obvious pervasive manifestation of these principles and practices in our day?' He identifies it as religious liberalism…

Cites Robert Schuller's 'New Reformation' and his book on the Beatitudes as an example of modern Sadduceeism, psychologizing biblical truth with humanistic thought, replacing supernaturalism with human psychology.

Proclamation of an infallible word from God deposited in the Bible. He must replace indoctrination and evangelism based on religion. He's concerned psychologically comfortable since he does not believe in the doctrine of the fall of man and the totality of man's depravity and the redemptive realities of a supernatural savior providing a supernatural salvation applied by a supernatural agency the work of the Holy Ghost. ...religion, that is human psychology dressed up in religious terminology.

30:05 - 30:59 Read in full sermon

The point: Beware of your spirit moving from humble, believing submission to all that God has said.

A vivid imaginative scenario of a Sadducee named 'A.B. Sadducee' being resurrected and facing judgment, experiencing the very realities (resurrection, judgment, hell, immortality of the soul) he denied, to illustrate the ultimate futility of unbelief.

The text of scripture says, they say, the day of our, the shout, the voice of the archangel, the trumpet all coalesce. And the dead are called out of their graves. Can you imagine the shock upon Aby's countenance? When raised from the dead, he mumbles as he comes out of his tomb.

38:21 - 38:57 Read in full sermon

The point: Remember that denominations and schools that once bristled with biblical supernaturalism have fallen into Sadduceeism by doubting core doctrines.

Compares questioning the 'outer perimeters' of Christian faith to cutting off an ear from a living organism, warning that it won't be long before a knife is stuck in the heart, illustrating the slippery slope of doctrinal compromise.

the first few chapters of Genesis, when, and when you begin, questioning what seem to be, the outer perimeters of the Christian faith, saying, they can be relinquished, without relinquishing the heart, I remind you, Almighty God, who revealed the Christian faith, put the heart, the soul, the ears, and the last piece of hair, all together, as one living organism, and you start cutting off the ear, and it won't be long before you'll stick a knife in the heart, and if we could resurrect today, men who lived in the 19th century, who began to flirt with the German Rations, and took over the schools...

46:34 - 47:32 Read in full sermon

The point: Be discerning when someone begins to question seemingly 'perimeter' aspects of the Christian faith, even while professing love for Christ.

Recalls how 19th-century theologians who flirted with German rationalism predicted their denominations would become 'societies of Sadducees' within a hundred years, illustrating the historical fulfillment of this warning.

and many of the leading young theologians were sent there, for their advanced theological training, and came back, and for so-called its, of higher criticism, you of them announced to the world, if my principles are adopted in a hundred years, the denomination of which I am apart, will be nothing but a society of Sadducees, but that's exactly what's happened, exactly what's happened, and you mark my word, , and mark my word, If the time ever comes when this pulpit or anyone made to replace it, if we knock it to pieces,

47:33 - 48:17 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Based on Jesus' words, Martin identifies the two great preservatives: a growing, comprehensive acquaintance with the whole Bible and an experiential acquaintance with the mighty…

To illustrate God's power, Martin states that if God can recreate a sin-loving heart into one that loves righteousness, then 'what's the big deal' for Him to open His mouth and spill out a few galaxies.

Of the problem with Genesis. In the beginning, God created the world. Because if Almighty God could recreate a heart that natively loved sin like mine did and make it a heart that loves righteousness and loves Christ whom I've never seen and am prepared to live opens his mouth and spills out a few galaxies.

54:11 - 54:44 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Based on Jesus' words, Martin identifies the two great preservatives: a growing, comprehensive acquaintance with the whole Bible and an experiential acquaintance with the mighty…

To counter the Sadducee's doubt about resurrection, Martin asserts that if God made all atoms, He can track them for a billion years and recall them all in a moment without effort, illustrating God's omnipotence.

The resurrection of the body. But when you gather together the atoms of a body that have become part of someone's toenail. Listen, my friend. What kind of God are you talking about?

55:10 - 55:21 Read in full sermon

The point: Engage in constant, honest, earnest, comprehensive interaction with the whole Bible as the greatest preservative against Sadduceeism.

Martin shares his personal experience as a preacher struggling with difficult passages, praying for God to reveal their edifying use, illustrating the commitment to expository preaching even when challenging.

Why do we have to be in touch with the Bible? Why do we have to have consecutive expository preaching? You think that's easy for us as preachers? Many a time we come to a passage and say, oh, vices, they sit on the shelf for years and you don't use them.

57:01 - 57:21 Read in full sermon