An Open Door? Today's Three-minute Bible Study Print, Study and Apply Title: An Open Door?-------------------------------- Date: 9/21/2000 Keywords: "hypocrite" "kingdom" Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation. Passage: Matthew 23:13, 15* 13. "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to." 15. "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are." Questions 1. Who are the teachers of the law and Pharisees?   2. Do they have any counterparts in today's Church?   3. Did Jesus think very highly of the religious leaders of his day?   4. What was their mistake?   Practical help If you've put off attending church or becoming a Christian on account of bad examples — such as the hypocrites criticized by Christ in the passage above — look to a different example. There is only one true model of life in the "kingdom of heaven," and that is Jesus. Look only to him for your example. Since there are many modern examples of the woeful Pharisees in today's Church, there are also plenty of Christians who have fallen into the clutches of pornography. The statistics suggest a shameful, horrible truth that many of those who stand up and preach the Gospel on Sunday mornings then go off to their studies and switch on the Internet for an evening of perverted "relaxation." Knowing this can be both a discouragement and an encouragement: discouragement that Satan still has such a choking grip on men and women as they try to be Godly, and encouragement that you're not alone. The struggles you face as you try to live a "clean" life are struggles shared by all of us, and yes, temptations faced by Jesus himself. If you're afraid to go into a Church because nobody there understands your issues, think again. eXXit homepage Index of three-minute studies Copyright 2000 by eXXit *Scriptures are from The Holy Bible: New International Version, © copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. All rights reserved.