Book Recommendation: Evangelical Pharisees by Michael Reeves
Michael Reeves (PhD, King’s College, London) is president and professor of theology at Union School of Theology in Bridgend and Oxford, United Kingdom. He is the author of several books, including Delighting in the Trinity; Rejoice and Tremble; and Gospel People.
Reeves wrote Evangelical Pharisees to further explain Gospel People which is another great and helpful book he authored with the similar aim to move the evangelical church away from hypocrisy to true reformation. Reeves divides Evangelical Pharisees into five chapters: (1) Beware of the Leaven (2) Pharisees and Revelation, (3) Pharisees and Redemption, (4) Pharisees and Regeneration, and (5) Pharisees and God. In his words, Reeves wants to answer this question: “What is the most urgent need of the church today?” He argues that more than focusing on better leadership, better training, healthier giving, orthodoxy, and mere moral integrity, we must focus on “gospel integrity.” In other words, the gospel is not only given for salvation, but also for how we continue to live our Christian life inside and outside the local church.
This book calls for self-examination, and I was both convicted and challenged in my understanding of hypocrisy. Reeves defines hypocrisy as a “lack of integrity” in both head and heart. This means that we must be transformed both on the inside and on the outside. As Jesus said, someone can look good outwardly but inwardly be a whitewashed tomb (Matt 23:25-28). The goal of this book is to show from Scripture that hypocrisy is a theological issue, not merely a personal issue. Reeves is insightful regarding the Pharisees when he states,
they were and acted as they did because they denied the gospel. Their mercilessness, love of applause, and trust in themselves all flowed from a refusal to listen to Scripture, a refusal to receive a righteousness not their own, and a refusal to see their need for a new heart.
The pattern Reeves uses to treat this sickness of Pharisaism is built on the doctrine of the Trinity—the Father’s revelation in the Bible, the Son’s redemption in the gospel, and the Spirit’s regeneration of the heart. Hence, the transformation must begin within the heart and wrought through the powerful gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Reeves speaks of the “The 3 Essential R’s of the Gospel—revelation, redemption, and regeneration.” Both the Pharisees and many teachers in our day fail to teach these truths without compromise in light of the whole counsel of God.
Reeves is a clear and persuasive writer who grounds his points in God’s Word. For this reason, it is difficult to challenge his arguments. He notes how Jesus warned his hearers to beware of the “leaven of the Pharisees”—that is hypocrisy. He states that hypocrisy is like a “hidden cancer,” and by its very nature it is “pretense and makes it hard to detect.” Reeves also quotes many sound Reformed preachers (such as Spurgeon, Luther, Edwards, Calvin, etc.) in order to undergird his arguments with the voices of history.
For example, Spurgeon notes that a hypocrite is to the “common observer…so good a counterfeit that he entirely escapes suspicion.” I would agree with Spurgeon that this ‘hidden cancer’ is spread deep and wide in many churches of our day. Perhaps on the outside, many professing Christians are smiling and saying that they are doing great, but on the inside these same people are steeped in hypocrisy, pride, idolatry, lawlessness, and legalism. Hence, just like Jesus calls the church to repent in Revelation 3 for losing their first love—we have the same mandate as pastors to call our people back from hypocrisy and to make sure we are also living with integrity.
I am confident this book will be a helpful resource to many pastors and those aspiring to be in the ministry. I believe every true minister of the gospel must examine himself and truly fight for this “gospel integrity.” Yet, this little book is short and easy to understand, so I can recommend it to all Christians, not just pastors and professors. While Reeves’ excellent book Delighting in the Trinity provides rich insight into the nature of our Triune God, Evangelical Pharisees will also help Christians grow in their understanding of this vital doctrine and how it relates to the gospel.
Every book I read from Reeves is both theologically enriching and immensely practical. This book will be helpful for people to understand what their pastors must be about in their preaching and shepherding of the flock of God. Some churches call themselves Reformed and gospel-centered, but that does not mean that they are faithfully proclaiming the true gospel or living it out its implications in practice. I believe Evangelical Pharisees will be a great aid to help bring Reformation in every area of church life.
About the Author: Paul Ivan Ursol is a college and worship Pastor at Grace Bible Church of Fair Oaks, CA, and he also teaches theology at Grace Life Bible College in Eldoret & Wuebue in Kenya.