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12 Steps for the Recovering Pharisee (like me)

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The single greatest pleasure of a Pharisee is to judge other people. A Pharisee devises rules that make himself look better than others, while others are unaware of what the rules are, and wouldn't care if they did know. The Pharisee makes righteousness attainable by good works that only a select few are able to accomplish. Pharisees forget that Jesus blew that whole concept out of the water by making observation of the Law totally unattainable, thereby opening the door for all by grace, a concept the Pharisee thinks is unfair.

If you struggle with Pharasaism, which puts you among the great Christian majority, don't miss this book. It's like looking into a mirror (at least it was for me), and it uses a somewhat tongue-in-cheek 12-step model for recovery from this spiritually deadly disease. When we realize that we truly are sinners, both pre- and post-conversion, and that the only way we can make it is by the grace and mercy of God, we will be quicker to show grace and mercy to others, and we will come a lot closer to rid ourselves of the judgementalism that keeps us looking down on those we deem spiritually inferior to ourselves. Another great book, like several I have read lately, that is hard to find at your local Christian bookstore unless you are looking for it. In fact, with the lack of the hype that is enjoyed by such bland offerings as the "Left Behind" series, you might not know this book even exists. Well, if you are reading this review, now you do. So order a copy today!

Do you look at the title and hesitate for a moment thinking, "well, i'm not really a PHARASIEE?" If so, get this book. I got it because Brennan Manning recommended it, thinking, "well, this isn't my kind of book because I'm not one of these people," and whoa, was I convicted. Read it, learn it, inhale it, consume it. Trust me, you'll be a much better person after devouring these 170+ pages. I know because I now am. :)

We modern-day Pharisees won't buy books that tell us we're worse than we think. In this case, I hope I'm wrong. In fact, I'm adding the book to my prayer list, to pray for its success. We evangelicals believe our righteousness BEFORE regeneration was filthy rags, but that our righteousness SINCE becoming a Christian, is not too bad. It's ALL dung. There's nothing that any of us have ever done simply and ONLY because we love Jesus. The more we understand how rotten we are NOW, the more precious Jesus is to us NOW. He who has been forgiven little, loves little. The watching world knows only too well what poor lovers-of-others we are, especially of those who are very different from ME. Is it any wonder then, that the Church is so dismissed today? About as effective in reaching the lost as the Pharisees were in their day. We need Fischer's message if we are to be EFFECTIVE at what Jesus has called us to do.

I have not been this excited about a book in a long, long time. And it couldn't have come at a better time for the Body of Christ. We are living in an "us vs. them" world. This is the typical Pharisee's philosophy: we are right; they are wrong. John Fischer beautifully explains how antithetical this is to true faith. If we take the time to look closely at our own sin (there isn't enough time!), we will quickly realize that we don't have a judgmental leg to stand on, no fingers with which to point because they are all pointing at ourselves. Then and only then can we receive mercy from the King of Mercy, and then extend that same mercy to others who are wandering about in the darkness of their sin just like we are.

This is not your run-of-the mill Christian "How To" book. In fact, it is the complete opposite since the basic thrust of Fischer's words is that we should not be seeking perfection, (since it can't be obtained anyway). We can't change ourselves -- or others. Only Christ can.

John Fischer is a honest-till-it-hurts kinda writer. He asks the questions no-one else wants to ask or hear. That's why this book is a must read. John helps us to look honestly into the mirror and recognise the 'pharisee'.

Cleverly using the steps of AA, but changing it to fit a new context, makes for fascinating reading. This isn't a how-to book. This is a thought-provoking look into the mirror. Healing and recovery begins by admitting: "I'm a Pharisee, please help."

This book is a welcome addition to Fischer's collection of challenging and thought-provoking books.

"Hi, i'm Francois, i'm a recovering Pharisee."

In a day when many Christians are so concerned with the moral state of the world around them, John Fischer provides us a wakeup call: the problem isn't others, it is each of us. He speaks about the dangers of spiritual pride, when we hold others (as well as ourselves) to impossible spiritual and moral standards--and when we condemn those who fail to measure up. The examples Fischer uses range from in-depth examination of biblical stories to the sometimes painful reality of his personal experiences. For this book is, in the end, not about something about which he wishes to convict us; rather, it is about something the Lord has been busy dealing with in the life of John Fischer. As I read, I also saw myself here--recognizing how far I, as a "recovering Pharisee," have come in certain areas, and being humbled to see how little progress I have made in many others. This is a necessary book for today, much in the same urgent vein as Dietrich Bonhoeffer's THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP. It breaks apart our carefully constructed spiritual masks and opens us to the truth about ourselves. And that truth--which is indeed God's perspective on our lives--will set us free. . . .

I highly recommend this book for all of us either caught up in or trying desperately to shed a life of thinking that keeping all the rules and regulations of our own making or the rules of our church leadership equals spirituality, growth and the smiling, accepting nod of God our way.

We pharisees love to judge others as 'worldly' or 'backslidden' when they don't measure up to our self-made rules. We look down our noses in arrogance and disdain for those not as committed 'to the work' as us.

We're a sad little lot of legalists, all the while thinking we're keeping the 'standards of the faith' and being the 'pillars of the local church' but in reality receiving the just and stinging rebukes of the Lord Jesus Christ. May we learn to be more like Jesus, less like the Pharisee (like me).

The essence of this book boils down to being humble, merciful, thankful, and dependent upon the righteousness of Christ. Once one embraces these principles, one is well on the way to becoming a recovering Pharisee.

My main issue with the contents of this book is its attitude towards living a victorious Christian life. The author SEEMS to teach the common bumper-sticker theology of "The only difference between me and an unbeliever is I am forgiven." He seems to resign his audience to the fact that we must always continue to sin. He states very bluntly on p. 95 "although not sinning is not possible, we choose to perpetuate the false belief that it is, rather than face the truth." Frankly, this just flies in the face of Romans 8, especially Romans 8:12 that says "we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh." We as believers do not have to continue on living in sin. We are not at all obligated to fulfill the desires of the flesh.

We have been given victory through the power of the resurrected Christ to live according to the desires of the Spirit instead of the flesh. Does such a state make us any less in need of the grace and mercy of God? The author seems to think so. Quite the contrary, had we just sinned only once in our entire life, and we all have, then we would still be dependent upon the grace and mercy of God to live our lives should we ever repent and "go and sin no more". We don't have to continue on sinning so that we can continue to receive mercy. A believer who is living in victory over sin is just as dependent upon the grace of God as is the Christian who is struggling with some sins.

Anyway, I'm not attempting to preach a sermon, this is just a book review. Despite what I believe to be the major fault of this book, I believe that there is still much to be gleaned from the pages of this book. The pages of this book has caused me to appreciate even more the mercy of God that has been shown to me, and the willingness to demonstrate this mercy to others.

This book is great at demonstrating that we can all be judgemental at times. John Fischer tells personal stories that are very vulnerable and hit close to home. It is very encouraging and convicting to think about loving like Jesus does rather than picking apart anyone who is different. He uses the 12-step recovery model to show that it takes some real effort and honest self-evalutation to move from being a person who lives to do everything "right" to a person who is forgiven and ready to give grace and love to others instead.

Sometimes Christians (like me) begin adding things onto the gospel message. We believe that God can work only if He follows our guide lines. That souls can be saved only by following our steps to salvation. We tack these rules we make up onto other areas of the Christian life as well. In "12 Steps for the Recovering Pharisee (like me)", John Fischer offers both help and hope for those of us inclined to behave in the same fashion as the Pharisees in Jesus' day. This is a MUST read book! It has made a tremendous impact and difference in my life!