Self Righteousness
Isaiah 64:6-7For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment...
Proverbs 12:15
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel.
Proverbs 16:25 AND Proverbs 14:12
There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.
These last two verses are exactly the same which tells us something. I was taught by a pastor that if the Jews really wanted to get something across or wanted there to be emphasis, it would be repeated three times. There are at least two more verses that are similar in the Bible, therefore, it is a subject of great importance in the Bible.
Lets talk about the first verse:
This is what the Bible says our righteousness amounts to : a filthy garment. Filth to the nth degree. The farthest away from pure and clean one can possibly get. "Disgusting, throw in the garbage, don't want to deal with it" filth. This is the final word on what our righteousness amounts to. Can it, therefore, go without huge explanation that self righteousness is something to be avoided? The last three verses speaks to what happens when we follow a self righteousness path. Two verses says death and one says that is is the path of fools.
But what is self righteousness? I have 3 thoughts for you to consider.
1. Calling what is God's definition of sin, "not sin"
2. Calling what God does not consider sin, "sin"
3. Accepting God's standard of sin, but handling it apart from God.
An example of #1: Breaking any of God's commandments and then, in order to avert the pain of a guilty conscience, one justifies their actions by any number of excuses. A self righteous person will set up their own scale system so as to make ones sin seem less weighty. This is self righteousness. If you ask anyone in our culture, who isn't yet saved, if they are a good person they will inevitably say yes. However, we see from Romans that this is not the case. We are all sinners. We have all broken at least one commandment causing us to fall short of the standard that God set up. If you do not understand this point please read the prior blog.
Romans 3:12
All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one."
Basically, this example looks like a person who does not know Jesus personally or who chooses to skirt His Word entirely.
A simplistic but effective example of # 2: Some may say that a messy house is sinful. First of all lets see what the Bible says about this:
Titus 2:3-5
Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children,to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored.
And so older women are to be: reverent, not gossipers, not drunks and teachers of good things. Younger women are to: love their husbands, love their children, be sensible, be pure, workers at home, be kind, be subject or submissive to their husbands. This is all to be done so that the word of God is not dishonored.
If you would like please read Proverbs 31 because it is too long to quote here. This describes a woman who submits to her husband, clothes her family, provides food and nourishment for them.
There is nothing, that I can see, in either passage about messiness being sinful. Scripturally speaking, where would one find the definition of messy? Hmmm....good question. I don't think it is there...but am open to anyone who believes differently. Here's my defense. I have a friend who keeps an immaculate home. Mine seems messy in comparison to hers. I also a friend who keeps her house in a bit more disarray than mine. Who is to say which house is good and which house is bad? Could I fly to India, walk into the home of a godly Indian woman who has a dirt floor and declare her to be sinning because of her "messy" floor? I challenge you to look at the standards that you have set up for yourself and others.
Using this example, we can, hopefully, understand that making a standard that is not first determined by or through scripture could fall into the category of self righteousness. If one wanted to define what messy was for themselves....being not a life and death issue..... this would not fall into a self righteous category. But if I take my formula for messy and measure every one of my friends against it?....not gonna make happy friends am I? Sometimes the Bible gives no directive in an area. In that case, in order to avoid self righteousness, we too should remain neutral on the subject. Being a godly woman encompasses so much more than keeping a house clean, doesn't it? And being a Christian encompasses so much more than following a rule. Let's steer clear of setting up standards and keep to God's standards, shall we?
#3: We get our biggest example, scripturally, from the Pharisees. They knew the law, forward and backward. They considered themselves righteous concerning it. In other words; according to them, they knew it and they followed it. This is different from example #2 in that the Pharisees were actually attempting to follow God's canon.
If you would take the time to read John 8:1-11 as again I am short on space here. In this passage we see that a woman was caught in the act of adultery. Knowing that the law taught that anyone who was caught in this act was to be stoned to death, the Pharisee were sure they had trapped Jesus by asking him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act. Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?" But Jesus says to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Jesus perfectly reveals how sin is to be dealt with. Perhaps she did deserve to die. ENTER MERCY. Jesus was the only one that could have thrown the stone that condemned her and he would have been completely justified in so doing. Why? Because Jesus is perfect....sinless. Everybody there agreed that her action was indeed sinful. There was absolutely no debates between Jesus and the Pharisees on this point. Sin is sin and needs to be called what it is or else we fall into self righteousness #1. So what was wrong with what the Pharisees did? Why was Jesus always picking on them? Is it possible that they were trusting in their own human understanding of the law to carry out the law? Or if they understood the law, they carried out judgment in their own human deductions? Is it possible that they judged themselves righteous according to their own comprehension of God's ways? And not only this but took all the credit for such action (not that it looked good or was good to anyone else)....causing none of the glory to fall to God but on how they looked. What about mercy? Mercy is foreign to us...is it not? It surely falls into God's ways and not our ways. Therefore, I deduce that it did not even enter their minds. If it had they would have used it against Jesus or they wouldn't be "the Pharisees" that Jesus condemned. It was cut and dried for them...she should be stoned. The Spirit of God drives mercy and grace. The Pharisees never saw it coming because they were not, in any way shape or form, relying on the Spirit of God. This fatal flaw has a name: operating in the flesh and its also called legalism. The flesh never has the whole picture. Wait this is an understatement....the flesh never has a clear picture period. Jesus always sees the whole image perfectly.
Galatians 6:1
Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.
I represented self righteousness in 3 ways but really these are only 3 different symptoms of self righteousness. There are numerous symptoms of self righteousness. Self righteousness boiled down to it's ugliest character is really this: doing it our filthy way; a human natural way, a way that makes sense or feels good to our earthly comprehension; the flesh. When we try to live Christian lives with the strength of the flesh we come out, for all the world to see, including our children, looking like hypocrites. Is it no wonder that a "Christian" culture looks unappetizing to a hungry world?
Gal 5:16-24
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh . For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh ; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law. Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If you don't like the way I say it here....read the whole book of Galatians...actually...even if you do like the way I said it here....read Galatians anyway...it says it soooo much better!
