God will reject those who embrace the sin of self-righteousness this sin blinds us to our own faults and hinders us from experiencing the righteousness of Christ Jesus in his ministry Jesus vehemently condemned self-righteousness particularly when addressing the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew chap 23 Jesus confronts their legalistic traditions and EXP oses the dangers of self-righteousness Let Us open our hearts to God's word and understand why we must seek the righteousness of Christ self-righteousness is a deceitful sin that leads us astray from True righteousness and blinds us to our own shortcomings the scribes and Pharisees of
Jesus's time were known for their outward displays of piety but their hearts were far from God they rigidly adhered to their legalistic Traditions using them to elevate themselves in the eyes of others however God sees beyond our external appearances and looks at the state of our hearts Jesus did not mince words when addressing the self-righteousness of the Jewish leadership in Matthew CH 23 he rebuked them six times exposing their hypocrisy and pride he called them Hypocrites and highlighted how their actions were driven by a desire for recognition and admiration from others Jesus saw through their
fac OD and emphasize the need for True righteousness that stems from a genuine relationship with God Romans 10: 3-4 for they being ignorant of God's righteousness and going about to establish their own righteousness have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God for Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth Paul in his writings expressed deep deep concern and lamentation regarding the self-righteousness of the Jews he understood that self-righteousness is rooted in arrogance and undermines the grace of God the Jews in their pursuit of self-righteousness rejected the righteousness that comes
through faith in Christ Jesus it is important to recognize that self-righteousness is a sinful State because no one can be justified by merely following the law if salvation could be attained through the law alone then the coming of Christ would would have been unnecessary to truly understand self-righteousness we must examine its connection to the law the desire for righteousness through fulfillment of the law often leads to self-righteousness however numerous references in the Bible clearly demonstrate that self-righteousness does not justify anyone and can hinder them from reaching Heaven sadly many fail to realize or acknowledge that
the righteousness of God which comes through faith does does not require the human efforts involved in self-righteousness when we reject the work of Christ and attempt to establish our own righteousness we diminish the preciousness of God's Gift the truth is self-righteousness cannot save anyone it is an empty Pursuit that blinds us to our need for a savior God's Plan of Salvation is not based on our own works or efforts to be righteous instead it hinges on faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross it is through his sacrifice and righteousness imputed To Us
by faith that we find true salvation we must guard ourselves against the Allure of self-righteousness and instead embrace the righteousness of Christ Our human efforts and Good Deeds cannot earn us salvation or Merit God's favor it is only through faith in Jesus Christ who fulfilled the requirements of the law on our behalf that we can be justified before God let us not trivialize the gift of God's Grace by seeking to establish our own righteousness our righteousness apart from Christ is like filthy rags in the sight of God we must humbly acknowledge our need for his
forgiveness surrendering our self-righteousness at the foot of the cross it is embracing the righteousness that comes through faith that we find true salvation and the Assurance of eternal life Ephesians 2:8 through 9 says for by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves it is the gift of God not of Works lest any man should boast so our Salvation does not come through works or self-righteousness rather it is the gift of God which we receive through faith in the finished works of Christ anyone who is Too Proud to accept that Christ paid
for his or her salvation cannot enter into heaven if we can get to heav through self-righteousness would there have been need for Christ to come in the flesh and suffer such great persecution for our sake Jesus told a parable about self-righteousness and its consequences the parable goes as following Luke 18: 9-14 to some who were confident of their own righteousness and look down on everyone else Jesus told this Parable two men went up to the temple to pray one a Pharisee and the other attacked collector the Pharisee stood by himself and prayed God I thank
you that I am not like other people robbers evildoers adulterers or even like this tax collector I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get but the tax collector stood at a distance he would not even look up to heaven but beat his breast and said God have mercy on me a sinner I tell you that this man rather than the other went home Justified before God for all those who exalt themselves will be humbled and those who humble themselves will be exalted the Pharisee in his prayer began to list all
the things he did not do and boasted about his own goodness he proudly proclaimed I am not like other people robbers evildoers adulterers it was evident that he approached god with a spirit filled with pride and self-righteousness on the other hand the tax collector approached god with humility and was justified before him instead of making excuses or highlighting his own perceived righteousness he humbly stood Before the Throne of God and prayed for Mercy his plea for Mercy was rooted in the understanding of the need for atoning sacrifice notice that the tax collector did not say
God be merciful to me I am not a Pharisee trying to elevate himself above others he did not boast of his Holiness or claim to be perfect he did not make empty promises to try and do better in the future instead he simply uttered these words God be merciful to me a sinner and that was all he needed to say his humility before God paved the way for his justification humility has the power to take us a long way in our relationship with God the Pharisee on the other hand displayed his pride before God relying
on his self-righteousness as a result God resisted him but to the tax collector who humbled himself God extended his grace the scripture tells us that God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble this story serves as a powerful reminder for us today we must guard against the Trap of self-righteousness and pride it is not our own merits or Good Deeds that brings us closer to God but rather our humility and recognition for our need for his mercy and Grace let us learn from the tax collector who approached god with a humble heart let
us acknowledge our own shortcomings and sins without comparing ourselves to others or relying on our own self-righteousness may we seek God's mercy and Grace knowing that it is through his atoning sacrifice that we are justified in conclusion the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector teaches us valuable lessons about the sin of self-righteousness and the power of humility let us humbly approach God acknowledging our need for his mercy and Grace may we cast aside our pride and embrace the righteousness that comes from God alone as we do so we will experience His abundant grace
and favor in our lives self-righteousness is one of the most Insidious and destructive attitudes we can allow in our lives like the Pharisees of Jesus's time it leads us to present ourselves as righteous before God God painting ourselves in false Purity it prompts us to list the things we do not practice creating a facade of goodness while we try to conceal our own hidden evil yet God sees through our pretense he knows our hearts our actions and the true motives behind our words self-righteousness gives people a false Assurance of Heaven those who possess self-righteousness often
expect to enter Heaven based on their own merits they boldly tell God what they abstain from saying Lord look I do not engage in fornication or drunkenness therefore I am righteous the Pharisees during Jesus's time had a problem with him because he associated with Sinners the Pharisees saw themselves as holy believing they had no association with those they considered beneath them they believed this separation was the key to obtaining Heaven however the more they clung to self-righteousness the further they drifted from the true path to Heaven self-righteousness does not lead people to Heaven if adhering
to the law and being morally upright were all that is required for salvation there would have been no need for Christ to sacrifice himself for our sins now let me be clear this does not mean that we should not strive to live righteously this teaching does not in any way encourage us to live in sin as the Bible tells us we cannot continue in sin and expect Grace to abound Grace does not give us license to sin instead it empowers us to resist sin however the key idea here is that we should not rely on
our own righteousness it would be an understatement to say that every believer is plagued by the tendency toward self-righteousness it is part of our sinful nature to try to earn our Salvation the concept of Grace the costly Freedom bought for us by the precious blood of Jesus without any contribution from us is difficult for our prideful Hearts to grasp and appreciate it is much easier for us to compare ourselves with others and find solace in the belief that we measure up to certain standards yet the truth is that we can never measure up to the
perfect standards of a holy God our only hope lies in Christ through whom we can obtain true righteousness the righteousness that God accepts is not one that we can attain through our own efforts no amount of Good Deeds or adherence to rules and traditions can earn us salvation it is only through the righteousness of Christ Jesus that we can find acceptance before God when we place our faith in Jesus his righteousness covers our sins and makes us right in the eyes of God our own self-righteousness is insufficient we must humbly rely on the righteousness of
Christ self-righteousness is dangerous because it deceives us into thinking that we are justified in our own eyes it breeds Pride judgment and a critical spirit towards others when we focus on our own righteousness we fail to recognize our need for a savior and neglect the mercy and Grace God offers us self-righteousness hinders our relationship with God and separates us from His blessings to escape the Trap of self-righteousness we must humbly surrender ourselves to God and acknowledge our need for his righteousness it is through faith in Christ Jesus that we are made righteous we must daily
seek his guidance and depend on the Holy Spirit to transform our hearts and Minds instead of judging others let us extend Grace love and compassion recognizing that we are all in need of God's mercy