This is part 3 of my grace blog series.
Check out part 1 here: desperately wicked // unbelievably loved
Check out part 2 here: desperately wicked // unbelievably loved : condemnation (2)
"These people come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
is based on merely human rules they have been taught.
Therefore once more I will astound these people
with wonder upon wonder;
the wisdom of the wise will perish,
the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish. "
-Isaiah 29:13-14
In the last post, I talked about one lifestyle that comes out of living under the law. When we live in slavery to our sinful nature and to the law, we become obsessed with our own actions. Last time, I talked about one side of this coin, the condemnation side. When we live under the law, we feel that our relationship with God depends on our actions alone. We may live in constant condemnation because we understand that we often blow it. However, the other side of this coin is self-righteousness.
The self-righteous lifestyle is similar to the condemnation lifestyle in that they both cause us to focus on our own actions. The self-righteous lifestyle is essentially the flip-side of the condemnation lifestyle. While someone who lives in condemnation constantly tries to "work on" flaws they see in themselves and their actions, someone who is self-righteous is blind to their sin and glories in their own good deeds.
The self-righteous person depends on comparing themselves to others in order to feel good about themselves ("holier than thou" attitude). They are nearly, if not completely, blind to their own sin. They seem holy on the outside (does a lot of good things, says the right things), but are empty on the inside (Jesus describes the Pharisees as "whitewashed tombs"). This is just a snapshot, but does any of this sound familiar to you? Do you ever think you're doing alright on your own? Do you ever think you need Jesus less on one day than another?
When we live in self-righteousness, like the one who lives in condemnation, we show disregard for what Jesus did when he died on the cross for our sins. Living in condemnation is unhealthy and unfruitful, but living in self-righteousness is plain dangerous. We see below that Jesus condemns the religious leaders of his day but frees the adulteress to sin no more.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness."
-Matthew 23:25-28
(the woman caught in adultery)
When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
-John 8:7-11
John says in 1 John that if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. There it is. If we think we are sinless, we essentially think we don't need Jesus; we think we are living by the truth while we're not. If we think we are living rightly, we're not looking for another way. In fact, we're probably narrow-minded about any other way. While strivers long for rest (found in Jesus), the self-righteous think they don't need it. While those living in condemnation recognize their sin yet look to themselves to change their ways, those living in self-righteousness are blind to their sin and count on their own good deeds for right standing before God.
Those of us who continue to live under the law need a perspective shift, from what I do to what Jesus did.
More to come. Blessings to you!
Check out part 1 here: desperately wicked // unbelievably loved
Check out part 2 here: desperately wicked // unbelievably loved : condemnation (2)
"These people come near to me with their mouth
and honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me
is based on merely human rules they have been taught.
Therefore once more I will astound these people
with wonder upon wonder;
the wisdom of the wise will perish,
the intelligence of the intelligent will vanish. "
-Isaiah 29:13-14
In the last post, I talked about one lifestyle that comes out of living under the law. When we live in slavery to our sinful nature and to the law, we become obsessed with our own actions. Last time, I talked about one side of this coin, the condemnation side. When we live under the law, we feel that our relationship with God depends on our actions alone. We may live in constant condemnation because we understand that we often blow it. However, the other side of this coin is self-righteousness.
The self-righteous lifestyle is similar to the condemnation lifestyle in that they both cause us to focus on our own actions. The self-righteous lifestyle is essentially the flip-side of the condemnation lifestyle. While someone who lives in condemnation constantly tries to "work on" flaws they see in themselves and their actions, someone who is self-righteous is blind to their sin and glories in their own good deeds.
The self-righteous person depends on comparing themselves to others in order to feel good about themselves ("holier than thou" attitude). They are nearly, if not completely, blind to their own sin. They seem holy on the outside (does a lot of good things, says the right things), but are empty on the inside (Jesus describes the Pharisees as "whitewashed tombs"). This is just a snapshot, but does any of this sound familiar to you? Do you ever think you're doing alright on your own? Do you ever think you need Jesus less on one day than another?
When we live in self-righteousness, like the one who lives in condemnation, we show disregard for what Jesus did when he died on the cross for our sins. Living in condemnation is unhealthy and unfruitful, but living in self-righteousness is plain dangerous. We see below that Jesus condemns the religious leaders of his day but frees the adulteress to sin no more.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness."
-Matthew 23:25-28
(the woman caught in adultery)
When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.
At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“No one, sir,” she said.
“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”
-John 8:7-11
John says in 1 John that if we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. There it is. If we think we are sinless, we essentially think we don't need Jesus; we think we are living by the truth while we're not. If we think we are living rightly, we're not looking for another way. In fact, we're probably narrow-minded about any other way. While strivers long for rest (found in Jesus), the self-righteous think they don't need it. While those living in condemnation recognize their sin yet look to themselves to change their ways, those living in self-righteousness are blind to their sin and count on their own good deeds for right standing before God.
Those of us who continue to live under the law need a perspective shift, from what I do to what Jesus did.
More to come. Blessings to you!
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