Examining Yourself

While as we continue to prepare for the Passover this year, I would like to discuss one of the weightier matters of the law. He who has an ear, let him hear.

A few weeks ago, I gave a couple of sermons regarding our true worth to God because of what Jesus Christ did to reconcile us to God and because we have the gift of the Holy Spirit. When individuals don't understand or fully appreciate the fact that our worth comes from the fact that Jesus Christ is living his life in us, when people don't fully appreciate that or understand it, they think of themselves as worthless. They are shame-based. This is an inward feeling of shame and inadequacy and condemnation. But there's another aspect of this feeling of worthlessness that instead of being internalized on the inside and making us feel worthless and making us feel poorly about ourselves, there's another manifestation of that that is outward. Not inward, but it's outward rather than inward. Depending on how we're wired, our personality, depending on our background, we will process this feeling of worthlessness either inward, self-destructive, or outward, destructive in a different way. That's what I'd like to talk about today. Let's go to Luke chapter 18 and verse 9. We'll begin by going to Luke chapter 18 and verse 9. Luke chapter 18 beginning in verse 9. Speaking of Jesus Christ, it says also, he spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. So Jesus Christ came across people who thought because of their good works, because of what they do, that they were righteous and trusted in themselves, their own ability, their own strength. And the result of this is obviously came through in the way that they spoke, in the way that they conducted their lives, in the way that they treated other people and despised others. Verse 10 here's his parable. Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself. Here's what he said to himself. Here's his prayer in a nutshell. God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust adulterers, or even as this tax collector. He's looking at this tax collector. I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I possess. So he's talking about his eye. Look what all the things that I do, God. Look how righteous I am because I've responded to your calling. Verse 13, in the tax collector, standing far off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven. So in contrast to the attitude of the Pharisee, the tax collector understood that he needed a savior, that he was empty inside. And of himself he was nothing, and he needed a savior. It says, but he beat his breast, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. That's the end of the parable. Jesus said, I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, that is made just right in the eyes of God, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. By the way, that is a prophecy. That is exactly how areas of responsibility will be handed out in God's kingdom. He who humbles exalts himself will be humbled. He who spent a physical lifetime exalting themselves will be humbled when they receive their assignments.

And he who humbles himself will be exalted when they receive their assignments. There is a lot of rich meaning in the scripture. Those who trust in themselves, those who exalt themselves, we have a term for that today. It's not a biblical term, but it's a term that we're familiar with. We call it self-righteousness. So what does the word self-righteousness mean? Well, according to Merriam Webster's dictionary, self-righteousness is when one is convinced of their own righteousness, especially in contrast with the actions and beliefs of others. You see, they're always comparing themselves with other people. Another meaning from the Merriam Webster dictionary is narrow-minded moralistic. Narrow-mindedly moralistic, meaning judgmental. The free dictionary says, piously sure of one's own righteousness, moralistic, second definition, exhibiting pious self-assurance and self-righteous remarks. I want you to notice in verse 9, take a look at verse 9 that we just read, and an underlying sin, that is the hallmark of being self-righteous. It says that he despised others. You see, to prop himself up, he despised others. And here's how this works. As I mentioned, when we feel worthless, when we have an emptiness inside, when we have a shame-based feeling and misunderstanding about our own worth, and how that changes when Jesus Christ comes within us, when we have that misunderstanding, many people internalize it, and they beat themselves up their whole lives. There are some who, when they receive this truth, because of carnal human nature, a switch flips in their head. Their whole life they were worthless. Their whole life they were a nobody. But now, I'm somebody. For once in my life I have knowledge and truth that no one else has, and boy, are they going to hear about it.

That is self-righteousness. Again, I want you to notice in verse 9, an underlying sin, that is the hallmark of self-righteousness. It is despising others, and the despising others is needed to prop ourselves up. To exalt ourselves, we need to despise others. Self-righteousness is not a response of love or concern for the sinner. It's the exact opposite.

You see, a self-righteous person thinks they're superior. They believe they have the right to exalt themselves while condemning others who don't hold to their same exact views. Self-righteous individuals act superior because of what they know, or believe, or think that they know. Let's take a look at another example in the book of Luke. Go back to chapter 10 with me, if you would. Luke chapter 10.

I want you to keep in mind Jesus' definition, that we just read about those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others.

Luke chapter 10, verse 25, And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested him. Now, this wasn't a lawyer like we have today. In this aspect of time, lawyers were experts in the law. What they did is they studied the law of Moses. So a lawyer stood up and tested him. He's testing Christ. Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? And he said to him, what is written in the law? Moses is saying, look, you're an expert in the law. You tell me what the law says. I'd like to hear it. What is your reading of it, Jesus says? So he answered and said, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. Verse 28, here's Jesus' response. And he said to him, You have answered rightly, do this, and you will live. Now, he wasn't promising the man eternal life, but if the man got to the point where he grasped the spiritual intent of loving God with all your heart, mind, and soul, and loving your neighbor, he obviously would be called and be recognized that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. So Jesus answers. He says, you answer rightly, do this, and you will live. So Jesus confirms to the man the summation of the Ten Commandments in their full spiritual intent. The first four of the Ten Commandments focus on how we should love God. And the latter six commandments focus on how we should love and genuinely care for our neighbor. God's law is love. However, this expert, this lawyer, is self-righteous. And Jesus knows that he's looking for a loophole on the definition of who his neighbor is. You know, we had a president once that says, well, it all depends on what the meaning of his is. Looking for loopholes. We have a lot of people in our culture who look for loopholes, who parse words. And the man wanted to parse the word of what the definition of a neighbor is. Since he was certain and had a great amount of education and truth, he wrongfully believed this lawyer that he was superior to others. And Jesus wanted to turn this into a teaching moment, so he tells him a story. Verse 29, this is what leads Jesus to the story. But he, speaking of this lawyer, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, And who is my neighbor? And Jesus answered and said, he tells him a story. A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho and fell among thieves, and stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now, as we begin to story, I want you to notice that Jesus purposely doesn't give nationality or religious association to this certain man. It could be anyone. Could be a Hebrew. It could be a Samaritan. It could have been a Roman soldier. It could be anyone. He purposely does not give nationality, a cultural or religious association, to whom he calls a certain man. That certain man could be anyone. Verse 31, Now by chance a certain priest came down the road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Oh my! Look at that bloody person lying over there, all beat up.

And so he passes by the other side. Now a priest was a descendant of Aaron, who served in the temple, performing sacrificial duties. There was no higher religious institution than the priesthood. Wouldn't we expect qualities of compassion and mercy from all people, a member of the priesthood? This is Jesus's point. Notice the priest goes out of his way to avoid helping the certain man.

He even crosses the street to avoid looking at him, let alone to help him. In essence, like we saw earlier in Luke 18, the priest despises others. Because what goes hand in hand with self-righteousness and the judgment that comes with it is a demeaning, despising of other people who aren't just like us. Perhaps the priest saw him there and he begins making judgments. He might have said to himself, He got what he deserved. Maybe he said to himself, He shouldn't have been out alone anyway. Shame on him. He shouldn't have been alone walking these streets. And he passes by. Verse 32, Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the place, came and looked and passed by the other side.

So now comes a Levite. He was a lower order of the priest who did the physical duties and the maintenance in the temple. Surely you would expect someone who was religious and had this understanding of mercy and grace and compassion as outlined in the Old Testament, you would expect him to show compassion and kindness towards this man.

But he follows the shameful example of the priest who just went before him. He also crosses the road to avoid the discomfort of seeing a certain man beat up and in need. Verse 33, But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. So he came and he walked up to this individual who had been stripped half naked, beaten up and left by the road half dead. Now the importance of this, Jesus using this phrase as Samaritan, this was the most despised person in the Jewish culture. You could not get someone considered more loathsome in Jewish culture than a Samaritan. They were derived and descended from Gentiles that the Assyrians had transplanted in Samaria after the northern tribes of Israel were removed by the Assyrians. The Samaritans had taken parts of Judaism and blended it with pagan beliefs. They even had their own mountain to worship God on rather than going to Jerusalem. How much hatred was there for the Samaritans by the Jews? The animosity was so great that Jews bypassed Samaria as they traveled between Galilee and Judea. They went an extra distance through the barren land of Peria on the eastern side of the Jordan to avoid going through Samaria. That's what religious Jews did. That's how much they despised them. By the way, this is why Jesus used the analogy of the priest in Levi crossing the road to the other side. Everyone who heard Jesus got it because they knew that all the Jews did that to avoid even going through the land of Samaria. But in contrast to the example of the priest and the Levite, he came over to where the man was. Verse 33. And when he saw him, he had compassion. Wow! What an incredible trait from a man who's a quasi-pagan. He had compassion.

So he went to him and he bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. And he set him on his own animal, brought him to an end and took care of him. The next day when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you. So which of these three do you think was neighbor?

Jesus says to him who fell among the thieves. He kind of painted the lawyer in a corner, didn't he?

And he said to the lawyer, He who showed mercy on him. And then Jesus said, Go and do likewise. I've just redefined your definition of what a neighbor is, haven't I? Jesus said to him, I want you to notice that a Samaritan, the one condemned, the one despised by the self-righteous Jews, was the one who didn't judge the certain man or avoid him.

He didn't have time to judge him. He just saw that there was a critical need, and he intervened, and he did what he could. He had compassion on him. I also want to mention, because God wants us to have wisdom, I also want you to notice that he didn't take the man into his home. He took the man where he could get some help. Years ago, I know a new girl in the church who, misunderstanding what this peril was about, found a homeless drifter, took him to her home, and he left the next day, and she couldn't figure out why her money and TV and radio were gone.

He didn't bring the man into his home. He didn't know him. But what he did is he stabilized him, and he took him somewhere where he could be nurtured and heal and get help. He was a very important biblical principle.

He even offered to help financially. Jesus was teaching a powerful lesson about judging, about compassion, and about the sin of self-righteousness, because he constantly confronted it in his ministry. Let's go to Romans. Let's take a look at what Paul says. Romans 10. We'll take a look at verses 1-9. Romans 10. Paul writes, Paul highlights a problem with self-righteousness. Self-righteousness is zealous. Being zealous is a good thing. It's passionate. It's being dogmatic. But unfortunately, without genuine knowledge. That knowledge being compassion, mercy, concern, caring.

They think they're righteous because they know something, and they want to tell everyone else what they know and what to do. But rather, being that way is not Christian. Being that way is simply obnoxious. It's simply repellent. Verse 9. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God.

You see, they're all trying to do it themselves. They're trying to do it from the inside. They're trying to prop themselves up. They're trying to put on a show from the inside out to impress people. And because they're doing that, the power of God's Holy Spirit is not able to make the changes inside their lives that they need to make.

Because they are misdirecting their energies. They're misdirecting their resources. Let's continue here. Verse 3. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. And I think we all know and understand when it says Christ is the end of the law, doesn't mean the law is done away or finished.

It means that Christ was the objective. He was the goal of the law, its aim or its purpose, to point us to the mind and the character of Jesus Christ. And his righteousness becomes our righteousness, and because of that, the law can no longer condemn us as enemies of God, because the glory of God resides in us through his Holy Spirit. Verse 5. For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, that if a man does these things, he shall live by them.

That's from Leviticus chapter 18 and verse 5. So Paul is saying, I understand it as part of the Old Covenant. It was based on physical blessings and curses depending on observance of the law. And because of that, the Jews came to think that they were somebody special. They came to think that they were saving themselves by doing right things. Verse 6. But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way. You're not saying your heart, who will ascend to heaven? That is to bring Christ down from above. He's saying, you don't find righteousness by saying, well, it's something that I can do.

I can go to heaven and bring Christ down. And there's righteousness. Verse 7. Or who will descend and do the abyss? That is to bring Christ up from the dead? I know how I'll demonstrate righteousness.

I'll do something. I'll go to the grave and bring Christ up from the dead. Paul is saying, you don't need to go to heaven to find Christ and become genuinely righteous. You don't need to go down to the grave and resurrect Him to be righteous. He already died. He's already been resurrected. He's already been ascended to heaven. Righteousness is here right now because of our faith in Him.

Paul is saying, it's not something you do. It's not some great search you make. It is available right now. And then Paul reminds us in verse 8 of the faith that we demonstrated baptism. And these are some of the very words we use in our baptism ceremony. Verse 8. But what does it say? The word is near you in your mouth and in your heart. That is the word of faith which we preach. Verse 9. It ties in closely with our baptismal words. That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

Of course, Paul isn't dismissing the importance of discipleship or good works or obedience or enduring into the end. All those things are essential and important. But the context is what he's talking about is faith. Verse is thinking that it's something that we do that makes us righteous. Let's go to 2 Corinthians and take a look at another scripture. Paul, 2 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 17. 2 Corinthians chapter 10 verse 17.

Paul writes to the congregation in Corinth.

Self-righteous people commend themselves in what they know and how much they know their desire is to tell, impress, and show others how knowledge makes them superior. Rather than in contrast, the light on a lampstand shines brightly, but it doesn't make an irritating noise. It glows. It's the warm glow of a light that attracts others. Ever hear the saying, a moth attracted to a flame?

It's the warm glow of a beautiful example of someone living God's way of life that attracts others, not the nauseating arrogance of self-righteousness, which frankly doesn't attract. It repels others. And when we are self-righteous, we harm our relationships with our spouse, with our friends, with our co-workers at work. Oftentimes, we don't get the promotions we deserve. Good things don't happen to us in life because we repel others rather than attract. A very important principle we're talking about today in preparation for the Passover this year. Let's take a few minutes to see another reason why Jesus was appalled by the Pharisees. Luke 12. Let's go back to the book of Luke. It says, in the meantime, Jesus is talking about what we call judgments, nor hidden that will not be known.

The NSA has it, I can assure you, but more importantly than the NSA, God knows what we're looking at. God knows every idle word coming out of our mouth in the privacy in our homes, in the intimacy of our bedrooms. He knows everything we're saying and speaking because it is all recorded. It's all there, it's all prepared, and on Judgment Day we either face up to those charges, or if we are smart, we throw ourselves in the throne of grace of Jesus Christ as our Savior, the one who paid the price for all of our sins, and God says, I don't even need to proclaim this forgiven. Go. Next. Now, which one do we want to be in that situation? What situation do we want to find ourselves in on Judgment Day? He says, what you have spoken in the inner and earrooms will be proclaimed on the housetops. Verse 4, and I say to you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who can kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. Don't be afraid of any man who can kill you, because God can resurrect you again. He says, but, He says, I will show you whom you should fear. Fear Him after He has killed, has the power to cast into hell. Yes, I say that you should fear Him. In other words, He's saying, fear God, the one who in a resurrection can throw you into a health fire that consumes you, and your existence is wiped out for all eternity. That's the one you should really fear. And that's the one who is hearing everything that we speak in the dark, everything spoken in an inner room. That is the one who knows what's in our hearts. The reason Jesus is so hard on the Pharisees here is that self-righteousness is a form of hypocrisy. It seeks to point out the vile sins of others, but it overlooks the motives, attitude, and secret life of the self-righteous. It treats some sins as more evil than others, like homosexuality more than adultery. As if God somehow has some scale, really bad sins, kind of bad sins, and sins that aren't so bad. I've got news for you. You break one, you've broken them all. Sin cuts us off from God. I had a situation a while back, an individual said to me, Mr. Thomas, you don't rail against homosexuality enough. You don't speak enough about homosexuals and how bad that lifestyle is. It wasn't a few weeks later I found out from the same individual that he had a $2,000 credit card debt from porno CDs and memberships on the Internet to look at pornography all day. Now, homosexuals were bad and evil, and we don't talk about that enough. But we can sit and look at porno tapes all day and spend $2,000 we don't have and think that is just fine. Rather than that, it's the kind of hypocrisy that Jesus Christ was talking about. Some people think that stealing is more heinous than lying. The truth is that any sin, every sin, is opposed to God and can separate us if it's not repented of. And pick and choose the sins that we want to condemn in others while continuing to live in our own sins, pointing the fingers at others, is hypocritical. It's self-righteousness. Let's go to James 2 and verse 8.

This is an important point that the self-righteous often overlook. James says, if you really fulfill the royal law according to Scriptures, I want you to notice his definition of God's law. It's royal, something beautiful, something that is a part of God's very character.

The royal law according to Scriptures, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. You do well. But if you show partiality, you commit sin. Isn't that what the lawyer did when he said, who's my neighbor? He was showing partiality. You commit sin and are convicted by the law's transgressors. For whoever shall keep the whole law yet stumble in one point is guilty of all. For he who said, do not commit adultery also said, do not murder. It's so easy for us to say, oh, adultery, that's vile, that's disgusting, that's terrible, that's tearing apart God's law. And then look over here at this, I can't stand that person. Jesus said, if you hate someone in your heart, you've already murdered them.

Continuing, he says, do not commit adultery. You said that, also said, do not murder. Now, if you do not commit adultery, but you do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so do as those who would be judged by the law of liberty. Verse 13, this is very important. For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. On Judgment Day, do we want God to say to us, you know, I'm going to judge you by the exact attitude and criteria that you judged everyone else.

Bye! I hope you're wearing an asbestos suit. Is that what we want God to say? For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment. What a powerful personal affirmation statement. Some of us need to put that in the mirror when we shave in the morning and read it. Mercy triumphs over judgment. What James is saying here is that when we self-righteously judge others of their sins, we open ourselves up to being judged without mercy. Because we, too, are struggling to overcome our sins. I know I'm struggling to overcome sins. How about you? If you're perfect, you are welcome to replace me.

Because I'm not. What is more important? Mercy or judgment? James says it is mercy. Let's go to the book of Titus. Titus 3 and verse 1, and continue to see what Paul says here about righteousness and where righteousness should generate from. From ourselves, by which something that we've done to elevate ourselves, or is a gift that comes into us because of what Jesus Christ did for us. Titus 3, verses 1 through 7. Titus 3, verses 1 through 7.

Paul instructing, telling the ministry, Remind them to be subject, that is the congregation, the brethren, to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one. When we self-righteously judge others, we are speaking evil of them.

We are saying, there's no such day as judgment day to me, every day is judgment day. That's what we're saying. Continuing, speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men, for we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lust and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.

So he's saying, before you judge anyone, realize what you were like before God called you. Realize that you were there. Verse 4, but when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, that having been justified by His grace, we heard about grace in our sermon at the day, having been justified by His grace, that's a gift we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

So Paul is saying we shouldn't speak evil of anyone, we should be gentle, we should be demonstrating humility towards all men, not arrogance towards men. We should realize and remember what it was like when we were there, and we should realize that what we have is not by the righteousness which we have done, but according to God's grace and God's mercy. God has been merciful towards us, and we have not gotten what we deserve. Again, as was highlighted in our fine sermon at today, what we deserve is eternal death.

But God didn't call us because we're righteous or by what we've done, or because we're better than anyone else. God called us by His undeserved grace, and He's given us everything we have as a gift, everything that we have as a gift from God. The day you were born and you took your first breath, life is a gift. We're not entitled to it. You didn't even know what was going to happen. It's a precious gift. Every material possession you have is because God has allowed you to receive that possession as a gift.

Car, home, clothes, everything that you have is a gift. There are millions and billions of people on this planet who would love to trade their lives with you right now and have what you have. No matter how poor you may think you are, there are billions of people who, at the drop of a hat, would love to trade their lives with you because we are so blessed in so many ways. The fact that God called us is totally a gift by His grace.

Not because we were smarter, not because we searched harder than anyone else, and certainly not because we're superior, but because of God's grace. Everything physically and spiritually we have is the result of a gift that God has given us. I'd now like to give seven reasons why self-righteousness is a sin and why Jesus had contempt for it. Seven reasons why self-righteousness is a sin and why Jesus had open contempt for it. Number one, a self-righteous individual judges the sins of others while overlooking his own sins.

Self-righteous individual judges the sins of others while overlooking his own sins. Jesus said in Matthew 7, verse 5, You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. When we do that, we open ourselves up to be judged from God very harshly because of hypocrisy. That was number one. Number two, a self-righteous individual judges others based on selective standards, not on all of God's Word.

They pick and choose what they want to emphasize. For example, the Pharisees picked out certain parts of the law and prided themselves in their obedience. But they neglected the weightier matters of the law. Jesus said, for example, that they tithed on their table spices. Wow, their table spices! That's good! But unfortunately, they neglected justice and mercy and faith and the weightier matters. So they decided they were going to just pick and choose and focus on the things they were doing well and be selective about what part of God's Word is important. Number three, a self-righteous individual is more concerned about external conformity than true inner godliness.

Jesus said in Matthew 23, he said, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you're like whitewashed tombs, which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead man's bones and all uncleanness. Verse 28, Jesus said, Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Brethren, when we're self-righteous, we want to keep an upward Christian appearance, but we don't judge our own sins in the same gut level. We put on a happy Christian face of church, but we go home and we use harsh abusive speech towards our families, our spouses, our neighbors, and our co-workers. It's all external. There's no real, legitimate, lasting change going on in the inside. Number four. A self-righteous individual is not interested in helping others to grow in godliness, but only in gaining prestige and admirers. Think of the kind of world that we live in today. Unfortunately, think of many people who are attracted to religion, including some blogs where you go on there, and the first thing that comes up on their blog page is where you can send your money to.

And the whole blog is dedicated towards lies, slanders, exaggeration. Why would we even want to fill our minds with that kind of stuff? These are just simply self-righteous people trying to gain prestige and trying to gain followers and admirers. Jesus said in Matthew 23, 15, won't you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you yourselves.

The reason Jesus said this is they didn't care about people. They didn't care about their hearts before God. They just wanted to gain followers so they could satisfy their need for importance. That's all that they were looking for. They'd go through all that effort and they would make that new convert as self-righteousness and as sickening as the Pharisees themselves were.

Number five. A self-righteous person justifies himself by comparing himself with others or blaming others to excuse his own sins. Remember what we read in Luke chapter 18. I think it was the first scripture we read today. It says, the Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, and he said, God, I thank you that I am not like other men. I'm not like all these uncalled people of the world. Extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even this tax collector. Why, I fast twice a week and I give tithes of all that I possess. You see, he wasn't comparing himself with God's Word, which condemns pride. Rather, he was comparing himself with others who, in his mind, were worse than he was.

Here's how his mind worked. In his mind, he kept some of the law and the tax collector didn't keep any of it. So grading on a curve, he is accepted by God while the tax collector is rejected. But, brethren, God doesn't grade on a curve. We fall in one of two categories. We are either saved by his grace or we are condemned. We are either saved by his grace because we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior in his shed blood for the remission of our sins. And we are walking as a disciple or there's something else. Or we still need a Savior. We need to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior. God is not great on a curve. The only one that we should compare our life with should never compare your life with your spouse, with your neighbor, with your co-worker, with your minister. The only one you should compare your life with is Jesus Christ. And if you choose to do this, prepare to be humbled if you compare your life with Jesus Christ. Number six, a self-righteous person is not content to be ready to give an answer for the hope that lies within us. Let's turn to the Scripture. 1 Peter 3 and verse 15. 1 Peter 3 and verse 15. This is one I think we should see visually as well. A self-righteous person is not content to be ready to give an answer for the hope that lies within us. 1 Peter 3 and verse 15. Peter says, But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. I want you to notice he doesn't say, and always make sure you're pointing out everyone's sins and flaws and weaknesses. Make sure in boldness and in arrogance you are judging everyone that you meet. No, he is saying, always be ready to give a defense. If someone asks you, I notice you don't work here on Saturdays. Is there a reason you don't work here on Saturday? That in a reasoned and mature way you explain to him how you keep God's commandments, and you believe that the original disciples continue to keep the Seventh-Day Sabbath, and you do as well because you want to follow the example of Jesus Christ and the disciples, and it is part of the Ten Commandments. You do that in a reasoned and a patient way, not expressing spit out, you're getting so apoplectic that stuff's coming out of you, and shaking things, and pounding on Bibles, and condemning people, making them feel like they're that tall. That doesn't solve anything. That doesn't help in any way. Peter says, do this with meekness and fear. Meekness because you're supposed to be an ambassador of Jesus Christ. And fear because as an ambassador you want to make sure that you're handling this situation like a mature Christian, balanced, spiritual concern for that person's welfare. Again, a self-righteous person unfortunately thinks Judgment Day should be every day. And since God is obviously too patient, they must be his appointed mouthpiece and lecture everyone on how wrong and sinful they are. And again, as I mentioned earlier, that is all too obvious with some of the blogs that are out there.

Eventually they act like they're more righteous than God. And that leads us to the final point, point number seven. A self-righteous person elevates cultural standards, traditions, and religious myths, along with the doctrines of men as if they are the law of God. They create their own version of the oral law. The Jews had the oral law, which eventually they said was equal to the Ten Commandments.

While in our generation there are people who elevate cultural standards, traditions, religious myths that they learned many years ago and won't give up, and doctrines of men as if they are the law of God, what God states in his word apparently isn't strict enough. It's not complete enough. They feel a need to add to it. Jesus said in Matthew chapter 15 and verse 7, Well, did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying, These people draw near to me with their mouth, and they honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me, and in vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.

What I want you to notice in all of these qualities that I mention in these seven points is that none of them are the fruit of the Spirit. Not a single one of the seven points that I brought up are a fruit of the Spirit. Every one is a manifestation of the carnal works of the flesh.

It's about trying to impress others. It's trying to dominate others, trying to show others how much we know or how spiritual we are compared to them. Rather, for various reasons, the sin of self-righteousness is deeply embedded within some in the Church of God, and this Passover needs to be addressed. And like any sin, we've got to begin working on it and putting a stop to it because it's stopping the Church from growing.

New people can sense it, and it repels. The letters written by new people after they attend services for a few times often highlight that. Comments that I've heard from people who stopped attending oftentimes reflect that. Self-righteousness is trying to pull the Church backward into a mentality of exclusiveness, of harsh judgment, of exalting the doctrines of men as if they're from God. Self-righteousness is trying to pull the Church back into living out of the Book of Leviticus as if the New Testament never happened, as if the things that Jesus taught never really happened at all.

I'd like to have a special comment about our fellow believers, people sitting in this room, people sitting next to you who may have differences from you, maybe in the way that they observe something or do something. When Paul was discussing the differences between some who ate meat and some who ate vegetables, on those who fasted on different days, this is what he said in Romans 14, verse 3. He says, "'Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, nor let him who does not eat to judge him who eats, for God has received him. Who are you to judge another man's servant?'" That person sitting next to you, sitting across the room, sitting in this room somewhere, they may be different than you are, but they are someone else's servant.

They belong to Jesus Christ. He is their master, not us. Cut him some slack and stop judging them. He says, "'Who are you to judge another servant?' To his own master he stands or falls, indeed. He will be able to stand, for God is able to make him stand." That person has Jesus Christ living in them.

Who are we to judge that individual? I want to continue. Paul says in verse 10, "'But why do you judge your brother?' Or, "'Why do you show contempt for your brother?' For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, as I live,' says the Lord, "'Every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.' So then each of us shall give full account of himself to God.

Therefore, let us not judge one another any more, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or cause to fall in our brother's way." That's Romans chapter 14 again, verses 10 through 13. One final scripture. You'll turn to me to Philippians chapter 2 and verse 1. Scripture we're all very familiar with. Philippians chapter 2 and verse 1. Paul says, "'Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord and one mind, let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceits.

Let not our attitudes, let not the words that come out of our minds, be judging others, be trying to put them down, by be trying to tell them how much we know, how little they know. Just let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than himself.' In other words, instead of thinking we're superior, we should be treating each other as if everyone else is superior.

Esteem them better than we esteem ourselves. Verse 4, "'Let each of you look not only on his own interest, but also on the interests of others.' And what he means here is he's not the interest of others, he doesn't define as lecturing them, he doesn't define as telling them they're filled with sins and they're doing something wrong.

He means when you have interest for others, you say, how can I help? Is there something I can do to help you in your walk, in your growth? I'm here to serve. How can I help you? Verse 5, "'Let this mind be in you,' which was also in Christ Jesus, who, taking the form of God, did not consider robbery to be equal with God.' A very mediocre translation basically means that when he voluntarily decided to give up the glory that he had with God, he didn't think he was robbed, he did it voluntarily and happily so that you and I could have reconciliation.

Verse 7, "'But made of himself no reputation, went from glory down to nothing, the greatest emotion ever in history, taking the form of a bondservant and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in the appearance of a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.'" Rather, the anti-virus to self-righteousness is genuine humility. It's serving others, not judging others. Think of the example of Jesus Christ when he was 12 years old and listening to the elders in the temple. Was he self-righteous? Did he lecture them? He said, you obviously don't know who I am.

But since I was there when these words were originally spoken, let me tell you a thing or two. No, he listened. When he performed his first miracle at the wedding of Cain, was he self-righteous? Oh, you ain't seen nothing yet!

I've got all kinds of great things to do. Don't you know who I am? No, he wasn't self-righteous. When he simply healed those with diseases and preached the gospel, was he self-righteous? No, he was attractive. Great crowds followed. When we read earlier, they were trampling one another because of his message was so positive and encouraging, not discouraging. When he was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, was he self-righteous?

No, he was meek and mild like a gentle lamb. Matter of fact, he corrected Peter, who tried to take matters in his own hand. When he had a conversation with a Sanhedrin or Pilate, was he self-righteous? No, he was humble. He was meek.

When he was nailed to the stake and he was mocked, was he self-righteous? Absolutely not. When he was resurrected and met Mary near the tomb, did he say, well, I'm back to the full glory of my father. Um, step aside. I'm taking over now. No, he didn't say that. He was not self-righteous. The answer to all these major episodes of his physical life is, no, he was not self-righteous.

And neither should we be. So this year, in preparation for the passover, excuse me, for the passover, let us examine ourselves, not our spouse, not our neighbor, not the person sitting in the chair next to you or across the room, not our co-workers at work. Let us examine ourselves. Let us move closer to the mind of Christ and farther away from the carnal mind, which is opposed to God. Let's channel the negative energy it takes to judge everyone and everything and redirect it into positive energy that builds people, that builds ourselves and builds all of those who love us and are around us.

So in preparation of this year's passover, truly, let us examine ourselves. Have a wonderful Sabbath.