Self-Righteousness

    “And as he spake, a certain Pharisee besought him to dine with him: and he went in, and sat down to meat. And when the Pharisee saw it, he marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner. And the Lord said unto him, Now do ye Pharisees make clean the outside of the cup and the platter; but your inward part is full of ravening and wickedness. Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also? But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you. But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them. Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also. And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers. Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation. Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered. And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things: Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him” (Luke 11:37-54).

    I would rather stand before God guilty of any crime than stand before him in the Day of Judgment guilty of self-righteousness. Self-righteousness is man’s foolish, ignorant attempt to make himself righteous. It is the hypocritical claim of men and women that they are good, righteous and holy. It is that great noise of religion and piety, by which people try to silence the inward torments of a guilty conscience. Self-righteousness is the religion of fools.

    “Ye fools”! (v. 41) is exactly what our Lord called the Pharisees and Scribes of his day; and that is exactly what I call them today. It takes a little intelligence to be selfish; but it takes total ignorance to be self-righteous! The word our Lord uses for “fools” here is not the same word used in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:22). This is the word Paul used to describe those who denied the gospel in Corinth (1 Corinthians 15:36). It means “people without mind or understanding”! Truly, all who pretend to be righteous of themselves are totally without mind or understanding!

    There is nothing in all the world so contemptible, so obnoxious, so hateful to our God as self-righteousness (Isaiah 65:2-5). “For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7). Yet, there is nothing more natural to us!

    Our Lord Jesus was invited to have dinner with a Pharisee; and he accepted the invitation. While he was there, the Pharisees, the scribes and the lawyers, those who pretended to be righteous, gave him exactly the background upon which to show the character and folly of self-righteousness. That is the picture set before us in Luke 11:37-54.

    Self-righteousness is always more concerned about the traditions of men than the Word of God. “The Pharisee marvelled that he had not first washed before dinner” (v. 38). These Pharisees of Christ’s day not only held the traditions of the elders about hand-washing, but in their superstitious zeal also bathed (washed, baptized) their bodies before eating a meal (Mark 7:3, 4). Yes, the law of God required the ceremonial purification to which their tradition pointed; but by adding their traditions to the Word of God, they nullified the commandment of God.

    Multitudes today follow this evil example of the Pharisees, setting religious traditions over the Word of God. Throughout the history of Christianity, men have held traditions superior to the scriptures, even as they have pretended to be defending and protecting the scriptures. Churches around the world have man written creeds and confessions, by which they determine what is to be believed and practised, setting traditions above the Word of God. Denominational customs are rigidly followed, while the Book of God is ignored. Historical theology is made the basis of faith, rather than the revelation of God. Church covenants are made the rule by which church members are to be governed, rather than the scriptures. Religious taboos are imposed upon people from one generation to another, taboos nowhere found in holy scripture, by which churches and preachers seek to control the lives of God’s saints. The creed of all Pharisees, the creed of self-righteous religion is “touch not, taste not, handle not” (Colossians 2:21).

    In the heavenly truthful dignity of his character, our Master purposefully ignored the Pharisees’ traditions. We ought to follow his example. The sons of God are not to be in bondage to the traditions and customs of men! Those who are made free by Christ are free indeed!

    Here is the Son of God, the embodiment of truth and holiness, standing before this Pharisee. Yet, this self-righteous hypocrite despised the Lord of Glory and judged him to be a sinner, because he did not conform to the petty custom of washing his hands at a public dinner!

    Self-righteous religionists are always more concerned about the outward form of godliness than heart faith and worship. “They make clean the outside of the cup, but the inward is full of ravening and wickedness” (v. 39). They live for the approval and applause of men, not for the acceptance of God. Their religion is a religion men can see and measure. All hypocrites are men pleasers. They will make their hands clean, though their hearts are full of wickedness. They look upon the things which are seen. They profess to know God; but in works they deny him (Titus 1:16). They deny that “out of the heart proceed evil thoughts”, that these are the things which defile a man (Matthew 15:19, 20). They make a great show of godliness, but have no concern for God or man. Their only object is themselves. They have a form of godliness, but deny the power of it. That is to say, though they practise religion and dutifully perform religious duties, they deny the gospel of Christ, which is “the power of God unto salvation”. They say their prayers, but know nothing of prayer. They go to church, but know nothing of worship. They pay their tithes, but know nothing of giving.

    True religion, true godliness does not ignore or despise public worship and the observance of gospel ordinances. True believers delight in those things. But our religion is not an outward show. It is primarily inward and spiritual. It is primarily a heart matter.

    Self-righteousness is always totally ignorant of all things spiritual. “Ye fools”! When it comes to spiritual matters, they have neither mind nor understanding.

    I do not say they are not smart. They may be brilliant. I do not even say they are not orthodox. They may be thoroughly so. But they do not understand anything about themselves, God, Christ, sin, righteousness, or salvation. They know neither the law of God nor the gospel of God. All they know is religious words, customs, traditions and facts. Being ignorant of their own hearts they vainly imagine they are good. Being ignorant of God’s righteousness they go about to establish their own righteousness (Romans 9:30-10:4). The self-righteous religionist foolishly convinces himself that God will look on his outward behaviour and thereby be blinded to his heart!

    Fallen man has no righteousness of his own. And he is totally ignorant of God’s righteousness. He is ignorant of God’s character of righteousness, God’s requirement of righteousness, and God’s accomplishment of righteousness in Christ. Being ignorant of both the righteousness of God and his own sinfulness, fallen man ever goes about to establish his own righteousness. Fallen man made an apron of fig leaves, by which he hoped to meet with God’s approval. His firstborn son followed the example and nature he had received from his fallen father. Cain offered God a bloodless sacrifice, which he had produced by the works of his own hands. But God despised it.

    No one will ever trust Christ until he sees that he has no righteousness of his own and that it is utterly impossible for him to produce any righteous work acceptable to God. Yet, fallen, ignorant, sinful men and women continue the vain, futile work of trying to establish their own righteousness. They take bricks from the kiln of their corrupt hearts and slime of their defiled hands for mortar, and try to build a tower of Babel that will bring them to heaven. By works of legal obedience, moral reformation, personal sacrifice, self-denial, devotion, sacramentalism, penitence and religious zeal, foolish man hopes to establish righteousness for himself. But when he has done the very best he can do and offers it up to God, giving God his righteousness is like throwing a vile, discarded, loathsome menstruous cloth in the face of the triune God (Isaiah 64:6)!

    God will not have it. God requires perfect obedience. He cannot and will not accept anything less than perfection, both inward and outward (Galatians 3:10). Fallen man cannot produce righteousness, because his heart is evil (Matthew 15:19). A corrupt fountain cannot bring forth pure water. Everything man does is defiled, because his motives are defiled. No man can make atonement for his sin (Hebrews 10:11). Even if man could cleanse his heart and begin to do righteousness, he could never be accepted with God on that basis, because he still bears the guilt of sin and must be punished.

    The Lord Jesus declares, “Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). We must have perfect righteousness, even the righteousness of God that is in Christ Jesus. That righteousness was obtained for chosen sinners by the faith of Jesus Christ, and is bestowed freely upon all who believe on the Son of God (Romans 3:22). It cannot be earned, merited, or gained by the works of men.

    Self-righteous religionists are always sticklers for trifles, and neglect that which is indispensable. Self-righteous men and women attempt to make atonement for their sins, mistakes, faults and errors by doing good works that men applaud.

    “Ye fools, did not he that made that which is without make that which is within also? But rather give alms of such things as ye have; and, behold, all things are clean unto you. But woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye tithe mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and pass over judgment and the love of God: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone” (vv. 40-42).

    They give alms and feel very good about their great philanthropy. Verse 41 is not a commendation, but an accusation. Our Lord is saying, “You fools! You wash your cups and platters, fill them by devouring widows’ houses, and then give alms of such things as you have, and ignorantly imagine that you are holy and clean before God”!

    They pay tithes (on the gross, not the net!) while ignoring both the justice of God and the love of God. The self-righteous do not understand that God truly is just and he will only deal with men upon the grounds of justice. The self-righteous love themselves and hate both God and their neighbours, while pretending to love them. In religious matters they are scrupulously orthodox and equally malicious! They will argue vehemently for the rules of church order and discipline and ignore the gospel! They will split hairs about polity and pass over the law of the spirit of life which is in Christ Jesus! They will split churches and start new denominations over the singing of psalms or hymns, and never give a thought about brotherly love! After hearing a sermon on Christ’s getting a Bride from among sinners, they want to discuss where Cain got his bride!

    Self-righteousness loves the recognition and praise of men. “Woe unto you, Pharisees! for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues, and greetings in the markets” (v. 43). The hypocrite is religious, but only so far as it will help to honour himself and minister to his vanity. He has no thought of adorning the doctrine of God our Saviour; but he seeks to be adorned by the doctrine. If he holds office in the church, it is that it may add to his dignity. He may seldom be out of his place in the house of prayer, but his god is his belly. He will be very zealous in religion if he can gain the flattery of others.

    Someone said, “The hypocrite is like a glow-worm; it seems to have both light and heat, but when you touch it, it has neither.”

    Self-righteousness is always but hypocritical. It is nothing but a covering for inward corruption. Self-righteousness is really a manifestation of self-contempt. The loud noise of self-righteousness is designed to silence the turmoil in a man’s guilty soul. “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them” (v. 44).

    We seldom think of the foulness and rottenness inside the graves and tombs when we walk through a cemetery; but those graves and tombs are “within, full of dead men’s bones and of all uncleanness.’’ A sow that is washed is still only a washed sow. A hypocrite may manage by his white-washing to give no offence to his fellow-man; but God looks on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7). Be not deceived, God is not mocked; the hidden man of the heart is naked and bare before the eyes of the Lord (Psalm 7:9). The hypocrite lives for that which is “highly esteemed among men”, but that which is highly esteemed among men is “an abomination in the sight of God” (Luke 16:15).

    Self-righteousness is always offended by Christ. Then answered one of the lawyers, and said unto him, Master, thus saying thou reproachest us also” (v. 45). The cross is always an offence to self-righteous men, because Christ is always an offence to them. The self-righteous are offended by everything our Master taught. Everything revealed in the gospel reproaches them (divine sovereignty, total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, irresistible grace, perseverance of the saints, faith in a substitute, free justification, imputed righteousness, knowledge by revelation).

    Self-righteousness always imposes upon others laws and rules that it excuses in itself. “And he said, Woe unto you also, ye lawyers! for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne, and ye yourselves touch not the burdens with one of your fingers” (v. 46). Self-righteous work-mongers raise a great ruckus about sabbath keeping, throw people out of church for going to a restaurant on Sunday, or watching a football game on Sunday. Yet, not one of those who pretend to live by Old Testament, Jewish law observes the very things they impose on others. They only pretend to keep the law.

    Self-righteousness is the mother of persecution. Self-righteous religionists build monuments to dead prophets, while honouring the men who killed them and are themselves persecutors of living prophets.

    “Woe unto you! for ye build the sepulchres of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. Truly ye bear witness that ye allow the deeds of your fathers: for they indeed killed them, and ye build their sepulchres. Therefore also said the wisdom of God, I will send them prophets and apostles, and some of them they shall slay and persecute: That the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; From the blood of Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, which perished between the altar and the temple: verily I say unto you, It shall be required of this generation” (vv. 47-51).

    Self-righteousness keeps sinners from entering the kingdom of God. “Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered” (v. 52). While practising religion, observing religious customs, defending creeds and establishing churches, mission boards, denominations, Bible Colleges and Seminaries, the religious hypocrites of this world take away Christ, the key of knowledge. They refuse to enter the Strait Gate, Christ Jesus. And they stand in the way, blocking the Door, lest others enter in into life everlasting.

    Self-righteousness is always deceitful, conniving, and underhanded; never open and above board. “And as he said these things unto them, the scribes and the Pharisees began to urge him vehemently, and to provoke him to speak of many things: Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him” (vv. 53, 54).

    Once, while preaching near Anchorage, Alaska, I saw a large sign hanging over the entrance to a bar. When I read it, I thought to myself, that ought to be hung over the doorway of every church building in the world. So that both upon entering and leaving, all would be compelled to read it. The sign read, “If you wear your halo too tight, you give the rest of us a headache.”