Recently, I have been reflecting on self-righteousness. This sin, that we typically associate with people we see as overly legalistic, like the biblical pharisees or perhaps members of modern cults is, in actuality, something that all of us struggle with whether we realize it or not. Self-righteousness is not limited to the overt “I’m better than you” attitude (although that certainly plays a part). Self-righteousness is often far more subtle, devious and hard to recognize in our lives. This issue is also seen in the ways in which we (perhaps even unconsciously) attempt to earn our worth or secure our moral superiority or win God’s approval through our own actions or opinions. Self-righteousness is a snare, a trap that we all can fall into if we are not careful, and therefore it deserves our attention. In Romans 10:1-4, Paul writes in regards to this subject and his fellow Israelites: “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.”
Paul here describes a group of people who were deeply religious and passionate about being God’s chosen people. However, their zeal for God was not rooted in the correct understanding of His righteousness. For many, especially the religious leaders, their piety was not a result of a pure love for God manifest in obedience. Rather, their motivation was colored by the desire to prove their own righteousness.
The temptation of self-righteousness is subtle but powerful. It began in the Garden of Eden and has been used continually by Satan to appeal to the flesh throughout every age of humankind. Self-righteousness is not confined to those who are overtly legalistic or intolerant in religious practice. It appears in any situation where we measure our worth by our own actions or choices. Whenever and wherever we believe that we are morally superior to others because of what we do, what we believe, or how we live, self-righteousness has planted its corrupting seed. The mentality of self-righteousness shows up in debates over lifestyles, theology, political divisions, and even in seemingly trivial matters such as dietary choices, fashion, and transportation. This attitude is pervasive and finds its way into many areas of human life. The enemy continues to whisper the lie of self-justification into the hearts and minds of those who desire elevation, convincing them that they are right, and others are wrong.
The Bible makes it clear for us however: we are not righteous because of what we do. Good works are essential to the Christian life, but the Christian knows that these works are not what justify us, but are instead the fruit of a heart transformed by the Holy Spirit. We are not made righteous by what we do. Instead, we are made righteous because of what Christ has done for us, we are justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, not by our works (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 5:1.)
The Christian life is characterized by a heart that is filled with the Holy Spirit. This filling leads inexorably to a transformation that manifests in both internal character and outward action. The Christian does not boast in their own deeds but recognizes that they are only righteous because of the work of Christ. The Christian recognizes, then, that in themselves they have no admirability greater than the heathen. Paul states in Romans 3:27-28: “Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.”
This truth, then, must no longer remain the property of theological thinking. Rather, it must permeate all Christian thought. It must result in great humility that displays fruit in obedience to God and love for humanity. Those in Christ must live as a people deeply dependent on God, for they fully recognize their desperate state apart from Him. Within the Christian who recognizes this fundamental truth will come the continual abandonment of pride in every aspect of every relationship. In the Christian who has fully grasped this truth and rejected the lie of self-justification will come the continual destruction of all dividing walls of hostility that the flesh has built up between them and those they are called to reach. For what have we more than they but Christ? In Him we have all things! Apart from Him we have nothing.
In Romans 10:4, Paul writes, “For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.” The Greek word translated as “end” here is Telos, which can also be understood as “purpose,” “goal,” “completion,” or “fulfillment.” Paul is not teaching that Christ has abolished the law. Rather, Christ has fulfilled the law, as He Himself states in Matthew 5:17: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
Christ is the fulfillment of all God’s righteous requirements. Through His life, death, and resurrection, He has accomplished what we could never achieve, and in Him, we have access not to self-righteousness but to true righteousness that we could never attain on our own.
The mystery of the cross is profound— “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). The sinless one took our sin upon himself and gave us his righteousness. HIS righteousness…not ours…not the self-deluded self-righteousness of the flesh…HIS.
In Christ, then, self-righteousness is shown for what it truly is: Filthy rags! (Isa 64:6). We cannot stand before God and compare ourselves to others, hoping to justify ourselves. What is required is submission—receiving the righteousness that God has provided for us in Christ. On that final day, it will not be the true Christian who stands before God boasting of their righteous deeds.
Jesus warns in Matthew 7:22-23: “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”
The redeemed will not stand before God on the basis of what they have done, but on the basis of who they have received. May we then die to self-justification. May we die to pride. May we live in gratitude. May we live with praise. May we live with purpose. May we live by faith. May we live with love. May we live in humility and obedience. May we live as the rescued used in the rescuer to rescue others.
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
John 1:12, ESV
“This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
Romans 3:22-24, ESV
“Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’”
Galatians 3:11, ESV
“He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: ‘Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 18:9-14, ESV
By His Grace,
Pastor Brian