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PARABLE ON SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS – THE PHARISEE
MONDAY, JUNE 29
Luke 18:9-14

Memory verse: Luke 18:11-12

 

“I fast twice in the week,

I give tithes of all that I possess.”

 

PARABLE ON SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS – THE PHARISEE
 
Self-righteousness is a deadly sin. Some might even consider it the most fatal of all the sins of the heart. A self-righteous person believes he is going to heaven based on his good works. He despises others as sinful and unworthy of heaven. He alone is good enough to enter heaven.
 
He measures salvation by good Christian works, like the Pharisees in Jesus’ time, who were the “religious policemen” of the Jews. They knew the Bible well, so they thought. They were the teachers of God’s Word who believed they would enter heaven. They checked every Jew’s conduct and behaviour. They punished all Jews who broke the Jewish laws as understood by them. They sent them to prison or beat them when they did not keep the laws of God, eg. keeping the Sabbath Day holy. Their self-righteousness was based on a comparison with their fellow Jews, whom they criticised and judged. How could they be less holy than these sinful Jews whom they despised!
 
Modern-day self-righteous behaviour is found in churches that are legalistic in their understanding of and obedience to God’s Word. For example, they have man-made rules of dos and don’ts in keeping the Lord’s Day holy. These modern-day Pharisees police their congregation with the same scrutiny and self-righteous judgment. Since they are the “religious police,” how can they not be born again and enter heaven? They have been keeping these dos and don’ts all their lives since they became leaders of the church and set up these rules; they must be Christians!
 
Such delusional reasoning is common in these churches that emphasise the external at the expense of the inward man. They walk with their heads held high above everyone else. Like the Pharisees, they pray self-righteous prayers as they approach God. It is not as a sinner saved by grace, but a saint saved by their good Christian works. They boast of their religious accomplishments as they come before God. They make sure man see their acts of religiosity. Their tithes and offerings are known by the right people so that they are seen as generous when, in reality, they are the most carnal.
 
THOUGHT: Am I like a Pharisee at heart?
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, let the mind of Christ be seen in me as I live for Thee for Christ’s sake. Amen.

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