Self-Righteousness
“I have had more trouble with myself than with any other man.” ~ D.L. Moody
For the last three mornings, the topic of a daily devotional I receive via email has been “Confronting Pride”. Reading on this subject of “pride” has prompted me to share the following thought that has been going through my mind for quite some time. That thought is this:
How could an individual possess the humility necessary for salvation if, since salvation, this same individual never sees himself/herself as doing wrong? How could a man, woman, boy, or girl truly humble themselves and repent at the time of their profession…if, since that time, they see no need whatsoever to apologize for anything?
It was Leonard Ravenhill who said:
“The self-righteous never apologize”
That, my friend, is a scary thought. If we have a hard time remembering the last time we apologized to anyone for anything…could it be that we are depending upon our own self-righteousness and not HIS righteousness for salvation? Absolutely no one at all can go that long without committing an offense.
The self-righteous have a very high regard for themselves. It was C.H. Spurgeon who said:
“You are not mature if you have a high esteem of yourself. He who boasts in himself is but a babe in Christ, if indeed he be in Christ at all. Young Christians may think much of themselves. Growing Christians think themselves nothing. Mature Christians know that they are less than nothing. The more holy we are, the more we mourn our infirmities, and the humbler is our estimate of ourselves.”
When is the last time we sincerely grieved over our own vileness?
It is quite common for a new Christian to be perhaps over-zealous at times and even begin to take pride in their new life in Christ. But, as that new believer begins to grow in the Lord, they will begin to realize that any “cleaning up” of their lives since salvation is only because of the work of the grace of God. “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,
Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;” Titus 2:11,12
Truly, those professing Christians who fail to see themselves as just old sinners saved by grace but rather boast in their own self-righteous deeds are at best “babes in Christ”. And, if they are saved, they will stay babes as long as they continue to cling to their pride, for James 4:6 reminds us, “But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” If we are saved, it is impossible to grow in our Christian walk if we are continually boasting in our own goodness instead of continually acknowledging and repenting of our sin. It was D.L. Moody who said:
“God has nothing to say to the self-righteous.”
In order to grow, God must be speaking to us. Today, can we say that we are growing? D.L. Moody also said:
“The Christian on his knees sees more than the philosopher on tiptoe. God sends no one away empty except those who are full of themselves.”
All of us go through “dry spells” in our Christian life where our time in God’s Word seems to result in us coming up empty. But, if “EMPTY…DRY…DEAD…” is a continual description of our daily time in the Bible, something is wrong. Could it be that pride has crept in? Could it be that pride prevented salvation in the first place?
Of humility and holiness, Andrew Murray said:
“The greatest test of whether the holiness we profess to seek or to attain is truth and life will be whether it produces an increasing humility in us. In man, humility is the one thing needed to allow God’s holiness to dwell in him and shine through him. The chief mark of counterfeit holiness is a lack of humility. The holiest will be the humblest.”
One thing for sure – if we are convinced within ourselves that we are humble individuals…we aren’t. 🙂 When I read the quote below, I found it very thought-provoking.
“A man can counterfeit love, he can counterfeit faith, he can counterfeit hope and all the other graces, but it is very difficult to counterfeit humility.” ~ D.L. Moody
We may be able to fool others in many areas – our love for them, our faith in Christ, etc…but humility is not one of those areas we can successfully pretend. While we are blinded to our prideful condition, it is glaring to all those around us. May God help us guard our hearts against the dangers of pride and self-righteousness.
“Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon 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 every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” Luke 18:10-14