The Deadly Sin of Self-righteousness Part 2

“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart,  I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the  north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.” –Is 14:12-14

It was a deadly mix of pride, hypocrisy and self-righteousness that, in the beginning, caused the created to revolt against his Creator. Lucifer, the most beautiful of covering cherubs, the one whose honour it was to defend the law of God and who stood in the very presence of God, was by reason of his beauty corrupted. He did not glorify God for having made him perfect, but instead attributed all perfection to himself.

The sins of pride, hypocrisy and self-righteousness usually occur in a subtle, but explosive and dangerous mix that  results in division in the Body of Christ and unnecessary hurt and anger. The worst sins are often the ones that leave no physical scars, the invisible sins of the heart that manifest in all manner of evil and wickedness. Like a noxious weed, they grow in the heart of man bringing out the worst in himself and others.

Self-righteousness is the only sin that one can be totally guilty of , yet never know it. To be self-righteous is to reject the righteousness of Christ which is our only means of salvation, yet many are guilty of this sin of omission. It’s very tempting and easy to just “look like a Christian”. Many people have admitted having successfully pulled off the façade, but unless the seed of self-righteousness is put away, Christ will not reign in a person’s heart. The one who is guilty of self-righteousness prefers to keep Christ on the Cross and his own desire on the throne. Every man who would leave self-righteousness behind must surrender the throne of his heart to Christ, and himself be crucified daily that he may live only for Christ. Until then, a person may preach and even teach on the righteousness of Christ, yet never experience its power.

No one enjoys the company of a self-righteous person, for the topic of discussion is usually the faults and failures of others. Self-righteous people seldom apologise for , or admit their own mistakes and, because they fail to do so, do not experience the joy of great spiritual growth. Self-righteousness focuses on the outward appearance and lives by the law of works, while those who truly surrender to Christ live by the law of faith, revealing a heart circumcised on which is found engraved the royal law of God. Self-righteousness exalts in  seeing others fall short of the glory of God, and satan uses the self-righteous as active “accusers of the brethren”,  as his trusted deputies.  A self-righteous person enjoys pleasure by seeing himself as superior to others. He enjoys seeing them fall because, by default, it makes him look good with minimal effort. Self-righteousness has the tendency to creep up on you unnoticed. Ask Christ to remove the hypocrisy, self-righteousness and pride from your heart so that you can serve Him in spirit and truth and escape from the prison of living a double life.