The Danger of Self-Righteousness and Understanding Justification

The danger of self-righteousness is that it prevents people from recognizing their spiritual sickness. Self-righteous people think they’re spiritually healthy, so they don’t look to the Great Physician. If you’re sick, but you think you’re healthy you don’t know anything’s wrong. You won’t get the medical attention you need. You keep getting worse, often without knowing it. It is dangerous to be physically sick and not know it, but it’s even worse to be spiritually sick and not know it. If you’re physically sick and don’t know it, the worst you can experience is physical death. But if you’re spiritually sick and don’t know it the worst you can experience is eternal death. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rl-8q9AUXs0 The danger of self-righteousness is that it prevents people from recognizing spiritual sickness and seeking to be justified by faith. Table of ContentsFamily Worship Guide for The Danger of Self-RighteousnessSermon Notes for The Danger of Self-Righteousness and Understanding JustificationSelf-righteousness is dangerous because it (Lesson One) causes us to think we’re healthy when we’re sick.Self-righteousness is dangerous, because it (Lesson Two) prevents us from wanting Jesus’s righteousness.Self-righteousness is dangerous, because it (Lesson Three) is shooting at the wrong target. Family Worship Guide for The Danger of Self-Righteousness Directions: Read the verses and then answer the questions: Day 1: Isaiah 1:5-6, Jeremiah 30:12-13, Proverbs 16:2, 30:12, Hosea 12:8, Revelation 3:17, Luke 16:14-15—What does it mean to be spiritually sick? Why would people think they are spiritually healthy when they are spiritually sick? Why is it dangerous to be spiritually sick but think you are spiritually healthy? Besides what was mentioned in the sermon, can you think of other examples in Scripture of people being spiritually healthy when they were spiritually sick?Day 2: Luke 18:9-14, Matthew 3:13-15, Luke 5:31-32, Isaiah 55:1—What two things does Jesus offer us? Define justified in two words. What is double imputation? Why is justification greater than mere forgiveness? How can we be justified? How do many people wrongly attempt to be justified? In other words, how do many people think they can go to heaven?Day 3: Luke 18:9, Romans 10:3, Jeremiah 10:19—Why is self-righteousness shooting at the wrong target? Romans 10:3 says the Jews sought to establish their own righteousness. How did they do that? There are reasons people won’t go to an earthly physician. Why won’t people go to Jesus, the Great Physician? Sermon Notes for The Danger of Self-Righteousness and Understanding Justification The title of this morning’s sermon is, “The Danger of Self-Righteousness.” Please stand with me for the reading of God’s Word… Isaiah 1:1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. 2 Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken: “Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. 3 The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand.” 4 Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, offspring of evildoers, children who deal corruptly! They have forsaken the Lord, they have despised the Holy One of Israel, they are utterly estranged. 5a Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? Now this is the part for this morning… Isaiah 1:5b The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint. 6 From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and raw wounds; they are not pressed out or bound up or softened with oil. You may be seated. Let’s pray. On Sunday mornings we’re working our way through Luke’s gospel verse by verse, but this morning we are going to continue from last Sunday’s sermon. If I would’ve preached two hours last week this would’ve been the second half. So let me briefly remind you what we talked about… Luke 5:31 Jesus [said], “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. We talked about just how fitting it is to describe Jesus as a Physician for sinners. Earthly physicians heal physical sickness, but Jesus heals spiritual sickness.Earthly physicians work on the body, but Jesus works on the soul. Look back at Isaiah 1:1… Isaiah 1:1 The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. Isaiah is speaking to Judah in the days of these kings. If you’re familiar with the Jews during this season of their history, you know they were struggling spiritually. Look what Isaiah said to them in verse 5 about their sickness… Isaiah 1:5a Why will you still be struck down? Why will you continue to rebel? The whole head is sick, They are sick in the head. Isaiah 1:5b and the whole heart faint. They have heart failure. Isaiah 1:6a From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, They are sick from head to toe. Isaiah 1:6b but bruises and sores and raw wounds; They have running sores Isaiah 1:6c they are not pressed out or bound up or softened with oil. They aren’t receiving medical attention. They’re pretty sick, aren’t they? But here’s the question… Are they sick physically or spiritually? They’re sick spiritually. Many of these people were healthy physically. Listen to what Jeremiah said to the Jews not many years later… Jeremiah 30:12 “For thus says the Lord: Your HURT IS INCURABLE, AND YOUR WOUND IS GRIEVOUS. 13 There is none to uphold your cause, NO MEDICINE FOR YOUR WOUND, NO HEALING FOR YOU. Again, they are sick, but it is spiritual versus physical. There’s good theology in these verses regarding our sinful nature and the incurable nature of it… Despite what psychology or self-help experts might say, we can’t cure ourselves. There is no human remedy or medicine. We can’t heal our spiritual sickness by being good enough or trying hard enough. Because they had forsaken the Lord – the only place they could find healing – their situation was incurable. There was no medicine or healing for them. Many of these people thought they were healthy when they were sick, which is dangerous…  If you’re sick, but you think you’re healthy: You don’t know anything’s wrong.You won’t get the medical attention you need.You keep getting worse…often without knowing it.You won’t go to the doctor. Nobody ever says, “I’m going to go to the doctor today, because I feel so good.” We’ve all heard wonderful stories about people whose sicknesses were caught early and their chances for treatment and recovery were vastly increased. We’ve also all heard sad stories about people who had a disease, thought they were healthy, so they didn’t go to the doctor until much later. Then their chances for treatment and recovery were vastly decreased. It is really serious to be physically sick and not know it, but it’s even worse to be spiritually sick and not know it: If you’re physically sick and don’t know it, the worst you can experience is physical death.But if you’re spiritually sick and don’t know it the worst you can experience is eternal death. And this brings up an important question I’d like to ask… What causes people to think they spiritually healthy when they are spiritually sick? Self-righteousness! And this brings us to Lesson One… Self-righteousness is dangerous because it (Lesson One) causes us to think we’re healthy when we’re sick. How many people have you ever met who recognized they were spiritually sick sinners who needed to be made well? Instead, almost everyone you meet will say the same thing: “I’m a good person.” This is synonymous with, “I’m spiritually healthy.” Listen to these verses… Proverbs 16:2 All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit. This describes the way we view ourselves: Everything we do is right to us.We don’t think we do anything wrong.When we do something wrong, we can justify it. We can find excuses. This prevents us from recognizing our spiritual sickness. Proverbs 30:12 There are those who are clean in their own eyes but are not washed of their filth. This is interesting: filthy people who think they’re clean. They look at themselves and see only cleanness, but God sees filth. Hosea 12:8 Ephraim has said, “Ah, but I am rich; I have found wealth for myself; in all my labors they cannot find in me iniquity or sin.” Ephraim was another name for the northern kingdom of Israel, because it was the name of the largest tribe and sometimes the kingdom was named after the largest tribe…just like the southern kingdom of Judah was named after Judah, the largest tribe. God sent the prophet Hosea to them at one of the spiritually lowest points in their history. They were about to be conquered by the Assyrians. They should have known they were sinners, but they said… They cannot find in me iniquity or sin. They were so spiritually sick God was about to wipe them out, but they thought they couldn’t have been healthier. Laodicea was one of the worst churches in history. You might remember a few weeks ago we looked at the verse about the Lord saying he wanted to spit them out of his mouth. Guess what they said about themselves? Revelation 3:17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. That IS a sick church that thought it was healthy. We need God’s law to show us we are spiritually sick. Despite what most of the world thinks, the purpose of the Ten Commandments, or God’s Law, is not to show us how to be righteous or how to get to heaven.