The Blindness of Self-Righteousness

. . . If we compare what we ought to be and could be with what we are, and we don’t see that we are in a rut and we are not concerned, then one of three things may be wrong. First, we may not be converted at all. . . . Second, people may not be concerned about the rut because of sin they have committed. . . . Third, some people are so self-righteous that they are impervious to any work of the Holy Spirit. They cannot be cured of their blindness because they think they see. The Pharisees never got under conviction. They crucified Christ, they hated the Son of God, but they never got under conviction. They had ordered their religious life so as to be impervious to the arrows of the Holy Spirit. The adulterous woman could fall at the feet of Jesus, the tax collector who knew he had been crooked could run to the feet of Jesus to ask for help, and the poor came from everywhere to say, “What must I do?” They could come, but the Pharisees never did. They never got under conviction, and in hell I suppose they are still fighting and saying they are right. If people judge what they could be and ought to be with what they are and can still go home and have a good night’s rest, shrugging it off, perhaps they have never been converted. Maybe they have sinned against light until they are temporarily under a terrible cloud of God’s judgment. Or maybe they are so self-righteous that they cannot get under conviction.

Verse

When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!’Luke 5:8

Thought

It is only as we draw near to Jesus that we realize how filthy sinful we are. His glorious light reveals the dark closets of our heart. We can only fall before Him. Amazing love! He does not turn us away!

Prayer

O God, burn away my self-righteousness as You let me look upon You. Vile and full of sin I am. You are light and truth and righteousness. I worship You!

FromĀ CM Alliance