SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS IDOLATRY

Chapter Three

SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS IS IDOLATRY

I think this might be the strongest of all the building materials in our protective box, for it is the embodiment of all pride and total deception. It is the exact opposite of that which is righteous, holy and acceptable unto God.

Philippians 3:8-9

8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, 9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

The origin of self-righteousness is man. It is his concept of life, God, the Word, people and of course, himself. It is man’s way of doing things contrary to God’s way.

SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS IS IDOLATRY. IT IS MAN’S WORSHIP OF HIMSELF AND HIS WAY.

The purpose of self-righteousness is to make provisions for man’s pride, lust and way. Therefore, man will not be satisfied simply worshipping himself, he must insist that others worship him and his way as well. Some leaders, as well as other members of the Body of Christ spend their entire Christian life seeking, demanding or manipulating the worship of others.

MAN HAS BECOME THE STANDARD

The standard in Paul’s life was the law. He lived true to the dictates of the law, for in the law provisions were made to atone his sins through the sacrifice of certain animals. His commitment to the righteousness of God can only be imputed through the faith of Jesus Christ being applied to our life. The law was holy in the dispensation of the law. However, with the coming of faith, righteousness could no longer be obtained by the law. Instead, the righteousness of God can only be imputed through the faith of Jesus Christ being applied to our life. Once Paul was introduced to Jesus, he understood that the righteousness of the law, which he sought after, could only be found in Christ. Therefore, he laid aside his concept of righteousness and entered into the righteousness of God, by accepting Jesus Christ as the new standard.

This spirit of self-righteousness has overtaken the Church. Note here, that when I refer to the spirit of self-righteousness, I simply mean the mindset that is exhaled as a spiritual disposition. In no way do I intend to imply that there is a spiritual entity other than the spirit of the mind at work here although, I will concede that the training of such was the work of Satan himself. Many leaders have given themselves over to this mindset. They have become the standard in their organizations and local churches. They have successfully taken the place of God and His Word in the lives of the people. Leaders are bold today. They have replaced the authority of the Holy Ghost, which operates the will and ministry of God in the Church, with their own authority.

THE FLESH RULES AND REIGNS OVER THE PEOPLE OF GOD

The authority of the gift they received from God has caused them to become a god to themselves. Because they see themselves as the authority in the Church (and not the Holy Ghost), it was easy for them to become the standard. This means that leaders have replaced the Word of God as the standard. It is the word of the leader that is law in the church. Therefore, having replaced the Word as the standard and the Holy Ghost as the authority, the leader alone remains a god for the people to worship and obey.

A WORLD OF DECEPTION

I really want to show you some of the details of this operation, for it is burning in me even now as I write this to expose the power of this tradition in the Body.

1 Peter 5:2-3

2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; 3 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.

Leaders must be a righteous example of the Word! Jesus was meek and lowly in heart.

St.Matthew 11:29

Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

Leaders need help in breaking free from this mindset. Perhaps if I can identify the working of this deception, which is ninety-nine percent of deliverance, the reader will move to the other one percent, which is submission, and repent of the sin of self-righteousness. Let me pull once again from the definition of deception. It means to make a false impression, whether by statement, appearance or influence. We need to look at this working from two different angles.

1. One perspective is to see how this deception is accomplished in the eyes of the leader.

2. To see how the leader succeeds in deceiving the people of God. Let us begin with the deception in the life of the leader. How did he get to this place of idolatry? I probably will not be able to make mention of all the avenues one can travel to achieve this disposition; however, I will render those that the Holy Ghost has revealed to me.

As is with the development of most mindsets, there is a gradual progressive moving away from the truth. Again, as was defined for delusion, there is a wandering of the mind away from the present truth. Right here I feel a need to explain present truth. As mentioned previously, Paul had walked in the truth of the Law. However, the dispensation changed in the coming of Christ. The method by which God was dealing with man changed. There was a new and present truth for the new dispensation. To walk in the old, was to deny the new. To deny or disrespect the present truth was to never come into the righteousness of God, and to miss the righteousness of God is to perish.

2 Peter 1:5-12

5 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; 6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; 7 And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. 8 For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. 10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: 11 For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 12 Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.

Walking in faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness and charity will cause us to never fall. These are the things that reveal the character of Jesus Christ. This is the character that will render us an everlasting place in the kingdom of our Lord. Nevertheless, the ninth verse reveals the consequence of disobeying this truth. We will become spiritually blind, without revelation of God and even as a sinner who never knew God. This is strong delusion.

GOD HAS PROMISED TO TURN THE HABITUALLY DISOBEDIENT OVER TO THIS DISPOSITION

Oh, how great will be the fall of those who obey not this present truth. Now back to the entrance into the world of deception. The Lord directed me to the Old Covenant for an amazingly candid picture of the mind that starts to wander or stray from the truth.

Ezekiel 33:11

Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

The Lord was calling these people to repentance, even as He is doing so today. He is disturbed about the wickedness among them. Note that He defines wickedness as “a man’s own way.” The way of the flesh has always been enmity against God.

THE WORD OF GOD MAKES NO PROVISIONS FOR SIN

Ezekiel 33:12-17

12 Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth. 13 When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. 14 Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; 15 If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die. 16 None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live. 17 Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal.

Romans 8:7

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.

James 4:4

Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.

We are not our own. We were bought with the blood of Jesus and have no right to live outside the will of the Father.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

1 Corinthians 7:22-23

22 For he that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord's freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ's servant. 23 Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men.

Ezekiel 33:12-20

18 When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby. 19 But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby. 20 Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.

Listen to what God says here. The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day that he sinneth, for it will not be remembered or considered. Nor will the Lord hold past wickedness against the man that turneth from his wickedness. This is where the deception lies in past righteousness. You see, many think that because they have walked in some righteousness in the past that it negates the evil in the sin of the present. Oftentimes you hear one say, “There are some areas of my life the Lord is working on,” or “That is just an area of weakness in my life, but God knows my heart. God knows that I am really trying to overcome this thing.” WHAT WE ARE REALLY SAYING IS THAT SOMETIMES WE ARE HOLY AND SOMETIMES WE ARE NOT AND GOD UNDERSTANDS THIS. Listen to the mind. Listen to what it has concluded as acceptable unto God. Discern how the mind has allowed the unrighteousness that we walk in. We have abused the Holy Scripture that demands holiness. Our minds have perverted the provisions God gave us for repentance.

1 John 2:1

My little children, these things write I unto you, THAT YE SIN NOT. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:

We cannot live an unholy life and then tell God to accept it. God will never agree with sin. Jesus Christ is not the advocate for a lifestyle of sin, for the same scripture admonishes us not to sin at all.

1 John 1:9

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The mind translates this to mean that we are alright with God as long as we confess the wrong that we do. The only problem is that, there is no confession of sin without a heart that is ready to cease from sin. Oftentimes we say, “God knows my heart.” Well, you are absolutely right. He does know your heart. In knowing, He also knows whether you are sincere in the confession of repentance or not. We have turned this provision into a session of utterance, instead of a confession of repentance. God is not moved by the games flesh attempts to play with Him. He simply has a day set to deal with all unrighteousness.

Another passage the mind uses to lessen the connotation of sin is: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) Of course this scripture is relating to the whole world having sinned against God. Nevertheless, the fleshy mind uses it to place all saints in the same sinful boat. Some leaders walking in the deception of sin simply refuse to take total responsibility for sin and will never stand alone in their sin. Regardless, they must pull someone else in that boat with them. Their mind seems to say, “It’s alright as long as I can identify someone else with the same problem.” These perversions take place so that the mind can live with the conscience.

Romans 10:2-3

2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. 3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

Hebrews 4:12

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Self-righteousness has no intentions of submitting to the righteousness of God. Because to do so, would rob the flesh of its idolatrous image. THE WORD OF GOD DID NOT MAKE ANY PROVISIONS FOR FLESH. Therefore, it is not expedient for the transgressor to walk in the Word. Because the Word destroys self, the Word itself becomes an offense. However, those who carry that Word and contend for the faith, become the victims of the offense.

AFFECTS OF SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS ON THE PEOPLE OF GOD

There is no way a leader can walk in self-righteousness and it has no effect on the congregation. The Lord commanded His ministers to lead the Body by example. People have a tendency to do more of what they see you do, rather than what you say. I have had opportunity to observe this operation very closely:

1. Self-righteousness robs the people of hope. It takes away the righteousness in the Word as the standard of God. The leader’s lifestyle becomes the standard.

2. Some leaders will not hesitate to break the law of God to get what they want. This mindset is passed on to those closest to the leader first. They are the ones close enough to observe the deeds and conversation of the leader.

3. Self-righteousness turns the truth into a lie.

4. Self-righteousness leads the people into idolatry.

5. Self-righteousness causes others to blaspheme.

Romans 2:23-24

23 Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God? 24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.

6. Self-righteousness promotes false humility.

I think Luke says it best in the scripture below:

St. Luke 11:52

Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.

What is the remedy for such condition? It is again very simple. OBEY. STOP PERVERTING THE GOSPEL. OBEY THE TRUTH. LIVE ACCORDING TO THE WORD OF GOD. There is no great mystery here. In order to pervert the truth one must know the truth. Stop the sin. Live holy. Obey. Just simply obey. Obedience is better than sacrifice.