Beyond Appearances: The Heart of True Righteousness

Devotional

Day 1: The Danger of Self-Righteousness

The Pharisees were criticized for relying on human standards rather than God's, justifying themselves before men while God knew their hearts. This serves as a warning against self-righteousness and the danger of valuing human approval over divine truth. In today's world, many people fall into the same trap, seeking validation from others instead of aligning their lives with God's standards. This misplaced reliance can lead to spiritual blindness and separation from God. It is crucial to recognize that God's standard is not about external appearances but the condition of the heart. [06:00]

Jeremiah 17:9-10 (ESV): "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? 'I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.'"

Reflection: In what areas of your life are you seeking approval from others rather than God? How can you begin to shift your focus to align with God's truth today?

Day 2: True Righteousness and the Heart

God's standard is not about external appearances but the condition of the heart. True righteousness involves motives and desires, not just actions. This challenges us to examine our inner lives and align them with God's holiness. It is easy to fall into the trap of performing good deeds for the sake of appearance, but God desires a heart that is genuinely devoted to Him. By focusing on the heart, we can cultivate a life that is pleasing to God and reflects His love and grace to others. [31:54]

1 Samuel 16:7 (ESV): "But the Lord said to Samuel, 'Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.'"

Reflection: What are the true motives behind your actions? How can you align your heart with God's holiness in your daily life?

Day 3: The Insult of Pride and Self-Sufficiency

The essence of sin is pride and self-sufficiency, which is an abomination to God. This attitude dismisses God's authority and grace, leading to spiritual blindness and separation from Him. Pride is a subtle yet powerful force that can lead us away from God, as it did with the Pharisees. Recognizing our dependence on God and His grace is essential for spiritual growth and transformation. By humbling ourselves before God, we can experience His love and guidance in our lives. [40:09]

Proverbs 16:18-19 (ESV): "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud."

Reflection: In what ways do you rely on your own strength and understanding rather than God's? How can you practice humility and dependence on God today?

Day 4: The Necessity of Christ's Sacrifice

The ultimate insult to God is dismissing His greatest act of love—sending His Son to die for our sins. Recognizing the necessity of Christ's sacrifice is crucial for salvation and reconciliation with God. It is only through acknowledging our need for Christ and His redemptive work on the cross that we can be reconciled to God. This realization leads to true humility and salvation, as opposed to the self-justification that leads to spiritual ruin. [44:36]

Hebrews 9:26-28 (ESV): "But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him."

Reflection: How does recognizing the necessity of Christ's sacrifice change your perspective on salvation? What steps can you take to deepen your relationship with Christ today?

Day 5: Embracing True Humility

True humility comes from acknowledging our inability to meet God's standard and our need for Christ's redemptive work. This leads to genuine faith and transformation, as opposed to the self-justification that leads to spiritual ruin. Embracing humility allows us to experience God's grace and love in a profound way, transforming our lives and relationships. By surrendering our pride and self-sufficiency, we open ourselves to the transformative power of God's love and grace. [48:14]

James 4:6-7 (ESV): "But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.' Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you find yourself holding back from surrendering to Jesus? What would surrendering this area to Him actually look like in terms of daily habits?

Sermon Summary

In the Gospel of Luke, chapter 16, verses 14 and 15, we encounter the Pharisees, who are described as covetous and self-justifying before men, yet God knows their hearts. This passage serves as a profound critique of the Pharisees, who, despite their religious appearance, are tragically blind to the truth of Christ. They are depicted as curious onlookers who eventually become antagonistic towards Jesus, ultimately plotting His death. This tragic narrative is not just a historical account but a reflection of a contemporary issue. Many today, like the Pharisees, dismiss Christ, relying on their own standards of morality and ethics, which are esteemed by men but are an abomination in the sight of God.

The essence of the problem lies in the wrong standard. The Pharisees, and many today, justify themselves by human standards rather than God's. They are ignorant of God's true standard, which is not merely about external actions but the condition of the heart. God's standard is absolute, requiring total love and devotion to Him, which no human effort can achieve. This self-sufficiency and pride are the very essence of sin, akin to the rebellion of the devil. It is an insult to God's majesty, power, holiness, and grace. The ultimate abomination is dismissing God's greatest act of love—sending His Son to die for our sins.

The call is to recognize our utter inability to meet God's standard and to see the necessity of Christ's sacrifice. It is only through acknowledging our need for Christ and His redemptive work on the cross that we can be reconciled to God. This realization leads to true humility and salvation, as opposed to the self-justification that leads to spiritual ruin.

Key Takeaways

1. The Pharisees' tragic flaw was their reliance on human standards rather than God's. They justified themselves before men, but God knew their hearts. This is a warning against self-righteousness and the danger of valuing human approval over divine truth. [06:00]
2. God's standard is not about external appearances but the condition of the heart. True righteousness involves motives and desires, not just actions. This challenges us to examine our inner lives and align them with God's holiness. [31:54]
3. The essence of sin is pride and self-sufficiency, which is an abomination to God. This attitude dismisses God's authority and grace, leading to spiritual blindness and separation from Him. [40:09]
4. The ultimate insult to God is dismissing His greatest act of love—sending His Son to die for our sins. Recognizing the necessity of Christ's sacrifice is crucial for salvation and reconciliation with God. [44:36]
5. True humility comes from acknowledging our inability to meet God's standard and our need for Christ's redemptive work. This leads to genuine faith and transformation, as opposed to the self-justification that leads to spiritual ruin. [48:14]
** [48:14]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:14] - Introduction to the Pharisees
[01:13] - The Pharisees' Curiosity and Contempt
[02:06] - The Pharisees' Antagonism
[03:10] - The Tragic Role of the Pharisees
[04:09] - Relevance to Modern Times
[05:10] - Our Lord's Final Analysis
[06:00] - The Wrong Standard
[10:49] - The Pharisees' Ignorance
[12:58] - God's Standard vs. Human Standard
[20:00] - The Essence of Sin
[25:37] - The Pharisees' Rejection of Christ
[31:54] - God's Concern for the Heart
[40:09] - The Insult of Self-Sufficiency
[44:36] - The Abomination of Dismissing Christ
[48:14] - The Necessity of Christ's Sacrifice

Sermon Clips

Ye are they which justify yourselves before men, but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God. I know of no verse that speaks more directly to the Modern Men than just this verse. It is such a perfect word to so many in this world this evening. [00:06:00]

The Pharisees and scribes stand out as the most tragic people in the whole Bible. There they are face to face with this blessed Son of God, the savior of the world, and yet this is the term used—they derided him, they dismissed him, they regarded him with contempt, they had no use for him at all. [00:03:10]

The Pharisees and scribes, as I've reminded you, were very religious men. They were the religious teachers. They were men who were regarded by others and revered by others as holy men of God. They set themselves up as such, and they were accepted as such by The Common People. [00:13:49]

The tragedy of these Pharisees was that they set up their own standard, and because they conformed to that, they thought that all was well, and they persuaded others that all was well. But the whole time, it's quite wrong, it's utterly useless; indeed, it is abomination in the sight of God. [00:16:01]

The ultimate question, you know, rarely comes down to this: it's the question of authority. And in the last analysis, there are only two possible standards and two possible authorities. We either take our Authority and our sanction and our standard from this book, or else we take it from men. [00:21:29]

God is interested not only in actions but in motives. God isn't interested only in what we do, but he's much more interested in why we do them. Again, our Lord puts it to the Pharisees in this way: he says you people do your arms in order to be seen of men. [00:31:54]

The whole of the teaching of the New Testament is this: that what matters is our relationship to God. It isn't just a question of doing good or not doing sins; it's my relationship to God. That's God's test. Of course, life is important, morality is essential, and my Deeds do matter. [00:34:36]

The very essence of sin is this position of the Pharisee. You see, it was the position of the devil: its Pride, its self-sufficiency, it is rebellion against God, it is ultimately a hatred of God. I'm going to show you in a few words that this attitude towards God is the greatest insult. [00:40:09]

The self-sufficient modern man doesn't believe in the death of Christ on the cross because it's unnecessary. He doesn't need any help; he's doing it all himself. He's such a good man, and it's an insult to him to tell him that he's a sinner who needs to be saved. [00:44:36]

Do you see the absolute necessity of the coming of God's son into this World in order to save you? Do you see the absolute necessity of his death upon the cross before God can forgive you? Do you see that that was God's way of making forgiveness possible for you? [00:48:14]

The better you are, the more moral you are, the greater is the Abomination. That which is highly esteemed amongst men, all it bursts of tonight, is abomination in the sight of God because it dismisses the very Heart Of God himself, and that leads, my dear friend, to nothing but hell. [00:49:33]

Face God's standard and fly to Christ and cast yourself at his feet and say, "Nothing in my hand I bring, simply to thy cross I cling." [00:49:59]

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