Sermon #240 Series: Isaiah

Title: SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS EXPOSED

Text: Isaiah 65:5

Reading: Luke 18:9-14

Subject: Seven Charges against Self-righteousness

Date: Sunday Evening - May 11, 1996

Tape #

Introduction:

The apostle Paul tells us, in Romans chapter ten, that Isaiah was very bold in making this prophecy. It required the boldness of firm conviction and divine anointing for the servant of God to speak for God in the day when the people who claimed to worship God were wholly given over to idolatry, superstition, and will worship. It required boldness for the man of God to expose the self-righteousness of the nation, declaring them to be a people who, because of the delusions of their perverse religion and the depravity of their hearts, were a people “Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to m; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.”

Thus the prophet of God boldly delivered the word of the Lord. In a day when the people were wholly given over to legality, he preached the gospel. When his nation was filled with pride and self-righteousness, proudly presuming that they were alone the people of God, he boldly denounced them as hypocrites. When they thought they had God in their pocket, God’s prophet boldly affirmed God’s electing grace and announced his rejection of the Jewish nation. Perhaps it was his boldness that provoked Manasseh’s wrath which resulted in Isaiah being cruelly put to death, being sawn asunder by the king’s order.

The sins of Israel were open and manifest. They pretended to worship the Lord, but did so in total violation of the first and second commandments. They mixed the worship of other gods with the worship of Jehovah. They used icons, images, and symbols in the worship of God. These things were expressly forbidden by God even in the Old Testament.

Exodus 20:3-4 "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (4) Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:"

The Jews worshipped the Lord, or at least pretended to, upon ornate altars of brick, altars of their own making, in places of their on choosing. Again, they did so in direct violation of Holy Scripture.

Exodus 20:24-26 "An altar of earth thou shalt make unto me, and shalt sacrifice thereon thy burnt offerings, and thy peace offerings, thy sheep, and thine oxen: in all places where I record my name I will come unto thee, and I will bless thee. (25) And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. (26) Neither shalt thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered thereon."

The Jews even practiced necromancy, pretending that they communed with the dead. They practiced witchcraft and sorcery, incorporating magic into their worship! To top it all off, thy were guilty of horrid self-righteousness. They carried their self-righteousness to such a pitch that they vainly and proudly imagined that if they even rubbed up against someone else on the streets they would be polluted and defiled. Therefore, the Lord God here declared them to be to him as smoke in a man’s nose, abhorrent and intolerable.

I am certain that you already see that Isaiah’s bold prophecy is as applicable to our day as it was to his. There are many today who pretend to worship the Lord God must be honestly exposed for that self-righteousness that says, “Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou.” Multitudes today, who have spent this day in the house of God, have spent the day as “A smoke in (God’s) nose.”

The title of my message this evening is Self-righteousness Exposed. If God the Holy Spirit will enable me to do so, I want to expose self-righteousness and encourage you to constantly guard against it. Self-righteousness is at its heart the idea that we can make ourselves righteous, that we obtain righteousness because of who we are, who we are related to, what we do, what we experience, or what we feel. Self-righteousness is trust in ourselves (Luke 18:9). Self-righteousness is a refuge of lies by which men and women deceive their own hearts, a bed that is too short for a man to stretch himself upon it, and a covering too narrow to wrap yourself in. It is in God’s eyes the most offensive, obnoxious, and loathsome of all of all evils in this world. Yet, it is that which is most appealing to our flesh, that by which we are most likely to be deceived.

Proposition: Unless God delivers us from the horrible snare of self-righteousness, we will perish forever under his wrath.

Let me make seven statements about self-righteousness. Some of them will be biting and painful, I know. Some of them will be very offensive to some of you. But they must be made. I must be faithful in my generation, as Isaiah was in his, and boldly expose the self-righteousness by which satan would destroy your soul.

I. Self-righteousness grows and flourishes best the soil of religion.

This is an enemy found within our own walls. It is not something we have to look for in the dark alleys of the profane. Oh, no. Self-righteousness is perfectly at home in the assembly of God’s saints and in the practice of religious duties.

Isaiah 1:10-15 "Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorra. (11) To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. (12) When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? (13) Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. (14) Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. (15) And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood."

Luke 16:15 "And he said unto them, 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."

Self-righteousness is not an evil found only among the unregenerate and unbelieving of the world. It is an evil with which believers constantly struggle. It is like a huge cob-web on our souls that we simply cannot pull off.

You can mark this down as a rule by which to determine whether or not our behavior is self-righteous. Anything done to be seen of and to call the attention of others to ourselves is abhorrently self-righteous! Listen to what our Savior says about the matter.

Matthew 6:1-6 "Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. (2) Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. (3) But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: (4) That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. (5) And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. (6) But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."

If I understand this passage correctly, most of what is done in the name of religion is self-righteousness.

· Most of our Public Prayers *In Restaurants (Matt. 15) *In Church

· Most of our Works of Charity

· Most of the Preaching

· Most Church Attendance

Self-righteousness grows and flourishes in religious soil; but you will find it outside the church too.

II. Self-righteousness is as common among the base and profane of the world as well.

This sin abounds where you might least expect it. Nothing is more ridiculous than to hear men and women who are openly vile talk about morality, social values, and ethical uprightness. Yet, we should not be surprised by this. The Scriptures give us examples of such things and warn us that the time would come when men would call good evil and evil good.

III. Self-righteousness makes men and women harsh, hard, and judgmental regarding others.

Luke 18:9 "And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:"

IV. Self-righteousness will not bow to the authority of the Word of God alone.

· II Timothy 3:16

· Pharoah

· The Pharisees (Matt. 15:7-9)

V. Self-righteousness will never acknowledge and confess sin (Utter, personal depravity).

· Psalm 51:1-5

· I John 1:9

VI. Self-righteousness will not trust Christ alone.

· I Corinthians 1:30

· Makes the Death of Christ of Non-effect

VII. Self-righteousness most effectually bars a sinner from God’s grace and God’s salvation.

Your sin will not keep you from Christ; but your righteousness will.

· Romans 9:31-10:4

Application:

· Isaiah 64:6

· Matthew 10:20

· Romans 10:4