Are You as Righteous as Your Pastor?

Are you as righteous as your pastor? Are you as righteous as Billy Graham? Are you as righteous as Jesus Christ? Unless you answered "yes" to all three of those questions, your understanding of the Gospel is incorrect.

You may be protesting in your mind reasoning that your could not possibly be as righteous as Jesus Christ because you are keenly aware of your sins and failures. And in one sense, you are right to think that way. God's Word tells us that our righteousness is like "filthy rags". (Isaiah 64:6) The apostle Paul said that he was perfect when it came to the righteousness which comes from obeying the 10 Commandments (Philippians 4:6). Yet, he later denounced this type of righteousness because it is "self-righteousness". It is produced by you trying to live a good or even a godly life in hopes that it will make you more righteous before God. This is the righteousness God detests and finds unacceptable.

For many years, deep within, I falsely believed that if I could obey God more, He would be more pleased with such obedience that He would love and accept me more.   While it is important to live a life which pleases Him, what I believed was not only error, the stress of living that way eventually burned me out. So much so, that when I read the Bible my stomach hurt!   Don't get me wrong, I believed theologically that God accepted me but beneath that factual knowledge, I really believed I had to earn His acceptance. I was in Christ, but I was living in the trap and sin of self-righteousness. It almost killed me!

Romans 5:19 says, "For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous." Adam's disobedience in the garden made us sinners. Jesus obedience on the Cross makes us 100% righteous through our faith in Him.

Today, I urge you to confess your sin of self-righteousness to God and receive His forgiveness. But don't stop there.  Tell Him you believe you are now righteous because of Jesus' obedience and not yours!

Until next time, remember He loves us.   

Be Free In Christ, Mark Maulding, President Founder GraceLifeInternational.com