Conformance or Conversion
A Word to the Self-Righteous
I was reminded tonight by way of someones personal testimony of the absolute necessity for the new birth (John 3:3). Is it really possible that someone can live the "good" Christian life, ALL their life, even grow up in the house of a Christian minister, yet never have experienced the miracle of salvation?
The answer of course is yes, and you will notice that I used the word miracle. Why is salvation a miracle? Primarily because it is God's work and not our own. I like how Ezekiel describes God's work in salvation, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh" (36:26-26).
Here, a divine surgical operation is initiated by God. No less than a complete heart transplant is required for a relationship with God. Like all organ donations, this is not the heart you were born with. Likewise, new spiritual hearts are not easily come by using human methods. For example, you wont find a new heart by just attending church, nor will you obtain a new spirit growing up in a Christian home memorizing bible verses. This kind of conversion experience cannot be achieved through adherence to moral standards either. Usually focus on such methods only serves to fuel our own sense of achievement. Jesus illustrated self-righteousness behaviour:
"To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.' "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Luke 18:9-14)
This parable defines for us "self-righteousness". Righteousness is the issue of our acceptance with God, we can see this from verse 14. Self-righteousness is the false confidence that we are acceptable to God on the basis of the things we do or don't do. The Pharisee considered himself accepted on the basis of his own adherence to the law of God (fasting, tithing). He also thought himself in good standing because he had not committed certain crimes that other people had. The tax collector however (a thief and a traitor), did not consider himself acceptable to God at all and so simply begged God for mercy. The attitude of the pharisee led him to condemn another. However the mind of the tax collector was too consumed by his own offences, to be bothered with comparing himself with others. Jesus states plainly that God declared the tax collector righteous and not the pharisee.
Therefore at the heart of this matter is our attitude toward ourselves. Understanding our need of forgiveness is critical to the matter of salvation, and lack thereof is the root problem behind self-righteousness. This is why Jesus said "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick" (Mark 2:17). Naturally, people do not see themselves as being sinful enough to desire the forgiveness of God, and so they often substitute morality or religious activity in the place of true conversion. However in the life of a Christian, the gospel must not merely be known, it must be felt. Mere theology did not drive the tax collector to beat his breast and pray for mercy, but rather a sense of brokenness and helplessness. This is the key difference between a conformer and a convert.
"...I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners." -Mark 2:17
