Satan’s Strategy for Your Life #10: Self-Righteousness
“…and having put on the breastplate of righteousness…”—Ephesians 6:14
One of the greatest tactics of the enemy is his ability to get us to stand in our own righteousness. God wants us to clothe ourselves with His righteousness and not ours, but whenever we believe that we are the reason for success, and we are able to stand against Satan in our own power and ability then we are wide open to satanic attack. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall”—1 Corinthians 10:12.
Jesus had no sympathy for those who were self-righteous. One parable, the parable of the wedding feast, specifically captured the essence of living in our own righteousness and not in the righteousness of God. Found in Matthew 22, Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like a great wedding feast where everyone was invited. Many were honored guests, but proved to be unworthy of the invitation and were punished accordingly. After the initial invitation came a second one where anybody who wanted to attend, was welcome. One man came to the feast improperly dressed. He needed to be wearing a wedding garment, but he didn’t bother to get dressed up, coming in whatever he was wearing. The host of the party says, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?” His question exposes the man, who responds in nothing but silence. It is then that the host says, “Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”—Matthew 22:13. Why was the man thrown out of the party? Because he tried to get into the party without being properly dressed for the occasion. It is a metaphor of trying to get into heaven by our own self-righteousness. As Jesus said, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”—Matthew 5:20. We can only come to heaven clothed in Christ’s righteousness which is put on by faith in what He accomplished at the cross.
Oh how many Christians today are self-righteous! How many of us are like the self-righteous Pharisees of Jesus’ day who prayed, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get”—Luke 18:11-12. We delight in how good we are and all of the good that we have done, while outwardly our clothing may appear to be righteous, inwardly our hearts are black and the clothing we believe is righteous is actually filthy rags (cf. Isaiah 64:6). We must be like the tax collector who stood a far off and wouldn’t even lift his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”
How many Christians today believe that they are “okay” in the sight of God because of their own righteousness! Satan has won a victory by having us trust in our own accomplishments rather than in the cross of Christ and the righteousness of the Lord of Glory! We are weak when clothed in our flesh, but when clothed in the garments made available by the cross, we are wearing the clothes spun by the Lord of the Universe! He alone was crucified for our sins and He alone possesses the righteousness that God requires! May we repent of our self-righteousness and ask God to clothe us in His righteous garments! And then we will be fully satisfied in God’s presence, delighting in the wedding celebration made available to us by God’s gracious invitation. Amen.
One of the greatest tactics of the enemy is his ability to get us to stand in our own righteousness. God wants us to clothe ourselves with His righteousness and not ours, but whenever we believe that we are the reason for success, and we are able to stand against Satan in our own power and ability then we are wide open to satanic attack. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall”—1 Corinthians 10:12.
Jesus had no sympathy for those who were self-righteous. One parable, the parable of the wedding feast, specifically captured the essence of living in our own righteousness and not in the righteousness of God. Found in Matthew 22, Jesus says that the kingdom of heaven is like a great wedding feast where everyone was invited. Many were honored guests, but proved to be unworthy of the invitation and were punished accordingly. After the initial invitation came a second one where anybody who wanted to attend, was welcome. One man came to the feast improperly dressed. He needed to be wearing a wedding garment, but he didn’t bother to get dressed up, coming in whatever he was wearing. The host of the party says, “Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?” His question exposes the man, who responds in nothing but silence. It is then that the host says, “Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth”—Matthew 22:13. Why was the man thrown out of the party? Because he tried to get into the party without being properly dressed for the occasion. It is a metaphor of trying to get into heaven by our own self-righteousness. As Jesus said, “For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven”—Matthew 5:20. We can only come to heaven clothed in Christ’s righteousness which is put on by faith in what He accomplished at the cross.
Oh how many Christians today are self-righteous! How many of us are like the self-righteous Pharisees of Jesus’ day who prayed, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get”—Luke 18:11-12. We delight in how good we are and all of the good that we have done, while outwardly our clothing may appear to be righteous, inwardly our hearts are black and the clothing we believe is righteous is actually filthy rags (cf. Isaiah 64:6). We must be like the tax collector who stood a far off and wouldn’t even lift his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast saying, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”
How many Christians today believe that they are “okay” in the sight of God because of their own righteousness! Satan has won a victory by having us trust in our own accomplishments rather than in the cross of Christ and the righteousness of the Lord of Glory! We are weak when clothed in our flesh, but when clothed in the garments made available by the cross, we are wearing the clothes spun by the Lord of the Universe! He alone was crucified for our sins and He alone possesses the righteousness that God requires! May we repent of our self-righteousness and ask God to clothe us in His righteous garments! And then we will be fully satisfied in God’s presence, delighting in the wedding celebration made available to us by God’s gracious invitation. Amen.
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