Blog
“Paul's Bait-and-Switch”
Categories: Bulletin Articles, M. W. Bassford
Most Christians struggle with self-righteousness. In our heart of hearts, we want to be justified on our own merits instead of relying on the grace of God. The former would allow us to believe that we are good; the latter forces us to acknowledge that we are not.
Consequently, even as we deplore the sins of others, part of us wants to savor them. We compare the sinner to the perfection of God’s law and inevitably find them wanting. However, rather than doing the same for ourselves, we use the sinner for our new standard of comparison.
They cheated on their spouse. I’ve always been faithful to mine. They got drunk. I’ve spent my life stone-cold sober. They dress like a tramp. My attire wins smiles of approval from the church dragons. And so forth.
Looks like I’m a pretty good person after all, doesn’t it?
This self-righteous perspective is a deadly spiritual problem. Jesus spent His ministry skewering the Pharisees for trusting in themselves that they were righteous. However, perhaps the most devastating exposé of self-righteousness in the entire Bible appears in the first two chapters of the book of Romans. There, Paul baits a trap for the self-righteous and clobbers them when they walk into it.
The trap works so well in part because the bait itself is powerfully reasoned and true. It is nothing less than Paul’s description of the degradation of the Gentiles in Romans 1:18-32. Their moral failure began with a refusal to honor the God so evident in creation. From there it led to sexual immorality, generalized wickedness, and endorsement of the wickedness of others.
This argument would have been red meat to a pious Jew living in the godless city of Rome. For that matter, it is still red meat to us. We see the same symptoms of moral decay in the people around us. They don’t honor God. They practice sexual sin and lead reprehensible lives. They praise the lawlessness they practice. How frequently do we shake our heads at those who call evil good?
Then, in 2:1, Paul springs the trap. He already has observed in 1:20 that the ungodly are without excuse. Now, though, he says the same thing to their judges. All of us are without excuse too. When we condemn others because of their sin, we condemn ourselves too--because we do the same things that they do.
Maybe I’m not adulterous, drunk, or immodestly dressed, but on my own merits I’m still a sinner. All of us are. Just as I can justly condemn them for violating God’s law, so too can someone justly condemn me for violating different parts of the same law. Do I really want the lies I’ve told to come up on the day of judgment? How about my outbursts of anger at my spouse? How about my love of judging others while overlooking my own sin?
Self-righteousness is alluring, but it’s a luxury that none of us can afford. Puffing ourselves up when we consider the sins of others turns us into a target for the wrath of God. Only acknowledging our own failures and entrusting ourselves to the mercy of Jesus will lead us to inherit eternal life.
