The Top 10 DEADLIEST Signs Of Self-Righteous Christians, Part 2

[farouk]

The effort is not the problem, its whether I let Jesus control or I control what comes out, thats the real issue lol

Hebrews 12.2: 'Looking unto Jesus' is an important key...

 

[Waiting on him]

Forgive me Windmillcharge for thinking you were one of those self-righteous types. After reading many of your replies to some of my post I stand corrected. You are really just a terrible communicator! lol, as a couple of members have already ridiculed me about the same. No one up here is a great communicator that I have seen as of yet. I may reverse my opinion later

I choose to confess my sins in public, It's not like I go in to detail, they are more generalizations. For example, "adultery" could easily be I had a lustful thought when I saw the brunette stop her vehicle at the stoplight the other day. One thing I guard against and monitor about myself is whether or not something I say/do is "self-righteous". I despise it. Too many of my friends growing up, have later in life, went into ministry. Sometimes I have seen "self-righteous" attitudes in them, including my brother, but it's not worth arguing about any longer, as long as they don't get in my face with their "holier than thou attitude!" Not gonna waste my energy.

By the way, concerning confessed sins, the thief on the cross with Jesus said he believed and asked Jesus to take him with him. He never had time to confess anything to any of his victims. What did Jesus say to him? "Today you will be in Paradise with me....... ." So confession is not an absolute.

I’ve read a few of your posts, and you seem to really dislike your brother, am I misunderstanding?

 

[jshiii]

I’ve read a few of your posts, and you seem to really dislike your brother, am I misunderstanding?

I love him, the past is forgiven. I just included him because I wanted those who read my post to know self-righteousness can even plague your on family and friends.

 

[Soverign Grace]

Continued from Part 1


Sign no. 6: Self-righteous people list their good works
Have you ever noticed how hard it is for us to forget the good things we have done to other people? Every time we do something good, we have this little notepad in our brain where we list all our good deeds. Afterward, we add them all up and show ourselves and others how righteous we are!

When we do this, we forget that our righteousness is just like FILTHY RUGS (Isaiah 64:6). Our righteousness pales down to nothing when compared to the righteousness of God.

In reality, it is not our job to list our good deeds. It is God’s. “For God is not unrighteous to forget [our] work and labor of love, which [we] have shewed toward his name, in that [we] have ministered to the saints, and do minister” (Hebrews 6:10).

Sign no. 7: Self-righteous people reject correction
If we remain self-righteous, time will come that it will make us callous. We hold on to our self-righteousness and it will harden us. And by the time when we need to be corrected, PRIDE sets in, and we become unteachable.

This hardness of heart may spring from the belief that you know almost everything, that you already know what the scripture says, and nothing new can impress you anymore. You think that there’s nothing to learn anymore and you won’t let anybody tell you what to do. We have become too vain in our thinking that we won’t allow anyone to point out where we might have got it wrong.

True righteous people possess a child-like attitude. That is entirely different to what self-righteous people feel about themselves. Jesus Christ was teachable in spite of His wisdom and divine nature. He did everything and anything His Father told Him to do.

Sign no. 8: Self-righteous people talk back to God
For God to work with self-righteous people, they need to be humbled first. However, self-righteousness may persist.

Like Job, we may talk back to God and rationalize our thoughts and actions. We may show God how rich, how we have increased in goods, and how we have need of nothing (Revelation 3:17). We may tell God how good we are by following His commandments and that He owes us a pat on the back and praises! However, just like the Laodicean church, we didn’t know that we are actually “wretched, miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (same verse).

Sign no. 9: Self-righteous people think of themselves as important
Sometimes, in our zeal and passion in doing God’s work, we fall into the trap of thinking that it’s all about US.

We look at the results of our work and say, “Wow! Look how many people came into the church through me!” “Did you just see that? I just inspired the whole congregation with MY SERMON!” “Look at how much I am doing for the work of the church. I’m sure the church won’t grow without me.” “I pay a lot of tithes. The pastor will surely miss ME if I leave this church.”

This type of thinking is focused on the SELF. Self-righteousness literally means “SELF-RIGHT.” In reality, we must all be “CHRIST-RIGHT.”

Sometimes we think so highly of ourselves that we felt that God needs us so badly. Actually, the reverse is true: It is US who desperately need God!

Righteous people DON’T think about the things they lost for following God. But rather, they concentrate on the things God gave them!

Sign no. 10: Self-righteous people wallow in self-pity
Every time a self-righteous is chastened by God, he sulks in self-pity. Instead of seeing trials and challenges in life as a way to develop godly righteousness, they would instead pity and prevent themselves from developing the ENTHUSIASM to fight back.

James said that we must “count it all joy when [we] fall into various trials.” For a self-righteous person, he would just endure the trial and not actually rejoice in it. WE NEED TO SEE CORRECTION AS A WAY TO BRING US BACK TO OUR LOVING FATHER.

When God gives us a trial, it is NOT because He wants to prevent us from getting into the Kingdom, but to help us develop the righteousness that enables us to be part of His Family.

When we are corrected for our self-righteous arrogance, we must have a positive attitude, learn the lesson, and overcome. That’s the only way we can destroy the shackles of self-righteousness that restrict our spiritual growth.

Final Words
Here are the 10 deadly signs of self-righteousness. There’s no doubt; it’s HARD TO SEE THE SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS IN US. In fact, every time we do something good, the natural response is to have a certain amount of self-righteousness budding in our hearts.

However, if we truly see what we truly are without God, then we will realize that our righteousness must be from God. After all, it is CHRIST WHO LIVES IN US, and it is Him who helps us produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Instead of building our own righteousness, WE NEED TO BUILD THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD.

This is a profound and significant subject we all need to think about. Self-righteousness is indeed a fatal sin that we all need to overcome, and by being alert to these 10 signs of self-righteousness, I hope we can be more successful in becoming less like us and be more like God!

I agree with some of what you've said but not all. When I came to God He showed me who I really was, not the person I thought I was - he showed me I was a sinner. I remember it being particularly painful.

I don't believe that talking back to God is a sign of self-righteousness though - Scripture says God requires truth in our inmost being. There are many phony Christians - we've all seen them: their lives are perfect (flash pearly whites), praise God HALLELUJAH...and all that nonsense. If God truly wants truth in our inmost being then He wants us to tell Him the truth - that we don't like it that He hasn't answered a long-standing prayer (but also thank Him when He has) That we tell Him the truth when our strength is gone and why doesn't He answer already - you know, like You said You would??? I don't think Job talked back to God - I think he was honest. He went through the torments of hell and cried out from a place of deep desperation. Those who have walked through the 'dark night of the soul' know that place and how bad it is. I think that's a normal and healthy reaction. I fear it when we stuff those feelings inside - or worse, lie to ourselves. Some of the main parts of therapy are telling ourselves the truth.

How do you think Corrie ten Boom and her sister survived Ravensbruck? They prayed for relief yet it never came for Corrie's sister. They were abused, froze, lived in shacks with fleas, and suffered the fear of rape every night from the guards. I recall reading that Corrie prayed: "Lord you set the stars in the heavens, so why don't you help us?" (something like that) So I don't think that crying out or talking back to God is wrong - I think it's human.

But this is a good topic.