What sin do religious people commit most often?
May 5, 2010
Case for Grace - part twenty-eight in a study of the book of Romans
Mike Gaudet
Both religious and irreligious people sin.
What sin do religious people commit most often?
“Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness. Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.” Romans 10:1-4
The Jewish people who lived in Jesus’ day took their faith seriously. Paul observed, “I can testify about them that they are zealous for God.” Daily prayers, money for the poor, synagogue attendance and dietary restrictions were all expressions of their zeal to put God first.
However, Paul observed that ”their zeal is not based on knowledge.”
Paul’s Jewish countrymen believed that the key to impressing God was to spend hours in religious activities. In their opinion, “righteousness” was a passing grade given to those who conformed their lives to the demands of the Law handed down on Mt. Sinai. It was difficult for the Jews to comprehend that Jesus Christ completely removed commandment-keeping as a means by which men and women could draw near to God. They did not understand that “Christ is the end of the law.”
Not much has changed in 2,000 years. We still believe that our obedience to the Ten Commandments opens the door into God’s presence. We pursue righteousness the way that many of the Jews in Paul’s day did . . . “they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own.”
Failure to understand that Christ terminated the role of Law as a means to being accepted by God creates a problem for us.
We base our righteousness on what we do rather than on what Christ did.
We become self-righteous.
Self-righteousness does not end up on many “sin lists.” However, self-righteousness is the sin that Jesus rebuked most harshly. Jesus was far more lenient with unrighteousness than He was with self-righteousness.
“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
The people Jesus had in mind “were confident of their own righteousness.” They “looked down on everybody else” because no one fasted or tithed as zealously as they did.
Jesus opposes self-righteousness because it leads to arrogance, boasting and comparison - the ABC’s of self-righteousness. When our confidence rests on doing more than others, we cannot avoid measuring ourselves against others.
Jesus opposes self-righteousness because it doesn’t lead to being accepted by God. “Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.” On this side of the cross, behaving does not cause God to love and accept us. Believing does.
If you catch yourself looking down on someone who is less “religious” than you are, remember . . .
. . . we all come to God via the cross of Christ.
The ground is level there.