The Danger of “Righteousness” Luke18:9-14, Romans14:1-12
Mari Ikeda
1. The pitfall in church (9-10)
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
2. Human standard of righteousness is… (11-12)
11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people―robbers, evildoers, adulterers―or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
a. Not based on God
b. All about actions
3. The kind of righteousness Paul seeks (Romans14:1-12)
Romans14: 1 Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2 One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3 The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand. 5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7 For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8 If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9 For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister ? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11 It is written: “ ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’ ” 12 So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
4. Surrendering to God’s mercy (13-14)
13 “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.’ 14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Summary
The kind of righteousness that God seeks in us is not about how righteous or good we are in comparison to others. Rather, God sees how much we acknowledge our sin before Him and seek His righteousness. As His righteousness is always with His mercy (love), we also have to seek love when we seek righteousness.
For Discussion
1) What is wrong with this Pharisee? How is it relevant to you?
2) What kind of righteousness does Paul teaches us to seek?