Christian Living on Self Righteousness

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Matthew 7:1-2, Luke 18:9-14, Romans 2:1-3, James 4:11-12, Galatians 6:1-2, 1 Peter 4:8, Titus 3:4-5

Self-righteousness is a sense of moral superiority that appoints us as prosecutor of other people’s sinfulness. We relate to others as if we are incapable of the sins they commit. Self-righteousness w...

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Author

Brant P. Hansen

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Isaiah 66:2, Psalm 34:18, Isaiah 57:15, Proverbs 3:34, James 4:6

I’ve learned that Jesus is both terribly dangerous and terribly safe. For the proud, he is the biggest threat imaginable. And for the humble, he is the securest refuge.

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Author

Mark Batterson

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Hebrews 13:16, Matthew 25:40, 1 Peter 2:12, Galatians 5:13, Matthew 5:16, James 2:17, James 4:17

We fixate on sins of commission far too much. We practice holiness by subtraction-don't do this, don't do that, and you're okay. The problem with that is this: you can do nothing wrong and...

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Author

C. S. Lewis

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Micah 6:8, Philippians 2:3-4, Proverbs 11:2, Luke 18:14, Isaiah 14:12-15, 1 Peter 5:5-6, James 4:6

Today I come to that part of Christian morals where they differ most sharply from all other morals. There is one vice of which no man in the world is free; which everyone loathes when he sees it in so...

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Almighty God, we take pride in our

Author

Laura B. Murray

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Matthew 6:24-26, Ephesians 4:1-3, Philippians 2:3-8, James 4:6, Psalm 82:3-4

Almighty God, we take pride in our self-sufficiency while we look down on the weak who cannot provide for themselves. We praise others for their efforts, yet we demand perfection from our own families...

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Author

Timothy Keller

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2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Proverbs 28:13, Matthew 5:3, Isaiah 6:5, Psalm 51:3-4, James 4:10

If I am in denial about my own weaknesses and sin, there will be a concomitant blindness to the greatness and glory of God.

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Our Moral Superiority

Author

Brant P. Hansen

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Matthew 7:3-5, Proverbs 27:2, James 4:6, 1 Corinthians 10:12, Romans 12:3, Luke 18:11-14, Jeremiah 17:9

Researchers at the University of London concluded that “a substantial majority of individuals believe themselves to be morally superior to the average person” and that this illusion of ours is “unique...

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Reducing People to the Madness of a Single Moment

Author

Jonathan K. Dodson

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Proverbs 16:18, Proverbs 11:2, James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5-6, Philippians 2:3-4, Luke 18:9-14, Matthew 23:1-12

In his thoughtful book, Our Good Crisis: Overcoming Moral Chaos with the Beatitudes , Jonathan K. Dodson points out our blind-spots with respect to pride: We rarely think of ourselves as proud. I...

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Two Ways to Reject Jesus as Savior

Author

Timothy Keller

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Hebrews 4:16, Luke 18:9-14, James 4:6, 1 John 4:10, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 3:23-24

…there are two ways to fail to let Jesus be your Savior. One is by being too proud, having a superiority complex—not to accept his challenge [to accept what the gospel says about our unworthiness]. Bu...

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Adapted from “A Cry for Deliverance” in The Valley of Vision

Author

Dustin Ray

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Scripture

2 Corinthians 5:21, Philippians 3:9, 1 Corinthians 10:13, James 4:7, Matthew 6:13, Romans 12:2, 1 Peter 1:15-16, Galatians 2:20

Pastor: Heavenly Father, save me from sin! I know I am righteous only through Jesus’ righteousness, but I greatly desire to be more like him! I am your child, so help me to resist the temptation to si...

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What is Wrong with Us according to Traditional and Modern Cultures

Author

Timothy Keller

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Scripture

Luke 18:14, Proverbs 29:23, Isaiah 2:11, 1 Peter 5:5, Romans 12:3, James 4:6, Proverbs 16:18

Up until the twentieth century, traditional cultures (and this is still true of most cultures in the world) always believed that too high a view of yourself was the root cause of all the evil in the w...

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Who are we?

Author

Jean Bethke Elshtain

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Scripture

James 4:6, Mark 8:36, 1 John 2:17, 1 Corinthians 4:7, Jeremiah 9:23-24, Revelation 3:17

Who, then, are we, we prideful late-twentieth-century creatures? Lord knows, we no longer think of ourselves as belonging to anyone or anything. We do not belong – we own; we possess. And that, to say...

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Turning from Judgment to Compassion

Author

Gregory A. Boyd

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Scripture

Luke 10:5, Matthew 7:1-5, Luke 6:37-42, Romans 14:10, James 4:11-12, 1 Corinthians 4:5

Even for those of us who follow Jesus on a daily basis, the reality is, our sinful nature has infiltrated our minds, and we often find ourselves, either consciously or unconsciously, judging those aro...

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Gracious, almighty God, we think of

Author

Austin D. Hill

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Psalm 115:1, 1 Peter 5:6-7, Matthew 5:16, James 4:10, Proverbs 3:34, Micah 6:8, John 3:30

Gracious, almighty God, we think of John the Baptist, who was a faithful witness to you. He understood that this role was pointing people toward you and not himself. Yet we know that all too often we ...

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Author

Thomas Merton

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Scripture

1 John 1:9, Psalm 51:17, Romans 3:23-24, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Lamentations 3:22-23, James 4:6

But the man who is not afraid to admit everything that he sees to be wrong with himself, and yet recognizes that he may be the object of God's love precisely because of his shortcomings, can begin...

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How We Get our Calling Wrong

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James 4:17, 2 Corinthians 4:5, Micah 6:6-8, Matthew 16:23, Jeremiah 17:9

First, we get our calling wrong when we imagine that God needs us, to be the hero of our own story, rather than Christ. Second, we routinely misdiagnose the problem of our world, underestimating estim...

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Do nothing out of selfish ambition or

Author

Austin D. Hill

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Scripture

Philippians 2:null, John 13:14-15, Galatians 6:2, 1 Peter 5:6, James 4:10, Matthew 23:12

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others. In your ...

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Heavenly Father, we confess that in our pursuit

Author

Allen Thompson

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Scripture

Matthew 6:25-34, Luke 12:22-32, James 4:8, 1 Corinthians 10:31, Psalm 115:1, Romans 12:2

Heavenly Father, we confess that in our pursuit of good, we often miss opportunities to bring you honor and glory. We try to address our shortcomings by compensating for them, rather than by orienting...

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We confess, loving God, that we are not

Author

Chip Hardwick

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Scripture

Romans 3:23-24, 1 John 1:9, Ephesians 1:7, Philippians 2:3-4, James 4:6, Romans 12:2

We confess, loving God, that we are not a society of saints, but a fellowship of sinners. We are the forgiven, who still need forgiveness. We are the redeemed, who are still being redeemed. We do not ...

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Sinner and Saints

Author

Stuart R. Strachan, Jr.

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Scripture

1 John 1:9, Luke 19:1-10, 1 John 1:8-9, Luke 18:9-14, Psalm 51:3-4, James 4:6-10, Psalm 32:5, Proverbs 28:13, 2 Chronicles 7:14, 1 John 1:9

Dwight Lyman, better known as D.L. Moody was a renowned evangelist, publisher, and preacher during the late 19th century. On one occasion, he was invited to guest preach at a local church. Soon after ...

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Author

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

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Romans 5:8, John 21:15-19, Jonah 3:4, Matthew 18:21-35, 2 Samuel 12:1-7, Romans 14:10-13, James 4:11-12

Judging others makes us blind, whereas love is illuminating. By judging others we blind ourselves to our own evil and to the grace which others are just as entitled to as we are.

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Why Can’t We Be Good?

Author

Timothy Keller

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Scripture

John 15:5, Isaiah 64:6, Ecclesiastes 7:20, James 4:17, Galatians 5:17, Jeremiah 17:9, Romans 7:24-25

Jacob Needleman has been a secular philosopher and a professor of philosophy of religion for many years at San Francisco State University. Some years ago he wrote a remarkable book called Why Can’t We...

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A Biblical Understanding of Sin

Author

Richard Plass

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Galatians 5:17, 1 Peter 2:25, Romans 8:7, James 4:4, Ephesians 2:1-2, Isaiah 59:2, 1 John 3:4

In the New Testament sin is not merely an individual, privatized transgression of a moral standard (sins is typically used for specific transgressions). It is far more radical than that. Sin is a mist...

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Prayer of Adoration Lord—you’re

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1 Timothy 3:16, John 1:14, 1 Timothy 1:15, 1 Peter 1:23, James 4:10, 1 John 1:9

Prayer of Adoration Lord—you’re sufficient in everything. You can create without us; save without our assistance; bring good out of evil, hope from despair and restore what we mess up. You’re soverei...

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Father, we confess to boasting in

Author

Laura B. Murray

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Scripture

Jeremiah 9:23-24, James 4:10, 2 Timothy 1:7, Joshua 1:9, Mark 8:34-35, Galatians 5:16

Father, we confess to boasting in success and security. We have denied you rather that desire you. We have cowered when we needed to be courageous. Jesus, we long to be people who follow you, no matte...

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Loving and forgiving God, we want to

Author

Chip Hardwick

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Scripture

Colossians 3:1-3, Galatians 2:20, John 13:34-35, Matthew 5:14-16, Psalm 51:10, James 4:17, Acts 1:8

Loving and forgiving God, we want to answer your invitation to experience a Christ-centered life. Yet all too often, our lives are much more centered around our ourselves than around Jesus. Jesus send...

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Gracious God, our hearts are often

Author

Laura B. Murray

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Scripture

Psalm 51:10, Jeremiah 17:9-10, Matthew 5:8, Romans 7:21-23, James 4:8, Ezekiel 36:26, 1 John 3:3, Psalm 73:1, Psalm 24:3-4, Matthew 15:19-20, Romans 12:2, Psalm 139:23-24, Titus 1:15, James 1:2-8, Matthew 12:25

Gracious God, our hearts are often divided between what is good and what is evil. Not one of us is pure in heart yet we long to have a whole heart.

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Scene Stealing through Pride

Author

Brian Dembowczyk

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Scripture

John 3:30, Philippians 2:3-4, James 4:6, 1 Peter 5:5-6, Matthew 23:1-12, Galatians 6:14

One of the cardinal rules of improvisational theater is that actors must never steal scenes. In her book Improvisation for the Theater , Viola Spolin bluntly puts it this way: “Any player who ‘st...

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All: Knowing God, we often believe our

Author

Laura B. Murray

Keywords

Scripture

Proverbs 3:5-6, Isaiah 55:8-9, James 4:6, Jeremiah 9:23-24, Romans 12:3, Matthew 23:1-12, Psalm 25:9, 1 Peter 5:5-6, Hebrews 4:16

All: Knowing God, we often believe our way is the best way. In our arrogance, we ignore your will and your ways. We confess our dependence on knowledge and our independence from you. Thank you that yo...

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Author

C. S. Lewis

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Scripture

Hebrews 12:1-2, 2 Corinthians 12:9, Romans 7:18-19, James 4:8, Isaiah 64:6, 1 John 1:8-9, Psalm 51:2-3

It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present in us; it is the very sign of His presence.

christian living on Self-Righteousness

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