The Trap of Self-Justification

Something that the Lord has been revealing to me recently, has been the concept of self-justification. This is a really tricky thing I find.

The Charismatic Movement

When I was caught-up in the charismatic movement in the late nineties, I found that there was a great deal of emphasis on Christians proving their worth to God and each other. There was an emphasis on God "using" people, with the idea that you were not a proper Christian unless you prayed constantly for God to "use" you in all sorts of extravagant ways.

I think what made all of this worse was the Word of Faith movement with its spectacular testimonies, signs and wonders. I'm all for that but with the proper emphasis and motive.

The Desire to Prove Oneself

The carnal nature is inclined towards proving oneself. The concept of the law as in the Ten Commandments was something that was actually requested by man, as far as I understand. It is for this reason that the concept of establishing rules as a means of a person being qualified or disqualified for the blessing and favour of God - is such as natural inclination.

Unless we first accept ourselves just as we are, we will never attain the clarity, peace, joy and love that we need in order to walk in the fullness of what God has for us. But this is why the whole concept of keeping rules or proving yourself by asking God to "use" you - is such a massive distraction. This desire for God to "use" us to do marvellous things, appeals to the lower nature's compulsion to prove oneself to God and other people. There is this sense in the church of two types of Christians: active Christians and passive Christians. A person will make themselves do all sorts of things they don't want to do in the church, all for the sake of being acknowledged as an "active Christian" or a “devoted Christian”.

To be honest, I'm inclined to believe that the concept of bringing together a group of frustrated and confused people who are desperate to prove their worth - is a really bad idea. The pastor of a church can exploit this desperation in order to maintain his religious show. It's like a conveyor belt of frustrated Christians, hopping on and off, either burned out on religion or desperate to prove themselves.

Un-anointed Works

When I look back on everything that I've done so far in church, I can see that hardly any of it was really blessed by God. There have been so many start-and-stop activities were I have been convinced that I've been called to do something, only to find that I've made all sorts of commitments to something that does not really work for me and something that I'm beginning to struggle with. Then, when things don't work out, we make the glib excuse of, "Well, God changed His mind." Yeah, right, as if!

Seek Righteousness First

Jesus says to seek righteousness first: knowing that we are acceptable to Him - just as we are. But then we get caught-up in the practice of feeling as if there is something wrong with us if we don't get excited about going on mission trips abroad or joining the weekly prayer meeting. There is this sense that if God does not "use" us, then we are harbouring hidden sin, or we need to read more Christian books in order to find the right principles and formulas to keep. This is like entering into a vast maze, because the power from God that we are seeking in order to fulfil some kind of requirement that we think we ought to fulfil, for our own peace of mind, simply is not being afforded to us by God.

Even though we are told that we are righteous, there is that sense that we are still required to keep rules, albeit, through the power of God. Living according to the law is not just seeking to keep rules through self-effort, it is also seeking to keep rules through confessing "power from on High" according to the Word of God.

Bertie Brits teaches that we should avoid seeking the power of God so that we can fulfil the law - Jesus fulfilled the law on our behalf. Our job now is to rest in His finished work and to live freely and naturally as we allow Hs love to become our own nature and desires. As soon as we look to rules, principles, obligations and formulas - we end-up restricting the love of God working in us, through our own logical reasoning.

The Old Covenant could not produce life, the presence of God, in the heart of a person (See Romans 7:10). We need the life-giving presence of God in order to live a godly life. But God is not going to give us His power so that we can fulfil our own sense of self-justification. The pastor might tell the congregation that everyone in the church should join the next mission trip abroad – but is he right? What are his motives? Perhaps God wants you to go on that mission trip, but then again, perhaps He does not.

The Threat of Being Called “Lazy”

I think what often happens is that we dread being called “lazy” by other Christians. The word “lazy” is used far to often by well-meaning preachers who try to “motivate” Christians into serving God. What they end-up doing is patronising people and bringing a sense of condemnation to believers who are already struggling to believe that God loves them, just as they are.

If you are not called to do such things, it can cause your anxious mind to race, “Why aren’t I called to go on this mission trip? Is it because I haven’t prayed enough? Do I need to read the Bible more? Perhaps there is a book that will give me the correct principles and formulas to follow? What’s going to happen to me if I don’t go on that mission trip? What will other people think of me? What am I going to tell them? What excuse can I make?”

Self-Justification Amongst the Pharisees

During the days of Jesus’ earthly ministry, He was always at odds with the religious elite of the day: the Pharisees and Sadducees. These Jewish sects sought to prove themselves to be better than everyone else, and more deserving of the favour of man and God, according to their efforts and achievements.

Everything that the Pharisees did appeared noble, but it was their motive, the honour of others, that made it so wrong. Even prayer and fasting became a platform for these people to prove their worth to themselves, God and others. (See Matthew 6:5-6, 6:16). I like the rendition in The Message translation:

⁵ "And when you come before God, don't turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat? ⁶ "Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace. ⁷ "The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. ⁸ Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need.

Matthew 6:5-8 msg

God Resists the Proud

The Bible tells us that God resists the proud (see James 4:6). Who are the proud? Obviously, “the proud” are people who boast about their status, achievements and ability.

But perhaps “the proud” could also include those well-meaning Christians who have a strong desire to prove their sense of worth to themselves, God and other people – according to what they have and what they do. If this is the case, what is the likely result of such a person’s pursuits? Well, if God resists a person, I see that as there being no plan or purpose of God in that thing. If there is no plan or purpose of God in an endeavour, there will be no cohesion between people in order to bring about the accomplishment of it. In order to achieve even the simplest of tasks, we need the love of God and everything that 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 says that love is.

Even the simplest service to God, such as welcoming people on the church door, can become incredibly tedious without love. Without the wisdom of God, a person will easily become confused, even in the most basic tasks. If a person does not experience the life and love of God to do something, they will struggle with it and eventually, they will be burned out on religion.

²⁸ "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. ²⁹ Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. ³⁰ Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

Matthew 11:28-30 msg

If God resists a person because of their pride, because of their natural inclination to prove themselves and to seek the approval of others – what is likely to happen in the life of that person in regards to their ability to live a godly life and avoid sin? I would say that without the wisdom, life and love of God operating freely in their life, as they seek to fulfil their own need for self-justification – they are likely to succumb to all manner of temptations.

God Gives More Grace to the Humble

You might be wondering why God does not give Christians the power to keep the law, and thereby, justify themselves. I am not saying that we should deliberately seek to break the Ten Commandments, as if we have a point to prove. Neither am I saying it is a bad thing if we find ourselves, for instance, not committing adultery. I am just saying that we ought to be consciously aware of our motives for doing many of the things that we have been conditioned to believe that Christians ought to do.

Remember, God gives more grace to the humble (see James 4:6). Humble people do not have a point to prove. Just consider what religious, proud people are like, they way they treat other people and look down on them as if they are a lower class of human being. Then, consider how you might be inclined to treat other people if you were empowered to fulfil all of those religious obligations that the church has imposed on you. You might feel weak, sinful and helpless as you are now – but what would happen to you subconsciously if God, all of a sudden, enabled you to fulfil all of those religious obligations. The truth of the matter is, that anyone who seek to justify themselves according to what they have or what they do, be it in their own power or the power of God, has the potential to become proud and self-justified.

⁹ Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: ¹⁰ "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. ¹¹ The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men--extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. ¹² I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' ¹³ And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' ¹⁴ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

Luke 18:9-14 nkjv