Beware of This Trap | Sunday, February 21, 2021

When the LORD your God drives your enemies out before you, do not say to yourself, "The LORD brought me in to take possession of this land because of my righteousness." ... Understand that the LORD your God is not giving you this good land to possess because of your righteousness, for you are a stiff-necked people. (Deuteronomy 9)

Why did God bless Israel? Not because they were righteous—and the same humbling truth guards us from the snare of self-righteousness.

A Privilege to Open the Scriptures

As strange as this season has been, I truly am grateful for the privilege of opening the Scriptures week after week, whether in person or online, to teach the eternal truths found in God's Word. I would much rather be preaching in person every Sunday morning, but we have had a great time on Sunday evenings spending time in worship and the Word out on the patio at the church. It hasn't been the same as gathering on Sunday mornings as I have for the better part of the last twenty-one years, but it has been a blessing.

Whatever the circumstances, we will always continue to do what the church has done from the very beginning—not just our church, but the church as a whole for the last 2,000 years. The book of Acts records exactly what the early church did. After the move of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, verse 42 summarizes their life together:

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.

The early church gathered regularly for worship, prayer, and teaching—and at the very beginning it was outdoors on the temple patio in Jerusalem. So what we've been doing outdoors on the patio is something of a return to that beginning. I've had the privilege twice to go to Mozambique, where our friends Luke and Kristen Rider serve, and many of the churches there gather simply outdoors under a tree. The early church gathered both at the temple and from house to house, and we are continuing that pattern—on the patio, online, and through our connect groups.

Where We Are Headed as a Church

I believe this is what the Lord would have us do going forward. We will continue to gather for worship at the church facility just as we have for decades, and we'll add more opportunities to do so. We'll continue gathering from house to house in our connect groups, producing online content, spending time in the apostles' doctrine, in fellowship and hospitality, in communion, and in prayer—just as Acts 2 describes. That is why we ask you every week to send in your prayer requests, and I encourage you to keep doing so.

At the end of our time today we'll partake of communion together, so I invite you to get the bread and the cup if you have them. If you don't have them, you can set aside time with your family this week, read 1 Corinthians 11 beginning at verse 23, and partake together.

The Setting of Deuteronomy

We are continuing our studies in Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Bible and the last book of the Pentateuch—the books of Moses. Deuteronomy is the message that Moses, the great lawgiver and leader of Israel, gave to the people just before they entered the Promised Land nearly 3,400 years ago.

Israel had been slaves in Egypt for nearly 400 years before being redeemed. If you've seen The Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston, The Prince of Egypt, or that completely strange movie with Christian Bale, the basic story is familiar. Moses told Pharaoh, "Let my people go." Pharaoh said no, God said "bad choice," and after the ten plagues—the Nile turned to blood, the frogs, the flies, and finally the death of the firstborn—Pharaoh relented and Israel left Egypt.

Moses led them to Mount Sinai, where they stayed roughly two years, received the law, and built the tabernacle. From there they came to the border of the Promised Land at Kadesh Barnea, sent in the spies, and received the evil report. Because of their faithlessness they failed to enter, and they wandered in the wilderness for thirty-eight years until that entire faithless generation died. Now they are back at the Jordan River, at the border of blessing. Moses is preaching the law one final time—now to the children who wandered and saw God's faithfulness for thirty-eight years.

Why Should We Care?

It is worth asking: why should I care about something that happened to a faraway people long ago? One answer is this—the same God who called Israel to be His people has called you to be His child. Writing about this very period, the apostle Paul told the Corinthians:

Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.

These things in Exodus, Deuteronomy, and even Leviticus are important. Israel's failures of faith and obedience were written so that you and I might learn to live faithfully. I think it's tragic that so few people, even within the church, ever really get to know the Old Testament. The message of today's text is essential if we are to live faithfully before God.

Beware of the Snare of Self-Righteousness

Notice the repeated theme in Deuteronomy 9. Do not say to yourself that the Lord blessed you because of your righteousness, and do not say He is judging your enemies merely because of their wickedness. You are not being blessed because of your righteousness. You are stubborn, rebellious, and stiff-necked. This is the simple, essential lesson: beware of the snare of self-righteousness.

We touched on this a few weeks ago in Deuteronomy 7:

The LORD was devoted to you and chose you—not because you were more numerous than all peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples—but because the LORD loved you and kept the oath He swore to your fathers... Know that Yahweh your God is God, the faithful God who keeps His gracious covenant loyalty for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments.

God is good and God is faithful. This is why Israel was redeemed from slavery in Egypt, and it is why you have been redeemed from slavery to sin and death. It isn't because you are more awesome, more intelligent, or more righteous than others. It is because of God's love and faithfulness. This is a reason to rejoice, to be grateful, and to worship. I hope you have times privately where you are in awe of God's love and goodness, and that it stirs your heart to worship.

The Danger for Religious People

This is an especially important lesson for religious people. If you are a church-going believer, you are, in a real sense, religious—and so am I. We might tell someone, "I don't have mere religion; I have a relationship with God." That's true, but we are religious also, and there is a real danger of sliding into self-righteousness—seeing ourselves as pious, moral, and upright while looking out at the world and thinking those people are immoral and bad.

That very danger inspired Jesus to teach in Luke 18:

Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others.

Notice the reason for the story: people who trusted in their own righteousness and, as a result, despised others.

Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 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. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess." 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!"

Jesus' application:

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.

Accidental Pharisees

We never intend to be self-righteously religious, but as my friend Larry Osborne puts it, we become accidental Pharisees. That's why Moses kept reminding Israel that God chose them not because they were better, but because He loved them and was faithful to His oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. That's why Moses said in Deuteronomy 8 to be careful to follow God's command and not forget Him.

And so in Deuteronomy 9:7 he says:

Remember and do not forget how you provoked the LORD your God in the wilderness... You provoked the LORD at Horeb, and He was angry enough with you to destroy you.

That was the golden calf at Mount Sinai—right at the very beginning. Verse 16: "You quickly turned from the way the LORD had commanded you." Verse 23: "You rebelled against the command of the LORD your God; you did not believe or obey Him." Verse 24: "You have been rebelling against the LORD ever since I have known you." Israel's failures were written so that you and I might learn to live faithfully.

The Safeguard: Humbly Remember

Here is the key. The safeguard against self-righteousness is to humbly remember our failures and God's grace. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 10:

Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition... Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.

Like it or not, it is easy to read the Old Testament stories of Israel's failures and think we are so much better than they were. We say, "If I had seen God turn the Nile to blood, walk through the Red Sea on dry ground, drink water from rocks, and eat manna from heaven, I would never have turned away." But that is exactly the danger Israel faced—looking at the unrighteousness of the Canaanites and thinking themselves more righteous than the nations God would judge.

If we're not careful, we become accidental Pharisees, praying, "God, I thank You that I'm not like other men—extortioners, adulterers, politicians, and tax collectors; I fast and pray and give and still watch church on Sunday mornings." But it was the tax collector who beat his breast and said, "God, be merciful to me a sinner"—and he went home justified. Don't forget who you really are. You are just another sinner saved by the awesome grace of God.

Remembering at the Table

One of the important ways we remember this, just as Jesus exhorted us, is by taking the bread and the cup of communion. All of this is given so that we remember the Lord Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God who knew no sin and became sin for us, that we might receive His grace, mercy, forgiveness, and righteousness—not our self-righteousness.

He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)

There is no way we can stand in our own righteousness. We must humbly remember our failures and God's grace in Jesus Christ.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:28, "Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat the bread and drink the cup." We can dangerously fall into accidental pharisaism by slipping into rote routine, so we examine ourselves: Are we trusting in our own self-righteousness—what we give, fast, and pray—or are we trusting in Jesus' finished work, His body broken and His blood shed, so that we could be made righteous in Christ?

For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, "Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me."

In the same manner He took the cup, saying, "This is the cup of the new covenant in My blood; do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me." The book of Hebrews says that without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. Jesus gave His body broken and His blood shed so that we could be forgiven.

Closing Prayer

Father God, we thank You for Your grace. The Scriptures say You loved us so much that You gave Your only begotten Son, so that as we trust in You, You deal with our sin and give us everlasting life. Jesus, You demonstrated Your love toward us in that while we were still sinners You died for us. Today we remember Your body broken and Your blood shed, that we could be clothed in Your righteousness—You who knew no sin became sin for us.

Help us to see ourselves through that lens and to see other people—our neighbors, co-workers, friends, and family who don't yet know You—not as lower than us, but as in need of Your grace, compassion, and mercy. Stir us to share that good news, and give us the boldness to share that memory with others this week. We pray in Jesus' name, amen.

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you; may He make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; may He lift up His countenance upon you and give you His peace. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, and the fellowship of His Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.