The Righteous One vs the Self-Righteous

While no one's beyond our Lord's sovereign grace, perhaps the most challenging ones to reach are the self-righteous. The self-righteous view their own record of good works as sufficient in establishing their right-standing before God and therefore The Righteous One isn't necessary. Jesus addresses the contrast in Luke 18:10-13: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 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. 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.’" (NIV) While both men needed a merciful Savior, only one saw that need. If Isaiah compared our righteousness to filthy rags, how's your wardrobe looking? What kind of spiritual fashion statement are you making? We are all desperately in need of The Righteous One, Jesus Christ, God the Son, our Savior and Lord.