Luke 18:9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: 10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
This parable cautions us to beware of the sin of self-righteousness, an evil that is particularly prevalent in our day amongst Christians and secular folk alike. The reason why Christians are especially to guard against this sin is because the world at large is becoming more and more evil, and thus in contrast, we may tend to view our own righteousness as pleasing to God, if it is calculated against the prevailing iniquity. In the above passage the pharisee enumerated all of his good deeds, with a heavy emphasis on what he was not doing, as other sinners were actively engaged in, and as he continued to estimate his own performance in contrast with other people, he seemed to himself more and more righteous. This is the very same situation that has obtained in the last Christian church to exist prior to Christ's return, for many of us are to be found measuring ourselves against an imperfect standard in the persons of fallen men, and like the pharisee, we are in danger of erroneously concluding that we are quite alright, when in fact The Lord says that this is absolutely not the case. Let's read:
Revelation 3:14 And unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God; 15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
This passage describes the condition that had occurred with the daughters of Lot, who had been living in Sodom, but had not been active participants in the iniquity which had become so widespread there. Lot's daughters were brought up, like many Christians today, in a god-fearing home, but the morbid condition of society back then had exerted a subtle influence on their minds, and although they were not found guilty of actual sins, or alternative lifestyles, yet their minds had been tainted, and it was only a matter of time before the thoughts harbored, and the impressions thus made, would bear fruit in sins of no ordinary character.
After Lot and his two daughters had barely made their escape to the mountains, the two girls realized that because of their current situation, they might never be married, and thus the prospect of ever having children began to fade from view. And so, to remedy this situation, they resorted to incest, by which they both had sexual intercourse with Lot whilst he was made drunk, and they became pregnant with two boys, Benammi and Moab, thus manifesting that even in their apparent righteous, they too had developed very warped ideas of sexual relations, simply because they had been adversely affected by what they had been seeing and hearing on the news, in Sodom. Let's read:
Genesis 19:30 And Lot went up out of Zoar"...... "and he dwelt in a cave, he and his two daughters. 31 And the firstborn said unto the younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth: 32 Come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. 36 Thus were both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. 37 And the first born bare a son, and called his name Moab: the same is the father of the Moabites unto this day. 38 And the younger, she also bare a son, and called his name Benammi: the same is the father of the children of Ammon unto this day.
As Christians living in a world where the same sins of Sodom and Gomorrah are proliferating at an alarming rate, we too may be tempted to believe that we are indeed righteous, because we do not actively participate in the grievous sins of the day. Yes, we might be adamantly against same-sex marriage and the transgender confusions we are daily witnessing, yet, like Lot, we may have a drinking problem, or might even be found practicing less obvious sins such as fraud, lying, gossip, materialism, or fashion-consciousness. Whatever the case might be, let us avoid the temptation to measure ourselves against other sinners, but let us rather behold the perfect excellence of Christ, and all of our righteousness will be seen in its proper perspective, showing us that we are in dire need of God's saving grace on a daily basis.
Furthermore, we should never conclude that just because we may have Christian parents, or may have been born into god-faring households, that we are now natural partakers of Christ's righteousness, for everyone of us needs to be converted every day, a process that takes place over an entire lifetime. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which cautions us not to put our trust in parental righteousness, or any other form of goodness for that matter, because we all need to be cleansed from sin, and made perfect in and through Christ. Let's read:
Ezekiel 14:12 The word of the Lord came again to me, saying, 13 Son of man, when the land sinneth against me by trespassing grievously, then will I stretch out mine hand upon it, and will break the staff of the bread thereof, and will send famine upon it"..... 14 Though these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it".... 16"They shall deliver neither sons nor daughters; they only shall be delivered, but the land shall be desolate. 17 Or if I bring a sword upon that land, and say, Sword, go through the land; so that I cut off man and beast from it: 18 Though these three men were in it, as I live, saith the Lord God, they shall deliver neither sons nor daughters, but they only shall be delivered themselves.
May God add His blessing to the study and practice of His word. "Good night" and God bless!