Romans 2:1-11

Making Room for the Self-Righteous

No one is righteous, none of us (Romans 3:10). In the face of God’s righteousness, I have no answer in myself. We lay our hands on our mouths (Job 40:4). The moment we start counting our righteousness, we are attempting to gain merit by means of the law. But this law rightly condemns us, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). For this reason, the highest mark of the Christian walk is not personal righteousness, but repentance. Therefore, my heart should be open not only for the prodigal but also for his self-righteous elder brother.

We have all been blessed with the riches of God’s kindness and patience. But God gives grace so that we may see our blindness, that we may walk in His merits, and show mercy even as we have received mercy. God’s kindness is meant to lead us to repentance (Romans 2:4).

God has had mercy on our ‘Pharisee’ hearts and has granted us the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ. If we understand this rightly, our hearts will be truly humbled, not hypocritical. The result will be a gratitude that bears the fruit of Christ-likeness, and an openness to loving the self-righteous, even as Christ has loved us.