Peeling Back the Veneer of Self-RighteousnessGreetings to all present and online, in America and abroad! Today we continue our study in Romans, the masterful letter by St. Paul in the second chapter. Which one has the most responsibility; one who studies God’s Word or one who doesn’t? Would God be right if He were to condemn the every person in whole world? Just what effect should understanding the answers to these questions have on your view of the gospel of Christ? Well take out your bibles and a note pad and listen as our teacher, Pastor Landis Fisher launches a message which he has titled: “Peeling Back the Veneer of Self-Righteousness”
Old Testament Scripture Reading: Psalms 115:1 – 13 (KJV)
Psa 115:1 Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.
Psa 115:2 Wherefore should the heathen say, Where is now their God?
Psa 115:3 But our God is in the heavens: he hath done whatsoever he hath pleased.
Psa 115:4 Their idols are silver and gold, the work of men’s hands.
Psa 115:5 They have mouths, but they speak not: eyes have they, but they see not:
Psa 115:6 They have ears, but they hear not: noses have they, but they smell not:
Psa 115:7 They have hands, but they handle not: feet have they, but they walk not: neither speak they through their throat.
Psa 115:8 They that make them are like unto them; so is every one that trusteth in them.
Psa 115:9 O Israel, trust thou in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.
Psa 115:10 O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.
Psa 115:11 Ye that fear the LORD, trust in the LORD: he is their help and their shield.
Psa 115:12 The LORD hath been mindful of us: he will bless us; he will bless the house of Israel; he will bless the house of Aaron.
Psa 115:13 He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great.
New Testament Scripture Reading: Romans 2:16 – 24 (KJV)
Rom 2:16 on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.
Rom 2:17 Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law, and makest thy boast of God,
Rom 2:18 And knowest his will, and approvest the things that are more excellent, being instructed out of the law;
Rom 2:19 And art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light of them which are in darkness,
Rom 2:20 An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.
Rom 2:21 Thou therefore which teachest another, teachest thou not thyself? thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?
Rom 2:22 Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery, dost thou commit adultery? thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?
Rom 2:23 Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonourest thou God?
Rom 2:24 For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.
Transforming Power Statements: #1) During these first two chapters of Romans, the Apostle Paul has been systematically cutting down all the piers that support any possible case that there could be even a shear thread of hope that anyone in all of time could ever have laid a claim to a right standing before a holy God apart from God’s mercy and pardon, and is revealing that underneath a very thin layer of externals lies enough sin in each person to make it right that an impartial God could condemn completely the entire population on Earth in all of time if He chose to.
#2) The misunderstanding of the Jews who were the recipients of the Holy Scriptures, had caused them to develop a double standard for the judgment of Gentiles vs. the judgment of themselves, which is the same error often made by the Church of God, due to the fact that fallen man has a tendency to justify himself at the expense of condemning another; this is Hypocrisy.#3) It is apparent that apart from the Gospel, no one can stand justified before a Holy God who is the only one who based purely on His Grace and love has made a perfect provision for us to cover our sins by the sacrifice and blood of Jesus, so that we can know for sure that He will not bring us into condemnation and that by His Holy Spirit He will produce in everyone who believes, a righteousness which exceeds any veneer of self-righteousness that we wear to cover the internal stain of personal corruption.
