Self-Righteousness

Pastor Bill Bush · Oct 14, 2024

Teaching from three consecutive parables in Matthew 21–22, Pastor Bill argues that religious activity without genuine heart transformation is nothing more than acting a role. Using the WWF as a cultural lens, he shows how the religious leaders of Jesus' day — and many churchgoers today — perform faith rather than live it. True faith begins by owning one's sin, accepting Jesus as Messiah rather than attacking Him, and allowing His love and righteousness to transform life from the inside out, preparing us for the eternal 'party' God has planned.

Pastor Daniel Goulding · Nov 15, 2021

In Romans 2, Paul dismantles the self-righteousness of religious people who feel superior to the unrighteous described in Romans 1. Using the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector as a lens, Pastor Daniel shows that churchgoers are just as condemned before a holy God as anyone else — because God's standard is perfection, not goodness. Our only hope is not better behavior or religious performance, but the mercy and grace found in Jesus, who fulfilled the law on our behalf so that all who believe in Him are declared righteous.

Pastor Daniel Goulding · Aug 5, 2019

In Luke 15, Jesus tells three parables — a lost sheep, a lost coin, and two lost sons — to reveal that every person is lost, whether through obvious rebellion or hidden self-righteousness. God's response to lostness is not anger but reckless, pursuing love: a father who runs down the road to embrace a broken son before he can even finish his apology. Worth before God is never earned through work or religious effort; it is received through spiritual rebirth. The invitation of the gospel is simply to stop, admit we are lost, and let the Father bring us home.