This is a study of those who are proud and self-righteous, and have a tendency to look down on those less perfect. God hates this attitude, and is very angry at those who presume to be holier than thou.

1. HOLIER THAN THOU
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Isaiah65:5 5who say, 'Keep away; don't come near
me, for I am too sacredfor you!' Such peopleare
smoke in my nostrils, a fire that keeps burning all day.
KJ21
who say, ‘Stand by thyself; come not near to me, for I
am holier than thou!’ These are a smoke in My nose, a
fire that burneth all the day.
ASV
that say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me, for I
am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a
fire that burneth all the day.
The phrase “Holier than thou” is applied to a self-righteous person. God
Himself is speaking in this verse and referring to people who rebel against
Him. Those who are blashphemous and do profane things. Godcondemns
these people in this scripture.
What does it mean to have a holier-than-thou attitude?

2. Answer: A holier-than-thou attitude is pride displayed through words or
actions when people consider themselves more righteous or moral than other
people, based upon their own standards of judgment.
Question:"What does it mean to have a holier-than-thou attitude?"
Answer: A holier-than-thou attitude is pride displayed through words or
actions when people consider themselves more righteous or moral than other
people, based upon their own standards of judgment. When someone has
adopted a particular lifestyle or been convictedabout certainbehaviors that
are not necessarilyshared by other Christians, they may begin to think of
themselves as better than those who differ from them. A holier-than-thou
attitude is a slippery trap that caneasily ensnare.
God often gives us specific personalconvictions as we grow in our faith. But
when we wearthose convictions like a crownand openly criticize those who
don’t share them, we are expressing a holier-than-thou attitude. For example,
a Christian may become convicted about attending movies shownin theaters.
Becauseofthe evil movies usually shownthere, this person believes it is wrong
for him to financially support the theater. According to Romans 14:14, it
would be wrong for him to violate this conviction and attend a movie.
However, this convictionis nowhere commanded in the Bible, so, if this
Christian begins to condemn other Christians who do attend cleanmovies in
theaters, he has developeda holier-than-thou attitude.
Many people with a holier-than-thou attitude also fall into the trap of
legalism. Legalists think that their keeping of rules will curry favor with God,
and so they tend to put more emphasis on outward behaviors than inward
heart motivations. This is the opposite of God’s priorities (1 Samuel 16:7;
Luke 16:15). The legalistic PhariseesofJesus’day had holier-than-thou

3. attitudes. They consideredthemselves expert keepers ofGod’s Law and thus
closerto Godthan other people, but Jesus pointed out that they had missed
the whole point of the Law. In Matthew 23:23, Jesus said, “Woe to you,
teachers ofthe law and Pharisees, youhypocrites! You give a tenth of your
spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglectedthe more important
matters of the law—justice, mercyand faithfulness. You should have
practicedthe latter, without neglecting the former.”
When we adopt a holier-than-thou attitude, it means we have begun
comparing ourselves with other people instead of keeping our eyes on Jesus as
our example (2 Corinthians 10:12). Those who enjoy their holier-than-thou
attitude often gravitate toward those with whom they can compare themselves
favorably. They keepthis attitude thriving by thinking, “At leastI’m not like
So-and-So.” We see this attitude demonstrated on socialmedia. Some people
post photos of their open Bibles with a verse for the day, only to later make
rude or demeaning comments on other posts. Holier-than-thou people don’t
respectfully engage in discussions aboutideas; they belittle, sermonize, and
grow angry when challenged. Theydemand respectbut rarely give it. They
speak in absolutes evenwhen the Bible doesn’t. And they often twist a Bible
verse or two to prove that their opinion applies to everyone, even though the
whole of Scripture does not support their idea.
While we should never compromise on the basic fundamentals of salvation,
grace, and the divinity of Jesus, otherissues not clearly addressedin Scripture
can be the foundation for developing a holier-than-thou attitude. God defines
sin; we don’t. Whether a woman wears makeup, jewelry, or bright colors is
never addressedin Scripture, so such choices are betweenher and God. We
tend to judge eachother about everything from how children are schooledto
whether or not one drinks wine in moderation. When we go beyond
expressing our thoughts as personalconviction and present them as rules for
everyone else, we can develop a holier-than-thou attitude. When we begin to
think of ourselves as better than other people because we don’t struggle with a

4. particular temptation or because we maintain a high standard in one area of
conduct, we are alreadyacting holier-than-thou.
We should not confuse the prideful holier-than-thou attitude with a godly
scriptural stance. Forexample, it has become fashionable, evenamong
professing Christians, to champion homosexuality as acceptable to God. Those
who oppose this thinking on scriptural grounds (Genesis 19:1–13;Leviticus
18:22;20:13; Romans 1:26–27;1 Corinthians 6:9; Jude 1:7) are often accused
of having holier-than-thou attitudes. However, it is not prideful to lovingly
show others what God’s Word says about a subject. It is in the way we declare
that truth that can mark the difference betweenconfidence in God’s Word
and a holier-than-thou attitude.
Paul dealt with how to avoid a holier-than-thou attitude in Romans 14. In his
day, the hot-button issues were eating meat offeredto idols and which days to
considerholy days. Paul instructs his readers to “stop passing judgment on
one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or
obstacle in the way of a brother or sister” (verse 13). Rather than develop a
holier-than-thou attitude toward those who do not share our personal
convictions about non-essentialissues, we should look for ways we canlimit
our own freedoms in order not to offend a weakerbrother(verse 15).
Humility, not pride, should characterize the life of a believer.
https://www.gotquestions.org/holier-than-thou.html
Why do Christians have a Holier Than Thou complex?
A “holier-than-thou” Christian always thinks he is better than others because
of his religious beliefs or superior attitude. He likes to compare himself with
other Christians, often thinking that he is somewhatmore religious, more
anointed, more well-versedin the Bible than others.

5. A “HOLIER-THAN-THOU” CHRISTIAN
Have you come across“holier-than-thou” Christians? We all have. In fact, it
is very easyto spot them on the Lord’s Day. “Holier-than-thou” Christians
think they are spiritually better than other Christians.
John is a devout Christian. He never misses church. He is well-versedin the
Bible. He teaches the Word well. He is also mission-minded and gives
generouslyto missions. No one could match his track record of faithfulness in
the church. But sadly, John is found to be a self-righteous, egoistic man. He
always relied on “what he had done” as a measurementof how goodhe is, and
that led him to think of himself more highly than he ought to think (Romans
12:3).
Jesus compares sucha personwho is full of confidence in his own
righteousness with the Pharisee going to the temple to pray. The Pharisee
boastedin his self-righteousness (Luke 18:9). He had an unrealistic sense of
self-worth. He prayed, “God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are,
extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the
week, I give tithes of all that I possess” (Luke 18:11). The use of the five “I”
pronouns by him revealedhow egoistic he is. Insteadof thanking Godfor
what He has done for him, he arrogantlybrags to God about his own moral
purity and religious piety.
However, the prayer of the tax collectorwas full of contrition. Becauseof
shame, he would not even dare to lift up his eyes to heaven but beat his breast,
which is a signof sorrow and contrition, and pleaded with God for mercy.
Such an attitude God would not despise (Psalm 51:17).
Which of these men went home with God’s approval? Jesus said, “…forevery
one that exaltethhimself shall be abased;and he that humbleth himself shall
be exalted” (Luke 18:14;James 4:10; Proverbs 18:12; 15:33;16:18).
Characteristicsofa “Holier-Than-Thou” Christian

6. Many people turn awayfrom Christianity because ofa self-righteous, egoistic
attitude some Christians portray. A “holier-than-thou” Christian possesses
certain distinct characteristics.
1. A “holier-than-thou” Christian always thinks he is better than others
because ofhis religious beliefs or superior attitude. He likes to compare
himself with other Christians, often thinking that he is somewhatmore
religious, more anointed, more well-versedin the Bible than others. He says
to himself, “I am a full-bloomed Calvinist. I know my theologywell. I am a
widely read person. There is nothing that I do not know.”
2. A “holier-than-thou” Christian always thinks highly of himself (Romans
12:3). He is quick to point out every flaw in others but never really look at
himself as flawed. Becausehe thinks that he knows more than others, he
always speaks condescendingly, arrogantly, sarcasticallyorharshly to people.
He behaves as if he has higher morals than other people. Such a Christian
lacks goodcharacterandattitude.
3. A “holier-than-thou” Christian is unreasonable. He feels he is always
right and everyone else is wrong. Nobody canhelp him to see the difference
because he refuses to listen to anyone since he feels his way is superior over
others.
4. A “holier-than-thou” Christian lacks humility. He says to himself, “I am
a goodexample of a Christian. No one can perform his or her holy duties and
obligations as often or as well as I do. Moreover, I have a higher
understanding of God than him or her.”
5. A “holier-than-thou” Christian lacks compassion. He does not have any
sympathy or empathy for people who are weakenedby sin. He is not aware
that he himself is as afflicted as the weak brother or sisterbecause ofhis
pride.
6. A “holier-than-thou” Christian is at times angry and bitter with life. He
always sees things negatively. He can never look at the bright side of things.
He is usually pessimistic. Things are always wrong to him. He seems to
always pronounce judgment on things that don’t agree with him.

7. 7. A “holier-than-thou” Christian likes to falselyaccuse people who do not
agree with him. He will not take the trouble to check the facts or give the
person who disagreeswith him the benefit of the doubt. He would rather
believe lies about a personhe is in conflict with.
8. A “holier-than-thou” Christian is a religious supremacist. He has the
attitude that his denomination is the only true one on earth. He is proud of it.
He is a sectarian(Mark 9:38-40).
9. A “holier-than-thou” Christian is dogmatic and intolerant. He is a
militant Christian. He does not entertain other theologicalviews on non-
essentialissues ofthe Bible. He strongly believes what he believes is the only
view and there are no other acceptable views.
The term “holier-than-thou” is not only used to talk about religion or a
person’s degree of piousness. It also implies much more today. Forexample,
exhibiting an attitude of superior virtue or self-righteous piety. The term is
used derisively or mockinglyagainstsomeone who is overly self- important or
thinks of himself as greatfor some personalreason, like having a string of
degrees, a lot of wealth, a company of VIP friends or something that makes
them feel great.
A “holier-than-thou” attitude drives people away. How canI know that I
have a holier than thou attitude? How can I fortify myself againsta “holier-
than-thou” attitude? A “holier-than-thou” attitude can be seenin the way we
share, the way we testify for God and the way we talk to people. Therefore,
you and I need to pay close attention to how we share, testify and talk to
people lestwe fall into a self-righteous, holier than thou attitude. That’s not
what genuine Christianity is all about! Amen. —Lovingly in Christ, Pastor
Colin
Holy versus Holier Than Thou
February 25, 2009 by Sallie Anderson

8. Our pastorspoke to us on a recentSunday morning on the difference between
“holiness” and“holier than thou”. DoctorHadley gave severalverses to point
out specificallywhat holiness is but spent a greatportion of the sermon on the
latter issue, the sin of being holier than thou. Our main portion of scripture
studied was Mark 7: 1-23.
I’ve studied this portion of scripture before but there are always new things to
learn eachtime you read scripture. God reveals a new lessonto you at the
appropriate time, I believe. It wasn’t that the lessonwasn’tthere before, or
that the scripture meaning changedbecause Goddoesn’t change (He is the
same yesterday, today, and forever) but perhaps you just didn’t pick up on it
the first (or second, or third, or fourth time you read that particular passage).
Does that make sense?
A specific messageI pickedup on during Sundays sermon was the recognition
of who is usally holier than thou. Like the pharisees that Christ called
hypocrites, it is the person/s who have overcome an obstacle (orbecome so
ritualistic) in their lives that usually have no patience for that same obstacle in
other peoples lives.
I had to laugh as a recentexperience with my mom popped into my head
during the sermon as an example for this. My mother used to be a chain
smokerand, after severalfailed attempts, finally kickedthe habit with the
Lord’s help. She, however, is terrible now at pointing out folks who smoke at
church and can’t waitto gethome for a smoke (though, actually, I can’t ever
recallher smoking at church). I wouldn’t say my mom is holier than thou in
generalbut in this instance she is. She thinks “If I could quit smoking after all
those years, you should be able to also.” Lestmy mom thinks I am picking on
her, I’M NOT!! I canname severalareas in my own life that I have had to
particularly focus on as well but our conversationfrom Christmas-time just
happened to be the one that popped into my mind at the moment.
The major issue with being holier than thou is that we lack mercy for others.
Our only comparisonfor our own life should be that of Jesus Christ. It
shouldn’t be comparedto a brother, a sister, a friend, an enemy, the Jone’s,
some faceless/namelesspersonin a newspaperarticle or on a blog/website, or

9. anyone else knownor unknown to us. We should line our lives up next to
Christ and only then will we see exactly how much mercy WE have been
given. Hopefully, we canthen try to extend that same amount of mercy to
those around us. Unfortunately, this isn’t the standard fare in many
situations. It is much easierto become HYPER-criticaland point out to others
exactly how poor a sinner they are (aren’t we all poor sinners, though?). At
this point, you might be tempted to pull a proverb out of your pocketto give a
“but” excuse. Specifically, I am speaking ofProverbs 27:17 which says “Iron
sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another(the Hebrew says ” one man
sharpens the face of another”). Yes, by all means, sharpen eachother, but you
MUST do it with mercy, grace, and love or you are not behaving in a holy
fashion, but as a holier than thou hypocrite. When we focus our attention on
pointing out sins of others in the latter format, even if we are too prideful to
recognize that is what we are doing, we are still sinning. God does not put a
level on the degree of sin but considers all sin equally wrong. Therefore,
shouldn’t we all truly understand that you can be right in the position you
hold but wrong in the disposition in which you hold it?! The following passage
of scripture found in I Corinthians 13 verses 1-8a shouldbe a strong and
constantreminder for all of us:
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a
resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can
fathom all mysteries and all knowledge,and if I have a faith that canmove
mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor
and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love
is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is
not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easilyangered, it keeps no record of
wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always
protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.Love never fails . . .”
Is there an area in your life that you struggle with being holier than thou? Do
you have folks you need to ask forgiveness frombecause of it? Why not seek
that forgiveness this week? Sometimes it seems like it is too late to garner
forgiveness forour sins from fellow human beings, even Christians, because
human nature tends to be short on forgiveness andlong on memory. It’s never
too late to garner forgiveness from God, though, and its so very important to

10. be right with Him. Seek forgivenessfirst, but then diligently seek to change
yourself so that you may become more holy rather than holier than thou.
https://sbcvoices.com/holy-versus-holier-than-thou/
Holier Than Thou?
We often hear people talk about a person who has a “holierthan thou
attitude.” Now if there is anything that we hate it is a holier than thou
attitude. But there probably is one thing that we hate even more and that is a
holier than thou fact; in other words, often we totally forgetthat there are
people who are in actual factholier than we are.
Justificationadmits of no degrees whatsoever—there is no one in this world
who is more justified than I am, because I am completely and totally justified.
I am totally pardoned from all of my sins and acceptedas righteous before
God. But unlike justification, which admits of no degrees, sanctificationdoes
admit of degrees andis greaterin one than in another.
So there are indeed in just about any church at any given time people who are
at all levels of spiritual growth and sanctification. People who are at all levels
of holiness;and if there is one thing that makes many people uncomfortable, it
is to be in the presence ofsomeone that is markedly and notably more holy
than they are because it is a silent condemnation of their ungodliness and of
the remnants of wickednessand worldliness that still cling to their lives. That
is why the world sometimes will hate us. May God give us the grace to walk in
holiness and to aspire to be more holy.
Holy Father, we wish to be more holy and for Your image to be seenmore
clearly in us. Grant us to walk in humility and holiness. Let us seek our
friendship with those who are holier than we are…
https://www.djameskennedy.org/devotional-detail/20190809-holier-than-thou

11. Not Holier Than Thou
Dec 14
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By John Thiel, Seeking to PleaseGodSeries, mp3, pdf
Scripture reading: Hebrews 13:20 Now the God of peace, thatbrought again
from the dead our Lord Jesus, thatgreatshepherd of the sheep, through the
blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 Make you perfect in every goodwork to
do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through
Jesus Christ; to whom [be] glory for ever and ever. Amen.

12. We are continuing our series to examine ourselves according to the counselof
God’s word applicable to the time of the judgment, which tells us to afflict our
souls.
We are now living in the greatday of atonement. In the typical service, while
the high priest was making the atonement for Israel, all were required to
afflict their souls by repentance of sin and humiliation before the Lord, lest
they be cut off from among the people. In like manner, all who would have
their names retained in the book of life should now, in the few remaining days
of their probation, afflict their souls before God by sorrow for sin and true
repentance. There must be deep, faithful searching ofheart. {GC 489.3}
This is what we are doing as we pass through eachsubject of this series on
seeking to please God. We are seeking to afflict our souls in this day of
judgment so that we will please God. In Hebrews 13 God says that He will
make us perfectin every goodwork to do His will, working in you that which
is wellpleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the avenue
through which we are to examine ourselves. As we saw previously, the first
thing we have to examine is whether Jesus is in me; because without Jesus in
me I will not see myself as I really am. And then, through Jesus Christ, we will
be brought to receive His working, working in us that which is well-pleasing
In His sight.
Close Self-Examination
What shall I say to arouse the remnant people of God? . . . I warn all who
profess the name of Christ to closelyexamine themselves and make full and
thorough confessionofall their wrongs, that they may go beforehand to
judgment, and that the recording angelmay write pardon opposite their
names. {Mar 57.2}
So this is the practicalpresent truth. We are to do this work of examining our
souls closely, and make full confessionofall our wrongs so that they will go
beforehand to judgment and so that the recording angelmay write pardon
opposite our names.

13. The Bible is very explicit in reference to this hour of God’s judgment for
God’s people. People oftenthink that, God’s people don’t need to have the
judgment; only the wickedwill have the judgment. But it says it plainly in the
following scripture:
1 Timothy 5:24 Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to
judgment; and some [men] they follow after.
It is upon God’s people that the judgment commences. These “some men” are
the people of God whose sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment.
So we are spending these meditations to searchwhere our sins are, so that we
will send them beforehand to judgment by confession, so that they can be
open and confessedand erasedfrom the books of record.
Inspecting the Pattern
By carefully and closelysearching His word we shall obey the injunction of
Christ, “Searchthe Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and
they are they which testify of Me.” This searchenables the student to observe
closelythe divine Model, for they testify of Christ. {CSW 17.1}
We are to searchout the Scriptures to explore the divine Model.
The Pattern must be inspectedoften and closelyin order to imitate it. As one
becomes acquaintedwith the history of the Redeemer, he discovers in himself
defects of character;his unlikeness to Christ is so greatthat he sees he cannot
be a followerwithout a very greatchange in his life. {Ibid.}
This is what we are to do—searching the Scriptures and searching our hearts.
And by beholding the Model, by being illuminated, our experience is similar
to when you let the sun shine through a window. At first you think the window
is quite clear, but when the sun shines on it, all of a sudden you discoverall
the murk on it. So it is when the Sun of righteousness shines into our soul;
when we are wrapped up with Jesus, then all the spots and imperfections are
revealed. Our unlikeness to Christ is so great that we see we cannotbe
followers of Him without a very greatchange in our life. But instead of saying,
Ugh, I’m so terrible;

14. Still he studies, with a desire to be like his greatExemplar; {Ibid.}
He doesn’t give up;
…he catches the looks, the spirit, of his beloved Master;by beholding he
becomes changed. “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”
{Ibid.}
So we will continue to look at Jesus and through Him realise what needs to be
correctedin our life as we proceedthrough these series. Butwe will not do
this without a relationship with Jesus. If we have not this relationship, we will
keepon searching for the details. But keepon studying. And the more we see,
the more we will feel we are unworthy. Our comeliness willbe turned in us
into corruption; but we will keepon studying so that we may be changedinto
that image by the studying.
Jesus is the Word, and the Word was made flesh. As we searchthrough the
Word, let the Word be made flesh in us; let the Word produce what Jesus
came in His person to reveal.
What is our searchtoday? What is the subject matter that we are to examine
in the Word so that we may discoverwhether or not there is some spot or
blemish that needs to be openedup before us so that we can confess it and it
can be pardoned, as we confess it to the Lord?
A Smoke in God’s Nostrils
Isaiah65:1 I am soughtof [them that] askednot [for me]; I am found of [them
that] sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, unto a nation [that] was
not calledby my name. 2 I have spreadout my hands all the day unto a
rebellious people, which walkethin a way [that was]not good, after their own
thoughts;
We are looking for God’s ways which are higher than men’s ways;and here is
a direct reference to this—a people that are walking in a way that was not
God’s way, a way that was not the goodway; it was a way of their own
thoughts. God says, My thoughts are not your thoughts; but they were
following their thoughts. Then He makes reference to these people which are a

15. rebellious people, walking in a way that was not good, after their own
thoughts, and says of them:
Isaiah65:5 Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier
than thou.
This is the description of a people that are there before Him.
Isaiah66:5 …These [are]a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the day.
In the books ofheaven the characterofthese people is written. God has a
perfect photograph of every man’s character;and it is a smoke in His nose;it
is not pleasing to Him.
Isaiah65:6 Behold, [it is] written before me: I will not keepsilence, but will
recompense, evenrecompense into their bosom,
So if this sin is not erased, as it is written before Him, then there is a
recompense;then probation is closed, and their doom is set. Here we are now,
our sins that are a smoke before Him must be erasedfrom those books. It is
something that is not pleasing Him. So as we read that, we may think, He was
writing about the Hebrews, the Israelites. But is not this exactly what the
Laodiceanmessageis? The people of Laodicea, who think they are quite
alright, say, Stand back;I am the chosenpeople of God; we are the people of
the judgment. This is the meaning of Laodicea. Theyknow it all so well; and
they are doing exactlywhat is written here in Isaiah.
The True Witness here writes to the angelof the church of Laodicea, to the
ministry:
Revelation3:14 And unto the angelof the church of the Laodiceans write;
These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of
the creationof God; 15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I
would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thouart lukewarm, and
neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
It is a similar term to the smoke up His nostrils; it makes Him sick. Why?

16. Revelation3:17 Becausethou sayest, I am rich, and increasedwith goods, and
have need of nothing;
That mentality is the same as saying, We are God’s people; stand back, we are
holier than thou.
Revelation3:17 …and [thou] knowestnotthat thou art wretched, and
miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Can you see the parallel betweenIsaiah65 and the Laodiceanpeople? This is
the same description. “I am holier than thou; I am alright; I am following
what I know is written in the Bible (but according to my thoughts).” This is
what I have seenin the ministry time and time again—people reading the
word of God from their own perspective, not from God’s perspective.
Therefore Jesus says, Yousay you are rich and increasedwith goods, but you
don’t know… and I am trying to open up to you something you don’t know.
This is what He is saying so that they would repent, because He is a loving
God; He doesn’twant them to be destroyed.
Is This Me?
How is this condition of “holier than thou” portrayed, so we can examine
ourselves? Doesthis refer to me in any way? We are examining our hearts.
Closelyexamine your own heart as in the light of eternity. Hide nothing from
your examination. Search, oh! search, as for your life, and condemn yourself,
pass judgment upon yourself, and then by faith claim the cleansing blood of
Christ to remove the stains from your Christian character. Do not flatter or
excuse yourself. Dealtruly with your own soul. And then as you view yourself
a sinner, fall, all broken, at the foot of the cross. Jesus willreceive you, all
polluted as you are, and will washyou in His blood, and cleanse you from all
pollution, and make you fit for the societyof heavenly angels, in a pure,
harmonious heaven. There is no jar, no discord, there. All is health,
happiness, and joy. {Mar 57.4}
Here is an encouraging message. We are to examine ourselves;and as we do
so, being honest with ourselves, andfalling all broken at the foot of the cross,
Jesus will receive us. And did you notice? It says I am to examine myself, and

17. to not flatter and excuse myself as I searchout this particular point. Am I at
all affectedby a holier-than-thou mentality? As Seventh-day Adventists, as
the people of the judgment, with all our knowledge ofwhat is right and
proper, as revealedin God’s word, how easyit is to fall into this dangerof
“holier than thou”.
All who claim to be Sabbath-keeping Adventists, and yet continue in sin, are
liars in God’s sight. Their sinful course is counterworking the work of God.
They are leading others into sin. The word comes from God to every member
of our churches, “And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is
lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. …” [Hebrews
12:13-17]. {19MR 177.1}
Will the churches heed the Laodiceanmessage? Willthey repent, or will they,
notwithstanding that the most solemn messageoftruth–the third angel’s
message–isbeing proclaimed to the world, go on in sin? This is the last
messageofmercy, the last warning to a fallen world. If the church of God
becomes lukewarm, it does not stand in favor with God any more than do the
churches that are representedas having fallen and become the habitation of
devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and the cage ofevery unclean and
hateful bird. Those who have had opportunities to hear and receive the truth
and who have united with the Seventh-day Adventist church, calling
themselves the commandment-keeping people of God, and yet possess no more
vitality and consecrationto God than do the nominal churches, will receive of
the plagues of God just as verily as the churches who oppose the law of God.
Only those that are sanctifiedthrough the truth will compose the royal family
in the heavenly mansions Christ has gone to prepare for those that love Him
and keepHis commandments. {19MR 176.1}
The Laodiceanpeople preach about the fallen Babylon around them. They
repeatthe message, “Babylonis fallen”, the messageofthe secondangel. The
messageis that all the other churches are Babylon; and it says that they will
be rejectedof God. But, as we read it here, with that thinking that “they are
all fallen, and we are God’s church”, there is here a mentality that is as bad as
that of fallen Babylon. So with this idea of applying God’s word to myself to
say that I am God’s people, but not applying God’s word to show me how

18. sinful I am, I am no better than those that are Babylon. This is a serious thing.
In other words, what Adventists (and us if we are not careful) are prone to do,
is taking the word that suits me and judging others by the word that tells them
where they are wrong; but not applying it to myself. So as I am searching my
heart, there is a particular condition that I need to searchout, that is, whether
or not I have this attitude that is Laodicean, this mentality that says, “I am
alright; I have all these wonderful messages;I have a distinctive condition; I
am holier than everybody else.” And everything I read, I read to let the other
people know that they are not right; but I am right. Can you see whatthis
condition of mind is? This is the most serious dangeraffecting all Seventh-day
Adventists and reforming Seventh-day Adventists alike.
It is a mentality that makes us use the distinctive messages thatwe have and
think of someone else insteadof me. We come across a powerful correction, a
powerful rebuke, and we think, Wow, this applies exactly to this person. And
then another statementcomes to us, and we think, Oh! That really belongs to
this person. Then we come to church with a mind that is interestedto hear
what God’s word says;but the moment something is being made obvious to
my mind, I think, Oh yeah, I‘ve seenit in that person; etc. This is a mentality
that we are in grave danger of harbouring. It is a mentality that we need to
watchvery closely, because this is a smoke in God’s nose.
Am I Doing That?
Especiallyas reformers, we are searching the word of God and the Spirit of
Prophecy, and we read all the minute details that Sister White has been
commissionedto communicate.
In a view given me about twenty years ago [1871], “Iwas then directed to
bring out generalprinciples, in speaking and in writing, and at the same time
specify the dangers, errors, and sins of some individuals, that all might be
warned, reproved, and counseled. I saw that all should searchtheir own
hearts and lives closelyto see if they had not made the same mistakes for
which others were correctedand if the warnings given for others did not
apply to their owncases. Ifso, they should feel that the counseland reproofs

19. were given especiallyfor them and should make as practicalan application of
them as though they were especiallyaddressedto themselves. {CCh 91.5}
Can you see a problem when we read SisterWhite’s writings? The problem is
that if we have this aptitude to read something and say, Wow, what she is
writing there I can really see it applying to that person; then we are already
on the wrong track, because it was not written for me to do that. It was
written for me to examine myself to see whetherit was not something she was
writing about me. And this is what I have experiencedin the ranks of
reformers and Seventh-day Adventists; they use SisterWhite’s writings to
hammer other people and point out to them where they are wrong, and they
cannot see that it really applies to themselves. This is what we need to examine
closely. Am I doing that? Am I reading SisterWhite’s writings to hear what
she is saying about others, insteadof seeing whetheror not she is writing that
to me? How easyit is; I’ve seenthis time and time again—using SisterWhite’s
writings to tell other people where they are wrong, insteadof realising it
applies to me.
God’s Testing
God designs to test the faith of all who claim to be followers of Christ. He will
test the sincerity of the prayers of all those who claim to earnestlydesire to
know their duty. He will make duty plain. He will give all an ample
opportunity to develop what is in their hearts. {CCh 91.6}
Through the writings of the Spirit of Prophecy that we are exposedto as
Seventh-day Adventists reformers, God is writing things regarding which we
are in danger of thinking, “Oh, that was that person’s problem;” and “the
people I see are exactlylike that; it’s a descriptionof the problems I see
around me.” And I miss the point of reading it about myself. My heart is
saying, I am holier than thou.
Doing Satan’s Work
Remember, we are seeking to please God;but
The Lord is not pleasedwith His people when they neglectto criticize their
own soul, criticizing others instead. This is Satan’s work. When you do this

20. work, remember that the enemy is using you as a means of tempting others, in
order that those who should be united in harmony and joy, building up one
another in the most holy faith, shall be warring and complaining because
some one else is sinning. {OHC 233.3}
Can you see whatthis is doing? Haven’t we experiencedjust this? We are not
pleasing God when we neglectto criticise ourselves, whenwe neglectto read
God’s word to apply it to ourselves and we apply it to others and criticise
others instead. This is Satan’s work. And what happens when you do this
work? The enemy is using you as a means of tempting others, in order that
those who should be united in harmony and joy, building up one another in
the most holy faith, shall be warring and complaining because someone else is
sinning.
Christ has not made you a sin bearer. You cannot even bear your own sin.
Therefore be very carefulnot to take up any reproach againstyour neighbor.
{Ibid.}
It means just this, that we take the correctionthat is meant to go for me and
we apply it to someone else that I cansee is doing the same thing that I am
doing; but I am not recognising that I am doing it, because thatis what the
Laodiceanmentality is. I don’t see that I am wretched, miserable, poor, blind,
and naked;but I can see it in the others. This is a terrible sin that creates
disruption of beautiful harmony and joy among God’s church. Can we see
what we need to confess?We should be building up one another, not
criticising the other person. Becausethis is what we are doing. As I talk about
other people in the church who are faulty, and who are not doing what we
know is written, I am actually creating a rift within the church. I am doing
this.
Christ has not made you a sin bearer. You cannot even bear your own sin.
Therefore be very carefulnot to take up any reproach againstyour neighbor.
God wants His people to be free. . . . Shall we not remember that by the words
we speak we may either wound or heal? Shall we not remember that as we
judge, so we shall be judged, we who perhaps have had many more
opportunities than those whom we judge? {Ibid.}

21. Our hearts must be melted into tenderness and love for one another. We may
criticize ourselves just as severelyas we please. The one who criticizes another
gives evidence that he is the very one who needs to criticize himself. {OHC
233.4}
Take that on board. The one who notes the faults of another, who uses Sister
White’s writings to illuminate the other’s faults, as he criticises anotherhe
gives evidence that he is the very one who is to criticise himself. You really let
this sink in, and you will realise, Oops… This stops all discussionabout other
people. It stops it when you let that sink in.
Pray God to show you what you must remove from yourselves in order that
you may see the kingdom of God…. {Ibid.}
Here is something we are to examine ourselves on, because it is written there,
and it is a smoke in His nose; it is not pleasing to Him. We are to ceasethat, as
we see it so beautifully expressedin the quote above. It would cease creating
rifts in the church when we would cease doing that, when we would confess
that.
Taking Care of Our Own Garden
Those who take it upon themselves to watch their neighbor’s gardeninstead
of weeding their own plot of ground will surely find their own gardens so
grown up to weeds that every precious plant will be crowdedout. {5T 285.2}
Are we watching other people’s gardens? Are we watching other people’s
characters?Are we using Sister White’s writings as is typically done in the
ranks of so many Adventists, and then shattered experiences take place and
people blame the Spirit of Prophecyfor it? This has happened in my
experience time and time again. People find that E. G. White’s writings are so
condemning and they cause so many problems in the church that they turn
awayfrom the Spirit of Prophecy, when it is really their mistake that they are
applying it to others instead of applying it to themselves. This is a serious
problem, and we are to examine whether or not I am doing that, and to
confess that, and let it be removed so that it is not a smoke in God’s nostrils

22. anymore; so that what is written before Him is confessedand eradicated—
blotted out. This is the messageforthis hour.
As we proceedinto the detailed searchof all that is to follow in this series, not
for one moment are we to fall into the trap that what the brother is sharing
now applies to this and that person. Let us get rid of that entirely as we
proceed, because we are going to searchdeeply every other truth of the Bible
that we are to examine ourselves by; and if I am doing this, I am immediately
falling into the trap of Satan. And I don’t want to go any further in this series
if we are going to be in the dangerof falling into that. We are to concentrate
on that fact that what we are doing is searching our own hearts, not the heart
of another person; we are criticising our own selves as we discoverwhat is
being revealedto me; and I just try to uplift my brothers and sisters, and I
enrich their experience by my confessionand my testimony of what the Lord
is doing for me, concentrating on Jesus and I, my personalSaviour. It is a
personalSaviour that I am looking to; and as I look to Him personally, He
reveals to me my sins, not the other people’s. And as I confess themto Him
and He touches me with His mercy, I am able to uplift others. This is how this
works.
So we are not to fall into the trap of the typical reformer mentality. You know
what you call that mentality? Bigotry. To be a bigot is to be someone who
judges other people around him by all the high standards that he believes he
should tell them about; standing in such a manner towards people that it
makes them shrivel, because you let them know how wrong they are, and how
right you are. This is what this subject is about. And as we learn to do what is
right, we are to concentrate onconfessing our own sins, criticising ourselves,
and refusing to criticise others.
God grant us this, that we will truly be releasedfrom this terrible danger.
Amen https://sabbathsermons.com/2018/12/14/2-not-holier-than-thou/
Self-righteous Christians Defined: Is This the Norm?

23. by Rich Deem
Introduction
Self-Righteousness?
Although many who claim to be Christians act as if they are better than
everybody else, sucha "holier-than-thou" attitude is antithetical to biblical
Christianity. Jesus saidthat we should not practice our righteousness before
others to getnoticed, and the apostle Paul clearlystated that we should not
boastin our own righteousness, but in the righteousness ofJesus Christ.
Rich Deem
Christians seemto like to tell other people how to behave and actas if they
never do anything wrong. They also tend to focus only upon a few moral
issues - namely abortion and gay marriage - seeminglyto the exclusionof
more important issues, suchas justice and care for the poor. Is this the kind of
behavior the Bible commends or are these people acting againstwhat biblical
Christianity actually stands for?
What is being self-righteous?
To begin the discussion, it would be good to know what the words "self-
righteous" really mean. Here is the definition from the The American
Heritage Dictionary1:
self-right�eous (sělf'rī'chəs)
adjective
Piously sure of one's own righteousness;moralistic.
Exhibiting pious self-assurance:self-righteous remarks.
So, a self-righteous personis one who acts as if he is morally superior to
everyone else.
Righteousnessand the Christian

24. If there is anything that is antithetical to Christianity, it is a personwho
thinks that they can be righteous by their own goodworks. The Bible says that
all people are sinners and that none can meet God's standard for
righteousness.2Boththe Old Testament3 and New Testament4 saythat
righteousness comesfrom God alone. Righteousnessforhuman beings is on
the basis of faith in God's promises. Accordingly, the Old Testamentsays that
God would send the Messiahas the source through whom righteousness would
come to mankind.5 The New Testamentsays that Jesus ofNazareth is that
Messiahand that righteousness comesonly through faith in Him.6 So, a
person is declaredrighteous based upon faith in the sacrifice ofJesus.7The
Old Testamentevenindicates that Abraham was consideredrighteous
because He believed God.8 The New Testamentindicates that one does not
become righteous by obeying God's law,9 but by the mercy of God through
the sacrifice ofHis Son.10 So, righteousness fora Christian is something that
is imputed by God and one can never be "self-righteous."
Acting better than others
Since righteousness is not from what we do, but the result of what God has
done for us,11 the Christian should never act morally superior to other
people. Paul tells that we should never boast"exceptin the cross ofour Lord
Jesus Christ."12 Jesus saidthat we should not act like we are morally
superior to be noticedby others, and even indicated that doing such behavior
would remove one's reward in heaven:
"Beware ofpracticing your righteousness before men to be noticedby them;
otherwise you have no rewardwith your Father who is in heaven. (Matthew
6:1)
Ultimately, we do not attain righteousness until we die and are rewarded with
righteousness in heaven.13
Telling others what to do
Even though we cannot attain the righteousness ofGod through our own
behavior, Christians are commanded to live godly lives.14 It is all fine and
well that religious people want to live their lives with their own version of

25. morality. However, why do Christians insist on telling others how they should
live? It turns out that the Bible actually tells believers (both Jews and
Christians) to warn others if their behavior does not meet God's standards.15
If we fail to warn the wicked, Godwill require their blood by our hands.16
However, if the wickedpersonturns from their sin, then even the evil they
have committed in the pastwill be forgiven and forgotten by God.17 So, a
Christian's motivation for telling others how they should behave is not one of
self-righteousness, but one of concernfor the fate of the other person's soul.
Conclusion
Christians who actas if they are better than everyone else are certainly not
living by the creeds of Christianity, and may not even be Christians at all.
Christianity says that all people are sinners, and none canbe righteous on the
basis of their own behavior. Jesus saidthat we should not actlike we are
better than others just to getnoticed. Such a "holier-than-thou" attitude is
strongly condemned in the Bible. When Christians tell others that their
behavior does not meet God's standards, it is not to try to be superior, but
rather to warn them of the peril to their soul in light of their actions.
RelatedPages
Why are Christians So Intolerant? Wasn'tJesus All Accepting?
Why are Christians So Judgmental? Doesn'tthe Bible Say, "Do Not Judge"
Why Do Christians Lie So Much? Truth and Christianity
Hypocrites Defined: What About Hypocrisy in the Christian Church?
Sexism in the Bible: Is Christianity Sexist?
What About Atrocities That Have Been Done in the Name of Religion
Are Atheists and Theists MorallyEquivalent?
References

26. self-righteous. (n.d.). The American Heritage�Dictionary of the English
Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved November06, 2007, from
Dictionary.com.
The LORD has lookeddown from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there
are any who understand, Who seek afterGod. They have all turned aside,
togetherthey have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even
one. (Psalm 14:2-3)
For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds
are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities,
like the wind, take us away. (Isaiah 64:6)
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23)
as it is written, "There is none righteous, not even one;" (Romans 3:10)
"They will say of Me, 'Only in the LORD are righteousness andstrength.'
Men will come to Him, And all who were angry at Him will be put to shame.
(Isaiah 45:24)
"I bring near My righteousness, itis not far off; And My salvationwill not
delay. And I will grant salvationin Zion, And My glory for Israel. (Isaiah
46:13)
"My righteousness is near, My salvationhas gone forth, And My arms will
judge the peoples;The coastlands willwait for Me, And for My arm they will
wait expectantly. (Isaiah51:5)
"Lift up your eyes to the sky, Then look to the earth beneath; For the sky will
vanish like smoke, And the earth will wearout like a garment And its
inhabitants will die in like manner; But My salvationwill be forever, And My
righteousness willnot wane. (Isaiah51:6)
"Forthe moth will eatthem like a garment, And the grub will eatthem like
wool. But My righteousness willbe forever, And My salvationto all
generations."(Isaiah51:8)

27. and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments
of unrighteousness;but present yourselves to God as those alive from the
dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. (Romans
6:13)
Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a
law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would
indeed have been basedon law. (Galatians 3:21)
For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.
(Galatians 5:5)
and put on the new self, which in the likeness ofGod has been createdin
righteousness andholiness of the truth. (Ephesians 4:24)
for the angerof man does not achieve the righteousness ofGod. (James 1:20)
Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have
receiveda faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness ofour God and
Savior, Jesus Christ: (2 Peter 1:1)
For not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establishtheir
own, they did not subjectthemselves to the righteousness ofGod. (Romans
10:3)
And He saw that there was no man, And was astonishedthat there was no one
to intercede; Then His ownarm brought salvation to Him, And His
righteousness upheld Him. He put on righteousness like a breastplate, And a
helmet of salvationon His head; And He put on garments of vengeance for
clothing And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle. (Isaiah 59:16-17)
The nations will see your righteousness,And all kings your glory; And you
will be calledby a new name Which the mouth of the LORD will designate.
(Isaiah 62:2)
"Behold, the days are coming," declares the LORD, "WhenI will raise up for
David a righteous Branch; And He will reign as king and act wiselyAnd do
justice and righteousness in the land. "In His days Judah will be saved, And

28. Israelwill dwell securely;And this is His name by which He will be called,
'The LORD our righteousness.'(Jeremiah23:5-6)
'In those days and at that time I will cause a righteous Branch of David to
spring forth; and He shall execute justice and righteousness onthe earth. 'In
those days Judah will be savedand Jerusalemwill dwell in safety;and this is
the name by which she will be called: the LORD is our righteousness.'
(Jeremiah 33:15-16)
"Seventyweeks have been decreedfor your people and your holy city, to
finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonementfor
iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to sealup vision and prophecy
and to anoint the most holy place. (Daniel 9:24)
even the righteousnessofGod through faith in Jesus Christfor all those who
believe; for there is no distinction; (Romans 3:22)
whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith.
This was to demonstrate His righteousness,becausein the forbearance ofGod
He passedover the sins previously committed; (Romans 3:25)
for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness atthe present time, so that
He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Romans
3:26)
For if by the transgressionofthe one, death reigned through the one, much
more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of
righteousness willreign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. So then as
through one transgressionthere resulted condemnation to all men, even so
through one actof righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men.
(Romans 5:17-18)
so that, as sin reignedin death, even so grace would reign through
righteousness to eternallife through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:21)
But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from
God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, (1 Corinthians
1:30)

29. "YOU HAVE LOVED RIGHTEOUSNESSAND HATED LAWLESSNESS;
THEREFOREGOD, YOUR GOD, HAS ANOINTED YOU WITH THE OIL
OF GLADNESS ABOVE YOUR COMPANIONS."(Hebrews 1:9)
For in it the righteousness ofGodis revealed from faith to faith; as it is
written, "BUT THE RIGHTEOUS man SHALL LIVE BY FAITH." (Romans
1:17)
For what does the Scripture say? "ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT
WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS." (Romans 4:3)
But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the
ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,(Romans 4:5)
just as David also speaks ofthe blessing on the man to whom God credits
righteousness apartfrom works:(Romans 4:6)
Is this blessing then on the circumcised, or on the uncircumcised also? Forwe
say, "FAITH WAS CREDITEDTO ABRAHAM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS."
(Romans 4:9)
and he receivedthe sign of circumcision, a sealof the righteousness ofthe
faith which he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be the father of all
who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited
to them, (Romans 4:11)
For the promise to Abraham or to his descendants that he would be heir of the
world was not through the Law, but through the righteousness offaith.
(Romans 4:13)
If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because ofsin, yet the spirit is alive
because ofrighteousness. (Romans 8:10)
What shall we saythen? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness,
attained righteousness, eventhe righteousness whichis by faith; (Romans
9:30)
having been filled with the fruit of righteousnesswhichcomes through Jesus
Christ, to the glory and praise of God. (Philippians 1:11)

30. For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.
(Galatians 5:5)
By faith Noah, being warnedby God about things not yet seen, in reverence
prepared an ark for the salvation of his household, by which he condemned
the world, and became an heir of the righteousness whichis according to faith.
(Hebrews 11:7)
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might
become the righteousness ofGod in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Then he believed in the LORD; and He reckonedit to him as righteousness.
(Genesis 15:6)
but Israel, pursuing a law of righteousness,did not arrive at that law.
(Romans 9:31)
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
(Romans 10:4)
For Moseswrites that the man who practices the righteousness whichis based
on law shall live by that righteousness. (Romans 10:5)
But the righteousness basedon faith speaks as follows:"DO NOT SAY IN
YOUR HEART, 'WHO WILL ASCEND INTO HEAVEN?'(that is, to bring
Christ down), (Romans 10:6)
for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness,and with the
mouth he confesses,resulting in salvation. (Romans 10:10)
"I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comesthrough the
Law, then Christ died needlessly." (Galatians 2:21)
Is the Law then contrary to the promises of God? May it never be! For if a
law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would
indeed have been basedon law. (Galatians 3:21)
and may be found in Him, not having a righteousnessofmy own derived from
the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which
comes from God on the basis of faith, (Philippians 3:9)

31. He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness,
but according to His mercy, by the washing of regenerationand renewing by
the Holy Spirit, (Titus 3:5)
and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so thatwe might die to
sin and live to righteousness;for by His wounds you were healed. (1 Peter
2:24)
For by grace you have been savedthrough faith; and that not of yourselves, it
is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
(Ephesians 2:8-9)
But may it never be that I would boast, exceptin the cross ofour Lord Jesus
Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
(Galatians 6:14)
in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, whichthe
Lord, the righteous Judge, will awardto me on that day; and not only to me,
but also to all who have loved His appearing. (2 Timothy 4:8)
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the
heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the generalassemblyand
church of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of
all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, (Hebrews 12:22-23)
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass
awaywith a roar and the elements will be destroyedwith intense heat, and the
earth and its works will be burned up. But according to His promise we are
looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. (2
Peter3:12-13)
First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and
thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in
authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and
dignity. (1 Timothy 2:1-2)

32. for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all
things, since it holds promise for the presentlife and also for the life to come.
(1 Timothy 4:8)
Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply
moral excellence, andin your moral excellence,knowledge, andin your
knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, andin your
perseverance,godliness,and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in
your brotherly kindness, love. (2 Peter1:5-7)
"Wheneverany dispute comes to you from your brethren who live in their
cities, betweenblood and blood, betweenlaw and commandment, statutes and
ordinances, you shall warn them so that they may not be guilty before the
LORD, and wrath may not come on you and your brethren. Thus you shall do
and you will not be guilty. (2 Chronicles 19:10)
"When I sayto the wicked, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or
speak out to warn the wickedfrom his wickedway that he may live, that
wickedman shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand.
(Ezekiel3:18)
"But if the wickedman turns from all his sins which he has committed and
observes all My statutes and practices justice and righteousness, he shall
surely live; he shall not die. "All his transgressions whichhe has committed
will not be remembered againsthim; because ofhis righteousness whichhe
has practiced, he will live. (Ezekiel18:21-22)
http://www.godandscience.org/apologetics/self-righteous_christians.html
Last Modified March 29, 2013
Holier-Than-Thou
Postedby The Bible In Your Hand on August 22, 2017

33. Postedin: Christian, Christianity, Religion, Spirituality, Uncategorized.
Tagged:Christianity, Friendship, Relationship, Religion, Spirituality.
Can my Holier than thou attitude affectmy relationship with God? In Isiah
65:5 says this about our attitude toward others, “Who say, ‘Keep to yourself,
Do not come near me, For I am holier than you!’ These are smoke in My
nostrils, and a fire that burns all day.”
According to this passageit is clearthe God finds a Holier-than-thou attitude
on our part offensive to him, likening it to breathing in smoke.
I enjoy camping and in most cases canput up with the bugs, but what I find
tough to take is the smoke from the fire that seems to follow me. No matter
where I place my chair near the fire, smoke will soonfollow and I find my self
choking on smoke. Move my chair to a new position and soonthe smoke has
followedagain. It causes the eyes to burn, the throat to hurt and breathing to
become difficult.
When we have an attitude, a holier-than-thou attitude it causes those around
us to become uncomfortable. Their eyes will sting from the tears they are
fighting back. The throat hurts from choking down the words they want to
speak againstus and don’t say. Their whole body is affectedby our attitude.
Deuteronomy 8:2, 3 serves as a reminder on how God feels and responds to
those who exhibit an attitude of superiority toward others. “And you shall
remember that the LORD your God led you all the way these forty years in
the wilderness, to humble you and testyou, to know what was in your heart,
whether you would keepHis commandments or not. 3 So He humbled you,
allowedyou to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor
did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live
by bread alone;but man lives by every word the proceeds from the mouth of
the LORD.”
God will lead us and direct us and allow us to experience circumstances that
will humble us so we no longer are offensive to others and God with our
Holier-Than-thou attitude. God wants us not to rely on our own selfbut learn

34. to lean on Christ for all our needs both spiritually, emotionally, and
physically.
God tells us; “ForI say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is
among you, not to think of himself more highly than he out to think, but to
think soberly, as god has dealt to eachone a measure of faith” (Romans 12:3).
This measure of faith has been given to eachof us, and like the man who
receivedthe one talent, the lord expectedhim to put that talent to gooduse.
This measure of faith given to us by our Heavenly Father has been given to us
and he expects us to use it and by using it, our faith will increase andas our
faith and understanding of God and His love for us increases,then there
should be no more room for a Holier-than-thou attitude.
Let our prayer then be, “I thank you, Lord, that You have heard me, and has
fulfilled your promise, your promise that you shall enlarge my heart so that I
can honor all men and esteemothers better than myself (Psalm 11:32;I Peter
2:17; Philippians 2:3).
https://pastorlesterbentley.com/2017/08/22/holier-than-thou/
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
The Hopeless
Isaiah65:5

35. W. Clarkson
The husbandman is often tempted to tear up the vine, or to pluck up the herb,
or to plough up the crop, when patience and painstaking would result in
flowerand fruit. In the spiritual world, it is often found that where death
seemedto prevail, there was life beneath the surface.
I. THE APPEARANCE OF SPIRITUAL DEATH. The Church is so
degenerate, thatthe teaching of Divine truth is found to be ineffectual; the
nation so corrupt, that the statesmanand the magistrate and the teacherare
powerless;the family so depraved, that it is a pest to the community; the child
so wayward, that parental authority is no restraint. Then is entertained -
II. THE POLICY OF ABANDONMENT. Thosewho are pure, reverent,
loyal; they to whom iniquity is found to be hateful; men that are anxious to
use their opportunities, so as to getsome spiritual returns: - these say, or are
inclined to say," Let us leave these souls so fast imbedded in sin whom we
cannot extricate, and let us seek and save those who canbe reachedand
rescued." Thencomes -
III. THE PLEA OF FAITH AND PITY. "Destroyit not; for a blessing is in
it." "Let it alone this year" (Luke 13:6-9). That root that looks deadis not
dead, and under careful nourishment it will revive. That soul that seems dead
is not dead; there is a seedof life in it still; beneath all its folly, its
waywardness, its vice, its guilt, there is a possibility of true repentance;there
is a sensibility which will respond to patient, human love; there is a spiritual
capacitywhich the truth of God, made mighty by the Spirit of God, will touch
with renewing power, and from which unsuspectedbeauties and graces will
arise. Within the ugliest and most worthless souls there may lie concealed
germs of realnobility. Wait long, very long, before you abandon to
destruction. Over them, and of them, the Divine voice may be whispering,
"There is a blessing in them for the loving, patient, prayerful workman." - C.

36. Biblical Illustrator
Which may, Stand by thyself.
Isaiah65:5
"I am holier than thou
A. B. Davidson, D. D., Prof. S. R. Driver, D. D.
For "I am holier read, probably, else I will make thee holy." The practices
referred to were "mysteries," and the initiated would communicate his
"holiness" to others by contactwith them, and so unfit them for all the
ordinary uses of life (cp. Ezekiel44:19).
(A. B. Davidson, D. D.)Ver. 5 alludes to those who claimedsuperior sanctityin
virtue of certainrites into which they had been initiated.
(Prof. S. R. Driver, D. D.)
Self.righteousness,-- a smouldering heap of rubbish
The application of the passage to Israelis just thus. Year after yearGod dealt
with greatpatience towards His chosenpeople, but they seemedto be
desperatelysetupon idolatry in one form or another. Sometimes they

37. worshipped Jehovah, but then they did it under figure and symbol, whereas
He has expresslyforbidden that even His own worship should be thus
celebrated. At other times they altogetherrejectedJehovah, and worshipped
Baaland Ashtaroth, and whole troops of the gods of the heathen, and thus
they provokedthe Lord exceedingly. They also practisednecromancy, or
pretended communion with the dead, and witchcraftand sorcery, and all
manner of abominable rites, like the depraved nations around them. When
this open rebellion was given up, as it was after the captivity — for the Jews
have never been guilty of idolatry since that day — they fell into another form
of the same evil, namely, self-righteousness:so that when our Lord came He
found self-righteousnessto be the crying sin of Israel, the Pharisees carrying it
to such a pitch as to render it utterly ridiculous. They reckonedthat the touch
of a common person polluted their sacredness, so that they neededto wash
after walking down a street. When they traversedthe ways they took the edge
of the pavement, so that they might not brush againstthe garments of the
passers-by, and even in the temple in prayer they stood by themselves lestthey
should be defiled. Their whole spirit is expressedin the words of the text —
"Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou." This God
declares to be as obnoxious to Him as smoke in a man's nose. Self-
righteousness is rampant in our own day.
I. THE SIN OF SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESSGROWSUP AMONG
RELIGIOUS PEOPLE. It is not always the sin of the outside world, for many
outsiders do not pretend to any righteousness atall, and I fancy they think all
the better of themselves for that. This is an idle plea which it needs not many
words to expose. "Imake no profession," says one. This is about as honour-
able a confessionas if a thief should, boastwhen caughtat picking pockets, "I
do not make any pretence to be honest,'or a liar when detectedshould turn
round and cry, "I never professedto speak the truth." Among those who
profess to be religious, self-righteousnessvery frequently comes in, because
they have not truly receivedthe religion of Jesus Christ; if they were true
believers they would be humble and contrite, for self-righteousness andfaith
in Christ are diametrically opposed. Many who mingle with Christians, and
are religious in a certain sense becausethey practise the forms of religion, are
wont to put the form into the place of the spirit. These persons, too, evenwhen

38. they do not join the Christian Church, but only worship or seemto worship
with Christians, are very apt to think that they must be better than other
people because theydo so. It is the dangerof outwardly religious people, who
are not savingly converted, to dream that they are somewhatadvantagedby a
mere attendance on the means of grace. Shouldan Egyptian rub his shoulders
againstan Israelite, would it turn him into an Israelite? Will living near a rich
man make you rich? Do you forget that cry of our Lord, "Woe unto thee,
Chorazin. Woe unto thee, Bethsaida?
II. THIS IS A SIN WHICH FLOURISHES WHERE OTHER SINS
ABOUND. We read of these people that they did evil before the eyes of God,
and chose that wherein He delighted not. They blasphemed God, and polluted
themselves with unhallowed rites, communing with demons and the powers of
darkness, and pretending to speak with departed spirits; and yet for all that
they said — "Stand by thyself, I am holier than thou." Self-righteousness is
never more ridiculous than in persons whose conduct would not bear scrutiny
for a moment. Self-righteous men, like foxes, have many tricks and schemes.
They condemn in other people what they consider to be very excusable in
themselves. These people will make a righteousness this way — they plead
that if they do wrong yet there are some points in which they are splendid
fellows. Some one thing in which the unconverted man may excelis put in to
make up for his deficiencies in a hundred other ways. By hook or by crook a
man will make out that he is not so bad as he seems to be; the inventiveness of
self-esteemis prodigious. No heap of rubbish is too rotten for the accursed
toadstoolof proud self to grow upon.
III. IT IS IN ITSELF A GREAT SIN. One is almost startled to find self-
esteemplacedafter such a list of sins as this chapter records. To the Jew the
eating of swine's fleshand broth of abominable things was a greatpollution,
but self-righteousness is classedwith it; it is even placedwith necromancyand
witchcraft. Drunkenness and swearing are sin in rags, but self-righteousnessis
sin in a respectable black coat. It is an aristocratic sin, and does not like to be
put down with the common Tuck;and if we call it sin, yet many will plead
that it is only so in a very refined sense. But God does not think so; He classes
it with the very worst, and He does so because it is one of the worst. Fora man
to be self-righteous is in itself a sin of sins. For, first, it is blasphemy. God is

39. holy. Here comes this base impostor and boasts, "And I am holy too. Is not
that a ludicrous and contemptible form of blasphemy? It is profanity in its
very essence. More, this self-righteousnessis idolatry, for the man who counts
himself to be righteous by his ownworks worships himself. Practically, the
objectof his adoration is his own dear, delectable, excellent self. Then, again,
it is profanity, for it gives God the distinct lie. The Lord declares that no man
is righteous.
IV. SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS IS THE FRUIT OF MAN'S OWN
THOUGHTS. Look at ver. 2. Those who have high thoughts of themselves do
not walk according to God's commandments, but according to their own
notions. If any man thinketh himself to be righteous in himself, he has never
derived that idea from God's law, and certainly not from the Gospel, forthe
Gospelknows no man after the flesh as righteous, but it regards all men as
sinners, and comes to them with pardon; it treats men as lost and comes to
save them. Self-righteous people are not much inclined to searchthe
Scriptures, they do not read them with an understanding heart, so as to get
the meaning; they rather make the Bible say their own meaning, and twist it
to support their own pleasing dream.
V. SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS HAS THIS VICE ABOUT IT, THAT IT
ALWAYS LEADS TO DESPISING OTHERS. Thatis the pith of the text.
VI. SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS IS MOST ABOMINABLE IN THE SIGHT OF
GOD. What does He compare it to? He says, "It is a smoke in My nose, a fire
that burneth all the day. At the bottom of the gardenwe gathertogetherthe
dead leaves, and all the rubbish of the garden, and the heap is lighted, and it
keeps on burning and smouldering all the day; and if you go and stand in the
eye of the wind your eyes will smart, your nose will be offended, and you will
feel that you cannot bear it. We do not wonder that He thus scorns and abhors
proud selfrighteousness, forGod is a God of truth, and truth cannot bear a lie,
and selfrighteousness is a mass of lies. Moreover, self-righteousnessis such a
proud thing. God is always provokedwith pride. Self-righteousnessalso
denies the wisdom of God's plan, and is utterly opposedto it. God's present
plan of working in the world goes upon the theory that we are guilty; being
guilty, He provides a Saviour for us, and sends us a Gospelfull of grace.

40. VII. SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESSMOST EFFECTUALLY BARS A MAN
FROM ALL HOPE OF SALVATION. We cannot be savedunless we become
truly holy, but no man ever becomes truly holy who is contentwith a false
holiness. Self-righteousnessprevents repentance. You will never believe in
Jesus Christ while you believe in yourself. What is the remedy for all this?
God saith, "BeholdMe";that is to say, He bids thee ceasefrom doting upon
thine own fancied beauties and worshipping thine own foolish image. Look
first to the holy Godand tremble. Canstthou, of thyself, ever be like Him,
pure, spotless, glorious?Look to Him and despair. Then comes the second,
"BeholdMe. See Jesus Christ on the cross dying, the just for the unjust, to
bring us to God. As thou seestHim dying thy self-righteousnesswilldie.
( C. H. Spurgeon.)
False grounds of superiority in holiness
John Foster.
The disposition to arrogate the dignity of religious worth and excellence has
never become extinct among men, nor the quite consistentdisposition to turn
it to the use of pride.
1. In some instances, anassumption of superior holiness has been made upon
the ground of belonging to a certain division or class ofmankind; a class
having its distinction in the circumstance ofdescentand nativity, or in some
artificial constitution of society. Thus the ancient Jews, — in virtue merely of
being Jews. Imagine the worstJew comparing himself with Aristides, Phocion
or Socrates.The Brahmins, in virtue of a pretended pre-eminently holy
descent;an emanation from the head of their creating god. In popish
countries, the numerous ecclesiasticalclass.Something of this even in
protestant England. In these instances there has been an assumption of
holiness independently of individual personalcharacter. Whatan infamy to
perverted human reason, that anything which might leave the individual
evidently bad, in heart and life, could yet be taken as constituting him the
reverse of bad, that is, holy!

41. 2. In many periods and places men have reputed themselves "holy" on the
ground of a punctilious observance ofreligious forms and ceremonies whether
of Divine appointment or human invention. This took the place of the true
religious sanctity among the Jews. It is a grand characteristic ofpaganism. It
actually stands instead of religion and morality among the far greaterpart of
the people under the dominion of the Romish Church. It is to be fearedthere
are some among us who venture a delusive assumption on the ground of a
regular attention to the external services ofreligion. But we have cause to
know that all this may be, and yet no vital transforming prevalence of religion
in the heart.
3. Another ground of such assumption is generalrectitude of practical
conduct, separate from the true religious principle of moral excellence.
4. The pride of self-estimationfor holiness is apt to be betrayed by persons
who have preserveda charactersubstantially free from reproach, against
those who have, in some known instance, fallen into greatsin. It might have
been a case in which they were encountered by sudden, or complicated, or
very extraordinary temptation, such as all should pray earnestly to be saved
from. The delinquent may have penitently deplored the transgressionthrough
many subsequent years. But it has been often enoughseenthat another
person, who has been happy enough not to incur any such marked blemish on
his character, willassume a tone of high superiority againsthim, though he
may never have had the same strength of temptation to combat with; may
never think of ascribing his exemption to any higher cause than his own good
principles; and may be quite destitute of some valuable qualities the other
possesses.The whole life of this self-applaudermay have been little better
than a series ofnegatives. His faulty, penitent brother may have done much
good.
5. A man may have had his mind directed to a speculative knowledge of
religious doctrine; and we will suppose that it is valuable knowledge thathe
has gained. All this ma be, and yet the man feellittle or nothing of the
sanctifying powerof religious truth. Yet, so ready is the speculatistto take to
himself all the dignity and excellence ofhis subject and his cause, that this
man may take up a lofty pretension — if not strictly and formally to

42. "holiness," yetto some meritorious relation to truth and religion; something
which authorizes him in a high contempt, — not only of those who know
nothing about religion, but also of those who feelits genuine influence and
power, when they are feeble in the speculative intelligence of it. He accounts
himself to be, as it were, in the confidence of religion, and that he must be
invested with something of its venerable character, whenhe can so
authentically declare its mind.
6. There is such a thing as a factitious zeal in the active service of religion; and
that forms a ground of high pretension. Men in restless activity; hill of
scheme, and expedient, and experiment, and ostentatious enterprise. But an
attentive observercould easilydescrythat the cause ofGod was a very
secondaryconcernwith them, even at the best interpretation. Their grand
object(whether they were consciousofit or not) was their own notoriety; and
the cause ofreligion happened to be that which would most effectuallyserve
this purpose.
7. There are a number of persons among professing Christians whose minds
are almostever dwelling on certainhigh points of doctrine, soughtchiefly in
the book of God's eternal decrees. And it is on these doctrines that they found,
in some manner, an absolute assurance oftheir being in the Divine favour.
God forbid that we should deny or doubt that there is a firm and rational
assurance ofsalvationattainable in this life. But such persons as we are
referring to betray that their assurance,whichtakes its stand on so lofty a
position, independent of a faithful estimate of the heart and life, has an
unsanctifying effect;it slackens andnarrows the force and compass of the
jurisdiction of conscience;and, especially, cherishesin them the spirit of our
text.
8. We may name as one of the things made a ground of pretension and pride,
the experience ofelated, ardent, enthusiastic feelings, in some semblance of
connectionwith religion, bat not really of its genuine inspiration.
(John Foster.)
END OF BIBLEHUB RESOURCES

43. Forerunner Commentary
What is the Forerunner Commentary?
<< Isaiah65:4
Isaiah65:6 >>
Isaiah65:1-5
Our concernis His holier-than-you accusation. In this case, Godis saying that
Israelwas rejecting Him, as if they were somehow better than He was and did
not need the correctionHe had for them. Within a Christian assembly, a
negative exclusivity canform in an individual and create hazards in our
attitudes about ourselves and others, laying a spiritual minefield.
This attitude requires understanding. We must be careful. It causes some
among us to be aloofwithin the group to their own hurt or to withdraw
themselves and become independent. It infected the Jews ofJesus'day—in
fact, the origin of the word "Pharisee" is vague, but most commentators
believe it means "separatists." It affectedthe church, too, in the days of the
apostles.
Matthew 9:10-11 records an incident in which a form of it confronted Jesus:
And so it was, as Jesus satat the table in the house, that behold, many tax
collectors andsinners came and satdown with Him and His disciples. And
when the Pharisees sawit, they saidto His disciples, "Why does your Teacher
eat with tax collectors andsinners?"

44. Jesus'response pointedly reveals the error in their thinking and conduct.
Galatians 2:11-13 exposesits existence in the early church:
But when Peterhad come to Antioch, I withstoodhim to his face, because he
was to be blamed; for before certain men came from James, he would eat with
the Gentiles;but when they came, he withdrew and separatedhimself, fearing
those who were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also playedthe
hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carriedawaywith their
hypocrisy.
This is a possible downside of the true church's exclusivity. It canproduce a
self-righteous, I'm-better-than-you hypocrisy if we forgetor overlook the fact
that it was God's work and not ours that provides our calling and spirituality.
Even today, there are groups claiming to be the exclusive true church.
John W. Ritenbaugh
What God Thinks About “Holier Than Thou” LegalismIn The Church Today
I don’t know about you but I don’t like to see legalismin the church.
Last Sunday night, my wife and I gotin on a little late night TV. We watched
a black and white movie made in 1927 called, “CaptainSalvation”. It was all
about the “holier than thou” attitude. The flyer of that day announced the
movie like this: She was a SCARLET WOMAN seeking salvationandthe
smug NEW ENGLANDERScaststonesather…a sea thriller you will never
forget!
It was greatentertainment. The seminary student who stepped in to rescue an
injured prostitute put his up and coming marriage and the church he was to
pastor on the line. He did it all to help a woman that everyone else thought
should be run out of town. All the usual “holier than thou” elements were
there: the gossips,the high looks, the face making, the obvious glaring fail of

45. missing the whole point of the gospel, the separatism, the judging, and even
the smacking downof “Captain Salvation”. Legalismin the church today is
nothing new.
I won’t spoil the plot for you, but I highly recommend “CaptainSalvation”.
As I watchedthat movie, I thought, what does God think of that attitude? My
question was answeredthe very next day in my devotion as I studied Isaiah
65:5. How God feels about legalismin the church today comes right at the
end of a list of abominable sins and activities that Isaiah was addressing.
Who say, ‘Keep to yourself,
Do not come near me,
For I am holier than you!’
These are smoke in My nostrils,
A fire that burns all the day.
Wow!Even in ancient Israelthere were those with this attitude. Think of how
sick that sounds to God! I am the holiestone in all Israel!Don’t come near
me! I don’t want to contaminate myself for I am so incredibly holy! God said
they are smoke in My nostrils! Godsays, I smell them and they stink!
I love Jesus, don’t you? He was the holiest one in the room. He never sinned
in thought, word or deed. Yet he was criticized for being a friend of publicans
and sinners and prostitutes. Guess what? Jesus alwaysshowedcompassion
and mercy EXCEPT when dealing with the “holier than thou” Pharisees. He
let them have it! Both barrels!
Surely this attitude doesn’t exist today does it? Yes, it does. How do you spot
them? 35 years of pastoralministry and I canquickly make a list of there
attributes.
A list of holier than thou attitudes:
They are obsessedwith the sins and shortcomings of others
They quickly lose patience if people are not “living right”

46. They think their job is to go around correcting people
They stalk people on FB and other socialmedia
They call pretending to be friends but really just want to gain information
They cause division instead of unity
They only hang out with people who see the scripture exactlylike they do
They often are caughtarguing in church parking lots
They are more concernedwith being right than loving
They criticize the pastorand other leaders
THEY STILL STINK IN THE NOSTRILS OF GOD
Yes, the “holier than thou” attitude is out there. As long as there are humans,
it will remain. But I still contend that it is our job as a church to love people.
The Holy Spirit and the Word of God will “sanctify” them.
We need to not have legalismin the church today or anytime in the future!
And if anyone has a “log in the eye” (Matthew 7:3-5) let those who are
spiritual gently do eye surgeryon themselves first before they do any
restoring (Galatians 6:1) If all Christians would simply follow what Jesus said
to do, legalismin the church today would ceaseandgrace would abound more
and more.
Question: What and where is "holierthan thou" mentioned in God's Word?
Answer: Isaiah65:5 Which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I
am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, a fire that burneth all the
day.

47. When you practice religion and holy joe stuff, i.e. "I'm holier than you, don't
touch me", or are afraid to go amongstsinners, or one who doesn't think they
need to learn anything because theyknow it all already this is a person who is
"holier than thou".
They are ignorant of what God wants from them and they think they are too
good to try and help another because it would dirty their own salvation. This
is not the way God operates. Godgave us the parable of the goodSamaritan,
showing us those priests who thought they were too good to stop to help a man
who was half dead, and in contrast the goodSamaritan who did stop and had
compassiononhis fellow man and took care of him.
Luke 10:30-37
30 And Jesus answering said, A certainman went down from Jerusalemto
Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and
wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he
saw him, he passedby on the other side.
32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and lookedon him,
and passedby on the other side.

48. 33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was:and when
he saw him, he had compassiononhim,
34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and
sethim on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave
them to the host, and said unto him, Take care ofhim; and whatsoeverthou
spendestmore, when I come again, I will repay thee.
36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell
among the thieves?
37 And he said, He that shewedmercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go,
and do thou likewise.
https://www.tapatalk.com/groups/theseason/what-and-where-is-holier-than-
thou-mentioned-in-go-t53006.html
The Way of Jesus: Holier Than Thou Matthew 7:1-5
Introduction – The World’s Favorite Bible Verse Our culture is becoming
increasinglybiblically illiterate. They don’t know the who’s who of the Bible
or what it teaches. Butif they were to have a favorite verse, it would be taken
from our text today: Matthew 7:1 – “Judge not, that you not be judged.”
George Barna, the Christian community’s most reliable pollster has
documented that one of biggestobjections to Christians and the church today

49. is that we are too judgmental. No doubt, a significant factorin their judgment
on our judgmentalism is that they do not want to be held accountable forany
moral standard. It’s the cry of any teenagerwho may launching out into
adolescentrebellion: “Stopjudging me!” They just don’t want to be held
accountable.
On the one hand, the world condemns us for our judgement againsttheir sin
but, on the other hand, God requires that we live holy lives. Our culture
would prefer no moral absolutes orcode of conduct. Jesus calls us to
righteousness.
“Do not judge, that you be not judged.”
The reality of the world’s critique againstour judgmentalism is that there is
an element of truth to it. Like the religious leaders of Jesus’day, we are
prone to condemn the very things that we ourselves participate in. We all
know about fallen preachers. There are so-calledChristianpoliticians who
support morally-based public policy like traditional marriage and a pro-life
agenda. But when it is revealedthat they are having affairs or other moral
failures, they completely discredit the moral stands they have taken. If they
have claimed to be a followerof Jesus, the world mocks us even more.
So what are we to do? Eliminate all moral discernment so that the world can
be free from a burdened conscience? We cannotdo that. Jesus saidfor us to
“let our light shine before men.” We have to take the Lord’s demands for
holiness seriously. We must be clearabout this issue of judging. What did
Jesus mean?
2

50. ©BMyers2015
Text: “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you
pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be
measuredto you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but
do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your
brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’when there is the log in your
own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you
will see clearlyto take the speck outof your brother's eye.” Matthew 7:1-5
What Jesus is not saying… As we turn to chapter seven in Matthew’s Gospel,
Jesus shifts his focus to relationships. From the beginning of the Sermon on
the Mount he has addressedthe characterof a disciple: in the beatitudes, our
influence in the world as “saltand light,” in radicallove for our enemies,
righteousness andauthentic devotion in giving, prayer, and fasting and,
finally, ambition that is focusedon the kingdom of God. His teaching on the
individual characterhas penetratedbeneath the simple veneerof
performance, like that of the religious leaders, but the Lord has cut right to
the heart. Now, having dealt with the characterof a Jesus-follower, he
addresses the essentialmatters of living together with other people.
Christianity, after all, is a “teamsport” – a community affair.
“Judge not, that you be not judged.” The question that we have to answeris
“whatis the meaning of ‘judge not.’” In that lastseveralmonths, I’ve made it
a habit to read a chapter of Proverbs eachday. Let me tell you, there’s a
whole lot of judging doing on. God’s people are to be wise and shun the fool,
the scoffer, the lazy man, the adulterous woman, and more. Even in the
context of the Sermonon the Mount – the very next verses, to be exact – Jesus
warns his followers againstcasting their pearls before swine and giving what
is holy to dogs. He’s not talking about literal dogs and pigs. He is assuming

51. that his followers will judge the characterof certaindangerous people. The
New Testamentteaches churchdiscipline which assumes a certain level of
assessmentofpeople’s character.
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When confronted with their sin, some Christians get very defensive saying,
“that’s none of your business” or “who are you to judge me?” You’ve
probably heard it before. But the responsibility for moral accountability to
eachother remains. Even in our passage,Jesus does tellus to help our
brother with the splinter in his eye – after we’ve removed the log from ours, of
course.
The meaning of “judging” in this passagemust be determined from the
context. It certainly doesn’t mean that we suspend all moral discernment in
our lives or in the lives of others. Didn’t Jesus saythat our righteousness
must surpass that of the religious leaders just a few verses ago (5:20)? We
can’t do that unless we are making some level of moral judgment. Parents,
how in the world are you going to raise your children if you aren’t making
some sort of moral judgements on their behavior? You have to judge their
behavior. (I’ll say more about parents later.) So let’s be clearand put that
popular notion out of our mind. We have an obligationto be morally
discerning.
What Jesus is saying… To judge means to separate, to select, to choose.
You’re making a decisionabout what is right and what is wrong. This is
where we struggle a lot because we do try and maintain a high moral

52. standard. Baptists come from the Puritan heritage and that is nothing to be
ashamedof. But we tend to be harsh with others in our assessmentoftheir
behavior –much like the Pharisees. Inthis passage, Jesus is once againgoing
to the heart of the matter. In your decisions regarding other people, he is
addressing the attitude of our heart. It is the attitude of moral superiority
over others. Call it, “being judgmental.” It is the instinct to judge other
people harshly. The judgmental personis a fault-finder who is negative and
destructive. He or she loves to see people fail and actively pursues their
downfall. The judgmental person assumes the worstpossible motives in
others. They do not know grace. Theyextend no mercy in their own
perceivedmoral superiority.
Mostof the time, we are too well-mannered to blatantly bring our judgmental
charges to the other person. We’d rather destroythem and their reputation
through gossip. We make our selfrighteous judgments againstsomeone and
then we begin the whispering campaign. “Now I don’t
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mean to judge...” or “I’m not gossiping.” Perhapswe relay our malicious
judgment to other people maskedas a prayer request. This is heinous. And it
is a dangerous place to be. You’re going to reap what you sow. “…forwith
the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged.”
I’ve been judgmental. Many years ago, whenI was in my early thirties, I
stoodin judgement of my pastor. His family was a mess. His oldestdaughter
had run awaywhen she was fifteen. She married when she was seventeen
before she finished high school. His sonwas a drug addict and his youngest
daughter was permanently brain-damaged from a caraccidentshe had when

53. she took the car without permissionat age fourteenand ran into a telephone
poll. I was certainthat he was an unfit father and therefore, disqualified to
pastor the church. I had no grace. No mercy. Scripture was clear. If he
couldn’t control his children, he had no business as a leaderof the church. I
had never been a father to a teenager. Mykids were nearly perfect in their
elementary-agedinnocence. Mostofyou know my story. My daughter
rebelled, too. By God’s grace, he brought her back to a deeply passionate and
authentic faith.
Do not be judgmental. “Forwith the judgment you pronounce you will be
judged, with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” We have an
ugly tendency to minimize our own faults and exaggeratethose ofothers.
The judge that Jesus condemns sets himself up as a censor, claiming the
ability and authority to sit in judgement over his fellow man. A judgmental
person sees allother as responsible and accountable unto them. Since when
did they become masterand all others their servants? The Apostle Paul
rebuked such an attitude: “Who are you to pass judgment on the servantof
another? It is before his ownmaster that he stands or falls” (Romans 14:4).
The heart of the matter… You see, whenwe take such an attitude toward
other people, we have usurped God’s place. He is the only rightful Judge. I
saw it on FaceBookthis week:
“Neverlook down on anyone; only God sits that high.”
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Virtually everything in Jesus’Sermon on the Mount goes back to the first
thing that came out of his mouth: “Blessedare the poor in spirit, for theirs is
the kingdom of Heaven.” The root of so many of our faults lies in our failure
to comprehend our own poverty before God. I like how Brennan Manning
put it in The Ragamuffin Gospel: “Whenwe acknowledgewe are paupers at
the door of God’s mercy, then God can make something beautiful out of us.”
Jesus is once again doing heart surgery on his followers. He is probing to the
depths of our souls. Surface religionwon’t do for the disciple of Jesus. He
won’t allow us to glory in our own self-righteousnessthat will ultimately lead
to final condemnation by the Eternal Judge. This is a grace forus. Jesus
demands truth “in the inmost part” at David recognizedin Psalm 51:6. The
Lord requires authenticity – rather than empty hypocrisy. And more than
anything, young people today want authenticity in a church. No game playing
with God and with other people. Brothers and sisters, if you want our church
to be relevant and make an impact on young people and young adults, then
put awaythe masks. You don’t have to be perfect…becauseyou’re not. Just
be real. This is the GoodNews that he came to bring. We don’t have to play
games with God or with other people. We are free to be our imperfect selves
because ofthe grace that God has given to us.
Those who follow Jesus are to be radically different from the world. People of
the world are always scratching and clawing and stepping on others in order
to survive and getahead. We don’t need to do that because Godhas already
given us his grace and mercy in spite of our failures. We can freely give
mercy to others because we have experienced it ourselves. We’ve beensetfree
to give mercy and grace to other people. You see, Jesus’teaching here against
being judgmental is not so that we would turn a blind eye, but rather that we
would be generous to others.

55. Merciful critique… We are not calledto live in isolationfrom eachother. The
Christian’s creedis not “live and let live.” No. We are our brother’s keeper.
We are privileged and calledto help eachother in our journey. And when a
brother or sisterfalls into sin or moral difficulty, we are to help restore
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them to a healthy spiritual life. The Apostle Paul applied Jesus’teaching to
the church in Galatia:
Brothers, if anyone is caughtin any transgression, youwho are spiritual
should restore him in a spirit of gentleness.Keepwatch on yourself, lestyou
too be tempted. Bearone another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
But let eachone testhis own work, and then his reasonto boastwill be in
himself alone and not in his neighbor. For eachwill have to bear his own load.
Galatians 6:1-5
God doesn’t often speak to me in dreams and this example might seema bit
silly to you. But this week, as I was pondering Jesus’teaching about being
judgmental towards others, I had a strange dream where I was conducting a
church choir. The setting itself wasn’tso strange because I’ve done that for a
goodportion of my life. I’ve always believed and taught that if you are not
getting what you want from your choir it is your fault as a director. In my
dream, I was really frustrated that the choir wasn’t watching me. (A common
frustration for choir directors.) In fact, the basses and tenors were scraping
peeling paint off the back wall while we were singing the anthem in the