The Pharisees proclaimed themselves righteous.

I must confess that my heart has been Pharisaical.

I didn't even realize it, really. I just kept doing my life, lifting hands in worship, catching a podcast sermon here and there, reading a snippet of God's Word here and there, and memorizing the occasional Scripture.

But, I forgot from which I once was. The Gospel lost it's luster. It was a done deal. I was (and AM) stamped and sealed. I was (and still AM) delivered from death into glorious light.

But, the light grows dim and small when I started declaring myself righteous. It wasn't like I was walking around, muttering that I was so holy or perfect or graced with an untouchable soul. It was more like I was living it. I wasn't faking it. I LOVE JESUS. But, I was blinded in my heart by my own form of righteousness. When God declared me righteous, it was because of HIM. It wasn't because of me and all he righteousness I possess.

Rather, it was because GOD IS RIGHTEOUS. He is the very essence of righteous, it permeates every action and motive and way of Him. So, by being His child, I am declared righteous through Jesus. But! I am not inherently righteous. No, He is righteous, therefore I have imputed righteousness. I am continually "doing the righteousness" of God, not being righteous in my own strength.

The light of His presence diminishes when I am promoting myself. When my name means more to me than His, my heart is adhering to my own set of righteous precepts. You know, like the Pharisees. They were forever acting right so that they would be seen as righteous.

Sometimes, I think we tend to roll our eyes at the Pharisees, like they should have gotten it. They should have seen WHO JESUS WAS. They should have KNOWN. Didn't they study the Scriptures and follow all the rules?

Oh, wait.

Don't I follow the rules and try to study the Scripture? Don't I pray and feel pride in my heart that my Bible looks so gloriously marked up and studied?

there's the downfall. When all our doing gets focused on our selves, and not on doing the righteousness that was gifted to us through Jesus, we follow the rules and check of the boxes and live "holy" lives.

but those "holy lives" aren't wholly devoted, they're just hole-y representations of what life without Jesus looks like. It can look moral and beautiful and sound. It can even partially BE moral and beautiful and sound, but if my heart loses sight of the message of the Gospel, I fail to see my heart as it truly is without Jesus; ugly, dark, a moral wasteland.

I could do all the things and live for Jesus with all that is in my own strength and still miss the whole picture.

My wholeness is because of HIS righteousness. I cannot be holy if I am just stuffing in the holes with all my own righteousness (which is false righteousness).

My wholeness is because there is this righteous Jesus, who's name is strong enough to break the chains of sin and death. My wholeness lies not in marked up Bibles or how many Scripture verses I can spout or my appearance of beauty.

My wholeness is only in righteous Jesus. Only Him. Always Him.
Let me not forget.