Ok, so my Pharisee blog series was supposed to be a five-part series. However, I think I am going to stop at the three I have already posted, for a number of reasons; (1) you are probably tired of reading them, (2) I think I have made my point, (3) I feel like there are some things I need to say in regards to these blogs that are more important than the other two posts themselves, though I’ve already written the fourth and fifth parts.
Whether or not you agree with me, I have not been overly critical in describing myself as a Pharisee. All of us are to some extent, and those Christians who deny that fact are indeed even more so. We all hold to a faith and a code of conduct in our lives that we simply cannot attain to. We all profess to follow Christ and yet at the same time so often deny Him in our actions, words, or lack thereof. That is why the world so often knocks Christians as hypocrites… because we are! But let’s rejoice in the fact that no matter how badly messed up we are, God’s grace is so much greater! I mean our whole faith is based on the fact that we are nowhere near good enough on our own!
That was a big reason I wrote this series – grace. In fact, I don’t think I could’ve written these blogs unless I knew God’s grace that has been lavished upon me. A drug addict who doesn’t believe he is addicted has no reason to believe he needs rehab. A sick person who doesn’t know he’s ill doesn’t believe he needs a doctor. A man who doesn’t understand his own depravity and sinful nature cannot understand he is in need of God’s grace.
Read the Pauline epistles. Over the course of his life, Paul’s view of himself drastically evolved. As he grew in wisdom and maturity in his faith, he described himself first as the”least of all the apostles,” then the “least of all the saints,” then finally as the “chief of all sinners.” I used to think Paul just had this false humility thing going on… I am beginning to understand that the closer we get to God, the more we realize how truly far we are from Him and how desperately we need His grace.
It’s always been, and always is, and always will be, God alone.
We can boast in nothing else.
