Christian Arrogance

Beginning Question:

Why are you a member of the Church of Christ as opposed to another faith tradition?

My reasons:

I believe in the heritage of the COC:

Unity

Going back to the Scriptures

Not governed by man-made traditions

My interpretation & understanding of the Scriptures most aligns with the COC

I personally believe the COC (at our best) are most aligned with what the Scriptures teach

Many might say, “We’re the only true church that holds to the whole truth.”

And that type of attitude can make us highly susceptible…

To the modern problem we’re looking at today

Modern Problem:

Christian Arrogance

We’re going to read a lot of Romans 1-3

For the sake of applying the principles of this text to our situation…

The Jews will represent the churches of Christ

And the Gentiles will represent those outside the churches of Christ

Romans 1:18–32 NET

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth by their unrighteousness,19 because what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world his invisible attributes—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, because they are understood through what has been made. So people are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for an image resembling mortal human beings or birds or four-footed animals or reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity, to dishonor their bodies among themselves.25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged the natural sexual relations for unnatural ones,27 and likewise the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed in their passions for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error. 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what should not be done.29 They are filled with every kind of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are rife with envy, murder, strife, deceit, hostility. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, contrivers of all sorts of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 senseless, covenant-breakers, heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they fully know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but also approve of those who practice them.

There’s no doubt about it…

The unbelievers, irreligious, & those who believe false things…

Sure are sinful

God’s wrath is against them

You can imagine the Jewish Christians reading up to this point & saying:

“Amen! You let those godless heathens have it, Paul!”

But Paul isn’t done

Romans 2 NET

1 Therefore you are without excuse, whoever you are, when you judge someone else. For on whatever grounds you judge another, you condemn yourself, because you who judge practice the same things. 2 Now we know that God’s judgment is in accordance with truth against those who practice such things. 3 And do you think, whoever you are, when you judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself, that you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? 5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath for yourselves in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed!6 He will reward each one according to his works:7 eternal life to those who by perseverance in good works seek glory and honor and immortality, 8 but wrath and anger to those who live in selfish ambition and do not obey the truth but follow unrighteousness. 9 There will be affliction and distress on everyone who does evil, on the Jew first and also the Greek,10 but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, for the Jew first and also the Greek. 11 For there is no partiality with God. 12 For all who have sinned apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For it is not those who hear the law who are righteous before God, but those who do the law will be declared righteous.14 For whenever the Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature the things required by the law, these who do not have the law are a law to themselves. 15 They show that the work of the law is written in their hearts, as their conscience bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or else defend them,16 on the day when God will judge the secrets of human hearts, according to my gospel through Christ Jesus. 17 But if you call yourself a Jew and rely on the law and boast of your relationship to God18 and know his will and approve the superior things because you receive instruction from the law,19 and if you are convinced that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, 20 an educator of the senseless, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the essential features of knowledge and of the truth—21 therefore you who teach someone else, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who tell others not to commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law dishonor God by transgressing the law! 24 For just as it is written, “the name of God is being blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” 25 For circumcision has its value if you practice the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. 26 Therefore if the uncircumcised man obeys the righteous requirements of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 27 And will not the physically uncircumcised man who keeps the law judge you who, despite the written code and circumcision, transgress the law? 28 For a person is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision something that is outward in the flesh, 29 but someone is a Jew who is one inwardly, and circumcision is of the heart by the Spirit and not by the written code. This person’s praise is not from people but from God.

Paul, after blasting the Gentiles, immediately turns to the Jews

His point:

“You enjoy judging the Gentiles, don’t you?”

“You’ve been given the law of God & therefore you’re better than them.”

“But you’re not better than them.”

“You may have the law of God, but you still disobey it!”

“You’ve been circumcised, therefore you’re better than them.”

“But you’re not better than them.”

“Circumcision means nothing if you’re not living according to the law.”

Imagine if Paul was writing this to the churches of Christ?

“You enjoy judging those outside the COC, don’t you?”

“You have the truth & therefore you’re better than them.”

“But you’re not better than them.”

“You may have the truth, but you still don’t obey it!”

Which is better?:

A person who loves his neighbor as himself, despite not knowing the Scriptures tell him to?

Or a person who knows the Scriptures tell him to & yet doesn’t do it?

“You’ve been baptized for the remission of sins, therefore you’re better than them.”

“But you’re not better than them.”

“Baptism means nothing if you’re not living according to the truth of the Gospel.”

Which is better?:

A person who loves his neighbor but isn’t baptized?

Or a person who is baptized but doesn’t love his neighbor?

The arrogant hypocrisy of the Jews…

Can easily be adopted by those of us in the COC today, if we aren’t careful

We can get so caught up in thinking that…

We’re the only ones who have it right…

That we can become arrogant & blinded from our own sins & shortcomings

But Paul has the solution for us in the next chapter

Romans 3:9–18 NASB95

9 What then? Are we better than they? Not at all; for we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; 10 as it is written, “There is none righteous, not even one; 11 There is none who understands, There is none who seeks for God; 12 All have turned aside, together they have become useless; There is none who does good, There is not even one.” 13 “Their throat is an open grave, With their tongues they keep deceiving,” “The poison of asps is under their lips”; 14 “Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness”; 15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood, 16 Destruction and misery are in their paths, 17 And the path of peace they have not known.” 18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

Romans 3:19–26 NIV

19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in God’s sight by the works of the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of our sin. 21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

What is the solution for the arrogant hypocrisy that we can easily fall into?

Remember that all of us are sinners deserving of God’s wrathful justice

Remember that God, in His grace, gave Jesus as a sacrificial offering…

To receive God’s wrath that we deserved…

So we could be justified

Modern Problem

Like the Jews:

We can become arrogant in our knowledge

While defending the truth…

And correcting & condemning others…

We can fail to be transformed by that truth

While condemning others…

We in turn condemn ourselves because we’re no better

We can sometimes confuse being “right” with being “righteous”

Ancient Solution

To be humbled by this knowledge:

We are all sinners who deserve God’s judgment

There’s nothing that I or anyone else can do to earn righteousness

Justification, salvation, & eternal life are God’s gift of grace…

That has been made possible by what Jesus has done

All I contribute is faith

Knowing the truth shouldn’t make us proud & judgmental

It should make us humble & compassionate