Self-Justification By Comparison

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Can we be saved by comparing ourselves to other people? Does it make any sense to justify my life based on how it compares to how other people live their lives?

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Self-Justification By Comparison

A Shipwreck Story

This is a fictional story. One day people were riding on a boat. The boat began to sink. People jumped off the boat and began to swim toward a nearby island. Even though the island wasn’t too far away, it was too much of a swim for some people and they began to drown. One man swam as hard as he could but then realized he wasn’t going to make it. But before he went down into the water he looked behind him. He saw other people behind him slipping beneath the water and drowning. And so he comforted himself and said, “Well, at least I’m not as far away from the island as those people.” And then he went down into the water and drowned.
This would be a ridiculous statement for someone to make in this circumstance, because the proximity of other people to the island made no difference in the man’s situation. He was lost and dying, and others were lost and dying. It didn’t really matter that other people were farther away from the island than he was, they were all lost and dying.
But this is basically what some people do when it comes to religion. They attempt to justify themselves based on the condition of other people.

Lost and Dying

When we rebel against God’s commandments we sin.
1 John 3:4
1 John 3:4 KJV 1900
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
The penalty for sin is death, or separation from God.
Romans 6:23
Romans 6:23 KJV 1900
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
If we have sinned against God and are capable of understanding that, we can realize that our sin has separated us from God.
Isaiah 59:1-2
Isaiah 59:1–2 KJV 1900
Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; Neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, And your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
God created a perfect man and woman, but when they sinned, He lost the perfect that He had created. Sinners are sometimes referred to as “the lost.”
Luke 19:10
Luke 19:10 KJV 1900
For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
God wants the lost to be cleansed of their sin so they can return to His presence.
Revelation 22:1-5
Revelation 22:1–5 KJV 1900
And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever.

Terms of Salvation are Determined by God

God is the Creator and man is the creation. As the Creator, God has the right to command His creation.
If sin is a rebellion against God’s commandments, then our sin is an offense against God.
If sin is an offense against God, then it is only logical we go to God to determine how to make up for that offense.
Jesus is God, and lived as a man, and came to seek and to save the lost.
Luke 19:10
Luke 19:10 KJV 1900
For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
To that end, He came to deliver the terms of peace between God and man, so that man could be restored to the presence of God.
1 Timothy 2:5
Romans 5:1
1 Timothy 2:5 KJV 1900
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
Romans 5:1 KJV 1900
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
Jesus not only served as mediator, but also offered His blood as the cleansing agent for sin.
1 John 1:7
1 John 1:7 KJV 1900
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
Jesus, as the mediator, told mankind what terms they could follow to make peace with God and get rid of the sin that was keeping them separated from God.
Believe in Jesus as the Son of God
John 3:16
John 3:16 KJV 1900
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Repent to follow the commandments of God
Luke 13:3
Luke 13:3 KJV 1900
I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.
Confess the belief in Jesus as the Son of God
Matthew 10:32
Matthew 10:32 KJV 1900
Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven.
Be baptized, buried into Christ’s death, and come into contact with His blood, the sin-cleansing agent, in order to wash away your sins.
Romans 6:3
Acts 22:16
Romans 6:3 KJV 1900
Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
Acts 22:16 KJV 1900
And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.

Comparison to Others

Comparing your life to others in order to justify your salvation is claiming salvation on your own terms.
You are ignoring the terms of peace that Jesus the mediator came and set forth in order to have peace with God. Instead, you are replacing it with your own ideas of how good you have to live in order for God to accept you.
Mark 7:7
John 12:48
Mark 7:7 KJV 1900
Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
John 12:48 KJV 1900
He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
Comparing your life to others in order to justify your salvation is ignoring the fact that you are still lost and dying.
The drowning man felt better that he was not as far away from the island as others, but he drowned just the same.
Comparing your life to others in order to justify your salvation is ignoring your responsibility to obey God.
Whether you are “better” than another person or not, you still have a responsibility to be obeying God. That responsibility does not go away just because someone else may be more irresponsible.
If you got a failing grade for only doing half of an assignment in school, could you convince the teacher to give you an “A” because another student didn’t even do any of the assignment. How does what the other person did or did not do have anything to do with your grade?
John 21:20-22
John 21:20–22 KJV 1900
Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper, and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.

Your Salvation, Your Responsibility

You are responsible for your own salvation.
You will not be judged by the sins of others, only by the sins of yourself.
Ezekiel 18:20
Ezekiel 18:20 KJV 1900
The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
You will not be counted saved solely based on the life of someone else. The righteousness of Jesus Christ will not be automatically imputed onto your account, making you whole. In other words, just because Jesus lived a perfect life, doesn’t mean you are automatically saved. You have to obey the terms of peace set forth by Jesus the mediator.
Romans 6:16-18
1 John 3:7
Romans 6:16–18 KJV 1900
Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
1 John 3:7 KJV 1900
Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.
You will be counted saved if you obey the terms of peace set forth by Jesus.
Matthew 7:21
Matthew 7:21 KJV 1900
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
You will be judged not by being compared to the life of others, but by being compared to the word of God.
John 12:48
John 12:48 KJV 1900
He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.
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