What does First B Jackson teach about self-righteousness?
Drawn from the messages where it was actually addressed: the words said from the front, the passages taught, and where to hear the whole thing.
At First B Jackson, the teaching on self-righteousness starts with a recognition that it is not just a religious person's problem. When Pastor Josh worked through Luke 18, he was careful to note that Jesus aimed the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector at people who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and viewed others with contempt. That description, as Pastor Josh pointed out, fits a wide range of people, not only the devout. The instinct to assume we are good enough, and to look at others with a quiet sense of superiority, runs through human nature in general.
Both messages from August 2023 press hard on the contrast Jesus draws between the two men at the temple. The Pharisee had real credentials. He fasted far more than required, tithed on everything, and kept himself from obvious sins. But he never asked God for a single thing, because in his own mind he lacked nothing. The tax collector, by contrast, stood at a distance, would not lift his eyes, beat his chest in a posture associated with grief and shame, and prayed one sentence asking God for mercy. Jesus said the tax collector went home justified. Pastor Travis connected that word, justified, to the idea of alignment: God put the man where he belonged by crediting him with a righteousness he could never have produced on his own. That transfer happened precisely because he came with nothing in his hands.
Carl's 2022 teaching from Philippians 3 lands in the same place from a different angle. Paul listed credentials that were entirely real, and then called them garbage compared to knowing Christ. Carl was clear that Paul was not being falsely modest. He was making the point that if law-keeping and personal achievement could have made anyone right with God, Paul was the candidate, and Paul himself said it was not enough. The law showed people they could not meet its standard. God sent His Son to satisfy that standard on our behalf, so that the righteousness we stand in is not our own. Both Pastor Josh and Carl came back to the same conclusion: humility before God is not one option among several. It is the condition for receiving what only God can give.
Taught from Luke 18:9-14 · Philippians 3:1-11 · 1 John 1:9 · 1 Peter 5:6-7 · Romans 8:3-4
The passage taught · 1 John 1:9
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us the sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
World English Bible
Messages that go deeper
- August 27, 2023 Nothing in My Hand I Bring Jesus tells a parable about two men who pray. Pastor Mark explores what true humility before God looks like and why it is the only path to being justified.
- August 27, 2023 God Be Merciful to Me, the Sinner A Wyoming pastor unpacks Jesus' parable of the Pharisee and tax collector, showing why humility before God matters more than religious confidence or personal merit.
- September 27, 2022 The Infinite Value of Knowing Christ Philippians 3 shows why our standing before God rests entirely on faith in Christ's work, not our own efforts, credentials, or record of good living.