Are You Giving Hearty Approval to the Sins You Practice?

Are You Practicing Sin and Giving it Approval?

Do you think lightly of the riches and kindness of God? Are you giving hearty approval to the sins you practice? We must think rightly about our sin and God’s judgment. Otherwise we will end up with the heart attitude of the Pharisee in Luke 18:10-12. 

Read the arrogant words of the Pharisee in Luke 18:10-12,“Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and was praying this to himself: ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.” For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. Matthew 12:34 Like this Pharisee, Are you practicing sin and giving it hearty approval?

Have you had these same pharisaical thoughts, only for God to show you somewhere else in your life where you are sinning? You may have ended up doing the very thing you condemn someone else for! I know I have, and the Holy Spirit was quick to remind me! 

In the context of Luke 18:10-12, the person, in this case, a Pharisee, thinks they are ok because they have kept some external Law.

 Not as a Result of Works 

There was a time that I sat in the pew at church and thought to myself, “Well, I do not do drugs. I am not an alcoholic. I did not have sex before marriage. I attend church every time the doors are open and so on.

I had a laundry list of my righteous acts. I may not have said, “I am glad I am not like other Christians,” but in thought, that was the attitude of my heart. I thought like the Pharisee in Luke, and that is what I was! 

Any time we think this way, we are relying on external works. What we are saying is salvation is in my hands. If I do these things, then I am a righteous person. I have prestige, and I should be counted righteous because I was born into a specific nation Jewish, for example. 

Works cannot save you. Prestige and family line cannot save you. Only the righteousness of Jesus Christ can save you.

Lisa Morris

Nothing makes us righteous, but Christ’s righteousness imputed to us. The kindness of God leads to repentance. Romans 2:4. No amount of works makes one righteous. Trusting in our works, and relying on them makes us self-righteous. The whole of Scripture teaches us that our salvation is not based on our works, only those of Jesus Christ. 

By Grace You Have Been Saved

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is a gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9. We pass from life to death because of the kindness and mercy of God. Because of Christ and His works of Righteousness, the wrath of God is satisfied! Let’s not give hearty approval to the sin we practice, but rather let’s give honor and hearty praise to God!

This lesson with many more, are what you and I can learn from studying the book of Romans. Learn more about our study in Romans and download lesson 1 free @ In-Depth Bible Studies

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