CLICK TO ADVANCE SLIDES ♫ Turn on your speakers! ♫ Turn on your speakers! Judge not without knowledge, nor without necessity and never without charity. Judge not without knowledge, nor without necessity and never without charity. You can never be too bad for Jesus, only too good! You can never be too bad for Jesus, only too good!

God took a man who was an accomplice to murder and a persecutor of the early Christians and made him the Apostle Paul. Jesus took a woman who was one of the biggest harlots in town and made her one of His favorite disciples. God's idea of righteousness is often quite different from our idea of righteousness! God's idea of righteousness is often quite different from our idea of righteousness! King David was one of the worst sinners that the world has known, but he was also one of the greatest saints, because he knew he was totally dependent on the love and the mercy of God for forgiveness!

…It's a sinner who has no perfection, no righteousness of his own at all, but is totally dependent on the love and the mercy of God by faith. The only standard of perfection is: Do you depend on the Lord totally, trust Him and His love and His mercy? The only standard of perfection is: Do you depend on the Lord totally, trust Him and His love and His mercy? True righteousness is being full of the Lord, for only He is all right!

The World’s idea of righteousness is self-righteous perfection. God's idea of righteousness is the pitiful, hopeless, lost, humble, loving, repentant sinner who knows he needs God! The Devil’s idea of righteousness is totally the OPPOSITE of God's idea! This counterfeit idea is the SELF- righteous, holier-than-thou HYPOCRITE-- the supposedly sinless perfectionist! The World’s idea of righteousness is self-righteous perfection. God's idea of righteousness is the pitiful, hopeless, lost, humble, loving, repentant sinner who knows he needs God! The Devil’s idea of righteousness is totally the OPPOSITE of God's idea! This counterfeit idea is the SELF- righteous, holier-than-thou HYPOCRITE-- the supposedly sinless perfectionist! When we feel so righteous and good, it's really because we are self-righteous, and not closer to God but closer to ourselves! So let's forget about trying to be perfect!— Because in this body of flesh we never will be! Let's just follow the Lord and do the best we can! When we feel so righteous and good, it's really because we are self-righteous, and not closer to God but closer to ourselves! So let's forget about trying to be perfect!— Because in this body of flesh we never will be! Let's just follow the Lord and do the best we can!

Pride is a problem we all have really, it's one of our main temptations, ALL of us! What was it that caused the fall of Satan? PRIDE! Since pride caused the fall of Satan, it is apparently at the root of all sin! PRIDE blinds you to LOVE and causes you to feel that you are better than others and justified in your unloving attitudes because you believe you’re so right. Pride is a problem we all have really, it's one of our main temptations, ALL of us! What was it that caused the fall of Satan? PRIDE! Since pride caused the fall of Satan, it is apparently at the root of all sin! PRIDE blinds you to LOVE and causes you to feel that you are better than others and justified in your unloving attitudes because you believe you’re so right. God knows you're anything but perfect and CAN'T be perfect and never will be perfect in this earthly life, and usually you're pretty much of a mess, like the rest of us!

It is only when you get to the point where you are willing to FORSAKE your pride that you will be in a position to really grow and mature. For spiritual maturity is not just a matter of years or time, although that often helps, but it's a matter of your connection with God and His Word, your obedience and your humility. Being bound by pride and self-righteousness can greatly HINDER your spiritual progress. Pride will really get in your way and hinder and keep you from growing and learning what God wants to teach you, and from becoming what He wants you to be.

They're ‘insulated’ against the real truth, they already have their ‘religion’, and are so hung up on their ‘doctrine’ that they totally miss the heart of the law which is Love! One reason that the proud and self-satisfied never seem to grow spiritually is because even if they read the Word of God, it just rolls like water off a duck's back! Jesus told them: “Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophecy of you, saying; This people draweth nigh unto Me with their mouth, and honoureth Me with their lips; but their heart is far from Me. But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” - Matthew 15:7-9 (Isaiah 29:13) Just like the Scribes and the Pharisees of Jesus’ day who knew the Scriptures and the Law better than anybody. They were extremely ‘religious’ and ‘righteous’ in their own eyes but they rejected and crucified their Messiah for exposing their hypocrisy.

A critical spirit and a harsh, condemning attitude towards others comes from self- righteousness! But if you know you're a mess yourself, then you don't go around looking down on and criticizing OTHER people for their mistakes. But if you think YOU'RE so righteous, that's when you start picking on OTHERS. Some people, the minute somebody makes a mistake instead of being patient and forgiving, are quick to condemn. They seem to forget all the past and all the good they ever did.

We ALL need to apply this to ourselves and learn what that means! We all need to ask Him in all humility to help us have MERCY on others, knowing that we ourselves must also be forgiven for many sins! Remembering continually what sinners WE are and how many mistakes WE'VE made helps greatly to keep us humble and to avoid that spirit of self- righteous pride which causes us to criticize and condemn others. Jesus said to go back and learn what God meant when He said, " "" "I will have mercy and not sacrifice." Matthew 9:13

"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother's eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me remove the speck from your eye'; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.” Matthew 7:2-5

--The just, legalistic, unforgiving, unloving, unbending, unmerciful, proud self-righteous? --The just, legalistic, unforgiving, unloving, unbending, unmerciful, proud self-righteous? --Or the merciful, loving, understanding, forgiving, humble, unrighteous sinner saved only by the grace of God? --Or the merciful, loving, understanding, forgiving, humble, unrighteous sinner saved only by the grace of God?