Friday With Spurgeon

"Nothing can damn a man but his own righteousness; nothing can save a man but the righteousness of Christ."  Charles Spurgeon

What Took So Long?

Alas, I am here as promised delivering you the 2nd in my series of "Friday With Spurgeon" blogs, as late as I am.  This week has indeed been a full one.  Some of you may know that my wife and I have been expecting our newest addition to our family for what seems like the last 20 months lol.  Our daughter was actually due on the 31st of December, but God is teaching us patience through her since she's yet to arrive.  We've also been participants in various holiday activities with Christmas and New Year's coming in tandem, as is their custom.  I say all that to say, thank you for your grace as I've caused you (all 3 of you) to wait until the 11th hour on Friday to receive this, my latest Spurgeon entry.

Don't I Have Righteousness?    

Thinking about the above quote, I wondered aloud,  "is there nothing that can damn a man but his own righteousness?"  Surely murder, adultery, and other heinous sins damn men, don't they?  There has to be something else that damns a man besides his own righteousness, huh?  Thinking further, though, reveals a potent truth.  One may have no righteousness besides his own,  unless another were actually able to give him theirs.  We often hear of people referring to talents of children as "something their mom or dad gave them."  What is meant by that, is that somehow that child inherited that artistic ability, or athletic prowess, or some other attribute that can easily be seen and attributed to one or both parents.  Since I was a better-than-decent athlete, people can see my son's success on the field/court and say, "you gave him that speed," or "you gave him those reflexes," and there could be at least a hint of truth in the statement.  The truth of such statement lies in the fact that I actually have what I am suspected of giving my son; namely, athletic ability.  In the case of righteousness, however, this system of thought breaks down holistically.  First, let me define my terms here.  By righteousness, I mean what I believe is meant Biblically; that is, a right standing with GOD the creator by virtue of moral perfection.  Now let me ask the question, "who has this?"  The answer of course, is no one.  This is why Romans 3:10 says unequivocally, "there is none righteous, no not one."  Now this leads to a question about Spurgeon's quote.  If none of us has the righteousness that God requires, then how can it be said that my righteousness is the very thing that will damn me?

To understand this aspect of Spurgeon's quote, let's look at a few Scriptures:

In Matthew 5:20, Jesus says

For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

What was the righteousness that Jesus referred to?  The Pharisees and the scribes (especially the former) had a type of righteousness that focused almost totally on external righteousness.  That is, they dotted every religious "i" and crossed every religious "t."  They said loud and public prayers, they publicly gave alms, and they could quote nearly all the Scripture from memory.  Impressive, huh?  Not quite, because while externally they kept so many of the laws letter, they all but ignored the keeping of the intent, or spirit of the law.  The righteousness of the Pharisees  wasn't really righteousness at all.  Theirs was a pseudo-righteousness that led to lots of religious activity, yet lacked the power to change their motivations and true affections.  This righteousness was contrived and in essence, native to all of us as fallen humans.  God has this to say about such righteousness: Isaiah 64:6 For we are all become as one that is unclean, and all our righteousnesses are as a polluted garment: and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.  Wow, the "righteousness" that we possess God sees as polluted garments, which is actually a mild way to say what is expressed in Hebrew here.  So we see that our righteousness is not worthy of God's acceptance, and we see that even the religiously astute Pharisees' righteousness is not enough to get us to Heaven.  The reason for this is because the only righteousness we as fallen humans can conjure up is external righteousness.  God's standard is moral perfection, and we couldn't get there if we lived in a bubble.  From before even the first selfish wail as children wanting our own way, we are tainted with the nature of Adam.  There is no external exercise that can rid us of this nature.  Going to Church several times per week, praying 100 times per day, giving  to the poor in Oprah-like proportions, or saying "I believe in God" until we convince all around us does not accomplish a thing relative to God's requirement for righteous perfection.  In this way, it can never be said of me that I gave my child my righteousness.  I simply have no righteousness to give.  Now let's imagine that the things I mentioned as futile-my Church attendance, my upstanding citizenship, my prayers, my giving to the poor-were the very things I depended on to gain favor with God.  There are other things that can be said to constitute "my righteousness."  These things become clearer when this question is considered: "If you were to die today and face God, and He asked "why should I let you into my heaven?" what would the answer be?  Whatever the answer to this question is reveals whose righteousness is being trusted.  I've asked this question of a few people I know to be either blatant unbelievers, or professed believers who are Church goers.  Sadly, the answers of both groups vary very little. They include:

1.  I try my best to live by the teachings of Jesus

2.  I always ask God to forgive me

3.  I go to Church and pray all the time

4.  I asked the Lord into my heart once before

5.  I'm a good person

What do all these answers have in common?  "I."  God should let me into Heaven because "I......"  This shows a dependence on the righteousness that is not possessed.  Self righteousness is really no righteousness at all.  Believing that my or your activity grants us any favor with, or commends us to God in any way is a sure route to Hell.  This is the very idea behind Spurgeon's quote.  The only thing that can damn a man is his own righteousness.

External Righteousness-The Straw that Broke The Camel's Back

 One's own righteousness can do not a thing to affect the problem that exists between man and God.  This is one of enmity, that is the nature of sinfulness that makes the unregenerate (that is, one who has not been born again through repentance and faith) an enemy of God.  Regardless of the perception of goodness in a person's external activity, not one person would be willing to have their thoughts from the last 24 hours broadcast for all to see.  This is because at our core, we are sinful, having thoughts and deeds that don't match.  The "best" person in the world wouldn't want you to view their thought life, because even against their own wills, they have evil and sinful thoughts, as do we all.  That alone should be proof enough that there is none righteous from God's perspective.  That is why our righteousness before God is but filth.  I can recall giving $10 to a homeless man in DC once.  Afterward, I felt so good that I reasoned that I was the only one in the group I was with who cared enough for this man's plight that I acted.  So while I was giving to the poor, my thoughts were bathed in the filth of personal pride.  Paul was so right when he lamented, "when I would to do good, evil is present before me," in Romans 7.  Our self righteousness will forever prevent us from seeing the sin that exists even in our good, unless God Himself intervenes.  God Himself has intervened.  We have a deep problem when ours is the righteousness we depend on to save us.  It's an eternally damning problem.  We have no righteousness worthy of God's Grace; yet He gives grace to those who realize the truth of Spurgeon's statement.  Once we come to grips with the humiliating truth that we have nothing worth anything to offer to a perfect and Holy God, we can enter into element B of the quote we are examining.  

Nothing can save a man but the righteousness of Christ.  

We see then that any righteousness we possess in and of ourselves is worthless in God's economy.  This is a wholesale problem affecting all humans born of Adam.  This takes us back to one of my first observations, namely, that one may have no righteousness besides his own,  unless another were actually able to give him theirs.  If we have said that all those born of Adam have no real righteousness, who then would actually be able to give righteousness to anyone?  Jesus, the only morally perfect human to ever live, is the only answer.  Hence, the b clause of Spurgeon's quote.  Through the perfect life lived by the God/Man Jesus, sinful and righteous-void humans like me and you, can be declared righteous through repentance and faith in His work.  That is, His life, death, burial, and resurrection.  As the Scriptures speak: Romans 4:4 Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due.  5 But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, 

and again: Romans 5:17 For if by the transgression of the one (Adam), death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ. 

The only righteousness that God will count as ACTUAL righteousness, is the righteousness of Christ.  We obtain that righteousness by Grace, through Faith in the person and work of Christ.  There is no other way to obtain it.  No one  can work hard enough, or be good enough to satisfy the righteous requirements of God.  Repent and Trust Christ, and the perfect and righteous life He lived will be accounted to you.  In this way, the righteousness of Christ will save you.  Repent and trust not, and your own righteousness will be more than enough to damn you to Hell for eternity.