“When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Mark 2:17
Those who refuse to see their need for the Great Physician cannot possibly see their need to go to Him in repentance.
After all, who would schedule an appointment to see a doctor if they haven’t first realized and admitted they have an ailment?
Ever notice how some seem to preach repentance as if EVERYONE needs to repent except themselves and those in their little self-righteous clique?
The cross reveals your sin, and God’s love, not how wonderful you are! Repent!
By biblical definition, anyone who is self-righteous has less chance than harlots to go to Heaven (Matthew 21:31).
The reason we don’t freely forgive others is because we don’t yet realize just how wicked and depraved we ourselves are and how utterly in need we are of divine mercy.
“For the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.” (1 Samuel 16:7) Men see church-goers, religious people and think they’re saved/going to Heaven. Jesus sees harlots (whores) and sees them as closer to the kingdom (closer to getting saved) than the self-righteous (Matthew 21:31).
“ALL have sinned” against our God and so our own good works do not atone for our sins (Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3:10, 23). ONLY Jesus could and did do that for us.
Sinful self-righteousness has no place in the life of a disciple of Jesus. Matthew 21:31
When God calls us to repent, it’s because we are sinners. “ALL have sinned and come short of the glory (acceptance) of God” (Romans 3:23). Of this verse of truth, John Wesley wrote:
“I came not to call the righteous – Therefore if these were righteous I should not call them. But now, they are the very persons I came to save.”
When our conscience is convicted, when our hearts weigh heavy under the burden of sin, that is the divine call for us to repent—to turn back to the LORD with sincerity and contrition—confessing our sins.
Those not admitting they are sinners cannot possibly see the need of repentance. This is the sin that blinds the self-righteous and seems to be most egregious to God.
Of this passage, F.B. Meyer writes:
“The sinner’s friend, Mark 2:13-22. They thought to coin a term of reproach, but they added a crown of glory. In eternity the Friend of sinners will surround His table with saved sinners who have become His guests.”
A Verse of Truth to Remember
“Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.” Matthew 21:31
Here the Son of God seems to make it clear what infuriates God the most. Jesus is speaking here of the self-righteous religionists who refuse to realize their own sinful state and need for divine forgiveness. He informs us that the fornicators will go to Heaven before the self-righteous. And, we know that no unrepentant fornicator will be in glory (Revelation 21:8, etc.).
The fornicators will go into the eternal kingdom of Christ before those who did not admit their need for divine forgiveness and carry through with repentance that was manifested in a holy life (Matthew 3:7-10).
Jesus came for and saves those who admit they have sinned and are sinners, and their desperate, great need for Him. This is in eternally stark contrast with those who think they are righteous in themselves. Jesus told us that even the prostitutes, the harlots, will be in Heaven before self-righteous religionists! (Matthew 21:31)
“Greater Damnation”
If you still don’t perceive the divine anger against self-righteousness, watch this:
In Christ’s most scathing lambasting on record, He is seen rebuking the self-righteous religionists who used their positions to lord it over and to rob the people. The Son of God foretells their “damnation” which He makes clear will be “greater” than that of others.
“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.” Matthew 23:14
Jesus used this term – “greater damnation” – just one time and He applied it to the self-righteous (this was recorded by all 3 of the synoptic Gospels). “Greater damnation” is coming to the self-righteous religionists of our day.
Of this truth, Debbie Lord writes:
“Jesus clearly spelled out that self-righteousness is the worst sin in that the self-righteous will have to stand in line to enter Heaven behind the very ones they judge and condemn, which we are told will not enter (unrepentant) into the kingdom of Heaven. Our flesh, which rises up in self-righteousness is an adherence to the lie from Satan which blinds us to our own sin — which ultimately denies and takes the place of the work of Christ’s righteousness the Holy Spirit desires to work in us to fruition — being changed into the image of Christ.”
Is self-righteousness not the product of pride and “an evil heart of unbelief”? (Hebrews 3:12-14)
According to Christ, many today who in their hearts and attitudes judge fornicators, thieves, liars and adulterers, are possessed with a worse sin—self-righteousness.
Self-righteousness is the ultimate sin of rejecting the only saving righteousness God provided through Christ. The self-righteous spit in the face of the Almighty as they call Him a liar! The self-righteous impugn the God they claim to serve by casting doubt and indictment upon Him as a fool who sent His only begotten Son in vain!
“I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” Galatians 2:21
Whatever you do, if you will be with Christ, you’d better cry out to the LORD today to strip from every whit of your being, any and all traces, all vestiges of self-righteousness!
If you cast judgment on others in your attitudes toward them for their sin, check yourself (James 1:20). Just because the flavor of their sin may be different than yours, in no way makes your sin any less vile in the eyes of a holy God who is the Judge of your eternal soul (James 2:10)! He sees the very intent and thought of your heart (Luke 9:47; Hebrews 4:13).
The sin that should concern us the most, is our own sin!
If we vainly imagine that someone else’s sin is more vile than our own in the eyes of a holy God, we still don’t have a Gospel clue! (Genesis 32:10; Jeremiah 17:9; James 2:10, 13; Titus 3:3-7, etc.)
Of this verse, the words of Christ in Matthew 21:31, Adam Clarke wrote:
“The publicans and the harlots – In all their former conduct they had said No. Now they yield to the voice of truth when they hear it, and enter into the kingdom, embracing the salvation brought to them in the Gospel. The others, who had been always professing the most ready and willing obedience, and who pretended to be waiting for the kingdom of God, did not receive it when it came, but rather chose, while making the best professions, to continue members of the synagogue of Satan.”
F.B. Meyer writes the following of this verse:
“The parable of the two sons teaches that hard hearts may lie under fair words, while those of whom we expect least and whose first greeting is abrupt and disappointing, may later prove to be the most devoted and hopeful disciples. If a man repels the gospel with violence, he is more likely ultimately to be won than he who gives a polite and facile assent.”
Of this passage, John Wesley wrote:
“He answered, I go, sir: but went not – Just so did the scribes and Pharisees: they professed the greatest readiness and zeal in the service of God: but it was bare profession, contradicted by all their actions.”
What righteousness does any person have in and of themselves— without that righteousness that God alone provided?
“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.” Isaiah 64:6
Christ’s apostle Paul declared this of himself:
“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. … O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” Romans 7:18, 24
“And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:” Philippians 3:9
No teaching in the Bible more profoundly states the need for contrition and humility when approaching God than does Jesus’ parable of the two men who went up to pray.
It’s either Christ’s righteousness or it’s our own. One is from glory, the other from hell beneath. The harlots will be in Heaven before the self-righteous (Matthew 21:31).
Men successfully approach God only when they do it in the realization of their own sin and need, and on the basis of the shed blood of Jesus Christ!
All who approach God any other way than that plain way in which He prescribed, will be found by Him to be “a thief and a robber.”
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. 2 But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.” John 10:1-2
Bible Verses to Get to Know — To Memorize and Meditate Upon
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 6 Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour;” Titus 3:5-6
“I am not worthy of the least of all the mercies, and of all the truth, which thou hast shewed unto thy servant;” Genesis 32:10
Showing God’s mercy as He freely gave it to us in Christ “while we were yet sinners.” (Romans 5:6, 8) Mercy
PRAYER: Precious dear Father in Heaven, I come to You now in the name of Jesus Christ, confessing my utter need for You. As a vile, wretched, rank sinner, I have no righteousness of my own. On Thy mercy, poured out in the Person of Jesus Christ, as He offered His life blood for me on that cross, I now fall. Without You, I can do nothing LORD Jesus. In this very instant, I now turn fully to You and ask You to please take me into Thy kingdom, wash me in the blood of Jesus. Jesus Christ the LORD is from this moment forth the Master of my life. Please cleanse and fill this vessel to love, worship, and serve You Holy Father. In the name of Jesus Christ I pray, amen!
Self-Righteousness | SINLESS PERFECTIONISM: WHOSE Righteousness are You Trusting?
“Two Men Went Up into the Temple to Pray” [podcast]
Abiding
The Evil Winds of Satan with Judge Travis Bryan III [podcast]

Acts 27
The Significance of the Shipwreck
39 And when it was day, they knew not the land: but they discovered a certain creek with a shore, into the which they were minded, if it were possible, to thrust in the ship.
40 And when they had taken up the anchors, they committed themselves unto the sea, and loosed the rudder bands, and hoised up the mainsail to the wind, and made toward shore.
41 And falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the forepart stuck fast, and remained unmoveable, but the hinder part was broken with the violence of the waves.
42 And the soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape.
43 But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land:
44 And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land.
The cross message, as taught from the Bible via brother Travis Bryan III, is unsurpassed the world over. His understanding of the cross life, his understanding of the cross message, is a gift from God to us all. What a gift he has been granted to teach the cross. Many will be in glory as a result. The cross is essential to eternal glory (Luke 9:23-24; Romans 6, etc.).
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Abiding
Warned and Safe [podcast]

“By the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.” Psalms 17:4
PWT = Preach, WARN, Teach
- Preach
- WARN
- Teach
Lynne Parker writes:
“I truly believe Christians will be tried by the Word in this hour. There is no more riding the fence or taking a neutral position. God Himself will place us all in a position to stand or fall according to the Word. “Deception” and its sister “delusion” are gripping the Body of Christ – like a dark cloud it is covering the land. The false dominion (NAR) theology and signs and wonders movement has effectively conditioned multitudes to forsake the authority of God’s Word and embrace their subjective feelings as guidance in discernment concerns. But in these latter days only those who divorce their feelings and trust only in God’s Word and have developed a love for the truth will overcome the devil’s schemes. Sadly many will be lost – it’s unfolding right before us.”
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Abiding
Teach the Bible [podcast]

JESUS IS COMING AND THE TRUE BODY OF CHRIST IS “HOLDING FORTH (BOLDLY DECLARING) THE WORD OF LIFE”
“Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.” Philippians 2:16
WHEN you speak God’s Word, you are speaking divine authority.
“These things speak, and exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no man despise thee.” Titus 2:15
“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” Matthew 28:18-20
“That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” Philemon 1:6
“Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.” Jeremiah 15:16
Nourishing the Body of Christ
“If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained.” 1 Timothy 4:6
“All the days of the afflicted are evil: but he that is of a merry heart hath a continual feast.” Proverbs 15:15
The best way to learn is to teach.
HOW well do you know your way around in God’s Word?
Jesus knew His way around God’s Word. Do you? If not, why not?
“And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he FOUND the place where it was written,” Luke 4:17
The disciple of Christ must daily and diligently search, study, and learn God’s Word in light of His Great Commission command to us to teach His Word to others (Matthew 28:18-20). Our ability to minister is in large part based on our knowledge of God’s Word or the ability to navigate God’s Word (King James Bible).
MAKE THE DIFFERENCE – OBEY GOD, “PREACH THE WORD.” (2 TIMOTHY 4:2)
Tip: Always know WHERE you are reading in God’s Word – chapter and verse. You’ll be surprised at the repertoire that begins to build, making you, like Jesus, a good navigator of our LORD’s Word as you preach His Word (Luke 4:17).
Have you ever pondered why there is little or no Scripture being used when listening to someone pretending to be speaking about the LORD? You should wonder (Matthew 7:16, 20; 1 John 4:1).
“Preach the word” is the divine mandate, command (2 Timothy 4:2).
Let us cease to pretend that we represent the LORD when everything we say isn’t coming straight out of His Word. Read that again please.
“If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles (written Word) of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 4:11
Think God is calling you to serve? Good. If He has saved you, He has called you (Ephesians 2:8-10; 4:7). Get lost in His Word every day (Jeremiah 15:16). Read it (Revelation 1:3). Study it (2 Timothy 2:15). Memorize it (Proverbs 4:4). Meditate upon it day and night (Joshua 1:8; Psalm 1). THAT’s your prep for ministry, not going to an antichrist seminary. Jesus inducted you into His school of the Holy Ghost and Word the moment He saved you.
“As I was listening I was thinking of Paul. Who was a very educated man in the law. But after he was saved he spent three years being taught exclusively by the Lord Jesus Himself. And he says he “conferred not with flesh and blood.” But he was taught “by the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (Gal 1:12-18). All of us should be taught by the Lord in His Word and not learned through mere men or books. But by a direct revelation from the Lord Jesus Christ! Jesus is The Word of God (John 1:1, Rev 19:13).” Karen Cochran
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