Further thoughts on how loving Jesus frees us from sin #2

We don’t want to be like “them.” Have you met any of “them?”

They are the Pharisees. The Pharisees were a 1^st Century Jewish religious/political group that placed a tremendous emphasis on obeying Old Testament Law. They don’t seem to have had much of an emphasis on loving God. These were the people who lead the way in getting Pontius Pilate to give Jesus the death sentence.

You may know some 21^st Century Christian Pharisees. They know exactly and precisely what they are not supposed to do, and they don’t do it. But for some reason, even though they have this emphasis on living right, they are not very attractive people. Very few people who meet them want to be like them.

People don’t want to be like the Pharisees because the Pharisees invariably have two fatal flaws. They are a hard hearted people. An emphasis on following laws does not transform the human heart. And they are proud people.

Let’s be honest with ourselves. If God were to give you complete, instantaneous victory over every bad habit you have right now, is their any conceivable way that this wouldn’t make you proud?

The only way out of this is to grow in your love for Jesus. To the extent that you fail in this area, all “growth” in the purity of your life is simply of process of moving the throne in indwelling sin from the place of lust to the place of pride in your life.