Jesus warned his disciples against the righteousness of the Pharisees. When we are living moral lives it is a temptation to think our behavior wins God’s favor. Jesus quoted Isaiah to the Pharisees, “These people draw near to me with their mouth, and honor me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. And in vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines he commandments of men” (Mathew 15:8-9).
Have you ever been surprised to find something you thought was in the Bible was actually a saying handed down from generation to generation? An example is the saying, “Cleanliness is next to godliness,” and “God helps those who help themselves.” Neither one of these are scripture.
Often when we are judging fellow believers, we are basing our judgment on our spiritual tradition and not on something that is actually in the Word of God. We need to be careful.
