It is chilling to consider the results of pride in the world. Not one murder has ever been done because a person was humble, but only because people are proud and focused on self. Jesus Himself was murdered because of the pride of the Pharisees. They did not want to lose their positions and their power. They did not want to lose their seats of honor before the people. Since they loved money, it is also clear that they loved their positions for the sake of money as well. While they were very religious, they used their religion for selfish and self-centered gain. They loved the praise of men and the honor that they gained for their supposed holiness. They were given over to the love of self in their self-centeredness. The loved the glory of men and the prosperity of the world, yet they were very religious men. Despite taking the name of God on their lips, they were truly men who loved themselves and their religion was ultimately determined by self.
“Therefore it must be added that a religion of self, carried on under the banner of Christ-whether it contend for Scripture doctrines or for worldly glory and prosperity-has more of a diabolical nature than that of the Jewish Pharisees. The highest and last working of the mystery of iniquity is this living for self, Satan, and the world under cover of a lip-profession of denying self, of being crucified with Christ, of being led by His Spirit, of being set with Him in heavenly places. Those who boast of their heavenly position in Christ, while living to self, stand in the fullest opposition to the gospel though they contend loudly in words for all orthodox doctrines.” (William Law)
Can it be true that the religion of self (unhumbled self seeking self in religion) carried on under the banner of Christ has more of a diabolical nature than that of the Jewish Pharisees? This is a very disturbing statement because Jesus was harder on the Pharisees than He was anyone else. Jesus was kind to the prostitutes and the tax collectors. He was merciful to those who recognized their sinfulness. But to the religious proud, He gave them no space and spoke what we would term “harshly” in our day. He gave them no slack at all.
Matthew 23:23 – “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others. 24 “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! 25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence. 26 “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also. 27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 “So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, ‘If we had been living in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 “So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 “Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. 33 “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?”
How, then, could William Law even think that a religion of self, carried on under the banner of Christ has more of a diabolical nature in it than that of the Pharisees? I think Law was correct in what he said, but the answer is not easy to hear. Revelation 2:9 can be used by either side in this, but it does point us to an answer: “I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” Revelation 3:9 says essentially the same thing: ‘Behold, I will cause those of the synagogue of Satan, who say that they are Jews and are not, but lie– I will make them come and bow down at your feet, and make them know that I have loved you.
Romans 3 says this: “For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. 29 But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God” (vv. 28-29). A true believer has a new heart and is the temple of the living God. Those who claim to know Christ and instead live for self by the strength of self are really the temple of Satan. This is to attribute self to Christ when in fact it comes from the devil. It is the display of pride.
God Loves... Himself 
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