Chapter 2: Self-Righteousness

If death is the wages of sin, how can anyone think that by doing good they may reverse this death? Doing good can never reverse death. People of all religions of the world have this erroneous view of sin, because they don’t know that sin causes death, or they think that sin is merely something that makes God mad at us like when children are disobedient to parents, and they get mad and punish them. And this is the very reason why people continue to sin because they don’t grasp the gravity of their sin: That sin brings death. They have this erroneous view of sin, or they are unaware of God’s view of sin, instead they relate it to their own experience in society. In their minds, the kind of sin that will bring death must be very grievous sin, akin to the kind of punishment that a serial killer should face. So, by these standards, most people consider themselves to be good people. After all, they haven’t killed anyone. After all, they aren’t serial killers, child molesters, pedophiles, and so on and so forth.

But what grievous thing did Adam do? Was he a child molester or serial killer? In the day you eat of the tree you shall die. If Adam died from eating from a tree, why should the whitest lie attract any less punishment?

Therefore, what is the remedy for sin if not good works?

Death can only be atoned for by another death. A life for a life.

Hence, the Israelites were instructed in the sacrifices to offer that their sin may be covered.

1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, saying, 2 This month shall be unto you the beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb for an house: 4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it according to the number of the souls; every man according to his eating shall make your count for the lamb. 5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: 6 And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. 7 And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. 8 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. 9 Eat not of it raw, nor sodden at all with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the purtenance thereof. 10 And ye shall let nothing of it remain until the morning; and that which remaineth of it until the morning ye shall burn with fire. 11 And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the LORD’S passover.
12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD. 13 And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
Exodus 12:1-13

Here, when God was going to judge Egypt with death of the first born, the sin of the children of Israel had to be covered by the blood of an innocent animal, a male of the first year with no blemish. There was required, sacrifice for sin. The sacrifice of an innocent.

There are five main types of sacrifices in scripture which may be grouped into the voluntary and the required. The voluntary offerings include burnt offerings, peace and grain offerings which are made for worship and thanksgiving to God. But the mandatory are the sin offerings and trespass offerings for sins of ignorance and unintentional sins. We will focus on these latter two since sin brings death.

5:14 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
5:15 If a soul commit a trespass, and sin through ignorance, in the holy things of the LORD; then he shall bring for his trespass unto the LORD a ram without blemish out of the flocks, with thy estimation by shekels of silver, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for a trespass offering:
5:16 And he shall make amends for the harm that he hath done in the holy thing, and shall add the fifth part thereto, and give it unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him with the ram of the trespass offering, and it shall be forgiven him.
5:17 And if a soul sin, and commit any of these things which are forbidden to be done by the commandments of the LORD; though he wist it not, yet is he guilty, and shall bear his iniquity.
5:18 And he shall bring a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: and the priest shall make an atonement for him concerning his ignorance wherein he erred and wist it not, and it shall be forgiven him.
5:19 It is a trespass offering: he hath certainly trespassed against the LORD.
Leviticus 5:14-19

Note that the trespass offering is an offering for sin through ignorance. Note that from verse 17, ignorance doesn’t excuse the sin; one is no less guilty than if one knew ahead of time. The consequence, innocent blood must be shed to atone.

4:1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
4:2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them:
4:3 If the priest that is anointed do sin according to the sin of the people; then let him bring for his sin, which he hath sinned, a young bullock without blemish unto the LORD for a sin offering.
4:4 And he shall bring the bullock unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD; and shall lay his hand upon the bullock’s head, and kill the bullock before the LORD.
Leviticus 4:1-4

Note that for the sins of ignorance or unintentional sin, atonement was affected via the sacrifice of an innocent animal. The payment for sin is death and thus, sin can only be atoned of with another death and the life is found in the blood. A life must substitute for the life.

13 And whatsoever man there be of the children of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among you, which hunteth and catcheth any beast or fowl that may be eaten; he shall even pour out the blood thereof, and cover it with dust. 14 For it is the life of all flesh; the blood of it is for the life thereof: therefore I said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall eat the blood of no manner of flesh: for the life of all flesh is the blood thereof: whosoever eateth it shall be cut off.
Leviticus 17:13-14.

Note further that if the sins of ignorance are atoned for by death of an innocent animal, how much more grievous when the sin is intentional and continuous?? How much more of an atonement is required?? What is the penalty for intentional sin? The Lord is faithful in giving us a way out as well. Thank you, Lord!

2 If a soul sin, and commit a trespass against the LORD, and lie unto his neighbour in that which was delivered him to keep, or in fellowship, or in a thing taken away by violence, or hath deceived his neighbour; 3 Or have found that which was lost, and lieth concerning it, and sweareth falsely; in any of all these that a man doeth, sinning therein: 4 Then it shall be, because he hath sinned, and is guilty, that he shall restore that which he took violently away, or the thing which he hath deceitfully gotten, or that which was delivered him to keep, or the lost thing which he found, 5 Or all that about which he hath sworn falsely; he shall even restore it in the principal, and shall add the fifth part more thereto, and give it unto him to whom it appertaineth, in the day of his trespass offering. 6 And he shall bring his trespass offering unto the LORD, a ram without blemish out of the flock, with thy estimation, for a trespass offering, unto the priest: 7 And the priest shall make an atonement for him before the LORD: and it shall be forgiven him for any thing of all that he hath done in trespassing therein.
Leviticus 6:2-7

Here you cannot tell a lie by accident. Deceitfulness is intentional sin. Just as is stealing, swearing falsely, acts of violence and so forth. He shall make restitution of what was stolen or otherwise ill-gotten AND shall bring an animal to be sacrificed for him to be forgiven. So, when a person sins directly against his neighbor, the way to forgiveness is as outlined above. But what about when one sins directly against God to willfully turn back on his commandments? It is a fearful thing. Very fearful indeed.

22 And if ye have erred, and not observed all these commandments, which the LORD hath spoken unto Moses, 23 Even all that the LORD hath commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day that the LORD commanded Moses, and henceforward among your generations; 24 Then it shall be, if ought be committed by ignorance without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one young bullock for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour unto the LORD, with his meat offering, and his drink offering, according to the manner, and one kid of the goats for a sin offering. 25 And the priest shall make an atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them; for it is ignorance: and they shall bring their offering, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD, and their sin offering before the LORD, for their ignorance: 26 And it shall be forgiven all the congregation of the children of Israel, and the stranger that sojourneth among them; seeing all the people were in ignorance.
27 And if any soul sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a she goat of the first year for a sin offering. 28 And the priest shall make an atonement for the soul that sinneth ignorantly, when he sinneth by ignorance before the LORD, to make an atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him. 29 Ye shall have one law for him that sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them.
30 But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 31 Because he hath despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him.
32 And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. 33 And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation. 34 And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him. 35 And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. 36 And all the congregation brought him without the camp, and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD commanded Moses.
Numbers 15: 22-36

Here, we see that the man who knew God’s command and flouted it willfully had to pay for his sin by his own death. What is this willful disobedience to the command of God? To understand this, we will look at the Ten Commandments which God gave to Moses which is being referred to here.

1 And God spake all these words, saying, 2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (1) 4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: (2) 5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; 6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments. 7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; (3) for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. 8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. (4) 9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. 12 Honour thy father and thy mother: (5) that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee. 13 Thou shalt not kill. (6) 14 Thou shalt not commit adultery. (7) 15 Thou shalt not steal. (8) 16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. (9) 17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s. (10)
Exodus 20:1-17

The last six commandments are the commandments pertaining to man which require restitution and blood sacrifice to God for forgiveness. Similarly, any unintentional breaking of any of the ten commandments was also forgiven through blood sacrifice. But for the case of willful disobedience against the first four which pertain to God, the requirements are even more stringent and the penalty more grievous.

1 But the children of Israel committed a trespass in the accursed thing: for Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed thing: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against the children of Israel.
2 And Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is beside Bethaven, on the east side of Bethel, and spake unto them, saying, Go up and view the country. And the men went up and viewed Ai.
3 And they returned to Joshua, and said unto him, Let not all the people go up; but let about two or three thousand men go up and smite Ai; and make not all the people to labour thither; for they are but few. 4 So there went up thither of the people about three thousand men: and they fled before the men of Ai. 5 And the men of Ai smote of them about thirty and six men: for they chased them from before the gate even unto Shebarim, and smote them in the going down: wherefore the hearts of the people melted, and became as water.
6 And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the LORD until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads. 7 And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan! 8 O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies! 9 For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name?
10 And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? 11 Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff. 12 Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you.
13 Up, sanctify the people, and say, Sanctify yourselves against to morrow: for thus saith the LORD God of Israel, There is an accursed thing in the midst of thee, O Israel: thou canst not stand before thine enemies, until ye take away the accursed thing from among you. 14 In the morning therefore ye shall be brought according to your tribes: and it shall be, that the tribe which the LORD taketh shall come according to the families thereof; and the family which the LORD shall take shall come by households; and the household which the LORD shall take shall come man by man. 15 And it shall be, that he that is taken with the accursed thing shall be burnt with fire, he and all that he hath: because he hath transgressed the covenant of the LORD, and because he hath wrought folly in Israel.
16 So Joshua rose up early in the morning, and brought Israel by their tribes; and the tribe of Judah was taken: 17 And he brought the family of Judah; and he took the family of the Zarhites: and he brought the family of the Zarhites man by man; and Zabdi was taken: 18 And he brought his household man by man; and Achan, the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was taken.
19 And Joshua said unto Achan, My son, give, I pray thee, glory to the LORD God of Israel, and make confession unto him; and tell me now what thou hast done; hide it not from me.
20 And Achan answered Joshua, and said, Indeed I have sinned against the LORD God of Israel, and thus and thus have I done: 21 When I saw among the spoils a goodly Babylonish garment, and two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight, then I coveted them, and took them; and, behold, they are hid in the earth in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it. 22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran unto the tent; and, behold, it was hid in his tent, and the silver under it. 23 And they took them out of the midst of the tent, and brought them unto Joshua, and unto all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the LORD.
24 And Joshua, and all Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had: and they brought them unto the valley of Achor. 25 And Joshua said, Why hast thou troubled us? the LORD shall trouble thee this day. And all Israel stoned him with stones, and burned them with fire, after they had stoned them with stones. 26 And they raised over him a great heap of stones unto this day. So the LORD turned from the fierceness of his anger. Wherefore the name of that place was called, The valley of Achor, unto this day.
Joshua 7

God had instructed them to not take of any of the accursed objects in the siege of the city of Jericho. We read about this in the preceding chapter. Achan directly violated this instruction. Was he forgiven? Yes, God forgives all confessed sin; but he had to pay for it with his own blood.

15 And it came to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the city seven times. 16 And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the LORD hath given you the city. 17 And the city shall be accursed, even it, and all that are therein, to the LORD: only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all that are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. 18 And ye, in any wise keep yourselves from the accursed thing, lest ye make yourselves accursed, when ye take of the accursed thing, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. 19 But all the silver, and gold, and vessels of brass and iron, are consecrated unto the LORD: they shall come into the treasury of the LORD.
Joshua 6: 15-19

And so, the children of Israel offered daily and yearly sacrifices to God. How many animals were killed daily to atone for sin? Yet all this wasn’t pleasing to God because the sacrifices only covered their sin. It didn’t justify them.

10 Hear the word of the LORD, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. 11 To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. 12 When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? 13 Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. 14 Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them. 15 And when ye spread forth your hands, I will hide mine eyes from you: yea, when ye make many prayers, I will not hear: your hands are full of blood.
16 Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil; 17 Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.
18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. 19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: 20 But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
Isaiah 1:10-20

The prophets of old understood this. That sacrifices weren’t pleasing to God. What did God want from the beginning? Obedience. Adam and Eve disobeyed and died, and man continues to walk in disobedience to God and try to make up for it by “doing good”. Saul was rejected from being King due to his partial obedience to God which is disobedience in His eyes.

22 And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. 23 For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
1Sam 15:22-23

And yes, witchcraft is a sin, in case you didn’t know. And rebellion is in the same category as witchcraft just like stubbornness (to not heed God’s words) is as sinful as idolatry.

Did this mean the sacrifices were meaningless? Absolutely not! If they were meaningless then why did He tell them to make the sacrifices in the first place? The problem is that the people substituted the sacrifices for actual obedience. This was their attitude: Let’s do whatever we want whenever we want so long as we can afford the sacrifice for it. God had been merciful to them in that the sacrifices they brought were according to their financial standing. While the priests and chieftains of the people had to bring bullocks the women (because they weren’t traditionally working outside the family), and the poor could sacrifice turtle doves. So, the wilier amongst them could argue that rather than bring a bullock or a ram, a lamb of the sheep or goats would suffice. After all, unless they were a clan leader the rules for measuring individual wealth were not set in stone. The end result? Everyone did their hearts pleasure, disregarding the commandments of God and brought what God calls a vain oblation.

This attitude persists today. People have these justice scales in their minds. They then try to do enough good to tip the scales in their favor because they imagine that a “fair” God would also have these scales. And if their good outweighs the bad, he should give them a pass. This thinking is quite common in most of the religions of the world, and we hear the complaint: Why does this happen to me? I am a good person! They say this because they have this scale in their minds and as far as they are concerned, their good far outweighs the bad if they have any bad at all. In summary, man always wants to eat his cake and have it.

1 {To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.} The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good. 2 The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. 3 They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.
Psalm 14:1-3

Some have argued that on reading these verses, verse 2 is talking about the people referenced in verse 1. Who is referred to in verse 1? They that say there is no God, the atheists for instance. I would argue that maybe this is correct and maybe not. In verse 2, God looks down upon the children of men. As a whole, these are a group of all humans not just the atheists. They have ALL gone aside, have ALL become filthy. There is NONE that doeth good. No not one. Not a single one.

To buttress this fact, see a conversation that the Lord has:

18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.
Luke 18:18-19

Jesus wasn’t referring to any atheists here. He’s including Himself in the category of those who are not good. If there’s anyone who would qualify, He would right? How else does God view man?

5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
Genesis 6:5-6

Do you think you are so good that you are exempt from this category? Even after Jesus said that there is none good except God? Do you think this doesn’t apply to you? God saw man as being desperately wicked that he wished he hadn’t made man!

9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?
Jeremiah 17:9

And to add insult to injury, some gather themselves and say: Why can’t I be good without God? Why must I believe in a God before I can be a good person? After all, I know several so-called Christians that are no better, even worse than me and my friends put together. I hear you. But any righteousness outside of God’s way is self-righteousness at best and most likely unrighteousness in his sight. You see, in His sight, He has concluded ALL to be unrighteous! Whether the greatest sin a person has ever committed is the whitest lie or he is a modern-day Jack the Ripper.

23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Romans 3:23

ALL means no exceptions. The penalty for telling the teeniest whitest lie only once in one’s entire life? Death!

So, is God unfair? Is He unjust? Perhaps He is WICKED? BARBARIC? UNREASONABLE? Perhaps we are wiser than God? Perhaps He’s got it all wrong?

5 I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me: I girded thee, though thou hast not known me: 6 That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the LORD, and there is none else. 7 I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the LORD do all these things.
8 Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.
9 Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth. Shall the clay say to him that fashioneth it, What makest thou? or thy work, He hath no hands? 10 Woe unto him that saith unto his father, What begettest thou? or to the woman, What hast thou brought forth?
Isaiah 45:5-10

Verse 9: Woe to him that strives with his Maker! Can the clay pot question the potter?

15 Woe unto them that seek deep to hide their counsel from the LORD, and their works are in the dark, and they say, Who seeth us? and who knoweth us? 16 Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?
Isaiah 29:15-16

Who is it that dares to question He who shaped all things? Whose life flows in all creatures? There is no God beside the Lord God.

18 For thus saith the LORD that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: I am the LORD; and there is none else. 19 I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place of the earth: I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain: I the LORD speak righteousness, I declare things that are right.
20 Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save. 21 Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the LORD? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me. 22 Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. 23 I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. 24 Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. 25 In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.
Isaiah 45:18-25

6 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. 7 And there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee: for thou hast hid thy face from us, and hast consumed us, because of our iniquities.
8 But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.
Isaiah 64:6-8

If God is God, who are we to justify ourselves in his sight? Only He who created ALL things both seen, and unseen decides what is good and what is evil, not us!

God pronounced the same admonition to the Prophet Jeremiah.

1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, 2 Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words. 3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and, behold, he wrought a work on the wheels. 4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter: so he made it again another vessel, as seemed good to the potter to make it.
5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the LORD. Behold, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. 7 At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; 8 If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them. 9 And at what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; 10 If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.
Jeremiah 18:1-10

In all His Word, His counsel is clear so we are without excuse; and His judgements cannot be changed. He is the Source of all Life and cannot abide iniquity. Every treacherous, wicked thing must be far from Him. To be far from Life is to embrace Death. Therefore, the soul that sins shall die. Because He will remove it far from Him. He cannot abide iniquity.

33 And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.
Exodus 32:33

And again, to Prophet Ezekiel:

20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
Ezekiel 18:20

Another translation puts it: The soul that sins shall SURELY die…How much more proof do we need? Why must we remain hard-hearted and stiff-necked to our own hurt?

Once God makes a decree nothing can change it. He is slow to anger and rich in mercy to all who would repent of their sin but will by no means excuse the wicked. What is more, He is no respecter of persons. It doesn’t matter to Him if one is President of the United States or Queen of England or the richest person on earth. The soul that sins shall surely die!

1 {A Psalm of David.} I will praise thee with my whole heart: before the gods will I sing praise unto thee. 2 I will worship toward thy holy temple, and praise thy name for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth: for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
Psalm 138:1-2

God will never, ever change His Word on this. He respects His Word more than even His name.

Let’s look at what Paul the apostle said concerning his righteousness:

4 Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: 5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; 6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
Philippians 3:4-6

Paul is saying here that if any man should have confidence in his efforts at righteousness, he had even more than they. He’s saying here that he was more self-righteous than you and I. He reads out his credentials: circumcised on the 8th day, an Israelite of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, of the stricter religious sect of the Pharisees, and above all, BLAMELESS in keeping the Mosaic Law.

Yet it wasn’t enough!

6 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

Read verse 6 again. All our righteousness are as filthy rags in His sight. Another passage regards sin as a menstruous cloth.

22 Ye shall defile also the covering of thy graven images of silver, and the ornament of thy molten images of gold: thou shalt cast them away as a menstruous cloth; thou shalt say unto it, Get thee hence.
Isaiah 30:22

So, what then is God’s solution? If doing good cannot absolve us of sin, if doing good cannot blot our iniquity or pay for our sins, then what can? Shall we begin to sacrifice rams and goats and lambs and bullocks? Shall we begin to keep the laws of Moses? What is God’s plan to save humanity? Or is God being unfair? Is He unjust? Perhaps he is WICKED? UNREASONABLE? Is He out of touch with the human condition? Listen to what He says:

11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
Ezekiel 33:11

So HOW can we be right with God? God hasn’t abandoned man; He made a Way.

We return full circle to the willful sin.

27 And if any soul sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a she goat of the first year for a sin offering. 28 And the priest shall make an atonement for the soul that sinneth ignorantly, when he sinneth by ignorance before the LORD, to make an atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him. 29 Ye shall have one law for him that sinneth through ignorance, both for him that is born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them.
30 But the soul that doeth ought presumptuously, whether he be born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproacheth the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from among his people. 31 Because he hath despised the word of the LORD, and hath broken his commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him.
Numbers 15:27-31

We read earlier of the man who gathered sticks on the sabbath, flouting the fourth commandment and the man who took the accursed object. Both were stoned to death for their willful disobedience. Yet, Ezekiel 33:11 tells us that God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Rather, He wants us to repent, to turn from our wicked ways. Yet, He says none of us are good, yet Paul says his blamelessness in keeping the law wasn’t good enough.

In the next few chapters, we will see HOW we can be good enough for God.