Pretending, Performing
Quick Review of the Gospel Grid:
Growing awareness of sin and God’s holiness
Leads us to shrink the cross
Romans 1 says the “gospel is the power of God for salvation for those who believe.”
Yet we often shrink the cross because of our indwelling sin
How do we shrink the cross? We put on blinders.
Pretending & Performing
Read Luke 18:9-14.
Pretending: minimizes our sin by making ourselves out to be something we are not.
Growing in an awareness of our sin is tough. It means admitting to ourselves and others that we are not as good as we think we are. And as we grow in awareness of sin, it can become a huge burden.
Appearance Pretending: makeup, a wig, loose or dark clothing, etc.
Spiritual Pretending takes different forms:
Dishonesty (I’m not that bad)
Comparison (I’m not as bad as those people)
Excuse making (I’m not really that way or I wasn’t myself that day.)
False righteousness (Here are all the good things I’ve done.)
How was the Pharisee pretending? How are you pretending?
Performing: minimizes God’s holiness by reducing his standard to one we can keep.
Growing in an awareness of God’s holiness is tough too. It means coming face to face with God’s righteous commands and the perfection of his character. It means realizing how dramatically short we fall of his standards. It means reflecting on his holy displeasure toward sin. This too can become a burden leading to despair.
“What does the Pharisee count on to give him a sense of acceptance, credibility or validity?
I matter because of __________.” What about you?
This question reveals something (besides Jesus) that you lean on for righteousness.
Do you see how pretending and performing only serve to shrink the cross?
Here’s a good test to see your tendency toward pretending and performing:
Ask, “As God thinks of you right now, what is the look on his face?”
Angry, disappointed, indifferent?
If you imagined God as anything but overjoyed with you, you have fallen into a performance mindset. The gospel truth is: In Christ, God is deeply satisfied with you. Based on Jesus’ work, God has adopted you as one of his children. Rom. 8:1
But we live with this performance mentality, that if we just did a little better as Christians God would approve of us more. It’s a lie that will shrink the cross in your life and it will rob you of the joy that we are meant to have in God’s holiness and grace.
Sources of False Righteousness:
JOB RIGHTEOUSNESS: I’m a hard worker, so God will reward me.
FAMILY RIGHTEOUSNESS: Because I come from a good family I’m more
godly than others who don’t.
THEOLOGICAL RIGHTEOUSNESS: I have good theology. God prefers me over those who have bad theology.
INTELLECTUAL RIGHTEOUSNESS: I am more studious, more articulate, and more culturally wise than others, which makes me superior.
SCHEDULE RIGHTEOUSNESS: I am self-disciplined and rigorous in my time management, which makes me more mature than others.
FLEXIBILITY RIGHTEOUSNESS: In a world that’s busy, I’m flexible and
relaxed. I always make time for others. Shame on those who don’t!
MERCY RIGHTEOUSNESS: I care about the poor and disadvantaged the way everyone else should.
LEGALISTIC RIGHTEOUSNESS: I don’t drink, smoke, or chew, or date girls who do. I’m not perfect but I’m pretty darn close.
FINANCIAL RIGHTEOUSNESS: I manage money wisely and stay out of debt. I’m not like those materialistic Christians who can’t control their spending.
POLITICAL RIGHTEOUSNESS: If you really love God, you’ll vote for my
candidate.
TOLERANCE RIGHTEOUSNESS: I am open-minded and charitable toward those who don’t agree with me. I’m a lot like Jesus that way!
