10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.
11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.
12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.
14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Luke 18:10-14
The Pharisee fasts according to the commandments, he pays his tithing but though he fulfills many of his requirements he still misses the point of the Gospel. This is a holier-than-thou attitude that shows us that people who engage in it are using their perceived righteousness as a status symbol. Whereas the tax collector humbled himself and repented to God for his sins.
The point of the Gospels as far as I can tell is to emulate the spirit and consciousness of Christ. It is to love our neighbors and even our enemies as we love ourselves and to love God above all else. The holier-than-thou attitude seeks the praises of men whereas those like the humble tax collector seek the forgiveness of God and earn His praises as Jesus praised this lowly tax collector.
Jesus speaks of the conundrum of keeping the commandments for the sake of appearances only.
27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.
28 Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye are full of hypocrisy and iniquity.
29 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous,
30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets. Matthew 23:27-31
Jesus seems to be saying that when you check off boxes next to one commandment after another for the sake of appearances and praises of men that you will whither and spiritually die. Jesus gives us another example of what He means in this scripture:
26 Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also. Matthew 23:26
I take this to mean that if one is internally purified by Christlike love then you will meet every commandment and fulfill the law, you will be clean from the inside out.
Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Romans 13:10
Going through the motions, there is no righteousness in that. There is no righteousness in trading the raises of men for the raises of God. But in love; there lies the key to unlocking the Christ within.
The praises of men are earned by wealth, power, strength, the fashionable status symbols and trends which change completely and overnight and are almost always contrary to God's way.
Being humble, repentant, admitting to and owning up to your mistakes whereas admitting failure, servitude to your brothers and sisters, responding to hate and contempt with love, these are the ways of The Lord and this is not an easy path, but it is God's path.
Sincerity, repentance, forgiveness and love are the keys to unlocking salvation for you and those around you in this life and the next.
