Stress Test Devotional May 4
May 04, 2024
MATTHEW 9:13b | For I have come to call not the righteous but sinners.
Today’s verse has a double meaning and teaches a great irony. Is there anyone who does not need the grace and mercy of Jesus? Is there anyone, anyone at all, who falls into the “righteous” category, apart from the Lord? No and No!
Jesus came to call everyone—but some could not hear. They had divided the world into the good and the bad, the righteous and the unrighteous—and they’d placed themselves on the side of the angels. But this betrays the presence of terrible sin in their souls.
For it is quite clear that the obvious sins of the body, like lust and gluttony, pale beside the spiritual sins of pride, condescension, arrogance, and superiority. By identifying others as sinners and seeing themselves as unsullied, pure and perfect, Jesus’ critics became instantly enemies of God.
Which category of sins is harder for you, fleshly or spiritual?
