Reliance on Religious Observances. Consider how this danger of over-reliance on religious observances is counteracted in the case of serious minds.
I. The evil in question supposing it to exist is singularly adapted to be its own corrective. It can only do us injury when we do not know its existence. When a man feels and knows the intrusion of self-satisfied and self-complacent thoughts, here is something at once to humble him and destroy that complacency. To know of a weakness is always humbling. Now humility is the very grace needed here. Knowledge of our indolence does not encourage us to exertion, but induces despondence; but to know we are self-satisfied is a direct blow to self-satisfaction. Here is one great safeguard against our priding ourselves on our observances. Evil thoughts do us no harm, if recognised, if repelled, if protested against by the indignation and self-reproach of the mind.
II. But, again, if religious persons are troubled with proud thoughts about their own excellence and strictness, I think it is only when they are young in their religion, and that the trial will wear off; and that for many reasons. It does not require much keenness of spiritual sight to see how very far our best is from what it ought to be. Try to do your wholeduty, and you will soon cease to be well-pleased with your religious state. If you are in earnest, you will try to add to your faith virtue, and the more you effect the less will you seem to yourself to do. The more you neglect your daily domestic, relative, temporal, duties the more you will pride yourself on your formal, ceremonial observances.
III. The objection that devotional exercises tend to self-righteousness, is the objection of those or, at least, is just what the objection of those would be who never attempted them. A religious mind has a perpetual humiliation from thisconsciousness namely, how far his actual conduct in the world falls short of the profession which his devotional exercises involve.
IV. But, after all, what is this shrinking from responsibility, which fears to be obedient lest it should be, but cowardice and ingratitude? To fear to do our duty, lest we should become self-righteous in doing it, is to be wiser than God; it is to distrust Him; it is to do and to feel like the unprofitable servant, who hid his lord's talent and then laid the charge of his sloth on his lord, as being a hard and austere man.
J. H. Newman, Parochial and Plain Sermons,vol. iv., p. 66.
References: Luke 17:10. Spurgeon, Sermons,vol. xxvi., No. 1541; J. Thain Davidson, Sure to Succeed,p. 279; J. H. Thom, Laws of Life,vol. i., p. 182; Homiletic Quarterly,vol. iii., p. 132; H. W. Beecher, Christian World Pulpit,vol. i., p. 32.Luke 17:11-14. W. Wilson, Christsetting His Face to go to Jerusalem,p. 126. Luke 17:11-19. H. W. Beecher, Christian World Pulpit,vol. xvii., p. 152; Clergyman's Magazine,vol. viii., p. 85.Luke 17:12-14. Spurgeon, Sermons,vol. xxvii., No. 1635.Luke 17:14-16. Christian World Pulpit,vol. xxviii., p. 161.