That is a slightly different question. One who thinks himself righteous will not seek righteousness. Jesus' implicit point is that (as Romans 3:10 echoes) NONE are righteous. He didn't come to say "You aren't righteous" (John 3:17, Matthew 12:20) but to call sinners to repentance. Those that don't think themselves sinners will find out what they really are. Those that seek righteousness do so precisely because they are not righteous and they know it deeply.
Those that seek righteousness but do not approach Christ as the publican in Luke 18:13 are merely manifesting very clearly what was confessed in Isaiah 64:6...only they don't realize it (or don't want to accept it) :
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
That's what the rich young ruler proved. His was a righteousness after the law.
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.
But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above)
Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)
But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Romans 10:4-10
And none will seek Him unless they are drawn by the Father first.
And again...the righteousness that they seek? It is only in the brokenness of realizing that in him dwells no good thing that a man will come to God as the publican did. And that is only done by the work of God through the Holy Spirit and repentance is a natural byproduct of that state. Anything else is building on a foundation of sand.
The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
I Cor 15:56-57
You truthfully and masterfully drive home the heart of the matter, Nikolai_42. The problem is a missing link, that direly critical word,
repentance. Great post!
Regarding the following, sorry, not all my stuff, copied from here and there, but where not recorded in my notes:
On repentance: [Note that repentance is not turning from sin, and this is bad preaching. Repentance is a change of mind, agreement with God: telling people they need to turn from sin before being saved is to deny we are sinners, deny that we come to Christ sinners. People can get the idea they need to be perfect, before they can be saved and avoid salvation! People come as they are to the Lord.]
Definition - Repentance is the work of God which results in a change of mind with respect to man's relationship to God. It is neither sorrow nor penance, though penitent sorrow may lead to a change of mind. Repentance is always an element of saving faith, and repentance involves remorseful acknowledgement of and agreement with God as to our sinful state and need of salvation, a realization of our vile, unclean condition before a God of absolute holiness.
It Is Not Reformation. Repentance is wholly an inward act of the mind. To many people it means to turn away from their sins, but if that were so, this would be reformation. Repentance is not doing something, as an act, for no man is saved because he gives up something. A man can turn away from his sins and still not be a Christian. It Is Not Contrition. By this we mean that repentance is not agony of the soul for sin. Many folk in jail are sorry. Are they sorry for their crime? No. They are sorry because they were caught. We believe, however, that in a genuine case of repentance, the sinner will be sorry for his sin. Just being sorry for sin is not repentance, but it can lead to repentance. "Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death." (II Cor. 7:10) It Is Not Penance. Penance is an expression of sorrow (by some act) that is done to pay for sin; it is something like a punishment.
It Is a Change of Mind. The literal meaning of repentance is "after-thought" or "reconsideration." By "change of mind" we do not mean a "change of opinion"; a "change of mind" is the substitution of a new mind for the old. It is new in character. True repentance is a change of mind which will lead to a change of action, but let us be warned that it is possible to have a change of action without a change of mind. A good example of repentance is found in Mathew 21:28-29:
"But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work today in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went."
Repentance manifests in: Change in the Intellect. Change of Feeling. Change of Will. Change of Action.
"Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their hearts, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? Then Peter said unto them, Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for [because of] the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost... Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls." (Acts 2:37, 38, 41)
"The servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth." (II Tim. 2:24, 25)
"When you get saved, you get saved not because you deserve it, but because you simply let God save you and because you confess your own poor sinful state and your inability to save yourself." Dr. John R. Rice
"Repentance is the recognition of my sinnership — the owning before God that I am as vile as He has declared me to be in His holy Word." Pastor Harry Ironside
Clearly, Ironside taught a Free Grace view of the Gospel. H.A. Ironside correctly recognized repentance as the confession that "one is utterly without merit" and that if one is "ever saved at all it can only be through the merits of our Lord Jesus Christ." Salvation is without works of self-righteousness. Romans 4:5 plainly teaches that a man's faith is counted for righteousness, i.e., the righteousness of Jesus Christ is imputed to one's heavenly record by faith. Repentance and faith are inseparable. The Gospel of John mentions the word "believe" 85-times; but the word "repent" is never mentioned even once. In genuine salvation, one who believes on Jesus Christ has repented; and one who repents has believed on the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.