← Back to sermon library

good evening everyone before we begin worship just a reminder it is the lord's supper this evening so it's a it is good to be here for that and it's good that you are here for that the Lord's Supper following the the preaching this evening also you would have received an email by now we've got the these flyers for our new reformed baptist bible study that's going on in the south surrey of area every second tuesday starting September 13th if you haven't seen the email you can let us know and we can send that off to you there are some flyers the back that you can grab there again that's beginning in the cell surrey area in on the 13th and continuing every second sunday so we can be in prayer for that as we move forward with that it's a with an eye toward a church plant in that south surrey or surrounding area so please keep that in prayer and will definitely pray for that here during our church services let's begin our worship then by turning in our Bibles if you will to the New Testament Ephesians 1 a reading of God's Holy Word from Ephesians chapter 1 Ephesians 1 beginning in verse 3 the Word of God blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and without blame before him in love having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will to the praise of the glory of His grace by which he made us accepted in the beloved in him we have redemption through his blood the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace which he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence having made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure which he purposed in himself that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times he might gather together in one all things in Christ both which are in heaven and which are on earth in him in him also we have obtained an inheritance being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of his glory in him you also trusted after you heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation in whom also having believed you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession to the praise of his glory amen let's stand and sing to 23 if you want to sing stand and sing to 23 arise my soul arise let's stand together you please be seated let us pray Heavenly Father we gather together now on a second time this lord's day to come and worship you and we thank you that we have the opportunity to do so we rejoice in the freedom given by you to gather unhindered by the outside world that we might worship you in spirit and in truth and we pray that yet again that would be the case that you would help us by your spirit to rightly worship you we pray that you'd cause us to be found in genuine and an earnest worship of Father Son and Holy Spirit and Lord God that we would be marked by joy knowing that we've been called forth from darkness to light in Christ by such a glorious God and we know that salvation is nothing of us but it is all of our triune God from first to last and truly we rejoice having been found in Christ not having our own righteousness which is from the law that which is from you that righteousness that is given to us that imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ received by faith alone and truly we rejoice in the in the fact Lord God that it's not by works of righteousness which we have done but rather according to your mercy you saved us and we do pray that you'd cause us to be found as your rejoicing people we do pray that you would help us to be attentive in worship we pray that you'd help the preacher to proclaim your word this evening again the preacher rests upon strength not his own but the strength of God given from on high and we do pray that for pastor Butler as he proclaims your word yet again that you would give him a strength in this pulpit and we do pray that your people would tonight be well fed by your word and by the ordinance and we do just pray Lord God that you would buy your grace cause us to leave this place singing your praises and approaching an upcoming week where we ought to by your grace conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ we do pray as well that you would be active tonight that your spirit would be among us that we would see those blessed fruits of amazing grace that sinners tonight would be saved by the proc nation of your gospel we do ask Lord God that you would be yet again with those who need prayer for for physical things be with our fellow dear Saints who are struggling with disease and affliction we do pray that you would heal we pray that you would strengthen and we do pray Lord God that you would cause many of your afflicted Saints in the midst of these trials to rejoice in you and to know daily gains and strength we do pray Lord God for those who are down spiritually those who are struggling we do pray that you would lift them up and put them back upon those high places Lord God we do pray that you would help us when we enter in those times where the the rains come that you would bring us back to repentance that we would be returned unto the joy of our salvation and that you would be strengthening us in your word and for your glory sake and we pray that for any and all who are suffering spiritually we would ask Lord God yet again that you would be with the persecuted Church our brothers and sisters help them be near to them those who are in Chains those who are under the affliction of of opposers we do just pray that you would lift them up and strengthen them and be near to them and be their God of all comfort we thank you Lord that we have the opportunity to start this self Sri Bible study we would ask that you would be with this endeavor we do pray Lord God that you would bless it that you would further it we pray that the word would be proclaimed the word would be teached dwell I taught well we do pray Lord God that you would help those who open up the Bible to to do so accurately to do so with a with a good precision and we would ask Lord God that many would attend that many would be able to to show up every second Tuesday and Lord God that it would be an occasion where Saints are strengthened where sinners are saved and Lord God where we could eventually see a church planted we long to see the truth and preached long to see the gospel the true and saving gospel proclaimed in many places and we do pray that you would bless this endeavor and that it would be to the praise of your glorious grace and for the good of your Saints we do pray Lord God again that you would now be with us we want to worship you as we ought so we pray for that measure of spirit that we might worship you are right that we might worship you biblically and in good order we do pray for this lord's supper this evening we thank you that we have this ordinance given by you we do pray that you would cause us to see and to appreciate its its seriousness its glory the blessing that we have to to have this supper given from our God in order to remember our Savior in order to be fed spiritually in our Christian walk we do pray that you'd be with us now might all that is done be done unto the praise of your most glorious grace and we pray in the name of our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ amen let's stand and sing again then before the preaching we're going to sing for 27 if you'll stand with me and it's the second tune for 27 second tune let's stand and sing together you we can turn with me in your Bibles to Luke chapter 18 Luke chapter 18 looking at the parable of the Pharisee and the public end Luke chapter 18 I'll read verses 9 to 14 also he spoke this parable to Psalm who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others two men went up to the temple to pray one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector the Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself god I thank you that I'm not like other man extortioners unjust adulterers or even as this tax collector I fast twice a week I give tithes of all that I possess and the tax collector standing afar off would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast saying God be merciful to me the sinner I tell you this man went down to his house justified rather than the other for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and He Who humbles himself will be exalted amen let us pray our Father we thank you for the written word and we thank you for the fact that you have not left us alone in this world you've given us scripture you've given us the Holy Spirit we pray that tonight as we gather for worship as we gather to consider this parable we would ask that your Holy Spirit would be at work in our minds and in our hearts and as well that the Holy Spirit would be at work in the ordinance and that Christ would be present with us by the power of the Holy Spirit and that we would glorify and magnify and exalt the triune God even Father Son and Holy Spirit we pray that you would forgive us for all of our sins and our transgressions we pray that you would cleanse us in the blood of the Lamb and how we praise You God most high for that blood how we praise you we live in those days prophesied by Zechariah when there is a fountain open for sin and uncleanness how we thank you God for cleansing through his blood the redemption that we have through his blood even the forgiveness of sins we would pray tonight you would just remind us of these things and cause us to rejoice the God of mercy the god of grace the god of loving kindness and goodness and we pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord amen we see in our particular text our Lord Jesus speaks specifically concerning those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others this follows a parable concerning prayer if you look at verse 1 in chapter 18 then he spoke a parable to them that men always ought to pray and not lose heart saying so he used these specific occasions to bring truth to bear upon his hearers and I want to look at chapter 18 verses 9 to 14 under three considerations first the occasion of the parable in verse 9 the two men in the parable versus 10 to 13 and then thirdly and finally the summary of the parable in verse 14 but note specifically the things that he speaks to or he addresses he spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others I think those two go hand-in-hand this whole idea of self-righteousness or self justification typically leads to a despising of others it does in this particular instance and the Lord Jesus does not take it lightly he condemns this attitude he condemns this mindset where persons have a lofty view of themselves and that then promotes a despising of others the self-righteousness or the sin of self-righteousness in this particular passage most likely has to do with the fact that they think themselves accepted by God they trusted in themselves that they were righteous in other words they trusted in themselves that they had satisfied the just requirements of God they trusted in themselves that they were on their way to heaven they trusted in themselves that they were right before olli God certainly this does indicate a low view of God's law because God doesn't say try the best you can do the utmost to commend yourself to God our confession i think summarizes the biblical teaching on what is required by God in terms of law keeping it says by which he God bound him Adam and all his posterity to posterity to personal entire exact and perpetual obedience so for a man to claim a righteousness before God because of his own strength because of his own ability is to minimize that requirement because there's not a man among us who can confess that we have kept the law personally entirely exactly and with Perpetua a perpetual ness there is not that sort of obedience that does indeed exist among men so he speaks these parables or this parable to those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others now he's obviously speaking to the Pharisees he uses the Pharisees as one of the participants in the particular pair of all this is a damning delusion that men will endure or men will entertain the idea that they in and of their own strength can in fact commend themselves to God so self-righteousness and then this despising of others it means to despise to treat with contempt to despise someone or something on the basis that it is worthless or of no value now certainly there is an evangelistic thrust to this particular parable teaches us something about the doctrine of justification by faith alone which will illustrate as we move along but it speaks to all of us in the Church of the Lord Jesus because it is something that we all struggle with or perhaps we all struggle with this idea that we are somehow better than others we're not going to heaven because we're better than others we're not going to heaven because we trust in ourselves that we are righteous we're going to heaven because God most high at his mercy and in His grace reach down and saved us by the power of the Christian gospel it through the power of the Christian gospel these things are intertwined if you have a high view of self it will most likely lead to a low view of others and you meet this in the church today not always in the category of just vacation but certainly in sanctification people do something or they have habits or they have preferences and if other people don't meet those preferences or don't do them themselves then we despise them we look down upon them or we hold them in contempt and that is absolutely wicked and that's certainly condemned in this particular parable we might even say wow we're not like those Pharisees and thus become like the Pharisee in our very parable so Jesus speaks in the context of particular sin I love that about our Savior he doesn't shrink back he doesn't dance around he doesn't say well you know this is the prevailing sin of this particular people but I'm not going to touch it I don't want to a fan I don't want to hurt them I don't want to make them angry at me know there was the specific abuse going on right before our Lord's eyes so it uses the occasion to teach the parable to condemn that particular sin this is something preachers today ought to follow we ought not to shrink back from proclaiming the whole counsel of God touching the very pets and touching the very idols and the various things that our society in our churches even hold dear now notice secondly the two men in the parable versus 10 to 13 they're identified for us once a hero and one is a faded one the Pharisees obviously were held in high esteem they were the religious leaders they were men that person's looked up to they were the ones that prayed well they were the ones that gave they were the ones that fasted they were the ones that did all the things that the Pharisee says here jesus never says they didn't do this but rather they are the ones that society looked up to so I suggest that this parable probably surprised a lot of the original hearers when he says that the the publican or the tax collector went home justified persons probably had their jaw drop at the thought of this because who else besides the Pharisees could actually go to heaven so we have the introduction of these two characters one's a Pharisee a religious leader the other a publican publicans or tax collectors you will know we're notorious in society they were typically Jews working for the Roman god government collecting taxes from other Jews and presenting it to the Roman government when we considered Zacchaeus several weeks ago we noted as well that they were not always upright in their business dealings they would often stime skim off the top for their own benefit and for their own prosperity so he introduces the man two men went up to the temple to pray one a Pharisee and the other tax collector notice as well with reference to their similarities they both go to the temple we ought to observe here that going to temple going to church doing the right things does not necessarily mean that you possess saving grace now when he says that the jaw the publican went home justified rather than the other that means that the Pharisee was unjustified that means that the jaw Pharisee was condemned that means that the Pharisee had he died would have ended up in hell so the fact that a person goes to Temple does not mean he or she is necessarily a believer just because somebody is in the right place at the right time does not prove the existence of saving grace we need to appreciate that they both go to the temple no sure indicator of saving religion as well they both went to pray also not an indicator of the presence of saving grace because a person prays it does not mean that they are necessarily a believer in fact in Matthew chapter 6 our Lord cautions his disciples on how not to pray don't be like those who stand on the street corner and pray so that they may indeed be seen by Matt no rather when you pray go into your secret place go into your closet and your father who sees in secret will reward you openly so just because persons pray just because persons go to church just because persons have a Bible just because persons take the Lord's Supper just because they get baptized all of those external means does not necessarily lead to the conclusion that they possess the reality now we hope and we pray and we like to try and impose some sort of scriptures upon the supper and upon baptism we don't just invite people off the street danke in the water and feed them with the supper we like to ask them questions concerning faith and repentance but we need to understand that because you're in the right place at the right time that does not indicate that there is the presence of saving religion in your heart so their identification Pharisee in a tax collector the similarities they go to the temple they pray know then their differences the Pharisee is highlighted in verses 11 and 12 that's intriguing how Jesus describes his prayer the Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself you know probably when we pray privately it could be described that way he prayed thus with himself he was in a private place he he looked up to the Lord God but I think there's probably more going on here he prayed thus with himself in other words as we listened to his prayer as we give ear to what he says as we hear him thank God for what he's not and as we hear him proclaim what he does do he's praying thus with himself in other words our God is not pleased when we bring our works to him our God is not pleased when we come before him and say I thank you that I'm not like all these other people and what a wretch he says I thank you that I'm not like this tax collector I mean I don't you want to give the tax collector a hug at that particular point I mean this poor guy comes into the temple he's in the right place doing the right thing and this Pharisee tells God thank you that I'm not like him this man is more self-congratulatory than he is confessing the nest necessity of the grace of God so when Jesus says he prayed thus with himself I interpreted according to the strictness of the the language he is in praying to God he is praying thus with himself he's going through an exercise sometimes you need with this and in church prayer meetings you have what i call the preaching prayer thankfully i don't think we've had many of those of late but we used to have those kinds of preaching prayers where somebody comes to the public prayer meeting and instead of saying god be merciful to us the sinners thank you God that I'm not like those dirty rotten deacons thank you God that I have more love in my little anger than the rest of those people in this church God would you please bless my brethren and make them more holy and righteous and godly Lord God would you it's a preaching prayer he's praying with us with himself we cannot go into the presence of a thrice holy God and parade our wares as if somehow we've accomplished things before this thrice holy God this is precisely what this man does note the particulars of his Prairie thanks God for what he was not the Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself god I thank you that I am not like other men extortioners unjust adulterers or even as this tax collector fact he makes the tax collector sound worse I mean imagine you heard that thank you God that I'm not an extortion or an unjust man an adulterer or even has this jim Butler I mean that's the worst on the scale of humanity that's the the tenor of the tone of the passage but notice this isn't always a bad thing there's nothing wrong with thanking God that we're not Joseph Stalin there's nothing wrong with thanking God that we're not ax murderers nothing wrong with thanking God that we're not out committing the most horrific crimes that society has ever seen but as we continue in his prayer we realized there's something more going on here this man does not view things properly he doesn't see his own sin before a holy God he thanks God for what he's not but he doesn't acknowledge God for what he is I mean even though we can claim before God we're not extortioners were not unjust were not adulterers or were not even as this tax collector we have a whole host of other sins that we are guilty for don't we i have read today Spurgeon said something to the effect when somebody tells you how bad you are don't get upset with them because you're a whole lot worse than they even know and I think that's an accurate statement or an accurate depiction we get upset how dare you insult me well if this person actually knew us in our said if they saw us the way God saw us they would have a laundry list much longer that they would be able to proclaim concerning our wickedness and our waywardness on our wretchedness that is absolutely absent from this man's prayer I thank you that I am not like other men he doesn't acknowledge his own sin he doesn't acknowledge his own shortcomings and and he doesn't acknowledge the fact that he is just be liable to the wrath of God it's good that we're not Joseph Stalin but brethren we are still worthy of damnation and curse and judgment and punishment just like Joseph Stalin because we've sinned against a holy God we need to have a proper understanding of God's law we need to have a proper understanding of God's demand and we need to have a proper understanding of our own sin and a right view of the law will help us to understand that view of sin so he thanks God for what he is not he doesn't ask for forgiveness and he doesn't pray for the strength to not be like these other men notice he doesn't say thank you God that I'm not like that and that because of your grace thank you God that I'm not like that night pray that you would continue to sustain me thank you God that I'm not like this tax collector and I pray that you would keep me from ever you know plummeting to that depth of depravity and then notice as well he thanked God for what he practiced it is here that his self-righteousness becomes apparent the Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself god I thank you that I'm not like other men extortioners unjust adulterers or even as this tax collector I fast twice a week I give tithes of all that I possess I mean it's at this point you expect him to think that that heaven is going to open up and congratulate him the last place that you want to boast in your self is before the throne of a holy God thank you God that I'm not this and thank you that I do this now again there's a disposition and a manner and a posture and a way to pursue this thank you God for putting it in my heart to do this for so and so we give god the glory for the good that we do work out your own salvation with fear and trembling for the god who is at work in you both to will and to do according to his good pleasure so when you actually do a righteous act praise God that he put it in you to do it that's not the tenor of this man's prayer he is congratulating his patting himself on the back I fast twice a week I give tithes of all that I possessed does he think that God's going to open up having to say good for you Pharisee I am so proud of you and you're such an awesome guy and such a splendid specimen of a human being now brethren this is evident and obvious in the pages of Luke 18 but I think we do this we do this ourselves when we when we parade what it is we've done I think Facebook and Twitter are a means or a vehicle or an Avenue by which men parade thank you God that today I helped a bomb across the road or thank you God that today I gave this this homeless person a place to live now there might be a sense where we can all enter in and pray for that but we don't need to parade our good works people who do what they're supposed to do don't crave attention people who do what they're supposed to do don't crave the spotlight people who do what they're supposed to do don't want to make sure they're congratulated i'm sure i've shared before that whenever i do the dishes i need to make sure my wife knows it that my wife is seen it that she's observed it and then i get some points or you know that she has this book that she signs off and says jim did a good thing tonight I want that I want that validation and accreditation in my own sick twisted way I want recompense because I'm such a great guy what we do that in the church and we do that with our good works and we somehow think that the God of heaven and earth is beholden to us to pay us back because we did what we're supposed to do we're not supposed to be unjust we're not supposed to be adulterers we're not supposed to be wicked derelicts in society we're supposed to fast and we're supposed to get we're supposed to come to church we're supposed to take the supper we're supposed to read our Bibles were supposed to pray we're supposed to encourage one another we're not doing that so that we get payback points from God this isn't some holy barter system I put 15 units into my day today and God better spit 15 back out at me and confirm all the good things that I have done that's a barter system and an approach to God that the gospel completely destroys that's not the way it's supposed to be his tone is boastful self-congratulatory and it indicates that he banked is standing with God upon his own works if any of you here tonight going to bank you're standing with God upon your own good works thank you God that I'm not this and thank you God that I do these things you need to watch your heart he says I say all right I suggest that the prayer is more of an occasion of self-admiration than worship and dependence upon God you know what prayer is supposed to be it's supposed to be God admiration not self-admiration we're not to scan in the presence of others and and and tantalize them with a view of how wonderful we are thank you God that I'm not like this and I do this we need to take that down a notch and get rid of it I'm not suggesting everybody who uses Facebook and Twitter does this but there's a lot of posts that you see on those social media outlets that do indicate that we have a problem in this particular area just do what you're supposed to you don't need credit you don't need to get you know bonus points you've been you know washed in the blood of Jesus and you're having bout what more bonus points are there what better news is there how how better can it get then that reality this is why Jesus in Luke 10 do not rejoice that the demons are subject to your name or a subject your work but rather rejoice that your names are written in the in heaven that's what's most important John Calvin says we must not swell with confidence as if we had satisfied God and next we must not look down with disdainful contempt upon our brethren you see how these two things go together Jesus illustrates it beautifully he tells the parable the some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others so he gives us this paw this this Pharisee he trusts in himself and he despises others now notice the public yet his manner he stood afar off since the tax collector standing afar off would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast saying God be merciful to me literally the center not a center not one among many but when he comes to pray when he stands before a holy God it's not everybody else that he's concerned about he's not one among many he is the sinner he acknowledges what the Pharisee does not he's a sinner you see that's conspicuously absent I'm only suspicious as someone who never admits the fact they said I remember many years ago we live next door to a particular fellow and he had you know a liking for a robert schuller i don't know how many of you know who Robert Schuler was I think he passed away did truly passed away he had the Crystal Cathedral down in Southern California and his you know series on the Sermon on the Mount was called the be happy to be happy attitudes and so this next door neighbor said would you listen to this and I said would you listen to Al Martin and so we made our trade and he didn't know what to do with al Martin but I didn't know what to do with the be happy attitudes I know how man could preach through the Beatitudes and never mentioned sin how can a man go through any teaching of our Lord Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount never acknowledge the presence in the reality of sin and I think that suspect when somebody can't identify the fact that they're a sinner when they don't admit their sinful nuts in fact that's one of the things that the Spirit of God works in the heart of a man Jesus says I did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance this is a good sign the fact that this man stands afar off the fact that he sees his own unworthiness the fact that he can't even look up into heaven but all he can do is beat his breast and say God be merciful to me the sinner he acknowledges something far more important than what this Pharisee does you see the problem that God has with us is not so much our sin but our wretched good works that's John gerstner I think he's absolutely right doesn't mean God isn't against our sin but the gospel answers to sin Christ died to wash sin it's our good works that stand between us and God more often not our polish are our purity our holiness or our alleged perfection those are the wretched things that we see displayed in this passage and I suggested this morning and I maintained it the Lord price condemns self-righteousness far more in his ministry that he does the publicans and the harlots and and all the you know the derelicts of society it's the self-righteous whom Jesus says woe to you scribes and Pharisees hypocrites how many times did we see that that convention used according the King James tradition it's used eight times in Matthew 23 seven times if you're not in that King James tradition that's a lot of times of a pronouncement of woes against the scribes and the Pharisees hypocrites where do you find that with reference to the harlot where do you find that with reference to the tax collector where do you see was pronounced upon the dregs of society you don't that's absolutely absent but you see it with reference to these self-righteous so this man acknowledges what the Pharisee does not he is a sinner God be merciful to me the sinner Royal says the publican did not speak for his neighbors but himself vagueness and generality are the great defects of most men's religion he says be merciful to me the sinner John Gill comments on this passage this is his prayer a short but a very full one isn't it I mean there's more in God be merciful to me a sinner then there is a whole host of prayers that are offered up probably in the church today and certainly by this man who stood and prayed thus with himself God be merciful to me the sinner there is a mouthful of theology in that and this man makes this prayer Gill says it's short but a very full one and greatly different from that of the Pharisee in which is a confession that he was a sinner a sinner and Adam who had derived a sinful nature from him being conceived and born in sin and a sinner by practice having committed many actual transgressions attended with aggravating circumstances a guilty and filthy sinner a notorious one deserving of the wrath of God lowest hell he speaks of himself as if he was the only center in the world at least as if there was none like him Paul does this doesn't end this is a faithful saying and worthy of all except Asia the Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am one among many know of whom I am the chief you see when God starts his work in the hearts of men they don't try and rationalize they don't try and justify they don't try and present their works they don't try and hide behind what they are not when God shines the light of the Spirit of our one God through the spirit shines a light of the truth upon a sinner's heart this is his response God be merciful to me the sinner I have nothing to bring I have nothing to present I have nothing to purchase your your goodness to me I have nothing I am nothing as well he acknowledges what the Pharisee does not he stands in need of mercy I don't care how long you and I have been converted I don't care how many years you've traversed this world in a state of grace you need mercy it can never be the case that when you pray you pray thus with yourself thank you that I'm not like those wretches and look at what I do yippee for me you cannot do that you stand dependent upon the grace of God you realize that every moment every single day we are debtors to grace we are those who stand in need of mercy we don't stand in our own strength we don't scan and our own ability and this man acknowledges what the Pharisee does not he stands in need of mercy as well he knows theology proper better than the Pharisee he acknowledges what the Pharisee does not God is merciful you see a man will never say to the living and true God God be merciful to me the sinner unless he believes that God is merciful you see there are times when person sinners say something like well I don't know I can't come to God because I'm this out of the other well maybe it's that you have a wrong view of God you have a wrong understanding of God I remember talking to a man wasn't far from his from his death and he had this view of God that he was just this this austere and this harsh taskmaster and he and he wasn't full of mercy he wasn't full of compassion and he wasn't full of goodness and kindness and love if that is your conception of God bill to the parable of the prodigal son see that father running down the street see that father falling upon his prodigal see that father kissing among the neck see that father putting a ring on his finger and a robe on his back see that father and understand that Jesus is teaching us something there concerning the nature and the character and the being of God he is good he is kind he is gracious he is merciful those we must believe that God is Hebrews 11 6 and that he is a rewarder of them that see camp this is the God of heaven and earth he is a God of mercy he is the God described in Ephesians 13 to 14 he is that God it was orchestrated so great a salvation so this publican recognized and acknowledged theology proper much better than the Pharisee and then as well acknowledging that reality that God is merciful he casts himself upon the mercy of God God be merciful to me a sinner now again those who have come to Christ realize that when we by God's grace cast ourselves on the mercy of God what did we find lo and behold we found mercy lo and behold we found forgiveness lo and behold lo behold we found kindness and goodness we found that fountain that is open for sin and uncleanness we found the washing away of our iniquity we found the gift of righteousness that commends us with God that which is imputed to us and received by faith alone so I say to anyone here tonight that has not come to Christ go to confess your sin cast yourself upon the mercy of God and see what happens I can tell you what will happen if you cast yourself upon the mercy of God if you look to the lord jesus christ in faith he will receive you he will take you home oh he will catch you if it as it were it's a blessing reality all that the father gives me will come to me and the one who comes to me I will in no wise cast out it's not the case that any sinner ever came to Jesus believing in Jesus said no get away that just won't happen you look to Christ in faith and by God's grace you will be saved literally the languages God be propitious to me be propitious that word propitiation speaks of the aversion of God's wrath or rather the averting of God's wrath he understood God's holiness is on sinfulness and the rightness of God's wrath upon him so what does he do he pleads for mercy that's what we need we don't want God to deal with us according to justice doesn't the psalmist address this in Psalm 130 he says if thou Lord should mark iniquities o Lord who could stand he's right if the Lord should mark iniquities who could stand who among us could stand before thrice holy God if that God marked every single iniquity the psalmist is absolutely correct if thou should smark iniquities who can stand but what happens is mercy and forgiveness and kindness and grace he says there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared and this publican understood the mercy of God and he cast himself upon it now notice finally the summary of the parable the disposition is indicated notice in verse 14 a the publican I tell you this man went down to his house justified he was justified by God he was declared righteous by God it was a forensic or declarative statement it wasn't transformative notice that the publican didn't have good works the publican didn't have the ability to say well I'm not like publicans because he was a publican he had nothing to offer to God so the fact that he goes to his house justified indicates that something else is going on it wasn't by his works it wasn't by his lawful nest it wasn't due to his merit it was due to the mercy of God and that mercy of God is ground upon founded upon and finds its its way through the dying and the rising of our Lord Jesus he was justified he had acceptance with God because of what Christ had done he knew experientially what the Divine's at Westminster would incorporate in the shorter catechism justification is an act of God's free grace where any pardons all our sins and accepts us as righteous in his sight only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone this publican at the Assembly would have heartily Amen that statement wouldn't it that was me that's what happened to me I showed up in the temple on that day I heard this to this Pharisee thank God that he wasn't me and then I cried out to God for mercy and I went home justified his hope his ground his basis was in the blood of Jesus Christ he could sing with Edward mode my hope is found in nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus name the Pharisee couldn't say that the Pharisee says my hope is I'm not like other men the Pharisee mutt said my hope is that I fast twice a week and I I tie the all that I possess you see the difference of approach there I hope you do Paul expounds this very vividly in chapters three and four of Romans and I'll quote from there in just a moment but this man was justified by gaudí at acceptance with God which was declarative and forensic he knew experientially what the Divine's at Westminster would include in their shorter catechism and he found his acceptance with God not on the basis of his works but on the basis of the active and passive obedience of our Lord Jesus and I suspect that this parable in the ears of the original audience would have surprised a great deal great many of those people they would expect Jesus statement to be in the Pharisee went home as a as a noble character as a justified man is one who is accepted with God and that you know tax collector got hit by a bus on the way home and went off to hell that would have been the expectation that's not the gospel and I suspect that that's the case too when you hear somebody that gets converted you pack i never had that response has that ever welled up in your hem he saved he's in church what is that indicating we think somebody's too bad and too far beyond the scope of the power of the gospel we can't actually confess with Paul I'm not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God to everyone who believes to the Jew first and also to the Greek for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith that as it is written the just shall live by faith you ever been surprised the salvation of another have you ever raised her eyebrow concerning somebody who confesses faith in Jesus Christ what that can't true be true I mean he's a really bad guy we're really bad guys every single one of us we deserve God's wrath and curse both in this life and that which is to come we ought not to be surprised at the reality that God gets glory in the saving of really notorious sinners I'm sure that when Paul well i know that when paul was converted Acts chapter 9 and 10 what happens when Paul comes to the church what are the people do hey there he is that wonderful trophy of God's grace they're afraid of him why because previously he was taking men and women binding them and taking them to prison Barnabas had the grease the wheels he had to come along and say no this man's really been converted it's surprising it's amazing grace it's an actual thing and this is what we find in Scripture so the publican is justified the publican goes home justified note what happens with the Pharisee I tell you this man went down to his house justified rather than the other he was not justified he was rejected and unless he repented subsequent to this course it's a parable so we can't believe that he actually did that he would go to hell he's an unjustified man this man who looks good before others this man who is not like other men this man who Amanda does these religiously motivated works this man was not justified he would indeed reap the judgment of God Almighty i quoted Fisher I think last week the marrow of modern divinity he says so that if you desire to be justified before God you must either bring to him a perfect righteousness of your own and holy renounce christ or else you must bring the perfect righteousness of christ and holy renounce your own Christ Jesus will either be a whole Savior or no Savior He will either save you alone or not save you at all so no doubt if we had a microphone and we came up to this Pharisee after the parable we said hey what do you think about you know Jesus well yeah it seemed like a pretty good man but he was trusting not just in Jesus to suppose that he was for a moment he's a Jew dizer he's trusting in his works as well he thinks that he's going to be in heaven because of what he didn't do and what he did and then the principal undergirding the whole Jesus lays for the principle that we find often repeated in Scripture for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and He Who humbles himself will be exalted will to take that into deep consideration everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and He Who humbles himself will be exalted that is the principle that this text does present to us well in terms of the theology I think it's beneficial to us to realize that this parable is helpful with reference to the law of God unless you can go before God and say I've engaged in personal entire exact and perpetual obedience be very careful about opening your mouth unless you can say I always love God with all my heart soul mind and strength and I always love my neighbor as myself do not present your works as a means by which God should should accept you as well this parable is helpful with reference to the doctrine of justification when I see these two men go to pray i see a Roman Catholic and I see a Protestant I'm sorry but I do I hate to you know read that sort of reformed idea or that Protestant Reformation idea they call this anachronism when you take something later in history and read it back into the text of Scripture but it's really hard not to and isn't this the papist I thank you God that I'm not like these men like these Protestants I do this and I do that they're not justified it's the Protestant who can't raise his eyes to heaven but he beats his breast and says God be merciful to me the sinner and it's not just Romanism represented in the Pharisee it's the new perspective on Paul well I I start by grace but I stay in by my faithfulness now then you have grounds for boasting or you will present those things to god Evie savee your coven ental faithfulness brethren God's not going to accept us into the kingdom of heaven on that final day because of our coven ental faithfulness we are entering into the kingdom of heaven because of the Covenant efface fulness of Jesus Christ alone that's where we need to rejoice and find our happiness and our blessedness so it's not only the new perspective the Covenant will na missed the Federal visionist any other approach by which the justified includes what he isn't and what he does is here in condemned along with the the book of Galatians Galatians with reference to the Judy icing heresy and I think in terms of theology behind the parable it's helpful to promote to us or to indicate to us or to teach us that God is indeed merciful I mean this publican didn't wake up that morning think he would be justified but he was the grace of God is powerful its glorious and it's wonderful in terms of the practical benefit of the parable first the parable should aid the believer in their approach to others Matthew 7 is helpful in this regard as well we're not supposed to judge one another that doesn't mean if somebody says hey I was looking at porn for being 15 hours last night oh well you know Butler said I can't judge you if somebody shows up and says hey you want to smoke crack with me I love it it gets me through the day that's not what I need it's the judgmental exam it's that idea wherein we think they're worse than us because we're us and we do all these wonderful things and we don't ever sinned against God and you know we're not like the rest of the wretches that we we associate with in church the parable should aid the believer in their approach to others JC royal makes this perceptive comment we're all naturally self-righteous it is the family disease of all the children of Adam it's easy to see it in this Pharisee isn't it look at that self-righteous man oh look at him boasting of what he's not and boasting of what he does how come we don't always see it in us how come it escapes us how come we we miss it when it's being practiced by us Rio says it is the family disease of all the children of Adam from the highest to the lowest we think more highly of ourselves than we ought to do we secretly flatter ourselves that we are not so bad as some and that we have something to recommend us to the favor of God ouch he's right is indeed we secretly flatter ourselves that we are not so bad as some and that we have something to recommend us to the favor of God what God wouldn't send me to hell because I and me and I fast and I tie then I'm not like public ends anything we put our hope in apart from the Lord Jesus Christ will take a speedily into the pit of hell secondly the parable ought to underscore the necessity of humility in the Christian life what does Jesus say and He Who humbles himself will be exalted we ought to pursue humility and the best way to pursue humility is by killing bride I'm sure I've shared with you before when we pursue humility we want to tell everybody about it then we're not pursuing humility I'm really working on humility wow that's humble when you tell people proudly that you're working on humility you're not working on humility so work on humility by killing pride a love Owens statement concerning sin not oh and my grandson but John oh and the Puritan divine be killing sin or it will be killing you kill pride destroy pride if the judgmentalism rises up in your hearts destroy it don't let it grow don't start thinking about how bad so-and-so is because they do things differently than you do if they are not breaking the law of God if they have not transgressed the law of God leave them alone why would we get so bent out of shape about what another brother sister does if it's not a violation of God's law are we holier than God are we more righteous than God do we possess the same prerogative as God as lawgiver if they're not violating God's law leave them alone it's a wonderful thing leaving people alone it's also nice to be left alone if you're not violating law of God thirdly the parable should remind believers of the close connection between self-righteousness and judgmentalism that was the occasion upon which our Lord spoke he spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others now you may be the sole exception to this rule you may be trusting in yourself and be self-righteous and not actually despise others but there is a close connection our Lord recognizes and our Lord speaks to typically when we have a Pharisee that is praising himself that is you know congratulating himself that's patting himself on the back he's also looking down upon others at the same time so we need to be reminded of that close connection between self-righteousness and judgmentalism if you're always judging somebody else if you're a nit picking fault-finding fastidious pharisaical type most likely you've got problems with self-righteousness most likely i'm not god i can't pronounce the sins of your heart but if you are just a constant fault finder with everybody and everything about everything you may have some issues fourthly the parable should remind the believer of the foundation upon which he stands it is not that we're not it's not that we do it is that God is merciful and justification by faith is a reality this parable ought to remind us that when Jesus says this man went down to his house justified we rejoice in the reality that were justified freely by His grace as well the parable should remind the believer of the stark difference between justification by works of the law and justification by faith alone in Christ I hope you see you know the anachronism may be an anachronism but I think it's right I think it's accurate the Pharisee is trusting in something other than Christ John Murray says justification by works always finds its ground in that which the person is and does isn't that what we see in the Pharisee let me just repeat that justification by works always finds its ground in what in that which the person is and does I thank you God that I'm not I thank you God that I heard I'm even I thank you i do do this he says it is always oriented to that consideration of virtue attaching to the person justified let's just suppose for a moment that this Pharisee enters into heaven when we asked him the question why are you in heaven what's he going to respond my hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness know he's going to say it's because I wasn't a dirty rotten tax collector and it's because I fasted twice a week and I I gave tithes of all that I possess that was the the basis of his supposed acceptance with God it's always oriented to that consideration of virtue attaching to the person justified you're not going to go to heaven because you're not as bad as everybody else that's never an answer why should I let you into heaven because I'm not Charles Manson because I'm not Joseph Stalin because I'm not Paul Pott because I'm not now because i'm not you know a muslim that runs into a place full of soft targets and blows them up shouting you know all of lochbarr no you're not going to heaven because you're not that he goes on the specific quality of faith is trust and commitment to another it is essentially extra spective we know that word introspective that means to look at oneself introspective means to navel gaze extra spective means to look out to look to another and he says the justification by faith or it faith is essentially extra spective and in that respect is the diametric opposite of works he says faith is self renouncing isn't that what the public it is God be merciful to me the center works are self-congratulatory isn't that what the Pharisee does thank you God that I'm such a great guy faith looks to what God does works have respect to what we are it is this antithesis of principle that enables the apostle to base the complete exclusion of works upon the principle of faith that's his commentary on romans 327 to 31 that's absolutely perceptive and it's accurate concerning the situation well brethren I hope that this is an encouragement to all of us to rehearse the gospel once again to realize the publican did not go home because he was justified because he was a great guy but because he has a great Savior none of us come to the table tonight because we're great guys we have we come to the table because we have a great Savior if we're not coming to the table tonight because we have not believed the gospel listen to the publican and hear his lesson God be merciful to me the sinner he found that to be the case he found that to be the truth he found that that that God does indeed receive centers unto himself well let us pray father we thank you for your word and for this brief parable that teaches us so much concerning justification concerning our lives as Christians and how we ought not to be judgmental toward others god help us to receive these things and may and encourage our hearts to reflect again on the fact that it's because of Christ that we have entrance into heaven it's because of Christ that we enjoy this supper tonight it's because of Christ that we have salvation full and free we ask that this gospel would be proclaimed throughout the earth that your word would run swiftly that it would be glorified and that a great multitude would turn from their idols to the true and living God crying out god be merciful to me the center and we pray this through Christ our Lord amen you can turn in your Bibles please to Matthew chapter 26 we observe supper of our Lord Matthew chapter 26 one of those places where the institution of the Lord's Supper is recorded before making some some comments on the Lord's Supper as we always do will read Matthew 26 17 to 25 Matthew 26 17 to 25 now on the first day of the feast of the unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus saying to him where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover and he said go into the city to a certain man and say to him the teacher says my time is at hand I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples so the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and they prepared the Passover when evening had come he sat down with the twelve now as they were eating he said assuredly I say to you one of you will betray me and they were exceedingly sorrowful and each of them began saying began to say to him Lord is it I he answered and said he who dipped his hand with me in the dish will betray me the son of man indeed goes just as it is written of him but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed it would have been good for that man if he had not been born then Judas who was betraying him answered and said rabbi is it I he said to him you have said it amen well as we've noticed before and as it's always good to notice repeatedly hopefully you enter into a a marveling of what's going on here in this passage the the Paschal Lamb that is the true Paschal Lamb Christ our Passover is here instituting a supper that will remember him as the Lamb of God in the midst of celebrating the Old Covenant meal that pointed forward to that reality it's an amazing scene Lord Jesus Christ is our true Passover who was sacrificed for us and instituting the Lord's Supper he does so in the context of the Passover meal the in the New Covenant we have those two ordinances baptism and the lord's supper instituted by the Lord Jesus Christ the only lawgiver to be observed in his churches until the end of the world and it's a glorious thing here Christ the great Shepherd who is also the Lamb of God is instituting a supper to his sheep who would also be shepherds a supper that would remember that great Shepherd as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world what a Bible what a god what a Christ and what a supper we now observe and remember what's going on at the Lord's Supper there is no hocus pocus there is no change to the bread there is no change to the wine at the Lord's Supper there is no real sacrifice made for the quick and the dead but only a remembrance of that once for all sacrifice rendered by this Christ for sinners and at this meal the bread remains bread the wine remains wine there is no transubstantiation as in the Catholic Church but rather these emblems these symbols remain the same they simply call to mind they help us remember our glorious Savior who broke his body who shed his blood that sinners might have everlasting life it's a glorious thing now when the when these elements come around remember you are only to take if you are a Christian it is only Christians who are able to take the Lord's Supper just as the ordinance of baptism is for Christians only so also the Lord's Supper is for Christians only and it is for Christians who are living consistent with their profession if you are found as Paul deals with in first Corinthians 11 harboring sin you have unrepentant sin you are not to take but be mindful of this glorious truth that christ jesus is our advocate with the father Jesus Christ the righteous and if you forgive if you repent of your sins God is faithful and John to forgive you so repent of your sins Christian and take the supper when the elements come around or when the wine specifically comes around the juices in the outer ring just a reminder for for those who would like to take the juice it is in the outer ring well we'll read the specific text of the words of our Lord in instituting this the Lord's Supper when these come around but if I could ask the brothers to come up and pass the bread that which symbolizes our Lord's body broken for us and we can stay seated and sing hymn number 193 him number 193 you Matthew 26 at verse 26 we read and as they were eating Jesus took bread blessed and broke it and gave it to the disciples and said take eat this is my body amen let us pray Heavenly Father we thank you that we can now partake of these elements and first this the bread given to us by you we thank you that this represents our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ body broken upon Calvary's tree we thank you knowing that we did breach your law but Christ took breach in his body that he might save us from the curse of the law we rejoice in his body broken for us we thank you for that perfect sacrifice upon Calvary's tree we pray as we take and as we eat and as we ever do so throughout this lower world when we observe this supper that we would rejoice in our Savior that we would remember with a wholesome solemnity that that glorious day wherein he took upon himself the wrath that was due us the wrath that was due his people we do pray that we would reflect now with great joy and with that solemnity that we might ever rejoice and that we might ever reflect upon the glorious doing and dying of our Lord Jesus Christ and it's in his name that we pray amen let's take together and then you can turn in your hymn books to 357 I can have the brothers come up and pass out the wine will stay seated and sing another him this time 357 you we read in verse 27 then our Lord Jesus Christ continuing Matthew continuing the narrative then he took the cup and gave thanks and gave it to them saying drink from it all of you for this is my blood of the new covenant which is shed for many for the remission of sins but I say to you I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my father's Kingdom and when they had sung a hymn they went out to the Mount of Olives amen let us pray Heavenly Father we thank you now that we can take of this wine we rejoice in this and we rejoice in what it represents it represents the blood of our Lord Savior the Lord Jesus Christ the blood shed upon Calvary's tree we know that truth that without the shedding of blood there can be no remission and it is the case that without the shedding of our savior's blood there could be no remission of sin we thank you that we have that reality though the forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ our Lord for truly he did shed his blood upon Calvary's tree that we might rejoice and have the forgiveness of sins that we might rejoice in it we thank you that we have this reality that we can drink of this wine that reflects that we do pray that you would cause us daily to reflect upon what we heard this evening that truly we have a God that is rich in mercy we do pray that you would help us now as we take that we would solemnly yet also joyfully reflect upon the dying of our Savior knowing that in that we have salvation the forgiveness of sins we thank you and we praise you in the name of our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ amen let's take together well let's stand together and sing a wonderful him man of sorrows him number 175 let's stand and sing together now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead that great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant make you complete in every good work to do his will working in you what is well pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ to whom be glory forever and ever amen Heavenly Father we pray that you would now go with us we thank you that you have been with us as we worship You Father Son and Holy Spirit we do pray that you would now go with us into this week might we live for your glory sake knowing that we've been saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone might you empower us to daily rejoice in our Christ and to live in a manner worthy of our calling we pray that you would go with us now and go with all of ours throughout the world as they go about their week might you be with your people might you strengthen might you heal might you uplift might you vindicate your name in all the earth and might you save many to the praise of your grace we pray in the name of our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ amen please brief time of Prayer as always in your dismissed after that you