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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Luke chapter 18. Luke chapter 18, taking a few 
weeks off from our exposition in the Book of Colossians. We're 
going to look at a familiar portion this morning, Luke 18, specifically 
verses 9 to 14, the Pharisee and the publican, as it sets 
forth many good lessons for all of us As we enter into a new 
year, Luke 18, I will pick up reading in verse one. However, 
as that sets the stage, it sets the larger context for our understanding 
of this parable. Then he spoke a parable to them 
that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying there 
wasn't a certain city, a judge who did not fear God nor regard 
man. Now there was a widow in that 
city, and she came to him saying, Get justice for me from my adversary. And he would not for a while. But afterward, he said within 
himself, Though I do not fear God nor regard men, yet because 
this widow troubles me, I will avenge her. Lest by her continual 
coming, she weary me. Then the Lord said, Hear what 
the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge his 
own elect who cry out day and night to him, though he bears 
long with them? I tell you that he will avenge 
them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of 
Man comes, will he really find faith on the earth? Also, he 
spoke this parable to some 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 am 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. 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 God and 
Father, we come now to a familiar portion of Holy Scripture, and 
we pray that your spirit would guide us in our understanding 
We pray that you would teach us many good lessons, many instructions 
for our lives, God, and the area of prayer and our disposition, 
our attitude toward you and toward one another. Father, we just 
pray that you would forgive us now and cleanse us from all of 
our sin and iniquity. We confess it has a darkening 
influence over our minds and keeps us from receiving and appreciating 
your truth. So we pray that you would cleanse 
us afresh in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you 
that we have redemption through his blood, that we have a conscience 
sprinkled with the blood of Christ himself, and that we are able 
to enter into your presence clothed in a righteousness not our own. 
And our Father, we just pray that you would be with those 
who are unable to be with us this morning. We pray that you 
would comfort those who are downcast, that you would build your people 
up, and that you would be their God of grace and mercy. And we 
pray through Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, as we consider this 
particular parable, we'll notice three things. First is the occasion 
of the parable. Verse nine sets forth the occasion 
of the parable. Secondly, we'll notice the specifics 
in the parable. The two men who are considered 
or contrasted here, the Pharisees and the publican. And then thirdly, 
we'll notice the summary of the parable as it is given to us 
in verse 14 by our Lord Jesus Christ. And then God willing, 
we'll draw out some practical lessons of this portion of Scripture. But notice the occasion. Verse 
one. Then he spoke a parable to them 
that men always ought to pray and not lose heart. Verse nine. Also, he spoke this parable to 
some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and 
despised others. So the Lord is giving instruction 
peculiar to the situation that he is facing in his time. Now, the text of this specific 
parable we're considering this morning. One of the principles 
we'll draw out is a reformation principle, the idea that we are 
justified by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus. Now, that's 
not the primary emphasis of the parable. It is a lesson that 
we can derive from it. It is primarily a condemnation 
of those who, in their self-righteousness, despise others. That's what he 
says in verse nine. Those who trust in themselves 
that they were righteous and they despise other others. The target of this principle 
of this parable, rather, are those who are persuaded and convinced 
that they are righteous. And in this parable, being righteous 
means standing before God. In other words, if we believe 
our self-righteousness brings us favorably into the presence 
of God, the converse is going to be our mistreatment or our 
looking down upon others. That was the sin, a particular 
sin of the Pharisees, as we see here. And then Jesus introduces 
the two men in the parable. He says there is a Pharisee and 
a tax collector. Now, you've got to kind of think 
back to this time for a moment. When he said a Pharisee and a 
tax collector, we think a hated one and a hero. We think of the 
Pharisees as being hated ones, because that's how we look at 
that. We sometimes call each other, oh, you Pharisee, or it's 
a term of derision in the Christian church. That guy's a real Pharisee. Well, in Jesus' context, the 
Pharisees were the heroes. In Jesus' context, in the temple 
complex, the Pharisees were the religious people. They were the 
accomplished ones. They wore the nice clothes. They 
were at the temple. They were doing religious things. 
The publicans, on the other hand, were despised and hated by the 
people of that time. They were traitors. They were 
Jews who worked for the Roman government to collect taxes from 
other Jews. They are always looked at as 
being less than human in the Scripture. In fact, Jesus picks 
us up in Matthew 18, at that last stage of church discipline. 
You treat him as a tax collector and a heathen. That doesn't mean 
you welcome him in and love him and lavish good gifts upon him. 
No, as a tax collector, you exclude him. He's a bad guy. He is unrepentant. He is not worthy of your favor. So that's the two men that Jesus 
introduces here. And again, we know the outcome. 
So we're thinking Pharisee, bad guy, publican, good guy. But 
in Jesus context, it was just the opposite. Pharisee was the 
hero and the publican was the hated one. There are similarities 
between these two men. They both went to the temple, 
didn't they? They both went to the place of 
worship. I believe we can derive from 
this idea that this is no sure indicator of saving religion 
just because you go to the temple, just because you go to the church, 
just because you're in the right place at the right time. That 
is no sure indicator that you have grace in your heart. This 
Pharisee was far from the kingdom, but he was in the right place. 
Notice, secondly, the similarities. They both went to the temple 
to do what they both went to pray again. The fact that you 
pray is no sure indicator that there is grace in your heart. 
There are heathen who pray. Jesus says, do not be like the 
heathen when you pray. They think that for their many 
words, for their vain repetition, they will be heard. Brethren, 
simply because a man, a woman, a boy or girl prays or goes to 
church, this is no sure sign that there is grace in the heart. 
You mustn't make a mistake here. You mustn't delude yourself here. 
You must not fool yourself here. You must be born again. You must 
be looking to the Lord Jesus in faith. You must believe the 
truth of the gospel in order to pass out of darkness into 
marvelous light. That is the way of salvation. 
It is not by what you do. It is not by where you go. It 
is not by how you think. It is by your looking to Christ 
who saves sinners from their sins. Now, notice the differences 
between these two men. In an attempt to be alliterative, 
I've got the polished Pharisee and the putrid publican. The 
Polish Pharisee and the putrid publican, try to make them sound 
as they would have appeared on that day when Jesus told this 
parable. Notice first with reference to 
the Pharisee, he says in verse 10, 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 am 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." He thanked God, which is, in and of itself, 
a good thing. We have reason to believe the 
sincerity of his thankfulness based on the remainder of the 
parable. But at first sight, he went up 
and he thanked God. It's not always wicked to thank 
God from having kept you from certain sins. It's not wicked 
to thank God that you're not as wicked as you could possibly 
be. God's restraining grace in your life, God's hand of mercy 
upon you. keeping you from the wickedness 
that you could possibly engage in, that is a blessing and that 
is a mercy. But notice, we see here that 
his tone was not a genuine thankfulness because he trusted not in the 
mercy of God, not in the grace or provision of God, but he trusted 
in his own words. He trusted in his own performance. He banked his standing with God 
upon his words. He thanked God that he was not 
like other men. He's quite brazen here. He's 
quite proud, quite arrogant. He is marked by self-righteousness, 
self-justification. He has a wrong estimation of 
who he is before a triune God. He says, I thank you that I am 
not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as 
this tax collector. I mean, brethren, as a general 
rule, when you are praying to the triune God of heaven, don't 
put down your brother who's sitting next to you. That is not going 
to avail favor with God one bit, one iota. He thanked God for 
what he did, his fastings and his prayings. Notice in verse 
12, I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I possess. Do you know what this indicates? 
This man has no understanding of sin. This man thinks that 
the distance between a holy God and himself can be dealt with 
by his performance. Can you imagine that? As if we 
could fast and pray and give tithes in order to secure our 
place in heaven. Do you really think you can buy 
God off? The problem with this Pharisee 
is what I'll call self-atonement. He wanted to breach or make up 
that breach through his own efforts, through his own labors, through 
his own doings. And that is the common sin of 
men everywhere today. That is a perfect example of 
the reality that men don't understand, total depravity. Paul says it 
this way, I do not disregard, or I do not set aside the grace 
of God. Galatians 2.21, we just looked 
at it an hour ago. He says, for if righteousness 
comes through the law, if my fastings, if my tithings, if 
my prayings, if my Bible readings, if my church attendance, if my 
self-loathing atones for sin, Paul says Christ died in vain. It is to deny the gospel to claim 
self-righteousness. It is to deny the very cross 
work at Calvary, to treat as secondary that mockery that Cam 
brought out, or the spitting, or the punishment, or the pain, 
and not even the physical what men inflicted, but that cry of 
dereliction. When God the Son cries to God 
the Father, why hast thou forsaken me? It is to take that and to 
set it aside if you think through fastings, through tithings and 
performance, you can avail favor with God. See, this guy's problem 
is big. He doesn't know it. Generally, 
the self-righteous don't see it. They think they're doing 
well. They think they're earning favor 
with God. It's only those who have been 
convicted by the power of the Holy Spirit and shown something 
about what sin is in its gravity. In its stupendousness, in its 
utter heinousness, there was an old Southern preacher by the 
name of Rolf Barnard, and he would describe total depravity 
this way. He would say the Bible says you're 
just plum bad. This self-righteous Pharisee 
didn't believe that for one moment. This self-righteous Pharisee 
thought that if there was any problem between him and God, 
he could tend to it, thank you very much. I don't do this, I 
don't go here, I don't go there, I don't go that. I do this, I 
do this, I do this. That's the confession of the 
self-righteous man. In fact, if the self-righteous 
have an apostle's creed, here it is right here. If the self-righteous 
have a Chalcedonian definition of who Jesus is, it is this man 
right here. I, I, I. This man looked to his 
own works for the basins of his acceptance with God. John Calvin 
said, 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. J.C. Ryle said it is a proud, high 
minded profession, destitute of penitence and of humility 
and of charity. You come into the presence of 
God tooting your own horn. I mean, you wouldn't do that 
with your brethren. You might say, look, I'm a pretty fair 
guy. I never cheat anyone. I'm always, you know, even then 
it's kind of sickening, but you can get away with it in front 
of your brethren. But to come before the thrice holy God and 
try to impress him with what you have done. Remember, God 
looks upon 33 years in history that are pleasing to him. Just 
a mention this week, and he made a good point, and I think I knew 
this, but he crystallized it for me. We need that passive 
obedience, Christ's death on the cross specifically, and his 
active obedience, Christ's perfect life and satisfying all the righteous 
requirements of God. He says the passive obedience 
and the substitutionary atoning death of Christ, as it were, 
puts us back into the garden. Our sins have been obliterated 
through the blood shedding of our Lord Jesus, but we still 
need a righteousness. Hence, the active obedience of 
Christ. Hence, his doing, his life, his 
obedience, his fulfillment of all of the requirements of the 
law of God. So that when God says, but behold, 
it is better to obey than to sacrifice. Yes, he sees the sacrifice 
of Christ, and he sees the obedience of Christ, and the glory of the 
gospel is he imputes it to us. It's not by our doing, it's not 
by our dying, it's not by our paying, it's not by our performance. Self-atonement is ungodly. It is a lie from the pit of hell 
itself. Paul says in Romans chapter 4, 
if Abraham was justified by works, he has a reason to boast before 
God. He has a reason to boast. Actually, he says he has a reason 
to boast, and then Paul says, but not before God. What's the 
implication? He was not justified by words. He did not stand in the presence 
of a holy God based on his doing, based on his performance. That 
is the sum and substance of all self-righteousness. It is looking 
at something other than the Lord Jesus Christ. It is to remove 
the objective ground of justification, being upon the person of the 
Lord Jesus and putting it usually on self. Jesus says no. Notice the putrid public and 
he stood afar off. Let's just tell us this guy's 
humble. That's the whole point of the parable. When you pray, 
be humble. Don't wander into the presence 
of God and say, Lord, you better, you better, you better, you better, 
you better. Because I'm this, this, this, this, this. No, this 
man stands afar off. He won't even look up into heaven. 
He not like that Pharisee knows something of his sin. He knows 
something of his pollution. He knows something of his dirtiness. 
He knows that he doesn't deserve to be there. He doesn't come 
in and dictate propositions to God. He doesn't even look up 
into heaven. He beats his breast and he says, 
God, be merciful to me, literally the sinner. The verb that he 
uses a rich verb we've looked at in our Bible study over the 
last few Wednesday nights. The verb is the verb propitiate. 
God, be merciful, be propitious to me, have mercy on me, stay 
your wrath from me. Keep your fury away from me. And he uses the article. I know 
in the New King James, it says, God be merciful to me. A sinner. He says the sinner. Like David, 
Psalm 51. Have you ever considered David 
when he says against thee and thee only have I sinned and done 
this evil in your sight? Have you ever thought through 
2 Samuel and the narrative there? And you think, wait a minute, 
David, you've done some pretty bad things to some pretty decent 
people. I mean, come on, you invite Uriah 
home so he can lie with his wife so that when it is found out 
she is pregnant, it will look as if he impregnated her. And 
when Uriah shows more integrity than you, David, you send him 
with his own death warrant to the front of the battle. Do you 
realize that he wrote a letter to Joab? He gives it to Uriah 
and he says, take that to Joab. Uriah doesn't look at it and 
go to Mexico. He doesn't read it and go to 
Canada. He's a man of integrity. There's 
a certain sense, brethren, where as you're reading the narrative, 
you ache for Uriah. Especially later on in the Chronicles 
when he's numbered among David's mighty men. He did wretched things. He broke 
up families. He hurt people, he murdered, 
he committed adultery, in the grand scheme of things, the biggies. And what does he do when he comes 
to confess? Against thee and thee only have I sinned and done 
this evil in your sight. Why? Because when a sinner is 
convicted, it's him and God. It's him and God. When a sinner is convicted, they 
say with Job and Job nine, how can a man stand before a righteous 
God? That's the publican. He beats 
his breast. He says, God, be propitious to 
me. This man realized he had no basis 
for a right standing without God's mercy. He realized that 
all the works of his hand could never avail with God. He could 
work his fingers to the bone. He could grind his knees down 
to the cap. Remember Luther, prior to his 
conversion, the sorts of things that he did? He'd go to Rome, 
he'd get on his bare knees and he'd climb up stairs till his 
knees were bloodied. Why? Because he wanted to atone 
for his sins. When did paradise open for him? 
It was when he read Romans 1, 16 and 17. For I am not ashamed 
of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation 
for everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the 
Greek. For in it, for in that gospel of God, the righteousness 
of God is revealed from faith to faith. All the blood of my 
knees All the bones of my fingers, all the money I throw into the 
collection plate will never atone for my sin. But in that gospel, 
the righteousness that God demands and supplies is revealed from 
faith to faith. Habakkuk 2.4, way back at the 
time of the Babylonian captivity, made that blessed declaration 
that Paul adopted, that Luther adopted, that Calvin adopted, 
that launched the Reformation, that just shall live by faith. It's not by words, not by self-atonement, 
not by blood, not by pain. You cannot buy God off. You don't 
throw God a bone. You don't neglect the very cross 
of Calvary, for to think that you can enter in based on your 
performance is to say that what Christ did was in vain. Might 
have been good for some of those out there, but for me, I have 
to go a different way. This man saw his own monstrous 
character. He saw that he had nothing to 
offer to God. He simply cast himself upon the 
mercy of God. In highlighting this particular 
man's prayer, J.C. Ryle points out, it's truly a 
petition. Notice that the Pharisee doesn't 
ask for anything, does he? He just comes in and tells God 
how good he is. I'm always a little bit leery when I hear a prayer 
like that. I don't want to discourage anybody from praying. You pray. 
But man, if your prayer consists of you telling God what a good 
guy you are, you're in bad company here. Ryle points out that this 
was personal prayer. God, be merciful to me. Yes, 
I want world missions. Yes, I want global advancement 
for the cause of Jesus. Yes, I want to be missional. 
Yes, I want to be evangelistic. Yes, I want to care about dark 
skinned brethren. But God, be merciful to me. Because 
there's a day coming when I'm going to take my last breath 
and I'm going to be ushered into the presence of a holy God. Lord, 
be merciful to me. Ryle points out that he was humble. He was humble. That's the essence 
of prayer. Sometimes people say, if God 
is sovereign and you Calvinists believe that, why do you pray? 
It's a means to humble ourselves under his mighty hand. It is 
an act of worship. We often think prayer is just 
a means to get something, right? You just pray in order to get 
something. Well, if God is sovereign, he's promised you all these good 
things. Why even bother? It is primarily an act of worship. Get that in your head. That's 
why when pastors say you should pray, not just so you can get 
stuff, but so you can worship our God. And then Royal points out that 
his petition was spot on. It was for mercy. I mean, before you want a new 
job, before you want a new insurance plan, before you want health, 
you first fetch mercy from a merciful God. That's the issue. That's what we need. That's what 
marks the prayers in the New Testament. You never see Paul 
not saying he doesn't do this. Pray for my Aunt Bessie who stubbed 
her toe and hurt it. We can pray for Aunt Bessie who 
stubbed her toe and hurt it. But, you know, Paul's prayers 
concentrate on the spiritual man. Paul's prayers concentrate 
on holiness and on righteousness and humility before our God. 
Paul's prayers concentrate on those things that are so often 
lacking in our prayer meetings. We need to be like Paul at the 
throne of grace, and we need to be first and foremost like 
this publican at the throne of grace. And then Ryle says this 
prayer came from his heart. You gotta get the picture here, 
brethren. Here comes the Pharisee walking 
into the temple and everybody says, Greetings, Mr. Pharisee. Great guy. How are you doing 
today? You wonderful specimen of a religious 
being. No doubt when the publican walks 
into the temple, people are looking around saying, Who let this riffraff 
in? Who let this guy in? You really 
think you're going to pray to the Holy God and he's going to 
hear you? But you see, the publican doesn't 
care. It is not about what will other people think. It is not 
about how will I look. I think the text is significant, 
too, with reference to the Pharisee. He stood and prayed thus with 
himself. I don't think that's an accident. He stood and prayed 
thus with himself. He didn't really care if God 
heard him. Not the public, and it's from the 
heart. I'm a sinner. You're a holy God. There's only 
one thing I can ask. God be merciful to me, the sinner. Notice the summary of the parable. 
Verse 14. This is where, if I can say it 
in the vernacular, Jesus blew their minds. You may not like to hear that, 
but that's the case. I tell you, Jesus says, this 
man went down to his house justified. Rather than the other one, you 
would have heard a public gasp at that particular moment. You 
would have heard a, what do you mean? The Pharisee prayed a model 
prayer, what he should do or what he did do and what he doesn't 
do. The Pharisee looks good. The Pharisee's polished. The 
Pharisee's accomplished. The Pharisee's arrived. Religiously 
speaking, Pharisees were the guys to be. And here comes this 
publican, this enemy of his brethren, this man who will take taxes 
from his own people and give them to the government of Rome. 
You're going to tell us, Jesus, that that man went to his house 
justified. That's precisely what Jesus says, 
and that's precisely the essence of the gospel. It's not what 
my hand brings that saves my filthy soul. It's not our works, 
not our performance, not our atonement, not our fasting, not 
our tithings, but by God's grace, coming to that place of seeing 
sin and seeing the Savior. Now again, there are many other 
portions of scripture that we fill in at this particular point. 
Obviously, God's grace is at work in the man's heart. Obviously, 
he believes the gospel. He believes the propositions 
that God has purposed in order to save him from his sins. That's 
not the main point of the parable. It is to teach that we are not 
to despise others. We're not to love ourselves, 
but rather we are to frame our hearts in humility when we pray. But the essence, the teaching, 
a text or a passage that is so powerful as this cannot be neglected 
for the justification principle. I tell you, this man went down 
to his house justified rather than the other. The verb justified 
here, the perfect, which looks to the completed state and has 
abiding results. It is a one-time act by God. When he accepts us or when he 
forgives or pardons all of our sins and he accepts us as righteous 
in his sight, not for any righteousness in us, but for the righteousness 
of Christ, which is imputed to them and received by faith alone. 
He was justified. It's a theological passive as 
well. That means that God is the one 
justifying. I've always loved that statement 
in Romans chapter 3 and verse 20. I remember preaching that 
one time at a place that was predominantly black men. It was 
called the Bible Tabernacle and it was one of the coolest places. 
A guy that had worked for Walt Disney got converted and he took 
his money and he built this great big wall tent. John would have 
loved it for a different application. The way they used it was for 
preaching. He would have loved it for that 
too, I'm sure. But you would go into this tent. It would be 
a lot. And I'm not picking on black man. It just happened to 
be predominantly a black audience. My brother, Michael Crawford, 
was there with me at the time. And I remember preaching that 
section in Romans, Romans 118 to chapter 320, trying to show 
and put the focus on the reality and the gravity of our sin. We 
get to Romans 320. How does Paul summarize? How 
does Paul bring it all to a close? He begins with wrath revealed 
in Romans 1 18. He's going to get to Romans 3 
21 with righteousness revealed. The Romans 3 20 is a is a summary 
statement. And he says, therefore, by the 
deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight. For 
by the law is the knowledge of sin. And that was the whole point 
was to illustrate to these guys that they were sinners before 
a thrice holy God. But the point of that text, think 
about it for a moment. Therefore, by the deeds of the 
law, no flesh will be justified in his sight. You may be justified 
in the sight of a mother or of a father. You may be justified 
in the sight of your spouse. You may be justified at your 
workplace. People may think you a very good 
person. They may think you a very reasonable 
man. They may think you a righteous 
person and even a very pious man. But it is before the triune 
God of Holy Scripture that we have to do. And through law keeping, 
there will be no flesh justified in his sight. I don't care if 
your mother Teresa. I don't care who you are, what 
you've done, what you perform. If you are looking to your words, 
you perish in hell for eternity. But conversely, who knows the 
sin of the publican? See, we forget real people. Think about that text in Luke 
15. Luke 15, 1 and 2 sets the stage for one of the most glorious 
pieces of scripture. We're all very familiar with 
the sheep or the shepherd who lost the one sheep and he leaves 
the 99, he goes and finds it, puts it on his shoulders and 
he comes back. We love that parable, don't we? Yeah, we should. And then the next parable, he 
says, there's a woman, she loses one of her coins. What does she 
do? She moves her furniture, she gets the broom out, she starts 
sweeping, she starts searching. She finds that coin and she's 
rejoicing. And we get to the third in that 
section there. We get there and we say, what 
a wonderful father. I mean, this man has two sons 
and one of the sons says, give me my share of the inheritance. Do not think, brethren, for a 
moment that times were different then. You got your inheritance 
when your father died. The son was saying, father, I 
don't care if you're dead. Now, we've all encountered teenage 
rebellion. We've all encountered children 
who've not always respected us. But I can say to God and thanks 
be to Him, none of my kids have ever said, I wish you dead. That's 
what that guy did. All you're good to me for is 
money. Cough it up. What's the father do? He coughs 
it up. What's the son do? He goes out. 
These wonders with prodigal living, hence the name, the prodigal 
son. Something we don't always get, 
though, when we appreciate those three stories is the context. OK, Luke 15, then all the sinners 
and all the tax collectors came to hear him. What kind of sinners? We'll run 
through the Ten Commandments. Those kinds of sinners. Idolaters, 
murderers, adulterers, liars, thieves, cheaters, covetous, 
disobedient to parents. It's not like those sins only 
exist today. So, all these tax collectors, 
all these sinners come near to hear him. And in verse 2 of Luke 
15, it says, the scribes and the Pharisees grumbled and they 
complained. And they said, this man eats 
with sinners. You can almost see their disdain. 
You can see their long fingers pointing. This man, this Jesus, 
He receives sinners and he eats with them. That's the context. That's when Jesus says, you're 
right. I do it like a shepherd who leaves 
the one and goes and gets it. I do it like the woman who, when 
she loses her coin, finds it. And I do it like the father of 
the prodigal who, when the son is a long way off, runs to him 
and falls on him and kisses him and puts a ring on his finger. 
These are real sinners. Jesus is a real savior for sinners. Don't miss that. No preparation 
involved. You don't need to feel your fitness, 
as we just sang in 393. I've got to feel my fitness. 
Do you know what your fitness is? You've offended God. Believe 
the gospel. You've sinned against God, believe 
the gospel. This man went home justified. The Pharisee didn't. He was rejected 
and damned for his reliance upon self and works. How do we know 
that? Rather than the other. This man, the publican, went 
home justified rather than the other. He didn't go home justified. What's Jesus' point? You rely 
on your works, you rely on your fastings, you rely on your tithings, 
you rely on your performance, and you will be damned to hell. 
Because righteousness does not come through the law. You need 
to appropriate that fact. You need to get it into your 
head. Self-atonement is a myth. You cannot avail with God in 
your strength. There is one champion of Israel. 
There is one whose doings and dyings satisfy the requirements 
of God's covenant. And it is Jesus and him alone. 
And then, of course, the principle set forth by Jesus in this parable 
with reference to prayer, with reference to the way we treat 
one another, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled 
and he who humbles himself will be exalted. We learn several 
things and then we close. I know when I say several, you're 
probably thinking, oh, man, this is going to be a while. It's 
not going to be a while. The first is that we need to 
have a righteous attitude toward others. It's unfortunate we have to put 
proud and Calvinist together. That's like oxymoronic, if you 
really understand the terminology there, it's like a jumbo shrimp 
or old news or military intelligence. There shouldn't be a proud Calvinist, 
those who understand the glory of a sovereign God and the sinfulness 
of their wretched hearts ought to be the lowest people ever. 
They ought not to despise others. They ought to be charitable. 
They ought to be loving. They ought to be kind. But notice 
how these things go hand in hand. When you're self-righteous, you 
despise others. Why is that? Because you want 
others to perform your expectation. That's why in the church we need 
to be on guard. We need to be careful. We need 
to understand people are at different places. We're not to make men 
jump through our hoops. Though the self-righteous may 
despise others, those righteous in Christ must love others. That is a principle of this text. 
You have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. You have been washed in that 
fountain that is open for sin and uncleanness. You have known 
the mercies of a sovereign God, the kindness of a gracious God. You know, a justification that 
depends not one way upon you and your performance. And you're 
going to have the gall to despise others. We've not learned Christ, 
if that's the case. See, the gospel ought to promote 
in us a love for brethren. The gospel ought to promote in 
us a desire to believe the best about the brethren. I don't think 
it's unique to my heart only. I think there is in probably 
some of us a conspiracy theory. I guess. Pastor Bartholomew coined 
that term conspiracy theory. I guess this idea that everybody's 
out to get you. You know, maybe they're not. Love really believes all things. Love hopes all things. Sometimes 
husbands and wives, a man or a woman, will do something and 
the spouse just imagine they're trying to get them. No, I sinned. I'm a sinner. Please forgive 
me. I didn't have my pencil behind 
my ear. I didn't have my light on or 
my hat on with my drafting table, thinking through the steps and 
how I was going to lead you into that particular place. And I 
was going to see you fail or fumble or have a problem. I really 
didn't do that. Self-righteousness is an enemy 
to peace within the Church of Jesus Christ. We are to, in the 
language of the Apostle, endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit 
and the bond of peace. And the way we do that is by 
loving humbly. There is a Reformation application 
here. The parable relates to justification 
by grace alone through faith alone. I think if you allow me 
to indulge for a moment, the Pharisee here stands up as the 
Roman Catholic Church. And the publican comes along 
as the Protestant Reformation. Now, I realize that's probably 
stretching it to a degree, but that's in essence what these 
men represent. Look at what we do, look at what we accomplish, 
do our sacraments, pay our tithes, do this, do this, do this, do 
this. I have faith, but do this. The Judaizing heresy. There's 
faith, but circumcision in order to be saved. The former's came 
along and said, oh, God be merciful to me, the sinner. It's not what 
I pay, it's not how I fast, it's not what I give, it's not what 
I do. It's what Jesus did. It's just like when Moses lifted 
up that serpent in the wilderness. Do you love that? Moses lifted 
up the serpent in the wilderness. People have been bit. What were 
they supposed to do? Fix your leg, then look? No, they were 
to look and live. They were to look and live. Thirdly, 
there is a benefit of owning sin set forth in this parable. God be merciful to me, the sinner. 
Proverbs 28, 13 is a passage you should get in your heads 
and in your hearts. It says, whoever covers his transgression 
shall not prosper. Whoever confesses and forsakes 
it will find mercy. That's the Old Testament equivalent 
of 1 John 1, 9. If we confess our sins, He is 
faithful and just to forgive us our sins. Sometimes we reason 
like this. I don't want to go before God 
because I'm so sinful. The gospel says, go before God 
because you're so sinful. Right. How does God plead with 
Israel in Jeremiah three, return to me and I will heal your backsliders. We like to heal ourselves. We 
like to fix ourselves before we go to God. Jesus says, come 
to me. I'll heal you. I'll fix you. 
I mean, imagine that. Let's say you were scheduled 
for surgery next Thursday at Chilliwack General Hospital. 
But before you went there, you went to Abbotsford General Hospital, 
or whatever they call it, and you had your surgery done, so 
that you could be ready to meet the surgeon at Chilliwack General. 
He'd say, what are you, foolish? You were supposed to come and 
get healed here, not fix yourself before you got there, or get 
a manual and do some self-surgery on you. We do that as Christians, we 
get feeling guilty and we want to sell the car. We want to fix 
it. We want to take care of it. What 
are we tacitly saying? The blood of Jesus Christ really 
doesn't avail for all sin. We may not vocalize that, but 
our actions indicate that. A fourth principle that we need 
to follow in this particular passage, and this is a difficult 
one for all of us. It is the propensity for all 
of us to out Pharisee the Pharisee. What is the temptation when we 
study a passage like this? That rotten, dirty Pharisee. 
Thank you, God, that I'm not like him. Thank you, God, that 
I've learned justification by faith. Thank you, God, that I 
have a 1689 confession. Thank you, God, the pastor said, 
get Burkoff or Raymond and read systematic theology. The propensity 
in every heart here is to outshine the Pharisee. I love the way 
Ryle puts it in his commentaries, expository thoughts. He says 
we are all naturally self-righteous. If you say not me, that's an 
indicator that you are. Please get that. Writing books 
on your humility does not make you humble. Had a buddy in Palmdale, 
we used to joke, write a book. Humility and how I mastered it. 
Wait a minute, what? There's certain books people 
shouldn't write. Humility and how I mastered it? 
No, you didn't. We are all naturally self-righteous. 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. Most 
men will proclaim every one of his own goodness, Proverbs 26. We forget the plain testimony 
of Scripture. In many things we offend all. There is not a just man upon 
earth that doeth good and sinneth not. What is man that he should 
be clean, or he that is born of a woman that he should be 
righteous? The true cure for self-righteousness, 
get this, is self-knowledge. How do you learn yourself but 
through God's Word? He says, Once let the eyes of 
our understanding be opened by the spirit and we shall talk 
no more of our own goodness. Once let us see what there is 
in our own hearts and what the holy law of God requires and 
self-conceit will die. We shall lay our hand on our 
mouths and cry with the leper, unclean, unclean. Let us beware of out Phariseeing 
the Pharisee in our passage. And then finally, as I said, 
not everything is given here. Its primary commendation, its 
primary application is that we're not to trust in ourselves that 
we're righteous and we're not to despise others. The only means 
that any man, woman, boy or girl will adopt such a posture of 
humility is at the cross. Humility is not something we 
master. It is something God does in us. And humility is first learned 
at Calvary. You can read books on humility. 
In fact, C.J. Mahaney has a good book on humility. 
It's not subtitled How I Mastered It. It's very good. It's great 
means. Read on humility. Get your concordance 
out. Get all the scriptures that talk about humility. Search them. 
Study them. Do you know where they'll all 
bring you back to? Calvary. Because that's where the pride 
of man dies. That's where our doing dies. That's where our 
performance dies. And that's where our genuine 
life begins. If you have not come to Christ, 
believe on Him. As the Bible says, and you shall 
be saved. What a blessing to go to your 
house today justified. Having a status before God, not 
based on your righteousness, not based on your words, but 
solely based on God's grace through faith in Jesus. That's the way 
to go home justified today. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank you for this parable. We thank you for the 
rich instruction that it gives us. And I pray that we would 
keep these thoughts in our hearts and in our minds and that we 
would seek your grace. Lord God, do forgive us. Do forgive me, Lord. I know that 
self-righteousness is a reality in my own heart. And I confess 
it as sin, and I pray that you just help each of us to confess 
it as sin, to see our righteousness as in Christ and in him alone. Thank you for that blessed statement 
of the apostle, that God made him who knew no sin to be sin 
for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. 
We praise you through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.