We can turn in your Bibles to Luke chapter 18. God willing, we'll return to our study in Matthew's gospel next Sunday morning, but this morning we're going to look at Luke chapter 18, specifically verses 9 to 14, where Jesus tells us about two men who went to pray. Specifically a parable, which is a story designed to illustrate spiritual truth, and certainly the spiritual truth that is illustrated here is very clear, it's very obvious, and as God wills, hopefully it will encourage our hearts as we consider afresh the glory of the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Luke chapter 18, verses 9 to 14.
Also He, that's Jesus, 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, a 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, thank you for this account, and we pray now that the Spirit would guide us and lead us as we study. We pray that you would forgive us of our sin and everything that would darken our understanding.
Help us to receive with thanksgiving the word of truth. We ask these things through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Introduction
Well, as I said, it's a pretty straightforward and a pretty simple understanding. Jesus commends the publican and he condemns the Pharisee. It's a very wonderful example of what Jesus Christ does in terms of what we just read in 1 Peter chapter 3 and verse 18. The just Christ for the unjust sinners like this publican or this tax collector.
I want to look at three things. First, the occasion of the parable. Secondly, the two men in the parable. And thirdly, the conclusion of the parable.
And then try and draw out some practical lessons for us.
The Occasion of the Parable
But notice first, the occasion. In verse 1, we see that Jesus taught a parable in another situation. 18.1, then he spoke a parable to them. that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying. It's always a wonderful statement to me. What's the opposite of losing heart?
It is prayer. You're going through trials and difficulties and hardships. What is the proper response? It is to pray.
And Jesus sets forth this parable to underscore this truth, that we ought to be a prayerful people. So that's the occasion there in chapter 18, verses 1 to 8. Notice in chapter 18 at verse 9, also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. Now the righteousness that is in view in this particular section is the righteousness that commends us to God.
In other words, what is in view in this particular instance is our acceptance with God. If you remember the book of Job, Job had this very important question to ask and one that I would hope all of us have wrestled with at one point or another. Job says, how can a man be righteous before God? How can a man stand before God?
How can a man be accepted before God? Why is that question important? Because the Bible highlights the truth that God is holy. In fact, the angels in Isaiah chapter 6, they stand in the presence of God day and night, and they cry, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord of hosts.
The whole earth is full of His glory. The Bible says that these angels have six wings. With two of the wings they fly, with two of the wings they cover their feet, and with two of the wings they cover their eyes. Why do they cover their eyes?
Because God is holy, He is glorious, He is majestic. And these created beings have to shield their eyes from the power manifested in His presence. Remember when the Ark of the Covenant in 1 Samuel chapter 7 is returned to Beth Shemesh. What do we find but the persons want to open the Ark and they want to take a peek inside. multitude of them, and their question is appropriate on the heels of that.
Have you ever come to that place? Have you ever realized that God is holy, He is righteous, He is just, and as the Bible so clearly portrays, He must punish sin? And as we continue on in the Bible, we see that we are a sinful people. What's going to breach the gap?
What's going to fix it? What's going to repair the ruins? God to the place where unholy men are accepted in His sight. And so when we look at this statement concerning righteousness in this passage, that's what's in view.
When Jesus says, this man went home justified, it means he has a right standing before God because of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. Now the Pharisee, in this particular instance, trusts in himself that they were righteous and despised others. to stand before God as righteous, to stand before God as one who is able to enter into his holy presence. Note the occasion of the parable. Jesus doesn't play games.
He doesn't dance around the situation. We've got a host of people over here named Pharisees that trust in themselves. So what does Jesus do? Does he coddle them?
Does he encourage them? Does he, you know, give them a little shot in the arm and say, you're doing a fine job? No, he teaches a parable to show them of the unsteady ground that they have sought. They are standing on sinking sand.
And notice the second sin that's in view in this particular instance. They trust in themselves that they were righteous and they despised others. I had a statement written in my notes. The close connection.
Self-righteousness always produces judgmentalism. But it's impossible to prove a universal positive. You've heard that of a universal negative. Well, if you think about it for a moment, how do you prove a universal positive?
There might actually be one self-righteous person out there that doesn't judge others. There might just be one. Most of the self-righteous people I know, and the one that I look at in the mirror every morning, is judgmental. does look down upon others. You see the close connection here.
You see what happens when a man thinks that he in and of himself can be accepted by God by what he does. It always causes and always produces a judgmentalism. I mean, listen to the Pharisee as he prays. Even like this tax collector here.
This barbarian, this horrible monstrosity that is praying in the same temple that I myself have walked into. This is a horrible thing. It means to despise, to treat with contempt, to despise someone or something on the basis that it is worthless or of no value. So again, keep the context of the occasion in your mind.
You've got a group of people named Pharisees. These are the religious leaders. These were the heroes at this particular time in terms of Israel's civil religion and religion as a whole. And Jesus targets these men with this particular teaching.
The Two Men in the Parable
Now notice, secondly, the two men in the parable, a Pharisee and a tax collector. We might say a hero and a hated one. The first century people didn't like tax collectors any more than you and I do. It's probably a real difficulty for those who owe lots of money to write out that check to the IRS or to Revenue Canada.
You don't do that gleefully, do you? Oh, I got a $5,000 bill from Revenue Canada. I can't wait to write this check out. You probably seek out legal advice.
You Google. You try to find a loophole. How is it that I'm having to pay? But you probably don't personally hate the specific person.
I mean, you might, but you have to crush it. The tax collectors as a people in this particular generation were probably looked at as traitors. More often than not, they were Jewish people that worked for the Roman magistrate. They handled currency that was filled with idols, the inscriptions of Caesars and whatnot.
They were often dishonest. Remember when Jesus has dealings with Zacchaeus in Luke chapter 19. What does Zacchaeus say? I'm going to pay back all the people I have ripped off.
Tax collectors were not viewed as heroes in society. They were the hated ones. That's why I suggest that this parable shocked those who heard it. Because as far as they were concerned, it was the Pharisee that went home to his house righteous.
It was the Pharisee who was justified by God. It was the Pharisee who had acceptance with God and these tax collectors would be only worthy of burning and hell and everlasting punishment. You see, Jesus shocks his hearers into considering just how bad it is for a person, whether a Pharisee in the 1st century or a Pharisee in the 21st century, to bank their acceptance with God upon what they do. It's not about what we do.
It's about what Christ has done. That's why it is good news, as I've mentioned. It's not good advice. It's not try harder.
You see, as we move through the parable, we see the Pharisee didn't understand something absolutely important about obedience. Does God accept us when we just try real hard? Does God accept us when we just do our best? Listen to what our confession says in terms of obedience to God's law.
By which law He, God, bound him, Adam, and all his posterity to personal, entire, exact, and perpetual obedience. You see, that's what you have to be able to produce to God. If you are going to be accepted by God in your own strength, according to your own doing, then it must be this type of obedience. It must be. personal, entire, exact, and perpetual obedience.
Do you see why the gospel is good news? Because Jesus rendered that. He offered up personal, entire, exact, and perpetual obedience so that all those who look to Him in faith receive not only the forgiveness of sins, but a righteousness given by God through faith in Christ so that we may be accepted by the Father on that blessed day of judgment. Notice the similarities between these two men.
I think this is important. They both went to the temple. Right? Temple observance, or may I say church attendance, doesn't necessarily guarantee the presence of grace in the heart.
Because as far as we read the parable, the Pharisee did not go to his house justified. Just because you enter a church does not mean you're justified. It does not mean you're righteous. It does not mean that God says, okay, now you've done everything I've commanded and I will let you into heaven.
No, church attendance in and of itself does not secure, does not argue for the presence of grace in the heart. And notice they both pray. They both pray. Think about this in light of Saul's conversion, the Apostle Paul.
What happens when Ananias is told to go find Paul? He has heard about this Saul. He knows that this Saul has persecuted the church. He knows that he has targeted believers and wants to destroy them.
And what does the angel say, or what does Christ say rather to this man? Behold, he prayeth. Certainly saw the Pharisee prayed many times in his life, but it wasn't until he knew the grace of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that he could be defined as one who prayed. And in this instance, both these men pray, and yet we read of only one who went to his house justified.
Now note the differences between these two men. Note the Pharisee first.
The Pharisee's Prayer
He thanked God, which is a good thing in and of itself, right? We ought to be thankful. We ought to start our prayer with thankfulness. Adoration, contrition, thankfulness, whatever order you want to place it in.
We ought to be a Psalm 103 man or woman. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Rehearse the things he's done in your life and bless him or speak well of him or give thanks to him.
It is right to thank God. It is right to praise God. It is right to honor God. But in this particular instance, this is not legit.
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. Again, this in and of itself, in certain contexts, isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's not wrong, for instance, to thank God that you're not like Joseph Stalin. Not a bad thing to say, God, thank you that in your restraint, and in your power, and in your mercy, and in your kindness, you have kept me from being as bad as Paul Pott.
You have kept me from being as bad as some notorious criminal. I praise you, God, that you have restrained me and not allowed me to fall in such a way." But that's not what this Pharisee is doing. This is more of a self-congratulations. This is more of a self-admiration.
This is more of him patting himself on the back. And this is what Jesus wants to underscore with his hearers. He says, God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, even as this tax collector. What's he waiting for?
God to speak from heaven and say, good job, right on, you excellent specimen of a human being? Is he looking for God to say, wow, I'm so pleased with your obedience? Is he looking for men to commend him in these things? Is he looking for the approval of others?
You see, this is not the prayer of thanksgiving that the psalmist explains. This is a prayer of conceit. that indicates that he is trusting in something other than the Lord Jesus Christ. And that other is that he's not like other men. I mean, I get this mental conception of him standing there praying.
I see him in my mind's eye. And I only have to reflect upon myself, upon the church that we dwell in. And I don't mean us specifically, but us generally. We can be a self-righteous people.
We can be a people that on the one hand affirm justification by faith alone, and then on the other hand affirm that we're pretty good guys and girls. What do we have that we did not receive? What righteousness did we ever bring to the table? What did we ever offer to God?
We offered our sin, we offered our depravity, we offered all of our wickedness. And that, not of ourselves, God moved us to bring it to Him, and He offers us mercy, forgiveness, and a righteousness that avails with God. You see, we need to guard against this reality. I thank you, God, that I'm not like others.
And it's intriguing. If you go through the Gospel accounts, I'm sure someone has done this. There's probably a PhD dissertation on it. I don't have it, didn't read it, didn't have the time to do this, but how many times in the gospel records does Jesus condemn the self-righteous?
How many times does he condemn the harlots or the publicans or the real wretched people? I suspect there's more of a ratio in favor of the condemnation of the self-righteous than what would have been the equivalent of a crack whore in the first century. But you see, in the church today, we don't see our self-righteousness. We don't see us trusting in our polish.
We don't see us saying, thank you, God, that I'm not out there doing what those people do. Or we might add that little, oh, but for the grace of God, there go I. But do we mean it? Have you ever got a glimpse of what you are actually?
This is why Bible reading is so important. Because God doesn't play games. He tells us what's in our hearts. Remember when the people... argue, or they complain, or they whine, rather, about Jesus' disciples not washing their hands before they eat.
This wasn't a sanitary or a hygienic thing. Wash your hands, kids, before you eat. Do not pass germs on to the rest of the gene pool. Spare us.
Wash up. Be clean. But that's not what's in view in Matthew 15. It's ceremonial.
Why do your disciples eat with unwashed hands? You know what Jesus says? Their problem isn't what goes down the throat, their problem is what comes out of the heart. Jesus does not soft-pedal the way that I suspect so many of us do.
Well, I'm not that bad. I haven't done that many bad things. I was musing on this particular passage prior to becoming a Christian. You know what my canned response was when someone said, you're a sinner.
Well, I've never killed anyone, I've never committed adultery, I've never done any of those sort of benchmark sins. Isn't it interesting that King David of Israel murdered somebody and committed those benchmark sins? Committed adultery. But King David of Israel is justified by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It's not about that. All sin. One sin. Our position in Adam is enough to condemn us for eternity.
We need the just for the unjust. We need the righteous for the unrighteous. Jesus says it's not what goes into the mouth that defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth. This defiles a man.
This doesn't mean bad breath. Listen to what he says. Are you still or also still without understanding? Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated?
It's a pretty naturally excellent process, isn't it? Our body processes the good, retains the nutrients and expels the waste. God has made us fearfully and wonderfully. It's a beautiful thing.
That's a beautiful thing, yes, I wouldn't want to walk around carrying all that waste. The Lord has made us in such a way that all things are taken care of. But notice in verse 18, but those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.
These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man. You may get a cold, you may get the flu if you eat with unwashed hands, but defilement comes from your heart. And the Pharisee doesn't get this. Pharisees today don't get this.
As long as we don't murder people, as long as we don't commit adultery, as long as we keep our grass cut and we pay our taxes and we do everything that society expects from us, well certainly God will accept us as one of his own. That's not true. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. This man thanked God for what he was not, but it wasn't a righteous thankfulness for what he was not.
It was condemnatory. It was a despising of others, even as this tax collector. Notice as well. He thanks God for what he practices.
I thank you. Actually, in this instance, thank you doesn't modify what he practices. I thank you that I'm not like other men. Extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.
Here, at least he throws God a bone. I thank you, God, that I'm not like this tax collector. I thank you that I'm not one of those extortioners. I thank you that I'm not one of those adulterers.
I thank you that I'm holy and pure and righteous and just. Notice when he gets into what he practices. I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I possess.
Again, what's he waiting for? Heaven to open up and a big fist to come out and say, good job, and pat him on the shoulder? Do you think sin and its effects can be obliterated through some fasting or paying of tithes? Fasting and paying of tithes is what people justified by God's grace do in response as gratitude and thankfulness and a love for others.
We don't pay tithes and we don't fast and we don't do these things in order to commend ourselves to God. And yet this is precisely what is in this man's head. He is parading his righteousness. He is celebrating his righteousness.
He is supposed to be praying to God But what it sounds like is he's compiling his religious resume, putting in for a new job at the synagogue. This is what I'm not, this is what I do, and this is how wonderful I am. And if you give me an interview, I trust you'll see that I'm a wonderful specimen of a human being, and you'll hire me for your establishment. We don't bring resumes to God, brethren.
We bring our sins. We bring our dependence. We bring our worship. We bring our adoration.
We bring our God admiration and not our own admiration. what this man is about. Calvin says, with reference to this particular man's prayer, 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 the parable speaks to the target audience?
He spoke this parable to those who were righteous or those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. In one quick hammer blow, Jesus says that this is terrible. Don't do this. Don't do this.
The Publican's Prayer
Now note the publican. We just call him that. That means tax collector. He stood afar off.
He doesn't even raise his eyes to heaven. So you get the picture of the Pharisee who's pretty happy and content and proud of himself. He's standing there with his chest poofed out. He's standing there in his religious accomplishments.
He's standing there as a proud peacock strutting with its feathers. Not the tax collector. He knows he has nothing to offer to God. He knows his symptoms, or he knows his issues.
It says, 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, a sinner. He acknowledges what the Pharisee does not. He acknowledges the fact that he's a sinner before God. It's interesting the way the language reads.
It's not just a sinner, but Jesus says, The sinner. He says, God be merciful to me, the sinner. In a world governed by God Most High over countless millions of people, this publican, when he stands before God, sees himself as the sinner. He doesn't spend time thanking God that he's not a sinner like other sinners, or that he's not a sinner like the sinner that lives next door to him, or he's not a sinner like the other sinners that he oftentimes sees at the tax collectors' meetings.
God be merciful to me, the sinner. You see, when it comes to deal with God, or when it comes to do with God, we need to see Him and ourselves alone. Children and young people, your religion must be your religion. It isn't to be your parents' religion.
Well, my father and my mother was a godly man, so I'm going to go to heaven. No, it doesn't work that way. It's amazing. Steve and I would be handing out tracts and you'd meet people, and I used to just hear this and think, no, people don't really say this.
They would think they were okay and they were on their way to heaven because their uncle taught Sunday school. Like, what is that? You think that somehow the efficacy of his Sunday school teaching is somehow going to float down and make your account positive? Instead of trusting in Jesus Christ who offers himself to men, you're gonna trust in the merits of your Sunday, of your uncle who teaches Sunday school?
Sometimes children and young people, it's the same thing. Well, I live in a Christian home. Your home's not been baptized, the physical structure. Your home doesn't believe the gospel.
You may have Christian parents, but their faith is their faith. It's a lot of sin and a lot of temptation. I was just speaking about this with one of my sons recently. Something that we as adults did not have that you young people do.
And you've heard me speak on this before, but it is a very dangerous thing. That little computer sitting in your pocket. If you use it to text your friends, fine. If you tell your mom, I'm going to stop at the store for milk, great.
But if you're looking at the basest, most wicked forms of pornography, that is not great. That stuff will rot your mind and keep you from the kingdom of God. You need to believe the gospel and you don't need to wait till you're older. That's another thing that goes around today.
I think sometimes people actually believe. what the gospel or what the Bible says is true, and they say, well that's good, but I'll wait till I have this experience, or I'll wait till the heavens open up, or I'll wait till I see a fireworks display, or I'll wait till I really know that God is calling me to repent. Trust me, God is calling you to repent, right here, right now. Seek the Lord while he may be found. Call upon him while he is near.
Do not tarry. Do not wait. Do not resist. Do not stay away.
But by the grace of God, look and live. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Notice, he acknowledges what the Pharisee does not, he is a sinner. He has no one else to condemn for he is a sinner.
He has no righteousness to offer for he is a sinner. Isn't that the tactic of the Pharisee? Isn't that the tactic of men? Sometimes that happens when you have children.
You know, you call out one of your kids and you say, I know you did such and such. Well, I'm not as bad as my brother. Oh, well then, it's okay that you just did that. No one has this experience?
Never? No one's ever done this? I'm not as bad as so-and-so? The husband sins against his wife, and the wife finds out, and she calls him on it and says, he said, well, I'm not as bad as, you know, Mr.
Jones. I don't mean that to any Mr. Jones. As I was saying it, I caught myself.
Mr. Whoever. I'm not as bad as... What is that but an attempt to justify oneself?
You see, the publican doesn't have this. He doesn't look into heaven. He is humble before God because God has humbled him. He has shown him himself.
He has shown him his sin. And all he does is he beats his breast and he says, God be merciful to me, the sinner. Ryle makes this perceptive comment. He says, the publican did not speak of his neighbors, but himself.
Vagueness and generality are the great defects of most men's religion. Vagueness and generality, I know I'm not a great person. No, you're far worse than not a great person. You are far worse than not a great person.
You see, the Pharisee betrays a proper understanding of the law of God. The law doesn't just demand that we don't go commit adultery. It demands that we don't look at porn on our phones. The law doesn't just demand that we don't go to our neighbor's house and take an axe and bury it in his skull.
The law demands that we don't hate him in our hearts. The law not only demands that we don't speak lies, that we uphold truth. We're about the truth. Gill says, with reference to the publican, this is his prayer, a 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 in Adam, who had delivered 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 in the lowest hell.
He speaks of himself as if he was the only sinner in the world, at least as if there was none like him. Often music, people going into a reformed church do not always leave with a big smile on their face because they've been told, you're a great guy, just try harder. What did you hear in church today? Honey, I heard that I'm a filthy sinner.
You know, healing begins when we recognize the truth. When I go to the doctor, if I have cancer, I don't want him to tell me that I'm almost healthy. I want Him to tell me that I've got cancer. I want Him to tell me how bad it is.
I want to understand that because healing only comes when you identify the problem. Today the church is just telling people what they want to hear. You're good. Do good.
Be good. Be happy. It sounds like a Disney movie. It doesn't sound like the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord.
Sin is our problem. Christ is our answer. When we look to Him, we live. It is that simple.
It is that wonderful. It is that glorious. He acknowledges what the Pharisee does not. The man stands in need of mercy.
It doesn't say, God, look at what a great guy I am. God, look at what I'm not. Look at what I do. Look at how much I fast.
Look at how much I tithe. Look at how many times I go to the temple. No, he acknowledges the reality that I stand in need of mercy. God, be merciful to me.
Literally, be propitious to me. Related to the word propitiation, which as We all know, speaks to God's wrath. The Bible teaches that because God is holy and man is sinful, God's wrath abides on us. Propitiation is when that wrath is dealt with.
Propitiation is when sin is covered. Propitiation is the work of our Lord Jesus Christ, who didn't take the wrath and deflect it out into the field, but the Lord Jesus Christ, the just for the unjust, died, suffered, took the punishment and the penalty that was due to people like you and me. By His stripes, we are healed. This publican understands that.
He knows that he needs mercy. He knows that he has nothing to offer to God. He knows that he has not the power to barter, the power to trade. He can't swipe a card and have the transaction completed.
He beats his breast and he says, God, be merciful to me. Notice as well, he acknowledges something the Pharisee doesn't, that God is merciful. You see, it's good for us to know the problem. It's good for us to identify the disease.
If your doctor says you have cancer and it looks like this in your body, now go and have a nice day, that wouldn't be satisfactory either. You'd probably shake him by the collar and say, what do I do? You told me I have cancer. Do I get radiation?
Do I get chemo? Do I take pills? What do I do? No, just go have a nice day.
You see, the Bible never leaves us there bloody, battered, and beaten. The Bible always provides for us the balm of Gilead. The Bible tells us there is a Savior, and His name is Christ, and God is merciful, and those who come to the Father through Him will find forgiveness. And this man ultimately casts himself upon that mercy.
God, be merciful to me, the sinner. And he casts himself upon that mercy.
The Conclusion of the Parable
Now notice the conclusion of the parable in verse 14. This is the aha moment. This is when the crowd's jaws would have gaped open. Again, the Pharisees were the heroes of society.
They were the prayers. They were the temple attenders. They were the holy men. They were the righteous men.
Certainly, as Jesus is telling this parable on this occasion, they would just be waiting and ready to hear, oh man, this Pharisee, he really did well in the temple today. He really proved himself. He really showed forth his accomplishments. He really offered to God what he's about and what he's worth and what he's good at.
And that wretched tax collector, he didn't even have the wherewithal to look up into heaven. All he does is beat his breast. That's not the way he prays. He says, God be merciful to me, the sinner.
They're waiting for that punchline. They're waiting to hear that their hero is heaven-bound, and this hated one is going to the lake of fire. But that's not what Jesus says. Notice in verse 14, I tell you this, man.
This man, this is the publican, this man went to his house justified rather than the other. Now the justification here again is that idea wherein we are accepted by God. It is justification by faith in Christ alone. He was not justified because of what he did.
He was not justified because of what he didn't do. He was justified by God, and this is what Christ says. He had acceptance with God as a result of this. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other.
This man understood what the Westminster divines would write into their catechism many, many, many years later. Justification is an act of God's free grace wherein He 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. Outside of the Bible, it's probably one of my favorite statements in all the universe. That is something to hang your soul on.
That is theology. That is Christ's gospel. He found acceptance with God, not on the basis of his works, but on the basis of Christ's active and passive obedience. I love that statement with Luther.
Luther would combat those who believed in, you know, works righteousness, or a faith works righteousness, or a free will righteousness. And Luther says the only thing that we bring to God in the matter of our salvation Now think about this for a moment. The only thing we bring to God in the matter of our salvation, you can imagine the works righteousness people saying, what is it? What do we need to do?
Pay tithes? Fast? Go to church? What is it?
I'll sign up. If I can just write a check and get to heaven, yeah, sign me up. If I can just go to amazon.heaven and sign up, yeah, sign me up. Whatever is the easiest path of least resistance.
Imagine those with reference to free will. The only thing that we bring to God with reference to our salvation, the free will people would say, our free will, our decision, our choice, our cards that we sign, our prayer altars. The only thing that we bring to God in the matter of our salvation, said Luther, and I think he accurately reflects Paul, is the sin we need to be saved from. Guilty, vile, helpless, we.
Spotless Lamb of God is He. Full atonement? Can it be? Hallelujah.
What a Savior. That's what it's about. That's what this man found. God be merciful to me, the sinner.
This man went to his house justified. But what happens to the Pharisee? This man does not go to his house justified. This man is still in his sins.
And this man is in a position of self-deception. Because he thinks his good works outweigh his bad. He thinks that somehow God is pleased with him when he's not. He thinks that somehow, by trying a bit harder, or doing a bit more, or fasting ever more readily, then he's going to be accepted with God Most High.
He was not justified. He was rejected. He ultimately wouldn't receive the wrath of God unless, of course, he repents and believes the gospel. And he found out what is true of all those who seek God apart from our Lord Jesus Christ.
Edward Fisher, in that wonderful work, The Merrill of Modern Divinity, writes, so that if you desire to be justified before God, you must either bring to Him a perfect righteousness of your own, That's the terms. That's what's accepted. A perfect righteousness of your own. Personal, perfect, exact, entire.
Or, or you must bring the perfect righteousness of Christ and wholly 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. And the undergirding principle, as Jesus concludes this parable, is found at the end of verse 14.
For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. It's the take-home lesson. Don't be a proud Pharisee. Don't walk around boasting about what you do or what you don't do or how you're not so bad as the rest of the lot in this world.
Now, what Jesus says is as true then as it is today. Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
Theological and Practical Benefits
I want to bring out a couple of concluding thoughts and then we finish. First, the theological benefit of this parable. The theological benefit of this parable.
Understanding God's Law
In the first place, the parable is helpful with reference to a proper understanding of God's law. I love the law. Not by nature, but by grace. In its normative use, the Bible prescribes for the believer what we are to do.
Don't have other gods before God. Don't make idols. Don't blaspheme His name. Remember His Sabbath day.
Keep it holy. Honor lawful authority in your life. It's not just about, you know, kids to their parents, but it's adults to the civil government. Don't murder people.
Don't commit adultery. Don't steal. Don't lie and don't covet. I don't know why we have this, wow, that's just terrible.
What do you mean it's terrible? Wouldn't that be wonderful if people just did that? A society where people didn't, you know, have relations with other people's wives? A society where people didn't take axes and bury them in other people's heads?
A society where there wasn't drive-by shooting over a $20 piece of, you know, meth or crack? The opponents of Christianity say, oh, that law of God, it's just so terrible. Yeah, it's terrible. I mean, heaven forbid we don't lie to one another.
But you know, there's not only the normative use of the law, we need to think of the law with reference to its pedagogical use. Pedagogue means something that teaches. Literally, it's a child tutor. And the law functions like that because it shows us constantly our need for the Lord Jesus.
How many times do we slip into a Pharisaism? How many times do we go before God and say, thank you Lord that I'm not like this, that I'm not like that, that I do this, that I do that. No, we ought to say thank you God for Jesus. Thank you, God, for the just one who died for the unjust.
Thank you, God, for his life, his death, his resurrection. Sin isn't something out there that other people commit. Sin isn't something that is only external. The obedience to the law that is demanded is personal, entire, exact, and perpetual, and an understanding of the law will always highlight for us our constant need for grace.
Justification by Faith Alone
This parable is very helpful with reference to the doctrine of justification. It's not by works. It's not by a combination of works plus faith. It is by faith alone.
You say, well, Jim, how is it that Jesus doesn't say, well, if you believe on me? The rest of the Bible fleshes that out. No one parable contains the whole of Christian theology. We know that Jesus is the object of saving faith.
We know that it's justification by faith alone. If you have any doubt whatsoever, read Romans chapters 3 and 4. If you have any doubt whatsoever, read the book of Galatians. Read chapters 2 and 3 in the book of Galatians.
Who is the object of saving faith? It is Christ. Is it faith plus what we do? Is it faith accompanying by what we do?
It is faith alone by which we are accepted by God. Now when we have that faith alone, and when we have been justified freely by His grace, we want to do nice things. We want to go and love people and be tenderhearted and courteous and helpful and give tithes or give assistance to people. Certainly that flows as a result, but it's not the condition, it's not the factor as to why we are accepted by God.
The Mercy of God
And then I would suggest this parable is helpful with reference to the doctrine of theology proper. That means the study of God particularly. What does it teach us? God is merciful.
Please take that home with you today. God is merciful. The publican says, God be merciful to me, the sinner. And what happens?
Jesus says he went home justified. What should we conclude? That God is merciful, and God justified this one freely by His grace, that God poured out upon Him forgiveness and righteousness. Never forget that, never doubt that.
On the one hand here you may hear that you're a guilty, filthy sinner, but on the other hand you're always going to hear there's a merciful God, a gracious God, and a blessed Lord Jesus who receives sinners That's the encouragement that this passage offers us.
Practical Benefit: Humility Toward Others
Secondly, the practical benefit of the parable. The parable should aid the believer in their approach to others. It must be with humility. Think about the context and think about the occasion.
Do we despise others? Do we look down on others? And I don't mean others out there. I mean others in here.
The doctrine of sanctification, where people are at in terms of their Christian pilgrimage. We can be so judgmental. You know, I saw this guy do this. I saw this girl do this.
Thank you, Lord, that I'm not like this guy. Thank you, Lord, that I'm not like this girl. You know, brethren, at times we don't have all the information. I know that may come as a shock.
I mean, I know that may rock your world. You know, we get a snippet of a news story and we've already, you know, judged, juried, and hung people. We don't have the information. We should probably learn to shut our mouths a little more than we do.
We should respect the ratio that James sets forth. We have two ears and we have one mouth. Speak twice, listen twice as much as you speak. Listen to Ryle on this statement in verse 14.
He says, we are all naturally self-righteous. Now, probably somebody's saying, not me. Okay, not me. Not me is that invisible kid that lives in homes that does everything wrong.
Not me, not me, not me, not me. You don't know me. I don't know you. Maybe you are.
You could be the exception here this morning. A handful of you may be the exception. Free Grace Baptist Church actually contains a handful of non-self-righteous people. Praise God.
Praise God. We should tweet that. And then we undo it, right? Facebook status.
We've got a handful of people. You see what I'm doing? That cancels it out, right? When you boast about your humility, you really can't claim humility.
We're 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're not so bad as some, and that we have something to recommend us to the favor of God.
I think Ryle nails verse 14 with reference specifically to the people of God. We need to understand this truth. We are not to despise others. Certainly Matthew 18, the context of church discipline, certainly we act upon things, we function properly, we engage in that mark of a true church, but we ought not to be a bunch of vindictive, petty, self-righteous judgers of others.
The Believer's Foundation and the Unbeliever's Hope
The parable should remind the believer always of the foundation upon which he stands, which I've already mentioned, and the parable should encourage the unbeliever that there is always mercy to be had in God through Christ Jesus. If you've never cried out, God be merciful to me, the sinner, feel free to do so today. Cry out. Say to the Lord, I have sinned against you.
I have sinned in heaven's sight. I have nothing to bring. I have nothing to traffic with. I have nothing to barter.
I have nothing to offer. You owe me nothing. God, I cast myself upon the mercy of God. I look to the Lord Jesus Christ.
By His grace, through faith in Him, it will be said, this man went to his house justified. Let us pray.
Closing Prayer
Our Father, we thank you for this short parable that teaches so many lessons, and I pray that you would write them in our hearts. As Christians, God, help us not to be a self-righteous or a proud or an arrogant or a judgmental people. Keep us from this family sin of Adam, as Ryle calls it. and help us to be those who are genuinely humble, not those boasting of their humility, but those who have dealings with God and see themselves properly before you and others. As well, I pray for any and all here that have not believed on the Lord Jesus, that you would be merciful and gracious and cause them to see that in Christ alone is the forgiveness of sins and is a righteousness that avails with God.
We ask that you would go with us now and bless this Lord's Day. Help us to honor you. And we pray through Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.