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Luke chapter 18, I'll read verses 
9 to 14. 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 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. And we would pray tonight that 
You would just remind us of these things and cause us to rejoice 
in 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. When you 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 man 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, verses 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 a holy 
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 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 perpetualness. 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 parable. 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. It teaches us something about 
the doctrine of justification by faith alone, which we'll 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, in His mercy and in His grace, 
reached down and saved us by the power of the Christian gospel, 
or 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 justification, 
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, and 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 offend. 
I don't want to hurt them. I don't want to make them angry. 
No, there was the specific abuse going on right before our Lord's 
eyes, so He 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 
and our churches even hold dear. Now notice, secondly, the two 
men in the parable, verses 10 to 13. They're identified for 
us. One's a hero and one is a hated 
one. The Pharisees obviously were 
held in high esteem. They were the religious leaders. 
They were men that persons 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 publican or the tax collector went home justified, 
persons probably had their jaw dropped 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 note, were notorious in society. They were typically 
Jews working for the Roman 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 oftentimes 
skim off the top for their own benefit and for their own prosperity. So he introduces the men. Two 
men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the 
other a 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 publican went home justified rather than 
the other, that means that the Pharisee was unjustified. That 
means that the 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 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 men. 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 and dunk them 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 
and a tax collector, the similarities. They go to the temple, they pray. 
Note then their differences. The Pharisee is highlighted in 
verses 11 and 12. It'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 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 listen 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, 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 necessity of the grace of God. So when 
Jesus says, he prayed thus with himself, I interpret it according 
to the strictness of the language. He isn't praying to God. He is 
praying thus with himself. He's going through an exercise. 
Sometimes you meet with this 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 finger 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 thus 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 prayer. 
He 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. In fact, he makes the tax collector 
sound worse. I mean, imagine you heard that. 
Thank you, God, that I'm not an extortioner, an unjust man, 
an adulterer, or even as this Jim Butler. I mean, that's the 
worst on the scale of humanity. That's 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 axe 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 realize 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, we're 
not unjust, we're not adulterers, or we're not even as this tax 
collector, we have a whole host of other sins that we are guilty 
for, don't we? I've 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 sin, 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 and 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 he doesn't acknowledge the fact 
that he is just reliable 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, and I 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 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 heaven's 
going to open up and congratulate him. The last place that you 
want to boast in yourself 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 it is 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. But that's not the tenor of this 
man's prayer. He is He is congratulating. He 
is patting himself on the back. I fast twice a week. I give tithes 
of all that I possess. Does he think that God's going 
to open up heaven and 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 We do this 
ourselves 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 Obama cross the road, or thank you, God, that today 
I gave 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 has seen it, that 
she's observed it, and that I get some points, or 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. Well, 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 give. We're supposed to come 
to church. We're supposed to take the supper. 
We're supposed to read our Bibles. We're 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 his standing with God upon his 
own works. If any of you here are tonight 
going to bank your 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. I suggest that the prayer is 
more of an occasion of self-admiration than worship and dependence upon 
God. Do you know what prayer is supposed 
to be? It's supposed to be God-admiration, 
not self-admiration. We're not to stand in the presence 
of others 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 bonus points. You've been washed in the blood 
of Jesus, and you're heaven-bound. What more bonus points are there? 
What better news is there? How better can it get than that 
reality? This is why Jesus, in Luke 10, 
did not rejoice that the demons are subject to your word, but 
rather rejoiced that your names are written 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 to some who trusted in themselves that 
they were righteous and despised others. So he gives us this Pharisee. He trusts in himself and he despises 
others. Now notice the publican. His 
manner. He stood afar off. It says, "...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 sinner, not a sinner, 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 always suspicious of someone 
who never admits the fact that they sin. I remember many years 
ago, we lived next door to a particular fellow, and he had, you know, 
a liking for Robert Schuller. I don't know how many of you 
know who Robert Schuller was. I think he passed away. Did Schuller 
pass 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 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 don't know how a 
man could preach through the be-attitudes and never mention sin. How can 
a man go through any teaching of our Lord Jesus in the Sermon 
on the Mount and never acknowledge the presence and the reality 
of sin? And I think that's suspect, when somebody can't identify 
the fact that they're a sinner, when they don't admit their sinfulness. 
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, and I think 
he's absolutely right. That 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 than not, our polish, our purity, 
our holiness, our alleged perfection. Those are the wretched things 
that we see displayed in this passage. And I suggested this 
morning, and I maintain it, the Lord Christ condemns self-righteousness 
far more in His ministry than He does the publicans and the 
harlots and all 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 
to 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 woes 
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. Gil 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 in 
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 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." Paul does this, doesn't he? A faithful saying and worthy 
of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world to 
save sinners. Of whom I am one among many? 
No, 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 through the Spirit shines 
the 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 
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. Do 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 stand in 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 sinners say something like, well, I don't know, I can't 
come to God because I'm this, that, or 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 who 
wasn't far from his death, and he had this view of God, that 
he was just this austere and this harsh taskmaster, and he 
wasn't full of mercy, and he wasn't full of compassion, and 
he wasn't full of goodness and kindness and love. If that is 
your conception of God, go 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 him on 
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. We must believe that God is, 
Hebrews 11, 6, and that He is a rewarder of them that seek 
Him. This is the God of heaven and 
earth. He is a God of mercy. He is the God described in Ephesians 
1, 3 to 14. He is that God who has 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, 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. He will 
catch you, as it were. It's a blessed 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 and 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 language 
is, 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, 
His own 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, shouldst 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 
a thrice holy God if that God marked every single iniquity? 
The psalmist is absolutely correct. If thou shouldst mark iniquities, 
who could 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 14a, 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 a 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 lawfulness. It wasn't due to his merit. It 
was due to the mercy of God. And that mercy of God is grounded 
upon, founded upon, and finds 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 divines at Westminster would incorporate in the shorter 
catechism. 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. 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 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 Mote, 
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 said, my hope is 
that I fast twice a week and I tithe all that I possess. You 
see the difference of approach there? I hope you do. Paul expounds 
this very vividly in chapters 3 and 4 of Romans, and I'll quote 
from there in just a moment. But this man was justified by 
God. He had acceptance with God, which 
was declarative and forensic. He knew experientially what the 
divines 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, a great many of those people. They would expect Jesus' statement 
to be, and the Pharisee went home as a noble character, as 
a justified man, as 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, 
but that's not the gospel. And I suspect that that's the 
case today. When you hear of somebody that gets converted, 
you think, that guy? You ever had that response? Has 
that ever welled up in your head? Him? He's 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. 
Have you ever been surprised at the salvation of another? 
Have you ever raised your eyebrow concerning somebody who confesses 
faith in Jesus Christ? That can't 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 do 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 to 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, of 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's not like other 
men, this man who 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 wholly renounce Christ, or else 
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. So no doubt if we had a microphone 
and we came up to this Pharisee after the parable and we said, 
hey, what do you think about, you know, Jesus? Well, yeah, 
he seems like a pretty good man, but he was trusting not just 
in Jesus to suppose that he was, for a moment he's a Judaizer, 
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 principle, undergirding the whole, Jesus lays forth. 
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. We ought 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 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. I mean, 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 start by grace, but I stay in by my faithfulness. No. then you have grounds for boasting 
or you will present those things to God vis-a-vis your covenantal 
faithfulness. Brethren, God's not going to 
accept us into the kingdom of heaven on that final day because 
of our covenantal faithfulness. We are entering into the kingdom 
of heaven because of the covenantal faithfulness 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 Covenantal Nomist, the Federal Visionist, 
any other approach by which the justified includes what he isn't 
and what he does is herein condemned along with the Book of Galatian. 
Galatians with reference to the Judaizing 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 thinking he would be justified, but he 
was. The grace of God is powerful, 
it's 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, you know, 15 hours last night. Oh, well, you know, 
Butler said I can't judge you. or 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 mean. It's the judgmentalism. 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 sin against God, and we're 
not like the rest of the wretches that we associate with in church. The parable should aid the believer 
in their approach to others. J.C. Ryle 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? Oh, 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 miss it when it's being practiced by us? Riles 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, isn't he? 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. Well, 
God wouldn't send me to hell, because I'm mean, and I fast, 
and I tithe, and I'm not like publicans. Anything we put our 
hope in, apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, will take us 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 pride. I'm sure 
I've shared with you before, when we pursue humility, we want 
to tell everybody about it. And then we're not pursuing humility. 
I'm really working on humility. Wow, that's humble. Can you tell 
people proudly that you're working on humility? You're not working 
on humility. So, work on humility by killing 
pride. I love Owen's statement concerning 
sin. Not Owen my grandson, but John 
Owen, 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 or 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 the 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. 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 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 nitpicking, 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 we're justified 
freely by his grace. As well, the parable should remind 
the believer of the stark difference between justification by words 
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 that which the person is and does. I thank you God that I'm not, 
I thank you God that I, or not 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 ask 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? 
No. 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 gave tithes of all that I possess. 
That was 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 Mao, because I'm not 
a Muslim that runs into a place full of soft targets and blows 
them up shouting, you know, Allahu Akbar. 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 
extraspective. We know that word introspective, 
that means to look at oneself. Introspective means to navel-gaze. Extraspective means to look out, 
to look to another. And he says that justification 
by faith, or it, faith, is essentially extraspective, and in that respect, 
it is the diametric opposite of words. He says, faith is self-renouncing. Isn't that what the publican 
is? God be merciful to me, the sinner. 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 
3, 27 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 
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 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 sinners 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 it 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 sinner. And we pray this through Christ 
our Lord. Amen.