Pastor: If you would remain standing and turn to the gospel of Luke, chapter 18, we're going to look at verses 9 through 14, the Pharisee and the tax collector.
Pastor: This parable, a short parable, but significant parable.
Pastor: Let's go to the Lord in prayer before we read it.
Pastor: Our Heavenly Father, we thank you that you do hear our prayers.
Pastor: We thank you that you are merciful and, lord, I pray that you will give us humble hearts to receive your word.
Pastor: Help us to turn away from ourselves and to turn to Jesus Christ and be saved, and it's in Jesus' name we pray.
Pastor: Amen.
Pastor: Hear God's word from Luke, chapter 18, beginning in verse 9, reading to verse 14.
Pastor: He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and treated others with contempt.
Pastor: Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
Pastor: The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus a tax collector.
Pastor: The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust adulterers, and even like this tax collector.
Pastor: I fast twice a week.
Pastor: I give tithes of all that I get, but the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven but beat his breast saying God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
Pastor: I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted, he who has ears, let him hear God's word.
Pastor: Please be seated, if you remember, in the context of what Jesus is doing, he's talking about His return, the coming of the kingdom, and that's the surrounding emphasis of what's coming.
Pastor: Jesus is telling us he is returning, and are we ready?
Pastor: Are you prepared?
Pastor: He will come again, like lightning, he has said, and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
Pastor: But obviously it hasn't happened yet, has it?
Pastor: We are here, and they are here in their text.
Pastor: And the question then is well, how can we prepare?
Pastor: How can we prepare ourselves for that day and Christ's coming?
Pastor: Well, christ gave two parables to help us prepare, to keep these things in mind.
Pastor: The first thing, if you remember from last week, the way we can be prepared for the kingdom is by praying to not lose heart, to be consistent in our prayers, to exercise our faith in praying.
Pastor: But you can be praying, and you can even be praying a lot, and prayer will not save you.
Pastor: There's something else you need, and that is what this parable is about that you need to humbly rely on the mercy of God that is found in Christ alone to save you, not in any works that you have performed, not in anything that you have done to save yourself, but resting in Jesus Christ.
Pastor: Even as we read in Ephesians that there's nothing that we can boast in.
Pastor: We have to rely on God's mercy alone, found in Christ, as Romans 3.20 reminds us, by the works of the law no man will be justified in his sight.
Pastor: No one will be made right before God by works of the law, that is, by doing, but you will be saved by resting and receiving in Christ, by faith.
Pastor: And so Jesus begins in verse 9,.
Pastor: He told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous.
Pastor: They're trusting in their good works.
Pastor: And not only are they trusting in themselves that they are righteous, it says, but they're treating others with contempt.
Pastor: He's talking to people here who don't trust God.
Pastor: In fact, these people don't really love God.
Pastor: They love themselves and they have contempt for others.
Pastor: And so where do you think Jesus begins this parable?
Pastor: Where might you find people who don't love God and actually have contempt for other people.
Pastor: Well, you might think, well, jesus would begin this parable maybe in a bar, strip club, wall Street.
Pastor: People clearly don't love God, maybe even have contempt for other people, happy to do whatever they want, don't love God, maybe even have contempt for other people, happy to do whatever they want.
Pastor: But you know where Jesus begins this parable the talking about people who think that they are righteous and have contempt for other people.
Pastor: Where does Jesus begin?
Pastor: The church, the temple, two people.
Pastor: If you will come to Bayhaven this morning, that's kind of the context that Jesus is talking about.
Pastor: People have come here to Bayhaven this morning.
Pastor: That's kind of the context that Jesus is talking about.
Pastor: People have come here to Bayhaven and there are people who think that they are righteous and actually have contempt for others.
Pastor: And now we not only see two people, we're going to see two prayers, then we're going to see two destinations and in these two people, one person is a Pharisee, the other is a tax collector.
Pastor: And if you're a first-century hearer, it's quite obvious who the bad guy is in this parable.
Pastor: It's the tax collector.
Pastor: You have a first-century hearer, you've been accustomed to think that the Pharisee is the bad guy, but if you're in Jesus' hearing, you would know that it's the tax collector.
Pastor: Jesus, obviously, is talking about the tax collectors.
Pastor: They think that they're better than everyone else.
Pastor: They do bad things and Jesus has a word for them, because in those days, just remind yourself about tax collectors.
Pastor: Tax collectors were despised.
Pastor: They were thieves.
Pastor: They stole, they took more than what was required.
Pastor: That's how they made their living.
Pastor: Rome gave them power to take money and if you didn't listen to them, they would come down with the centurions and chop your head off.
Pastor: You gave them money, no matter what they said, and they were thieves.
Pastor: They were unjust, they were swindlers and, even more so, they were traitors.
Pastor: They were Jewish people stealing money from Jews, people of Israel working for the enemy, working for Rome to suppress and to steal from your own people.
Pastor: They were hated by their fellow Israelites.
Pastor: In fact, the only people often that you see tax collectors hanging out with are prostitutes, adulterers.
Pastor: Those are the only people that would accept them.
Pastor: So not only are tax collectors despised and thieves and dishonest traitors, they're also most likely adulterers, because they're just hanging out with prostitutes all the time and they were most likely given into that vice as well.
Pastor: No one wanted to be around them and, honestly, most people who are in open sin, like a tax collector, don't want to be around God, or even God's people, or go into a church.
Pastor: That's one reason a lot of people aren't flocking into churches on Sundays is because there's a sense of guilt.
Pastor: I don't want to be around a holy God.
Pastor: I don't want to have God read the Exodus to me and about these Ten Commandments, I want to do what I want to do, so I'm going to go do it.
Pastor: I don't want to have to hear from God, and so that's most likely the tax collector as well.
Pastor: You wouldn't think it's the Pharisee, but here the text begins with the Pharisee.
Pastor: The Pharisee, he stands by himself and he prays thus God, I thank you that I'm not like other men, extortioners, unjust adulterers or even like this tax collector.
Pastor: I fast twice a week and I give tithes of all that I get.
Pastor: So the Pharisee, he begins his prayer and he begins with God.
Pastor: That's a good start, right?
Pastor: A good start in our prayer.
Pastor: When we begin our prayer, we start addressing God.
Pastor: He's off to a good start, right, good prayer, good, all right.
Pastor: What's next in his prayer?
Pastor: I thank you.
Pastor: Oh, he's so thankful?
Pastor: Right, he gives thanks.
Pastor: Shouldn't we give thanks in our prayers?
Pastor: Yes, we should.
Pastor: He's making good progress so far in his prayer.
Pastor: Right, praying to God giving thanks, and he thanks.
Pastor: But what does he give thanks to God for?
Pastor: He first begins to thank God for the things that he isn't.
Pastor: I'm thankful I'm not an extortioner, I'm not unjust, I'm not an adulterer, and all of those are actually pretty good descriptions of the tax collector who would have been all of those three things as well.
Pastor: The tax collector would have been an extortioner, an unjust and an adulterer, and he's thankful he's not like that.
Pastor: Now, that doesn't sound too bad, right?
Pastor: Don't we all kind of do that a little bit?
Pastor: Don't we kind of all do what the Pharisee has just done?
Pastor: I mean, we hear of people and horrible or appalling sins that happen and you might think you know when you hear about a friend or family member, something bad's happened.
Pastor: You might think you know, when you hear about a friend or family member, something bad's happened in their life and kind of in your heart like I'm thankful, that's not me Thankful, I'm not going through that.
Pastor: You hear of some prominent scandal or even a fall of a pastor, and you think I have no idea how they could do that.
Pastor: I just it's beyond me how someone in that position could do something of that magnitude of that sin.
Pastor: How could they do that?
Pastor: How could they sin like that?
Pastor: How, how, how, god, I thank you.
Pastor: I thank you, god, that I'm not Jeffrey Epstein.
Pastor: Thank you, adultery galore.
Pastor: I thank you that I'm not like that guy, god.
Pastor: I thank you that I'm not like Harvey Weinstein of sex hoarding women.
Pastor: I thank you, god.
Pastor: I'm not like him.
Pastor: God, I thank you that I'm not like Sam Bankman, freed and unjustly stealing billions of dollars.
Pastor: What a slimy snake, god.
Pastor: I thank you.
Pastor: I thank you, god.
Pastor: Thank you, I don't steal.
Pastor: Thank you, I don't commit adultery.
Pastor: I don't covet.
Pastor: Does that sound familiar at all in your own heart?
Pastor: The problem with the Pharisee is not that he's thanking God for the ability to avoid sin.
Pastor: Pharisee is not that he's thanking God for the ability to avoid sin.
Pastor: Rather, he is condescendingly self-righteous.
Pastor: We can be thankful for God's grace upon grace to keep us from evil and temptation, but the condescending attitude towards other sinners and the self-righteous attitude is what is at the problem here.
Pastor: There's a despise for other sinners and there's a prominent position with himself before God over others.
Pastor: The Pharisee stood and he prayed thus with himself.
Pastor: I think is actually a good translation.
Pastor: In fact, he's not really even praying to God.
Pastor: He's praying thus to himself, and if you just look at his short prayer, it's not a long prayer.
Pastor: But look at all the ways he says I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I.
Pastor: In fact there are five times and two short verses.
Pastor: It's about me, I'm about me, I'm self-congratulatory.
Pastor: He's praying to himself and he's not really talking to God at all.
Pastor: His prayer was a reminder to himself that I believe in me.
Pastor: You hear that.
Pastor: You know, just believe in yourself.
Pastor: Well, he did.
Pastor: He believed in himself.
Pastor: He had faith in himself.
Pastor: He believed in himself.
Pastor: He does not believe in God.
Pastor: He's not resting in God.
Pastor: He's believing in himself, and not only what he isn't doing.
Pastor: But now look at all the things that he is doing.
Pastor: He prays regularly.
Pastor: I fast and I give Fasting twice a week.
Pastor: He's going beyond what was required.
Pastor: It was only required of Israelites to fast once a year, during the Day of Atonement, only once a year.
Pastor: He fasts twice a week.
Pastor: Wow, that's good.
Pastor: He tithes all that he gets.
Pastor: That's good.
Pastor: He tithes all that he gets.
Pastor: How many of you have done that?
Pastor: Does your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the Pharisee?
Pastor: I doubt it.
Pastor: He tithes all that he gets.
Pastor: The problem is not that he's doing these things.
Pastor: In fact, jesus never condemns these religious things.
Pastor: It's good to fast, isn't it?
Pastor: And ought we to be tithing all that we get?
Pastor: Yes, we should, and Jesus never condemns those things.
Pastor: But the problem here is, again, the attitude of his heart.
Pastor: He's a religious man, but not a righteous man.
Pastor: He not only thinks he is fulfilling the law, he thinks that he is surpassing it, he thinks that he is fulfilling it.
Pastor: I'm doing it, and I'm even doing it more than God requires.
Pastor: His prayer has no sense of his need, no sense of guilt, no sense of confession.
Pastor: There is no cry for mercy, there is no pleading for grace.
Pastor: As someone once said.
Pastor: It is a boasting recital accompanied by an uncharitable reflection on a brother sinner.
Pastor: It's a boasting recital.
Pastor: I just get to tell God oh God, so thank….
Pastor: He must be so glad I'm at this church and you know what Many of us we'd be happy to have a Pharisee as our neighbor.
Pastor: They'd be good neighbors and most of us would be so happy to have Pharisees in our church because our budget would triple, quadruple, the giving would be galore and we would love that and many of us would.
Pastor: But it's all about Him and, as people who find themselves here in the pews in the church, who are practicing religion, it's easy that you can go through outward, external motions and religious practices of tithing and fasting and praying, but you can still have a self-centered.
Pastor: But you can still have a self-centered, unloving, unforgiving and judgmental heart and not resting on Christ alone, but resting on yourself alone.
Pastor: Self-righteous is…he is self-righteous in not resting in God, not graciously thanking God for what he has done, thinking that he is a profitable servant rather than an unprofitable servant.
Pastor: And this is all of us by nature.
Pastor: All of us are naturally self-righteous.
Pastor: This is, as one person said, the family disease of the children of Adam.
Pastor: We think more highly than we ought and all of Christ's people are tempted to live a lifestyle of mere external religion while secretly and impenitently living in disobedience before God.
Pastor: We can be tempted to compare our righteousness to others.
Pastor: Well, how do we know how to keep the Lord's day holy?
Pastor: Or how do we know about stealing or lying when we go to the Ten Commandments?
Pastor: How do I know if I'm doing a good job.
Pastor: Well, I can just look at my neighbors, or I can look at other people in the church, and at least I'm doing better than that.
Pastor: I must be making God happy.
Pastor: We can compare our righteousness to others.
Pastor: Where, no, we need to compare ourselves to the holiness of God and see ourselves wanting and therefore in desperate need of mercy and of grace.
Pastor: I think it's interesting here, as we talk about the Pharisee and in a minute we're going to now talk about the tax collector, and as we come to the tax collector, he's a sinner, he's done a lot of bad things, but, however, we tend to have a little bit of sympathy towards the tax collector, don't we?
Pastor: We tend to feel a little bit more welcoming towards the tax collector.
Pastor: But what's kind of interesting?
Pastor: I think what we end up doing is even reading this parable and then we come away with the thought of I might be a tax collector, but, lord, I thank you that I'm not a Pharisee.
Pastor: And we do the exact same thing and in our self-righteousness we're saying at least I'm not a Pharisee, I'm okay being a tax collector, but, lord, I thank you that I'm not like that guy.
Pastor: And again we fall back into that same self-righteous cycle that we are so naturally inclined to think ourselves and compare ourselves to.
Pastor: So this is such a great tendency and great sin that we must constantly be fighting and confessing before God.
Pastor: The tax collector he stands far off, would not even lift his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast saying God, be merciful to me, a sinner Now, before even his prayer.
Pastor: The text gives us some things to help us understand his heart's disposition.
Pastor: Even in his posture he stands far off, that is, in the temple there were places where the men would gather to pray.
Pastor: And as you get closer and further into the temple, you get closer to the Holy of Holies that had the Ark of the Covenant, which is where the presence of God Himself stood, and the Pharisee.
Pastor: He goes all the way up to the front.
Pastor: And this presumption I can be as I'm holy and I deserve to be into the presence of God.
Pastor: But the tax collector, he's a far off.
Pastor: And again I think that is showing us that even in his disposition he understands his sin, keeps him at a distance from God, and he's even showing that in his placement of where he's standing in the temple.
Pastor: Now, this is not an encouragement to just sit in the back of the church because the curtain's been torn.
Pastor: You can move forward.
Pastor: This is not a Holy of Holies.
Pastor: There's no altar here.
Pastor: Christ is risen.
Pastor: He is risen, indeed, you can come forward, but here his disposition is towards the back.
Pastor: And then what else?
Pastor: He is not even lifting his eyes.
Pastor: He's lowering his eyes, maybe even in shame and guilt in what he has done, and he's also beating his breasts, he's beating his chest and maybe you have felt this, and I pray that you have is where your emotions are such that you don't even quite have the words to express your understanding of your sin and your hatred of it and your shame and your guilt of it.
Pastor: I don't, lord, I don't even, I don't even know what to say right now, except I'm a guilty sinner.
Pastor: And that's what's happening here.
Pastor: He's being so overwhelmed by the presence of the holiness of God and his guilt and shame, and he doesn't even quite have words to express it.
Pastor: Have you ever felt that?
Pastor: I pray that you would.
Pastor: If you study and you look into the holiness of God, this is where you will find yourself just like this man.
Pastor: This is where you will find yourself just like this man.
Pastor: He begins his prayer the same way as the Pharisee God.
Pastor: The difference is the tax collector.
Pastor: He knows he's a sinner.
Pastor: He has no claim to be a law keeper or faithful, and he is not.
Pastor: He knows God is holy and righteous.
Pastor: He brings nothing to God but sin.
Pastor: He calls Himself a sinner and that is the only title which he takes any presumption to claim as Himself before God.
Pastor: Sinner Notice, he doesn't say God, you know, I know I've done some really bad things and you know, please forgive me, help me out with these.
Pastor: Just, you know I have a few struggles, I have a few vices.
Pastor: You know, no one likes to hang out with me, so I end up hanging out with these adulterers all the time and you know, we kind of get into all this other stuff and if you could, just could you help me out with that, and then I think I'll be okay.
Pastor: Then he doesn't say just help me out with a few things.
Pastor: He, I am a sinner, 100%.
Pastor: That's who I am before God.
Pastor: He knows he deserves judgment and wrath and wrath.
Pastor: He also knows his only hope in God is God's mercy, god's mercy through imputation.
Pastor: And you might think well, dan, that's kind of pressing it.
Pastor: He's just a tax collector.
Pastor: Why do you say imputation or propitiation?
Pastor: Is he such a theologian?
Pastor: Well, I might say he is in fact such a theologian.
Pastor: Well, I might say he is.
Pastor: In fact, the word that is translated here for mercy is actually not the typical word that is used for mercy.
Pastor: It's actually the word that is used for propitiation, and, don't worry, we will get to what that means.
Pastor: But essentially he's saying God, propitiate me.
Pastor: This is the same word that David uses.
Pastor: So the Old Testament was translated into Greek and it's called the Septuagint, and the Septuagint uses the same word that this tax collector uses.
Pastor: When David says God, be merciful to me.
Pastor: We sang that in Psalm 51.
Pastor: Remember that David comes after his great sin of adultery, murder, and he confesses to God, and it's the same word.
Pastor: So, god propitiate me.
Pastor: And what is that?
Pastor: Well, propitiate means that God's wrath is then satisfied, because he knows that the wages of sin is death and God's wrath and judgment rightly fall upon sinners.
Pastor: But God, propitiate me, satisfy your wrath somehow propitiate or atone for my sins by the blood of another.
Pastor: And he would know this because he was Jewish, even though he's a tax collector and most Jewish people don't like him, but he knew the day of atonement.
Pastor: Do you remember the day of atonement?
Pastor: It's an important day in the Old Testament.
Pastor: Remember that was the day you had to fast, only the one day.
Pastor: Pharisees fast twice a week, but the day once a year you're supposed to fast is the day of atonement.
Pastor: And the day of atonement.
Pastor: A number of things happened, but one thing that happened on the Day of Atonement very important.
Pastor: There was a goat and the priest would come and lay his hands on the goat, and that was symbolizing that the sins of the people were imputed to the goat, credited to the goat, your sins given to the goat.
Pastor: The goat is then charged with your sin, and since the people's sins are on the goat, you know what has to happen now to the goat Death.
Pastor: The penalty for sin is death, and you want the goat to die because the goat is carrying all of your sins, and so you want that goat to die.
Pastor: You want your sins to be gone.
Pastor: And when the goat is killed, what they would take is blood and the high priest would then sprinkle it.
Pastor: He would take it into the Holy of Holies, into the temple, and he would sprinkle it on the mercy seat, which was sitting on the Ark of the Covenant.
Pastor: And the Ark of the Covenant held the law of God, the Ten Commandments, and the blood was proof that payment had been made and justice is satisfied.
Pastor: God, you don't have to take out your justice on me, but something else has taken it on my behalf.
Pastor: The blood is a reminder of that.
Pastor: See the blood.
Pastor: See the blood, jesus.
Pastor: Well, I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I?
Pastor: It's Jesus' blood, and this is what the tax collector is praying for.
Pastor: The cross hasn't yet happened, but he's praying.
Pastor: God, make an atonement for my sins.
Pastor: Do something for my sins, because I can't do anything for myself.
Pastor: God, you are perfect and I'm a sinner deserving of death.
Pastor: Now, if you would just look at your text and look at the order of the prayer God, you are perfect and holy and I am a sinner deserving of death.
Pastor: And what comes between God and the sinner?
Pastor: Mercy, mercy, mercy.
Pastor: This is what must happen.
Pastor: Mercy, atonement.
Pastor: Hebrews 10 reminds us.
Pastor: For it's impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
Pastor: All right, well, I can't just….
Pastor: The goats aren't going to do it, sheep aren't going to do it.
Pastor: But Hebrews 9 also reminds us without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.
Pastor: Well, how can we find mercy if the blood of bulls and goats don't really forgive my sins?
Pastor: And yet we know that in order for forgiveness of sins has to occur, there must be a shedding of blood.
Pastor: How can we be forgiven?
Pastor: Remember as John the Baptist said as he saw Jesus for the first time behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
Pastor: We can receive God's mercy and grace because God accepted Jesus as a substitute in our place.
Pastor: Our sins are imputed to Him 2 Corinthians 5.21,.
Pastor: He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might receive the righteousness of God.
Pastor: Our sins are imputed to Him and he sheds His blood, and so our sins can be blotted out, our sins can be wiped away, we can receive a mercy, we can receive a reconciliation.
Pastor: Romans 3 says the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe for there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified by His grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood to be received by faith.
Pastor: So His death accomplished what the blood on the mercy seat pointed to Everything in the Old Testament.
Pastor: It was the shadow pointing us to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Pastor: And so now we have two men, we have two prayers, and then there are two destinations, as you already have noticed.
Pastor: Their position in the temple doesn't make any difference at all.
Pastor: One is standing closer to the Holy of Holies and one further away.
Pastor: Their position doesn't matter, but their hearts mean everything.
Pastor: And another way to say it is your profession actually doesn't matter, but their hearts mean everything.
Pastor: And another way to say it is your profession actually doesn't mean anything, but it's your possession of faith.
Pastor: Your profession of faith to the watching world doesn't mean anything if you're not possessing faith yourself.
Pastor: Both of these men are professing God, but only one is possessing God and holding fast to Him.
Pastor: It says the tax collector went down to his house, justified.
Pastor: And then it says just like the Pharisee.
Pastor: And that would be quite amazing, wouldn't it?
Pastor: Is that what it says?
Pastor: That's not what it says.
Pastor: And that would have been quite amazing.
Pastor: It would have been an amazing parable if Jesus said wow, the tax collector also went home justified, just like the Pharisee.
Pastor: We knew that.
Pastor: We knew the Pharisee would go to home justified.
Pastor: He's a religious guy, he fasts twice a week, he prays a lot, he gives a lot.
Pastor: We knew that.
Pastor: And wow, god's so merciful to save even a tax collector.
Pastor: And that's how the parable could have went.
Pastor: But Jesus doesn't say that.
Pastor: What is even more shocking, it says rather, rather, rather than the Pharisee To be justified is an act of God's free grace where God pardons all of your sins.
Pastor: And not only does God pardon all of your sins, but he accepts you as righteous in His sight, not for any of righteousness that you have, but only by that imputed righteousness of Christ.
Pastor: And it is received by faith alone.
Pastor: And one man goes home saved, saved from the wrath of God, all of his sins pardoned, imputed to Christ.
Pastor: And he now gets the imputed righteousness of Christ.
Pastor: It's credited to his account, and one man doesn't.
Pastor: And what's the difference?
Pastor: Well, jesus tells us here, as the text ends, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.
Pastor: This is a great principle that you see time and time again in Scripture.
Pastor: God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.
Pastor: There are two passages that I often think about and talks about.
Pastor: Two men are essentially shout out how can I be saved?
Pastor: You have the rich young ruler.
Pastor: Do you remember that text?
Pastor: The rich young ruler and Jesus.
Pastor: He goes to Jesus.
Pastor: What must I do to be saved?
Pastor: Do you remember what Jesus tells him?
Pastor: He says keep the law, honor your father and mother and don't steal.
Pastor: And he says I've done all those things from my youth.
Pastor: And he says, well, give all you have.
Pastor: And he goes away sad.
Pastor: Well, that's an interesting response from Jesus.
Pastor: Why would Jesus say that?
Pastor: And the second example you have the Philippian jailer.
Pastor: There's a great earthquake and Paul is released and he falls down before Paul and he says what must I do to be saved?
Pastor: And you know what Paul says Believe, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you'll be saved.
Pastor: Now, what's the difference?
Pastor: Because you have two men and they're asking the same question Jesus gives the law to one man, but yet he gives the gospel to the other.
Pastor: And the difference is God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.
Pastor: And what does God give to us that we might be humbled?
Pastor: The law, which is why we read it every Sunday that we might be humbled before God.
Pastor: Because until we are humbled before God there is no purpose.
Pastor: And we do not want grace, we do not want mercy, because we think we can do it ourselves until we see that we have nothing.
Pastor: Nothing in my hands, I bring, simply to the cross, I cling.
Pastor: And that's a song that we're going to sing here just in a moment.
Pastor: It says you know, I was just thinking at the tax collector's funeral.
Pastor: There's probably not a lot of good things that are said about him.
Pastor: You know his children maybe would come to the funeral and they would say you know, dad was, he was an adulterer, he was unjust and extorted a lot of people.
Pastor: But you know what matters Dad's justified, he turned from his sin and he turned to Jesus Christ and he's saved.
Pastor: And just think about your own funeral.
Pastor: What might be said.
Pastor: You know, I was just thinking of my own.
Pastor: Like there's a lot of true things that my kids could say about me Dad was unkind, he was unloving at times, and all those are true, and the list can go on and on and on and recording my list of sins and they are great, they are serious, but they can also say that's justified.
Pastor: His sins have been washed away and he's resting in Christ.
Pastor: When you go home this day, are you going home justified?
Pastor: Are you leaving these doors right with God?
Pastor: Are you resting in yourself?
Pastor: Are you resting in your own works, your own righteousness?
Pastor: Will you go home justified today?
Pastor: Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.
Pastor: Rest upon Him.
Pastor: Let's pray Jesus Christ and you will be saved.
Pastor: Rest upon Him.
Pastor: Let's pray.
Pastor: Father, we thank you for giving us your Word and Lord.
Pastor: We do confess our natural tendency to be self-righteous.
Pastor: Lord, naturally we often see ourselves to give compassion to the prodigal son or the tax collector.
Pastor: But, lord, we are often like older brothers and stingy and pharisaical.
Pastor: I pray you'll help us to have a better and accurate sense of our sin, that we would hate it and flee to you and rest upon Christ alone.
Pastor: Rest upon Christ alone, lord.
Pastor: We cry out for your mercy.
Pastor: God be merciful to us.
Pastor: We are sinners.
Pastor: It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.