Justified By Grace, Not By Comparison - Luke 18:9-14 - Ash Wednesday - March 5, 2025

Thanks for joining us on this Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the Season of Lent. We often compare ourselves with others: we're speeding, but THAT person is speeding more than me! If someone is in the wrong WORSE than WE are in the wrong, we find comfort in that. But forgiveness is not earned by comparison, but by grace, and how very thankful we are that this is true! Jesus came and became the physical representation of God's mercy, and because of this, we can boast in Christ and be confident in our eternal joy we will have in heaven! 

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Luke 18:9-14

9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’

14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”