The Gospel of Luke 18:9-14

the way of the

God Gives Us His Words of Eternal LifeLuke 18:1-8

Found on page 877 in our guest Bibles.

Today’s Scripture:

“Revelation” by

Flannery O’Connor

source

The Gospel of Luke 18:9-14

the way of the

9 He also told this parable to some who

The Gospel of Luke 18:9-14

trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with con-tempt.

10 “Two men when up into the temple

The Gospel of Luke 18:9-14

to pray, one a Pharisee and the other atax collector.

“…the worst kind of crook: a legal one, a big operator, a mafia-style enforcer working for the Roman government on a nifty franchise that lets him collect—from his

fellow Jews, mind you, from the people whom the Romans might have trouble finding, but whose

whereabouts he knows and whose language he speaks—all the money he can bleed out of

them, provided he pays the authorities an agreed flat fee.

“…He has been living for years on the cream he has skimmed off their milk money. He is a fat cat who drives a stretch limo,

drinks nothing but Chivas Regal, and who never shows up

at a party without at least two $500 a night call girls in tow. ”

11 “The Pharisee, standing by himself,

The Gospel of Luke 18:9-14

prayed thus, ‘God, I thank you that I amnot like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all I get.

Mac Davis: “O Lord, It’s Hard

To Be Humble”

11 “The Pharisee, standing by himself,

The Gospel of Luke 18:9-14

prayed thus, ‘God, I thank you that I amnot like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all I get.

For the Pharisee, prayer was just another way of

reminding himself of what a great guy he was. He did not actually ask

God for anything or offer God any praise, but

simply reveled in his own sense of superiority.

BEWARE OF YOUR

INNER PHARISEE

source

“There is not a righteous man who continually does good and

never sins.”~ Ecclesiastes 7:20 ~

“Everyone has sinned,and fallen short ofthe glory of God.”

~ The Apostle Paul in Romans 3:23

13 But the tax collector, standing far off,

The Gospel of Luke 18:9-14

would not even lift his eyes to heaven,but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’

14 I tell you, this man went down to his

The Gospel of Luke 18:9-14

house justified, rather than the other.

“What is justification?”

“Justification is an act of God’s free grace in which he pardons all our sins and accepts us as righteous in his sight

because of the righteousness of Christ given to us and received by faith alone.”

~ Westminster Shorter Catechism #33 ~

YOUR “GOODNESS”

CAN ACTUALLY KEEP YOU FROM GOD

source

“All of us have become like one who is unclean,

and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags….”

~ Isaiah 64:6

Life was once to me like summer,With its glitter and its smile;

I, as thoughtless as an insect,Trifled through the little while.All was buoyant life within me,

All was jubilant around;Need of Jesus then I felt not,

So I sought Him not, nor found.

But the summer soon was ended,And the gloomy winter came;

All my blooming joys were withered Into greens of every name.

Still, I hoped the change of seasonWould bring summer round again;

But, instead, the gloom grew blacker—And I sought the Saviour then.

Well I knew ’twas but through JesusThat the sinner comes to God:

But with what we come to Jesus?Ah! ’twas here I missed the road:

I was brining Him obedience,When I should have brought but sin;So my knocking, though half-frantic,

No admittance thus could win.

Though I studied to know betterWhat already well I knew;

And the good things that I practiced,Better still I strove to do:

Yet the deeper grew the darkness,And the silence grew more dread,

So I owned my case was hopeless,And my soul among the dead.

Then at once the peace of pardonDid my sinking soul restore,

And the love sprung up spontaneous,Which I could not force before.When I took the place of sinner,

And at Mercy’s footstool lay,Jesus took his place as Saviour,

And at once put sin away.

Ah! ’tis ruinous to cover Filthy sores with rags more foul:

Strip them bare at once before Him,That his grace may make you whole.

He delights in showing mercyTo a soul that owns its sin;

But the soul that thinks of earning,Not a smile shall ever win.

Why does Luke record this account in his historical

biography of Jesus?

Important Question

Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but

the one who humbles himself will be exalted.

~ Saul the Pharisee ~

“If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the

flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the

church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. ~ The Apostle Paul in

Philippians 3:4-9

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of

Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of

the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

~ The Apostle Paul in Philippians 3:4-9

For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in

order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not

having a righteousness of my own that comes from the

law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the

righteousness from God that depends on faith…. ~ The Apostle Paul in

Philippians 3:4-9

Cheer up! You’re worse

than you think!

( btw, that’s Great News! )

(HT: Jack Miller)

yourself so that the mercy of Christ will exalt you.

New City Church, may you always

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