Sovereign Grace Baptist Church

Date: 10-11-98

Sermon Number: Luke #123

Text: Luke 18:9-14

The Pharisee and the Tax-Gatherer

In the eighteenth chapter of Luke's gospel Jesus, speaking first to His disciples and then to the Pharisees, relates two parables on the subject of prayer. The first, found in verses one through eight, call the believer to faithfulness and persistence in his prayer life. Hear the words of Jesus as found in Luke 18:1 NASB. "Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart." The King James version reads like this. (Luke 18:1 KJV) "And he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint."

We studied this parable in our last lesson on Luke. By the end of that lesson we had learned that persistent prayer is not answered because it is troublesome or annoying to God but because it pleases Him. It pleased God to make this kind of prayer a means of grace to us. This is why we come to the throne of grace, again, and again, with the same requests and concerns. This is why we keep on asking, seeking, and knocking. It is the way God would have us pray. In His good time, if we have prayed in accord with His will, we will have what we have asked for. What we seek will be found and the door upon which we knock will be opened. We must not give up on prayer because the answer does not come quickly. Rather, we must take the words of our Lord seriously and continue to pray we must not lose heart.

If the first parable had to do with persistence in prayer the second has to do with a right attitude and approach to God when we pray. Hear the words of Jesus.

(Luke 18:9-14 NASB) And He also told this parable to certain ones who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: {10} "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gatherer. {11} "The Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself, 'God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer. {12} 'I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.' {13} "But the tax-gatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!' {14} "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted."

First we must hear the warning Jesus sets before us. It is a warning against self- righteousness. Jesus spoke this parable to the Pharisees, to those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous while viewing others with contempt. Self- righteousness is sin. Sadly, we are all self-righteous to one degree or the other. It is a family disease that began with our father Adam. We all flatter ourselves, some secretly, some openly, but we all do it. We all think more highly of ourselves than we should. We look at others whose sins are obvious and we say, "I am better than that!" "I am not as bad as that!" This is both natural and sinful as the scriptures reveal. (Proverbs 20:6 KJV) "Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man, who can find?" Who can find one who is faithful in his behavior and trusts in the Lord rather than himself. Most men outside of faith in Jesus proclaim their own goodness.

Both Christians and unbelievers have this problem. The unbeliever compares himself to the worst among men so that, by comparison, he looks pretty good. This is how he comes to declare his own goodness or righteousness. The professing Christian often compares himself to other Christians. He looks at their ignorance, weaknesses, God dishonoring habits, and quietly says, "I'm looking pretty good here!" Self-righteousness is a problem for all men, saved or not. The problem stems from our not seeing ourselves as we really are in the eyes of God.

The only cure for self-righteousness is self-knowledge. Once our eyes are opened, by the Spirit of God, we will stop looking at our own goodness. Fact is, when God has opened our sin blinded eyes the mirage of personal righteousness will just disappear. Once we are granted a clear understanding of God's law all self conceit will fly out the window. God's law shuts the mouth of the enlightened sinner. The once proud braggart now has nothing to say in his own defense. This is in fact why God gave the law.

Romans 3:19-20 NASB. "Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, that EVERY (bragging) MOUTH MAY BE CLOSED, and all the world may become accountable to God; {20} because by the works of the Law NO FLESH will be justified in His sight; for THROUGH THE LAW COMES THE KNOWLEDGE OF SIN." The law of God teaches us the truth about ourselves. It tells us that, "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." "There is none righteous not even one." "All of us, like sheep, have gone astray." "Our iniquities, like the wind, have carried us away." This knowledge will cure our bragging and change how we look at our fellow man. The Spirit of God reveals to us the truth that we are each one equal to the other, we stand on level ground. We are sinners everyone. The only thing that has made us to differ from the rest of humanity is the grace of God through faith in Christ. Self-righteousness can only be cured by self knowledge and self-knowledge comes only from God.

Let us now consider the prayer of a man with no grace and no insight into his real condition as a sinner. "The Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself, 'God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer. (Tax-gatherers were known for being greedy and dishonest.) {12} 'I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.'

There are many problems with this prayer but one just jumps out at you. Can you see it? This man has no need in fact while he pretends to pray he congratulates himself for his personal goodness. He does not confess his sin. Neither does he ask God for anything. Why should he, he has it all! He presents himself as if God should be happy to have him on His side. He knows nothing of his need for grace and forgiveness. Rather, he stands boldly before God to boast of his noteworthy behavior. And while he boasts before God, ignorant of his own guilt, he looks down on a fellow sinner, a publican or tax-collector. There is no humility, no love in this man, no sense of his own sin. When he ought to be in great spiritual pain he feels nothing but pride.

J. C. Ryle once said, "No state of soul can be conceived so dangerous as that of the Pharisee. Never are men's bodies in such desperate danger, as when mortification and insensibility set in, (He speaks of a person who is incapable of feeling physical pain. This is a very dangerous situation. Imagine not being able to feel the heat when you put you hand in a fire. Imagine not being able to feel pain when your gallbladder is about to burst. This would be a most dangerous condition and almost certainly fatal. The same is true spiritually, as brother Ryle now declares.) Never are men's hearts in such a hopeless condition, as when they are not sensible of (do not feel and acknowledge) their own sins." (End Quote)

Truer words could not be spoken!

Friend, if you ever hope to be right with God you must learn the truth about yourself. You must see your sin and feel the pain of it in your soul. You must be convinced that there is no righteousness in you, only corruption and sin. You must become so miserable, so frightened, so disgusted with yourself that you seek the mercy of God through His beloved Son Jesus. That which makes us proud and keeps us from running to God for mercy is the lack of self-knowledge.

The person who is saved, the Christian, is constantly aware of his weaknesses, infirmities, and sinfulness. He is aware of his need for mercy and grace from God every hour of every day. If he were not he could not walk humbly before his God. He would become self-sufficient and proud. The Christian who thinks more highly of himself than he ought will become useless to his brothers and sisters and a hindrance to the progress of the kingdom. The Christian who does not mourn over his sin and does not feel his need for God's mercy and grace on a day to day basis is, quite likely, no Christian at all.

Why did this Pharisee think so highly of himself? The first reason is that he was not a Christian. In other words God had not given him eyes with which to see and ears with which to hear. But secondly he thought more highly of himself than he should because he measured himself by the wrong standard. He compared himself to men whom he thought more sinful than himself. This is of course no true measure of goodness. Quite the contrary such analysis of human behavior merely measures degrees of sinfulness. You cannot measure goodness with man's ruler, it always comes up short. In order to get the true picture this Pharisee would have to measure himself with the law of God. When this is done men find no righteous in themselves. When measured by the law of God we always come up short. For He demands absolute perfection and no man is perfect but Jesus. The man who measures himself by the law of God will never be a Pharisee. He will never think more highly of himself than he ought. He will never look down his nose at another human being. For when we come in contact with the law of God it brings us into the world of truth. It reveals to us that we are sinners just like the rest of humanity. We all stand on level ground. Allow me to prove my point. Look with me at Matthew 22:37-40 NASB.

And He said to him, "YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' {38} "This is the great and foremost commandment. {39} "The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' {40} "On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets." This is what God requires of all men. Further He requires perfect conformity to this law without even one slip.

(James 2:10 NASB) "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all."

Who in this house would dare say they have kept the law of God? I have not loved God with all my heart, soul, mind and strength. My affections are divided, I am drawn away to other things at times. My mind is not always filled with thoughts of the Almighty, or my Savior. Sometimes it is full of the most vile and hateful things one could imagine. Even as a Christian, a Pastor, I must confess my sin and continued dependance on the grace and mercy of God. How could I at anytime think myself better than another believer or unbeliever. No, I must never think like that. The only thing that makes me to differ from another is God's grace. Hear the word of the Lord.

(1 Corinthians 4:7 NASB) "For who regards you as superior? And what do you have that you did not receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?" What ever we are or have has been given to us by God. Therefore, we have no reason to boast and every reason to be thankful.

And what of the second commandment. "Love your neighbor as yourself." Have I ever done that? I dare not say I have. I may have headed in the right direction at times but I am sure I love myself more than I do the folks that live around me. I admit this to my shame but I must make this point clear to all. If you are one who looks down his nose at one of your fellow sinners you have not seen yourself in the mirror of God's law! You are a Pharisee who thinks more highly of himself than he ought. The man who uttered this proud prayer did not know God and he certainly did not know himself.

We look now at the second man in the parable, the tax-gatherer or the publican. This man and his prayer are everything opposite of the other. First, Jesus says, the Publican stood some distance away, or, "afar off," KJV. He stood back and beat upon his breast. He prayed with a broken heart, "God be merciful to me the sinner." Then Jesus tells us that God answered his prayer. "I tell you this man went down to his house justified." This man was accepted by God while the other was not. This man was saved from the wrath to come and the other was not. This man was born again. The evidence of this is that he knew the truth about himself. He was a sinner in need of God's mercy, forgiveness, and grace. Therefore, he cried out to God.

The Publican's prayer was a real prayer in that it was a petition, a request. He did not come to tell God how wonderful he was but to beg His mercy. The Pharisee asked for nothing because he needed nothing. He was full of himself. But this man, the Publican, is guilty and He knows it. He has no righteousness of his own and does no pretend to. He must have mercy or suffer the wrath of God. Notice also how personal the prayer was. He was not concerned about his neighbor's condition but about his own. The prayer was about him, his sin, and his need of forgiveness. "Father forgive ME the sinner," he prayed. Next we see that it was a humble prayer. It was a prayer that put self in the right place before God. "I am a sinner," he declared, nothing more, nothing less, just a sinner in need. He felt his sin and guilt. He knew that if God would not help him he would be the recipient of God's wrath in the last day and forever. His spiritual senses had been brought to life and he mourned his condition. Just as one will not seek a physician's help until he feels the pain of his infirmity. So also a sinner will not seek God till he sees his sin and guilt. That is what drives him to seek help. The knowledge of one's guilt before God and of the coming judgement is what sends him to Christ. The kind of behavior we see in this man is typical of all who are convinced of their sin. Let me read quickly through a sampling of texts that support this.

(Ezra 9:6 NASB) and I said, "O my God, I am ashamed and embarrassed to lift up my face to Thee, my God, for our iniquities have risen above our heads, and our guilt has grown even to the heavens."

(Psalms 40:12-13 NASB) "For evils beyond number have surrounded me; My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see; They are more numerous than the hairs of my head; And my heart has failed me. {13} Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me; Make haste, O LORD, to help me."

(Isaiah 6:5 NASB) "Then I said, "Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I live among a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts." A sinner cannot come into the presence of God without being made painfully aware of his sin.

(Daniel 9:8-9 NASB) "Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against Thee." {9} "To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him;" There is no self esteem here only a loathing of oneself before the holy God.

(Psalms 25:11 NASB) "For Thy name's sake, O LORD, Pardon my iniquity, for it is great." The enlightened sinner never makes light of his sin. To him it is always great.

Because the Publican was aware of the greatness of his sin the focus of his prayer was mercy. Mercy is what the sinner needs. He cannot speak of his own goodness or of some payment due him. No! The enlightened sinner knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that mercy and grace are what he must have. For all that he once thought to be good and righteousness he now knows is filthy in the eyes of God. God must be merciful and gracious to him or he will perish with the rest of unbelieving humanity. Finally we see that this prayer came from the sinners heart. He was grieved in his inner most being because of his sin. His heart was broken, he stood at a distance, ashamed and trembling. He beat on his breast to express his grief and pain, his mourning over sin. He knew he had no right to come before God. He knew this in his heart. But the Spirit had made him understand still another truth that gave him hope in coming for mercy. Hear the word of the Lord.

(Psalms 51:16-17 NASB) "For Thou dost not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; Thou art not pleased with burnt offering. {17} The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A BROKEN AND A CONTRITE HEART, O GOD, THOU WILT NOT DESPISE." God will not reject the sinner who comes to Him, broken for sin. But He will reject and despise the proud man, the one who comes to tell of his own goodness. Hear the words of James 4:6 NASB. But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE." Could one have a greater enemy than God? If He is opposed to you how far do you think you will get? If He is opposed to you how can you hope to escape His terrible judgment? I tell you if God is for you no one can successfully come against you. Likewise if God is against you no one can help you. God gives grace to the humble and is opposed to the proud.

Here are two men, two prayers, and two entirely different and eternal results. One man is proud and full of himself the other is full of misery for his sin. He is overcome with his sense of need. He is humble and broken before God. He runs to God in prayer and begs His mercy, forgiveness, and grace. Jesus fills us in on the result. (Luke 18:14 NASB) "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified (declared righteous and acceptable by God) rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself (looks to his own goodness) shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself, (admits and mourns over his sin and comes to God by Christ for mercy), shall be exalted, (saved from the wrath to come)."

Ladies and gentlemen the man who knows nothing of his sin and is not humble before God and man is not a Christian at all. For the first thing that God does for the sinner he intends to save is convict him if his sin and guilt. The reaction of the enlightened sinner to this knowledge is to mourn, and grieve and then he seeks God's mercy.

Jesus spoke these words to people who trusted in themselves and viewed others with contempt. Of course the question that we must all ask is this, "Am I the one Christ speaks to?" Have I been looking to my own goodness for acceptance with God? Do I believe myself to be in better shape than other sinners on earth? Have I fled to Christ for mercy, forgiveness, and a righteousness not my own? Or have I come to offer my goodness to Him as if He should be pleased and impressed?

Remember, there were two men, two prayers, and two entirely different results. The proud, self-righteous, man is even now suffering the torments of an eternal hell. While the man who was broken and mourning over his sin was saved from the wrath to come. For God is opposed to the proud but gives grace to the humble.

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