Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Luke chapter 18. Luke chapter 18. I'd like to just read two verses,
verses 13 and 14. Luke 18. standing afar off, would not
lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast,
saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. I tell you, this man
went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For every
one that exalteth himself shall be abased. and he that humbleth
himself shall be exalted. Let's pray together. Our Father, we thank you this
evening for the blessed privilege to be able to meet together as
brethren in the presence of the Lord Jesus. We ask this evening
your blessing upon your word. And we ask these things for Christ's
sake. Amen. There is no subject that is more
needful to be proclaimed and proclaimed plainly, consistently,
than this subject right here. Being justified before God. When I was talking with Brother
Bruce today, I asked him what he was going to be preaching
on, then he asked me, and I told him I was going to be preaching
on justification. And he said, the sad thing is
that you take, he said, a hundred preachers that don't know God,
men that claim to be, and he said not one of them can tell
you from the Scriptures. How God justifies a sinner. Can't even tell you what the
word means. Don't even know what the word means. Can't give you
a definition of it. But there's something that's
taught this evening in this portion of Scripture. And it's this blessed
subject. Justification. It is the truth
of God Almighty delivering a sinner. God delivering a sinner from
the guilt, the dominion, and the punishment that is due, his
sin, by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Justification is
the declaration of the truth of God's acceptance of that sinner
in Christ and the Lord's eternal blessing toward that sinner totally
on the basis of Christ's finished work of redemption and salvation
at Calvary. and His imputed righteousness
unto that sinner. Now that truth of justification, when it's all said and done, this is all that matters. This is all that matters. For
God's honor, and God's glory, and God's praise, am I just before
God. That's it. Nothing else matters. No other subject that takes up
the bulk of conversation matters. This is all that matters. If I'm not just before God, What
difference does it make? All of the rhetoric and all of
the ramblings. Am I just before God? Now the Lord declared a parable. It was a parable about two men.
One was a Pharisee, the other was a publican. He was a tax
collector. Two men, the scripture declares,
had gone into the temple to pray. That's what verse 10 says, two
men went up into the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee, the
other a publican. Now there was something that
was said from the lips of our Lord that we would do well to
consider again tonight. This very subject that I'm talking
about. The Lord said something. He said
in verse 14, I tell you this man, talking about the publican,
went down to his house justified rather than the other for everyone
that exalteth himself shall be abased And he that humbleth himself
shall be exalted. Now there was something about
one of these men that evidenced his justification and God's acceptance
of him. And so I want us to consider
the wording of this passage and just ask ourselves first of all,
what was the evidence of this man's justification? And then,
secondly, how is a man justified before God? So first, what is
the evidence in this parable revealing that publican's justification? There was something found in
this parable that justified this man to be just before God. It was something that this man
said. Something that revealed his heart.
After the abundance of a man's heart, his mouth speaks. If you want to know what a man
is thinking, just listen to what he's saying. Listen to his words. His words will expose his heart. Just listen. There was something
that this guy said, and here's what it was. He was honest. He
was honest with God about himself, and he asked the Lord for mercy. God, be merciful to me, a sinner. That's the only thing that's
recorded that came out of that man's mouth. God, be merciful. to me, a sinner. This man was a publican. A publican according to the Lord's
words that humbled himself before God and was therefore exalted.
He that exalts himself is going to be abased. He that lifts himself
up, looks down on others, he's going to be abased. But he that
humbles himself, He shall be exalted. Now in this parable,
his very vocation was a picture of his spiritual condition. Now
it wasn't by chance that the Lord used a Pharisee and a Publican. He was speaking to a group of
people and he was going to talk to them about those that trusted
in themselves that they were righteous. and despised others. That was the Pharisee. Exhausted
himself and despised, talked down about everybody else. So
here this man, he was a publican. Now a publican, a publican was
considered in the days of our Lord to be absolutely the most
worthless of all men. with the lowest of society, and
if he was a Jew, now not all publicans were Jews, but if he
was, he was reckoned to be nothing more than a traitor, a vagabond,
a lowlife scum of the earth, one that cared nothing for anybody
else, only his livelihood, and was pleased to align himself
with the world. that he might oppress his neighbor
and take by excessive taxing, you know, more than he was due. And they were despised for it.
He was a publican. But the amazing thing about this
publican was that this publican was moved to confess himself
to be exactly, in heart and spirit, what his social position actually
pictured. He was considered to be the lowest
of lives. He said, that's me. Scum of the
earth. A traitor. In fact, he was one
who actually was, in his own opinion of himself, what the
Pharisee declared himself not to be. Scripture said, verse
11, the Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, I thank thee that I'm not as
other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as
this publican. I fast twice in the week. I give
tithes of all that I possess. I'm telling you, everything that
came out of that man's mouth was to do nothing more than exalt
himself. He said, I'm glad that I'm not
And here's the publican over here admitting what he is, God
be merciful to me, the sinner. He said what this man is saying
he's not, that's what I am. Extortioner, one who attempts
to obtain something that belongs to another unlawfully. What does
a man by nature spiritually do but desire to obtain God's honor? God's glory. By saying of himself under false
pretenses, I have by my own ability, my own free will, by my consistent
walk, I never did that. You never catch me doing that.
You're not going to accuse me of being that. That's a Pharisee. One who is treacherous and behaves
contrary to that which is right. Now let me ask you something.
Is there anyone in this congregation tonight that will admit anything
other than in myself? I'm unjust. I've never done anything
correctly. That Pharisee was saying, I am
not unjust. That publican saying, I am. I
know I am. I'm not an adulterer. I'm not
one who spiritually is unfaithful. There is not one person in this
congregation tonight that is not spiritual in themselves. Adulterer. We've been unfaithful. Unfaithful to God Almighty. We're
unfaithful to each other. We're not faithful. No, no, no,
no. One who for the love of this
world's fleeting goods has abandoned Almighty God and therefore all
that is holy and just, good and right. Every word of the Pharisee's
prayer reeked of arrogance. Self-ability and praise and words
that were spoken, not only to appease his own conscience, but
for anybody else that was standing around. That's what the Lord
said. He said, don't be like the Pharisees. They loved to
stand on the street corner in long prayers. Why? To be seen of men. They loved to tell other people.
You know, this is high. Don't come near me. I'm holier
than you. And the publicans said, that's
me. That is me. But these men would
brag, and they dealt with nothing more than ceremonial acts. He
prayed thus, the scripture said, with himself, suggesting that
the prayer was really not addressed to God but to himself. But amazingly,
his prayer was with all that self-righteous rhetoric that
publican was actually admitting, just listening. Yes, that's the
way I am. And I hate myself. I loathe myself. The Scripture says concerning
that publican, he was found to be standing afar off, knowing
himself to be unworthy to draw near unto God, taking rather,
as the Lord taught in Luke chapter 14, 10, the lowest room, So he
said, don't take the high spot. Don't take the upper seat. Somebody
else is going to come in, and the master of the house is going
to come tell you, say, look, you go down here. No, you come
up here. You sit here. Take the lower
seat. Take the lower room. But every
justified sinner, one made to be so in Christ, he finds that
this attitude, a feeling, I am not worthy. Is there anyone worthy? Is there anywhere in this room?
in themselves worthy. He stood afar off that attitude
of knowing something of his own unworthiness. That's the evidence
though. Knowing something by the grace
of God. Your own unworthiness is actually
the evidence of a heart that has been brought near unto God
by the blood of the Lamb. The Lord is nigh unto them that
are of a broken heart, and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. He would not lift up so much
as his eyes unto heaven, conscious. of his guilt. Felt shame and
sorrow and worthy only to fix his eyes on the ground away from
the Lord. Smote upon his breast, the scripture
said. That word smote, it means repeatedly
to smite. For shame, anguish of heart. He felt like David. I acknowledge
my transgressions and my sin is ever before me. Jeremiah said
in 31 19, surely After that I was turned. Now listen to the wording. Not after I turned. After I was
turned, I repented. After the Lord turned me, I thought
differently. After I was instructed, I smote
upon my thigh. I was ashamed, yea, even confounded,
because I did bear the reproach of my youth. There's nothing
that is more beautiful than a meek and quiet spirit. Nothing more
beautiful than a humbled. I pray God do that for
me. I pray the Lord teach me something
of myself. I tell you, just as that justified
sinner's heart was breaking, he did the only thing that he
could do. not exalt himself, not despise
others. He asked the only thing he could
ask. He said, God, you who are holy, just, and good, would you
do for me that which you said that you would do to whomsoever
you would? Would you do this for me? Lord,
you said this. Would you do this for me? Would
you be merciful to me? Reminds me of that scripture
we looked at a couple of Wednesdays ago. and Hosea, take these words,
return unto the Lord, take with you these words, forgive me of
all my iniquity and receive me graciously. The Lord said when
you come, this is how you come. This is how you approach. Be
merciful to me, a sinner. Lord, would you be propitious. Would you look upon me in your
son, in your sacrifice? And may the Lord's sacrifice
for His people, may that sacrifice be toward me for forgiveness
and for life. I'm a sinner. I'm a sinner. I'm a helpless sinner. I have
nothing to offer you. I can not give you anything. I have no righteousness and I
can be saved no other way. I trust not in my works. I know not my works of righteousness
that I've done. I know that. Oh, what words. God, be merciful to me, a sinner. I heard it said, rightly so.
There's no place in scripture that anyone ever came to the
Lord and ask for mercy out of a broken heart. And he knows
and didn't receive it. Come unto me, all ye that labor
heavy laden, I'll give you rest. But in closing, in that second
point that I was going to bring out, how did the publican come
to utter those words? What was the evidence of his
justification? Well, out of the abundance of
his heart, his mouth spoke. God be merciful to me, a sinner. How did he come to that point? How did he get there? How did
he come to stand before God with a heart like that? How was he justified before God? Was it by his ability? Did he just one day just drum
up enough sorrow in his heart to feel that I know I need to
do this, I know I need to get this thing right with God? It's
not going to be there. Something's going to have to
happen. We are justified totally by the grace of God. Totally
according to God's will. Totally through the merits and
the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and by faith. Faith that we didn't
possess. Faith that was given unto us.
We believe. in Christ that it was his faith
on our behalf, his faithfulness on our behalf, imputed to us,
his obedience, his righteousness, charged to our account. We believe that by his death
at Calvary for his sheep, He satisfied every demand for justice
and judgment for his people. In other words, the Lord did
something for that publican just like he does for every one of
his sheep that they cannot and will not do for themselves. They won't do. The Lord had to
give him a new heart. request, God be merciful to me
a sinner, did not come out of a carnal heart. It's not there. There is no, no man seeks after
God in himself. No man seeks after God. Men will
say if you'll just seek the Lord, you're not going to do it. I
had someone ask me one time, what if someone though really
does want to? I said they won't. They won't
do it. They won't do it. Why? The Lord
said they won't do it. Therefore they won't. There's
no possibility that they're going to do it. The Lord had to grant
him faith to believe. How did this man come to call
upon the Lord? The Lord had to give him a new
heart. And in giving that new heart, the Lord gave him faith
to believe. Faith to believe that he was
a sinner. A helpless sinner. Faith to believe that salvation
was totally by the grace of God. Totally. Apart from any works
of righteousness. That's why, God be merciful to
me. Why? Because I can't do anything
about it. Faith to believe that the blood
of Christ was shed for him. A man that cries out for mercy
knows that God's justice has been satisfied. Lord, that justice
that's been satisfied, Lord, would you apply that to me? Would
you apply that grace to me? Would you give me a heart to
call? All that call on the name of
the Lord shall be saved. God has to justify a sinner and
then tell him about it. A justified sinner is one who
is brought by the grace of God to an end of himself. That's what Peter said, I have
no other place to go. Will you go away also? Where
are we going to go? Thou hast the words of life. He's made
to see and experience his need of the Savior and desires as
David desired. Psalm 61.1, hear my cry, oh God,
attend unto my prayer. Oh, may the Lord direct our hearts
to never deviate from this cry. This is a continual cry of a
needy sinner. God be merciful to me. Is there
any end? To that request unto the Lord,
I tell you, the Lord said, this man went down to his house justified
rather than the other. For every one that exalteth himself
shall be abased. And he that humbleth himself
shall be exalted. Justification. This is the last statement. Five
things about justification. Number one, it is eternal. It is eternal. Almighty God who
looks upon His people being justified in Christ, who never changes,
never changes. If He looks upon them now, He's
always looked upon them because He's never changed. We have been
justified freely by His grace. No part in us. No honor in us. Freely. Without
any cause in us. First part, we are justified
totally by the grace of God. The reason that we are justified
totally by the grace of God is because Almighty God has eternally
seen the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Almighty
God who first trusted in Christ and saw Him eternally slain,
His blood that would put away the guilt of His people, Almighty
God has always looked upon them in Christ, justified before Him. So we're justified freely by
His grace, justified by His blood that God saw. Trusted Him. Applied it to us. Justified by
faith. Not that faith justifies us.
Faith does not justify anybody. If you think that your faith
justifies you, then that works. You think, well, my faith justified
me. No, sir. What does faith do? Faith is
that grace by which Almighty God gives His people that ability
to be able to perceive it to themselves. By faith. By the gift of faith, a believer
knows that God has justified him freely by grace through the
blood of Christ. By faith, he understands it.
He doesn't trust his faith. Faith believes God. So we're
justified to ourselves. But I can't see faith in you.
I can't look in your heart, Neil. I don't know what's inside your
heart. Therefore, James says we're justified by works. Our
works doesn't justify us. Our works bear witness to others. You'll know them by their fruit.
A believer acts like a believer. You know, he acts just like this
publican right here. God be merciful to me, sinner. And then lastly, Lord said your
words. By a man's words, you'll be justified. And by a man's words, you're
going to be condemned. Out of the abundance of his heart, his
mouth spoke. This man, he said, I say unto
you, this man right here, went down to his house justified. No charge, no charge, no charge. Holy, without blame, before me,
in love, in Christ, this man did. Because everyone that exalts
himself is going to be abased. Every man that humbles himself
by the grace of God, not himself, but every man that humbles himself
by God's grace, he's going to be exalted. I pray God bless
these words to our heart afresh for Christ's sake. Amen.