If you'll turn back with me now
to Luke chapter 18, in verses 9 through 14, the Lord gives a parable which
He tells us in verse 9 is directed toward certain ones. Not everybody, but toward certain
ones which trusted in themselves that they were righteous. Now,
all believers trust that they're righteous. But our righteousness
is in Christ. We don't trust in ourselves that
we're righteous. We trust in Christ that we're
righteous. In fact, Paul said, oh, he said
that I might win Christ and be found in Him not having my own
righteousness. He didn't want to be seen wearing
his own righteousness. He didn't want to be found in
that day, in that day of judgment, with nothing to plea but His
own righteousness. And our Lord knew the hearts
of men. He knew why they came there.
He knew what was on their heart. He knew what was on their mind.
He knew the basis of their hope, that they trusted in themselves
that they were righteous. And He spoke this parable to
them. He gave them this parable. And he also says that they trusted
in their own righteousness and despised others. I know by personal experience
that these two evils go hand in hand. They go hand in hand. I grew up in the church of the
Nazarene, and they believed that by their own obedience to the
law, to one degree or another, by their own obedience to the
law that they can produce a righteousness that can win the favor of God. And if they obey Him wholeheartedly,
and if they do these things wholeheartedly, then they can reach a point in
which God will do another work of grace in them, and then they
walk in sinless perfection from then till they die. That's who
this parable is talking to. And I know this by my own experience,
having grew up in that kind of a church, that those men and
women were self-righteous, and they despised others. They despised
those who disagreed with them about this. They despised those
who didn't come up to their level, who didn't measure up. You don't
measure up, so you ain't in the clique. The Pharisees, Sadducees,
and scribes, for the most part, all believed this and practiced
this and had no idea that they were sinners before a holy God. A preacher, why would you select
such a message to preach to men and women in our day? Why would
you say these things? Our Lord spoke these things to
the people that was gathered that day, and this parable was
directed towards certain of them. Well, I'll tell you why I prepared
this message, because as it was then, so it is now. Though it
is now, the religion of our day, the religion practiced by the
overwhelming majority of organized denomination is based on self-righteousness. It's based on something that
they do. Actually, there's only two kinds
of religion in this world, works and grace. You either believe
that God saves a man and justifies a man purely, 100%, by His grace,
or you believe works. One or the other. Now, you can
read it in the Scripture. It's clear in Romans chapter
11 when he talks about this election of grace. And he said, if it's
of grace, then it's no longer works. Works can't enter into
this thing and it be grace. But if it's all of grace, then
it's not of works. One or the other. One or the
other. And free will works religion
is a religion which causes men and encourages men to trust in
themselves. Trust in a decision. Trust in
yourselves. Trust in your goodness. Trust
in this. Trust in that. They pick and choose certain
laws and ceremonies which they believe they can observe and
do. And in the outward observance of these things, they hope to
win and maintain a close relationship with God. And they all do it
in different degrees and in different ways, but they all do it. They
all do it. They all have certain things
which they hold above others. Sabbath days. Whole denominations
are built on nothing but the Sabbath days. You go to talk
to them about their hope and they talk to you about the Sabbath
day. And they just keep coming back to the Sabbath day. The
Sabbath day is their God. Holy days, baptism, church membership,
circumcision, and the list goes on and on and on. And those who
believe these things, they harbor ill feelings and despise people
who disagree with them. And this parable is directed
to any and all who trust in themselves that they're righteous. He's
telling you something. He's giving you an illustration
here before God. These two men came in before
God. And God looked on their hearts.
I hope everybody in this place, including myself, understands
that. God looks on the heart. When I look at myself, I just
see what's on the outside. I look in the mirror and see
if my hair is combed. I look to see if my tie is tied
right. And then I go out the door. God looks on the heart.
He can discern the very thoughts and intents of your heart. And
when you come in here before Him, He knows why you're here. And these two men came in, but
one came in and He just saw himself as he sees himself. And he saw
himself as he thought others saw him. And the other one came
in and he didn't even want to be seen. Period. It's directed to any and all
who trust in themselves that they're righteous. And then they
see others who don't measure up and they despise them. And
these two men, and these two men are represented the whole
of this religious world Both true and false in these two men. Any man who comes to worship
God, to pray to God, to seek His favor and approval, to ask
for His forgiveness, must take himself beside one of these two
men. You're going to have to line
up behind one of them. Now, there are four things that
I want you to see this morning concerning these men and this
parable which our Lord has set before us. I want you to see,
first of all, why they came. And then I want you to see how
they came. And then I want you to see what they hoped to get
in the coming, what they were looking for, what they wanted. And then I want you to see what
they left with. These men, these four things,
look at this parable. First of all, by way of contrast,
why did these men come to the temple of God? Why did they come? Why did you come this morning?
Why are you here? Why did I come? That's my question. What were
they doing here? What were they doing here? Well,
he tells us in verse 10 that they came into the temple to
pray. They came to worship God. They came to pray. to ask of
God, to praise God, to acknowledge God. They came in there to pray,
to give thanks, and they came to make their request, and they
came because this is where they were instructed out of the Word
of God to come. I wonder if we know that. They
were both here because they knew that this was the place they
were supposed to be. That's why men and women all over the country
gather together and go into the church. They understand that
much from the Word of God. That's where they're supposed
to be. That's where they're supposed to be. And it breaks my heart that there's
some out there who still don't understand that. They still don't
understand that. My friend, the Scriptures are
clear on this matter that God's presence is in the assembling
of His saints. that He gave pastor-teachers
for the perfecting of those saints and for the work of the ministry
and for the edifying of the body of Christ. And yet hundreds distance
themselves. They distance themselves from
the assembling of the saints and God's preachers and they
do it for convenience sake. And I see a lack of growth in
them. I see a lack of fellowship and encouragement and a lack
of interest in the things of God. You cannot Please hear me. You cannot ignore and treat with
indifference the means which God has ordained for personal
reasons. You'll suffer for it. You'll
suffer for it. Now I'm getting off my subject
a little bit. Let's get back on the subject. Why did these
men come? They came to communicate with
God. Or at least one of them did. The Pharisee, the man who trusted
in himself that he was righteous, he came out of duty. It was his
duty to be there, and so he went. He came out of duty. He came
to pray, the Scripture said, with himself. He prayed with
himself. Self-righteous men come to be
recognized. They come to be seen and acknowledged. They come to feed their self-righteousness
and self-glory. That's why they come. And if
somebody doesn't give them the opportunity to do that. If
somebody just ignores them, if somebody just leaves them sitting
and says, right, they get upset. They get upset. And they'll soon
complain or leave. And then the publican, he came
seeking mercy. He didn't feel that he had any
right to be there. He didn't have a right to be
there. He didn't feel that he had any right to be there, any
right to be recognized or have any part in anything. He came
looking for mercy. All right, here's the next thing.
Let's look at how they came. When the Pharisee came, he went
right straight to the front. I know you're looking in there
and it don't say that he came to the front. But somehow that
publican stood afar off. And he couldn't be afar off if
they were both in the back. That Pharisee came right straight
to the front. Now I've been in churches, and
you're probably not going to believe this, but I've been in
churches where men will walk in and guests have come in and
sat down. And those men will come in and
just stand and look at them because they're in their seat. You're in my seat. And they'll
sit there and wait for him to move. Or until somebody says,
you're in his seat. And they'll move. This Pharisee,
he had a right to be there. He was a Pharisee. He was self-righteous. He was a friend of God. He knew
that he was saved. He just marched down the aisle.
He didn't say hello to anybody. He came right down the aisle.
Came right up to the front. Peeled those eyes right straight
up into heaven and began to talk to God. He began to talk to God. He stood there in his pride of
self and ceremonial righteousness and said, God, I thank Thee that
I'm not like everybody else. What a statement. What a statement. That would be an awful statement
for me to say that to you. But I can't imagine how that
must sound to God. And he's talking to God here.
He's talking to God. And he stood there in that pride
of self and that ceremonial righteousness, and he said, God, I thank Thee
that I ain't like everybody else. I'm not like everybody else.
I'm not an extortioner. Now, you know what publicans,
for the most part, were? They were extortioners. He aimed
that prayer right straight at that man. He despised that man
when he came in the door. He saw him standing back there
in the back, and he just looked at him and went right on past.
Boy, he said, I'm glad I'm not like other men. I'm glad I'm
not an extortioner, and I'm not unjust, and I'm not an adulterer,
and I ain't like that publican. Not like him. This man didn't come to seek
anything from God. He came to claim what was rightfully
his. Name it and claim it. Have you
heard men preach that? I have. Name it and claim it. That's the message of our day.
He believed himself to be worthy of God's favor. Worthy of His
request. Worthy of the salvation that
he thought he had. He was worthy of these things.
And any man who comes into the house of worship believing himself
to be worthy of anything, anything from God, He prays with himself. That's what this man did. He
prayed with himself. Oh, he prayed. He prayed. Everybody in the place could
hear him. The whole public could hear him. I imagine people outside
heard him. But he prayed with himself. Anything from God to a sinner
comes by way of the worthiness of Christ and it comes to men
by the free and sovereign grace of God. Pride. You come in with
pride. Pride goeth before destruction
and a haughty spirit before the fall. Seven things Solomon said
the Lord hates. He hates these things. He despises
these things. He just will not look on these
things with favor. Seven things. Pride at the top
of the list. Everyone. Listen to this. Here
is another proverb. Everyone that is proud in heart
is an abomination, what a word, an abomination to the Lord. Free will works religion promotes
pride. It encourages pride. And this
Pharisee came into God's temple with his self-righteous pride
and he began to tell God how glad he was that he wasn't like
that other man and he wasn't like that publican. And then
he began to tell God what he did do. I fast twice in a week. I give tithes of all that I possess."
And I'm sure this wasn't the only things that he did. He no
doubt kept the feast days and was circumcised and celebrated
the new moons and everything else the Jews were commanded
to do. But these two things were things looked upon and highly
regarded by men, and so he mentions those. And he was proud of himself
that he did. And then secondly, notice how
this publican came. He came with his head bowed.
Came with his head bowed. He stood afar off. He didn't
come in and wait for somebody to move out of his seat. He didn't
march up to the front where he could be seen of the whole congregation.
He stood afar off because he knew that's where he was. Ye who sometimes were afar off,
or made nigh by the blood of Christ. He knew where He was.
And He would not so much as lift up His eyes to heaven. I remember
being under the conviction of sin. Some of you can too. I remember
being under the conviction of sin and knowing in my heart that
if I was going to hear from God, I was going to hear it through
a preacher. And I came in and I sat down and I felt like I
was wearing one of them prisoner, one of those, you see them out
on the highway, on the chain gang out there in those striped
suits. I felt like I had on a striped suit. I felt like everybody in
that place was looking at me and knew what I was. But whether
they did or not, I knew. I knew what I was. I felt my
unworthiness to be there. I felt no rights whatsoever,
but I knew that if God was going to speak to me, He was going
to do it there. And this was my prayer, same as His. God be
merciful to me, the sinner. I'm a sinner. He tells us this. He said, blessed are the poor
in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are
they that mourn, for they should be comforted. God helped me never
to get above this thing of sinnerhood. I'm a sinner saved by grace. And pride ought not enter into
it. Boasting excluded. It's excluded. And then thirdly,
let's look at what these two men hoped to receive. What was
the Pharisee looking for? What was he looking for? Well,
he came seeking a reward. He was looking for his reward.
He hoped to be acknowledged for his righteous acts. He hoped
to be rewarded of God with some earthly blessing, even now. You
know, at judgment, our Lord recalled some things. He said, here's
what they're going to say to me in that day. Here's what they're
going to say. Have not we done many wonderful
works in thy name? Have we not preached in your
name? We've done all kinds of things
in your name. He said, depart from me, ye workers
of iniquity. I never knew you. I never knew
you. I don't know what he was looking
for. He might have been hoping for a higher title, a better
reputation, a higher income, more honor, more prestige. Whatever
it was he hoped to gain, he believed he deserved it. It was owed to him. It was his
by right of labor. He tithed of all his possessions. He fasted twice a week. He lived
a separated lifestyle, and he was not like other men. God owed
him, and he came to collect his debt. But that old publican,
he came for mercy. He had nothing to offer, John. What about you? What about me? What have we got to offer? Huh? In my hands, no price I bring. We sing these old hymns. I wish
we'd think about what we're singing. In my hands, no price I bring. Simply to thy cross I cling. He had nothing with which to
barter. He didn't have anything to barter.
He was a great sinner and he knew it. He was a Gentile, an
idol-worshipping heathen. Had no right to be in the temple.
But he was there looking for mercy. And he had heard that
the God of Israel was a merciful God. He came to seek it. Oh,
he wanted it. He asked for no recognition. He asked for no rights, no payment
due. He didn't plead anything that
he ever did. He sought only mercy, and that
for a guilty sinner. Now let me ask you something.
Why did you come here this morning? Huh? Have we thought about that? Why are we coming? We got up,
got dressed, come here. Why did we come? Why did we come? What did you come hoping to receive?
Reward for your service? Or did you come hoping to collect
what you do? All I want is what I got coming.
No, you don't. You don't want that. Or did you
come here because you heard that God is gracious and merciful? Oh, I hope that at least some
of you came here this morning hoping to find God's mercy and
grace in Christ. Listen to the Scriptures. This
is not my opinion. These are not things that I just
read and said, well, I think I'm going to choose this. This
is what I think. No, it's not my opinion. Listen to the Scriptures. It's not of him that willeth.
nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy." It's
all of Him. He don't show mercy to people
who run. And He don't show mercy to people
who choose to exercise their free will. It's not of Him that
willeth, but of God that showeth mercy. Not by works of righteousness
which we've done, but according to His mercy He saved us. Titus
3, 5. called us with a holy calling,
not according to our works, but according to His own purpose
and grace which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world
began. And our Lord said to these Pharisees
on another occasion, He said, You go learn what this means.
You go learn. I know why you're here. I know
why you are claiming this and claiming that. You came here
because you trusted in yourselves that you were righteous. Now
you are going to learn what this means, I'll have mercy and not
sacrifice. For I have not come to call the
righteous but sinners to repentance. And then lastly, notice who left
God's house with what. The Pharisee left with what he
wanted. He had the praise of men. They all acknowledged Him
coming. No doubt had His broad phylacteries
out there where everybody could see Him. Come parading down to
the front of the building. He left with what He wanted,
the praise of men, self-satisfaction, and worldly honor. But our Lord
said to Publican, now I want you to listen to this. He went
down to his house justified. My soul. Justified. Without spot or wrinkle. Justified. Declared by the God of glory,
the highest court in heaven and earth. Justified. Declared by God of glory to have
nothing, nothing on the books of heaven against Him. He went
home justified. Delivered from the fear of the
law and judgment. Clear of all charges. Not a single
sin. left on the books of God, He
was justified. There remaineth no more condemnation. There is no condemnation to them
which are in Christ Jesus. And those who truly come seeking
mercy shall find it. And find it He did. And He went
home justified. Being justified, Paul said, freely
by the grace of God through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus, whom God has set forth as the propitiation for our sins. Everyone that exalteth himself
shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted. Luke 18, verse 14. I want you to listen to this
prayer. This prayer is a This prayer tells the story. Old Hannah
prayed, and he told the story. He told this story about these
two men. And she prayed, and she said,
the Lord killeth, and the Lord maketh alive. He bringeth down
to the grave, and he bringeth up. The Lord, listen to this,
the Lord maketh poor and maketh rich. He bringeth low. And he lifteth up. He raiseth
up the poor out of the dust and lifteth up the beggar from the
dunghill to set them among princes and to make them, now listen,
inherit the throne of glory. I tell you, you come in seeking
His mercy, you'll find it. And when you find it, you'll
go back to your house justified. And God will have raised a beggar
from the dunghill. And one day you will sit with
Him. You will inherit the throne of glory. Paul said, don't you
know you're going to judge angels? You're going to judge angels.
You're going to sit on the throne with Him. We're seated with Him
in the heavenlies right now. Join heirs with Him. Hard to
fathom. That's what it means to go home. Don't come in here proud. Don't
talk back to others proud. Don't look down your nose at
them and talk. Know what you are. You're a sinner.
You're a sinner. And you're seeking the mercy
of God. And I tell you, that's what you want to seek. And if
you find it, you're going to go home today. Justified. No sin. No condemnation. No nothing before God. Justified. Justified.