Luke chapter 18. The title of
my message is, Going Home Justified. Going Home Justified. To be justified
is to be without sin, without guilt, without blame before God
himself. God looks upon a believer just
that way, presented before God holy and
unblameable and unreprovable in his sight. Now, that requires
faith to believe that, doesn't it? Justify. to have perfect peace
before a holy God. God has no quarrel with a justified
man, free from all charges of God's holy law. Who is he that
condemneth, Paul wrote? It is God that justifieth. But here's the dilemma. God,
without question, is altogether holy. If there is one attribute
that stands out more in the Word of God that we're directed to
more than another, it's his attribute of perfect holiness. His Spirit
is his Holy Spirit. His angels are referred to as
holy angels. His presence is referred to as
his holy presence. If you will, let's just read
a couple of passages back in the Psalms. Look, if you will,
in Psalm 99. Psalm 99. There are so many,
so many, but here's just a few. And it's a very needful, necessary
reminder that when we come to worship, we're coming into the
presence of our holy God. With that in mind, Psalm 99,
the Lord reigneth. He reigneth always. Let the people
tremble. He saideth between the cherubims,
Let the earth be moved. The Lord is great in Zion, and
he is high above all the people. Let them praise thy great and
terrible name, for it is holy." Verse 5, "'Exalt ye the Lord
our God and worship at his footstool.'" That's our proper place. He's
high and lifted up. All but up, we worship him in
the dust, at his footstool. Why? For he is holy. Look at Psalm 111, Psalm 111. Verse 9, Psalm 111, verse 9. He sent redemption unto his people. He commanded his covenant forever.
Holy and reverend is his name. I've had occasion where someone
not knowing any better, has referred to me as reverend. Please don't
do that. Please don't ever refer to me
as that. I don't think anybody here would. Reverend is God Almighty. He alone is reverend. He's to
be held in absolute reverence because he is holy. Let me read one more, ye not
turned there. But the Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence
before him. Let mankind, all men, keep silence
before him. In the presence of this thrice
holy God, what should man do? Exactly what Job did. Hush. Hush. Job said, I put my hand
over my mouth. I uttered things too wonderful
for me, things beyond my comprehension. God is so holy that even those
angelic beings, seraphims, we're told in Isaiah 6, cover their
faces in his presence. cover their faces and cry, Holy,
holy, holy is the Lord God. The greatest demonstration of
God's absolute holiness is that when his Son was made sin, God
persecuted him. God is so holy that when his
very Son was made sin for us, God forsook him. Could there
be a greater proof or demonstration of God's holiness than that?
He forsook his own son when he made him to be sin for all of
his people. Man, man on the other hand, the
Scriptures teach as well, is altogether sinful. God is altogether
holy. altogether holy, but man is altogether
sinful. What we read of in Noah's day
is true in our day. Nothing's really changed. God
looked down and saw that the thoughts of man's heart was only
evil continually. Paul in Romans 3 says concerning
man, man left to himself. Man in sin, there is none that
seeketh after God. If left alone, it won't happen.
It won't happen. They'll seek religion, they'll
seek are grounds for self-righteousness, but with left to themselves,
it's contrary to his nature. He'll not seek God. Paul said,
there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after
God, there is none righteous, no, not one. That's true of you, and that's
true of me. In the light of those two things,
God's absolute holiness and man's absolute sinfulness, Job asked
this question. As a matter of fact, it was asked
three times in the book of Job by his friends and himself, considering
God, who he is, his majesty, his glory, his holiness. Job said, in view of that, when
I consider him, and I consider myself, how can a man be just
with God? How can a man be just with God? How can God Almighty, without
any infraction on his holy character, Without any setting aside of
his moral holy law, how can he pronounce any sinner just and
remain perfectly pure himself in doing so without compromising
anything of his holy character? Job asked again, how can a man
be just with God? When God is pleased, when God
Almighty drops his grace into a man's heart. When he awakens
that sinner, that's the cry of his heart. For the first time
in his life, or before that time, he's satisfied with a little
religion. He's content with the decision
he's made. He's content with the sinner's
prayer that someone prompted him to repeat. He's content with
that because he's never seen God as he is. He's never seen
himself as he is. Therefore, he's content with
those things. Oh, but when God turns the light
on, when God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness
shines into a sinner's heart, he reveals something to him.
He reveals something of who he is, that is God, and something
of what that sinner is by nature. And the cry of that sinner's
heart will be this. How can I be just with God? Todd, how can God Almighty save
a sinner like you? How can he? There's a way. There's a way. We read of it
here in Luke chapter 18. You know where I'm going. There's
a way. It may happen today. Oh, it may
happen today. Isn't that a glorious thought?
God Almighty in the court of heaven may look down upon some
sinner and say, that man, that woman is going home justified. I look down from my sovereign
throne of holy, immaculate majesty, and I declare unto you that that
sinner is perfect in the sight of a holy God. My soul. Are you interested in that? Look
what our Lord says at verse 9. He spake this parable unto certain. which trusted in themselves that
they were righteous and despised others. Two men went up into
the temple to pray, the one a Pharisee, a separated one, and the other
one a publican, a tax collector, a Jewish tax collector, working
for the Romans. The Pharisee stood and prayed
thus with himself. Can you just picture this man?
God, I thank you. He wasn't thanking God. When
we read those words, he prayed thus with himself, he surely
did. I thank thee that I'm not as other men are, extortioners,
unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I pass twice in
the week. I give tithes of all that I possess. And the publican, and the publican,
standing afar off, He wouldn't go near the holy place. Oh, the
Pharisee did, didn't think nothing of it. But the publicans stood
afar off. He wouldn't even look toward
heaven, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven,
but smote upon his breast, his heart, the root of the problem,
and he's prayed, saying, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. Hear these words. I tell you, not the preacher, not the priest,
I tell you, this man went down to his house justified. This man went down to his house
justified. He went home justified rather
than the other for everyone that exalteth himself shall be abased. and he that humbleth himself
shall be exalted." In verse 9, we're told why Jesus spoke this
parable. Because there were there certain
which trusted in themselves their own goodness, their own righteousness. And this is why God the Holy
Spirit preserved this for us today. because we still have
that, don't we? Still have that. Still have that
problem. Self-righteousness. Would you
be surprised if I told you that self-righteousness is the number
one reason men don't come to Christ? That's exactly right. That's the number one reason
men don't come to Christ. They don't need him. They don't
need him. They feel the way to heaven can
be paved, can be attained by their own works. Christ told
his disciples just hours before he went to the garden where Judas
knew he would be and was arrested, he told them, I am the way. I am the way. Singular, singular. Now, I know we live in a day
of political correctness and when you or someone hears you
say this, they accuse you of being narrow-minded and bigoted. So be it. Our Lord said, nevertheless,
I am the way. No man, no man, not Larry Criss,
no man ever comes to God No man is ever justified in the sight
of a holy God. No man will ever find forgiveness
by God except through me, the Lord Jesus Christ said, I am. Present tense. Always has been. There's never been another way
by which the holy God justifies, forgives a guilty sinner. It's always been on the merits,
the person, the worth of our Lord Jesus Christ. There's never
been another way. There wasn't an Old Testament
way of saving sinners and a New Testament way. There's always
only been one. Every lamb slain before our Lord
came was a picture of Him. And when He came on the scene,
John said, look now, look, look. No longer cast your eyes upon
the type, but look at the fulfillment of the type. Look at the reality. There goes the Lamb of God. Behold him, Simeon, when the
young child was brought into the temple to do after the manner
of the law. Simeon took him up in his arms. I love that picture, don't you?
And that old man said, I can lay down now and die, didn't
he, Lord? There's nothing else in this world that I need to
see. I'm fulfilled. I can lie down
and die a happy man. How's that possible, Simeon?
Because I've seen, I've seen God's salvation. And Simeon in
the temple wasn't looking at the altar. He wasn't looking
at the sacrifice. He was looking at the living,
breathing Savior, Jesus Christ himself. Oh, behold the Lamb
of God. What our Lord said in this parable
will be repeated many times over today. I don't have a doubt about
that because multitudes of people this morning, it's the thing
to do, have gotten up and gone to churches. That's not hard
to do. That's easy to do. There's churches
on every corner. when Terry and Pat and I were
in Rocky Mount, Virginia, a week before last, visiting Brother
Henry Mahan. I think Paul, Henry's son, told
us Rocky Mount only had a population of about 7,500 people. There
was a church on every corner. I mean, just churches all over
the place, but that's typical. We don't need any more churches.
Ooh, that's terrible. I'll say it again. We don't need
any more churches. We need the gospel preachers
and the ones that are there, but we don't need any more churches. Anyone can go to church. And
people, just as our Lord taught here, will leave churches after
being entertained and so forth, or even after hearing the gospel,
the true gospel of the grace of God, they'll leave exactly
as they came in. If they entered lost, they'll
leave lost. If they entered without Christ,
they'll leave without Christ. And they'll soon, very soon,
They'll stand before a holy God without Christ, without a mediator,
without hope, without an intercessor, without a substitute, stand before
God Almighty all by themselves. What a horrible, horrible thought.
Unless, unless this happens. This happens. What our Lord spoke
of in verse 14, unless this happens, unless he himself says, unless
our Lord himself says, but this man, this man, not both of them,
one was justified. One was declared not guilty in
the court of heaven years ago I was acquainted with a family
who had, the mother had four sons. The youngest son was accused
of murdering a man, and his trial stretched on for a while. On the day they thought the verdict
may possibly come in, the mother, whom I knew, was well acquainted
with, asked me if I would be there with her. So I sat with
her, auditorium in the courtroom. And the jury came out and they
asked, have you reached a verdict? Well, she grabbed my hand and
pressed it like this until it turned white. And they arose
and said, we have, Your Honor. How do you find the defendant?
Not guilty. Not guilty. All the relief in
that dear mother's heart. But that is Small potatoes, as
we say, compared to what our Lord said here, isn't it? Looks down from the throne of
omnipotent, sovereign, ruling reign and says, that man, that
man, I tell you, if he says so, it doesn't matter what anybody
else says or thinks. I say unto you, He's not guilty. He's justified. He's going home
justified. Not the one who stood the closest
to the holy place, not the one that was most respected, not
the one that was the most religious, not the one who uttered the longest
prayer or who claimed the most, but this man, this man. Can you see him? Can you identify
with him? The publican, he was despised. When the Pharisees wanted to
insult our Lord, the worst thing they could think to slander him
with was this, he receiveth publicans and sinners. But this man, this publican,
this tax collector, he confessed himself the sinner. Two men went to the temple. One
stood as a bragger, bragging on himself who he was, who he
wasn't, what he'd done. And one uttered one-fifth of
the words, seven words. One was a beggar before the throne
of God, and all he could say was, God, be merciful to me,
the sinner. Two men, two prayers, and two
results. One, a Pharisee. He was so highly
esteemed. People in that day didn't consider
anybody to be as righteous as a Pharisee. They were God's men. They were very strict in the
observance of law, very orthodox in their doctrine, in their devotions,
but our Lord said, everything they did, they did to be seen
of men. Turn, if you will, to Luke chapter
16. Look what our Lord said concerning
the Pharisees. He's speaking to them, Luke chapter
16. Verse 14. And the Pharisees also, which
were covetous, heard all these things, and they derided him.
And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves
before men. That's what the Pharisees did,
didn't they, in the parable. But God, God knoweth your hearts. God knows your hearts. For that
which is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the
sight of God." And our Lord, in his Sermon on the Mount, and
afterwards, he pronounced those terrible woes against the Pharisees. He said, you're like a whitewashed
grave. You look pretty on the outside,
but inside you're full of dead men's bones. You clean up the
outside. You appear righteous to men. You put on a show. All your religion,
your prayers, your giving, all that you do is just to show. You pray on street corners to
be heard of men. You give to receive praise of
men. But he said, God knows your heart. God knows your heart. Paul knew
well the problem with the Pharisee because he himself at one time
was in the same boat. And he said, I bear them record.
in Romans 10, that they have a zeal for God, but not according
to knowledge, for they're going about to establish their own
righteousness. Their own righteousness. They
feel by all their religious exercises that God is pleased, that God
accepts that, and they've never bowed to the righteousness of
God which is in Jesus Christ. a modern-day Pharisee. He'll
take Christ plus, Christ and, but he'll never, he'll never
be able to say, Christ is all. He's all I need. Oh, what a blessed,
blessed place to be brought to. What a blessed, glorious place
to be brought down to, to be convinced of, and to be enabled
by God's grace to sing, Christ is all in all. Christ is all I need. He's everything. My righteousness,
my wisdom, my sanctification, my redemption. But a mere religious
man He can't say that. It's Christ plus my works. Christ plus my faith. Christ in addition to what I've
done. Not Christ is all, but there
were two men, the publican. The publican, verse 13, standing
afar off. Standing afar off. This tax collector. working for the Roman government,
collecting taxes from his own people. He stands afar off. He can't even lift up his eyes
to heaven. He felt so unworthy, like a child
being caught doing something wrong by their parents and they're
ashamed to look their parents in the face. He can't even lift
his eyes toward heaven. He just stands, smiting on his
breast. God be merciful to me, a sinner. You say, well, we're all sinners. What's the big deal? What's so
special about this publican? Here's the difference. Here's
the difference between the publican and the Pharisee. Here's the
difference that made all the difference. Yes, they're both
sinners, but only one knew it. Only one knew it, and it wasn't
the Pharisee. Their prayers reveal what was
in their heart. The Scriptures tells us, but
God looketh on the heart. Out of the heart are the issues
of life. These two men offer their two
prayers. The prayer of the Pharisee in
verse 11 and 12 prove exactly what our Lord said. He trusted
in himself that he was righteous. He stood. He wasn't humble. He wasn't ashamed. He didn't
have anything to be ashamed of. He was proud. He was proud. I mean, after all, he touched
not. and he tasted not, and he went
not, and he wore not. I mean, look at his robe. Look
how he dresses. He even dresses the part. He
makes broad the border of his garment, our Lord said, and his
phylactery. He trusted in himself. And his
prayer was all about himself. Verse 11, what he wasn't. And
verse 12, what he did. But you notice in this prayer,
This sinner, this self-righteous sinner asked for nothing. He didn't ask for anything. Can
you imagine that? Professing to go into the presence
of God Almighty, not feeling that he needs anything. Don't
need anything. Had need of nothing. He didn't need forgiveness. He
didn't have any sin. He didn't need God's righteousness.
He had his own. And he didn't need mercy. He
didn't need Christ. He represents all those who have
never felt their need. have never been clothed because
they've never been stripped, have never confessed, I'm the
sinner. They've never been brought down.
They've never been aware of the condition that they're in or
aware of the holiness of God Almighty. They believe the lie
that they've been told all their life. Salvation is easy. It's
all up to you. It's all in your hands. That's
a lie. That's a lie. Our Lord said,
that's not so. Who can be saved? And he said,
it's impossible. It's impossible with man. Oh,
but let's turn to this publican. Here's a picture of grace. Here's
a picture of a sinner made aware by the grace of God Here's a
prayer of not a beggar, or rather a bragger, but a beggar. Here's
a bankrupt sinner. Here's a bankrupt sinner. Oh,
they're rare. They're rare. But here's a bankrupt
sinner. He's got nothing to pay. He doesn't
boast of anything. He doesn't claim anything. All
he can say is, And this is literally what he said, I'm the sinner. Not a sinner, not just one of
many. He said, I'm the sinner. He doesn't
plead his merit, but God's mercy. I'm the sinner. Mercy. The word that this is translated
from is only used one other time in the New Testament in Hebrews
2. Verse 17 speaks of reconciliation. made by Christ. This poor publican
had an eye toward the mercy seat. What he asked was, God, be merciful
to me through a sacrifice. God, be propitious to me through
a sacrifice. He asked for mercy with an eye
to the sacrifice that typified, that pointed to the Lord Jesus
Christ. God, be merciful to me for his
sake. God, help me. Help me. I'm the sinner. There's not a greater one than
me. I can't look down my nose at
anybody. Nobody is as vile a sinner as
me. The cry of this poor man's heart
was, Have mercy. Pass me not. Oh, pass me not. Like the blind beggar in this
same chapter, in verse 38, he cried saying, Jesus, thou Son
of David, have mercy on me. Jesus is on his way to Jericho. He's on his way to obtain the
eternal redemption of his people. He's on His way to bring in an
everlasting righteousness. He's on His way to purge our
sins. He's on a mission of mercy sent
by the Holy Lord God. And He hears a blind beggar setting
by the gate of Jericho as our Lord goes out And he cries, Oh,
Lord Jesus, I've heard of you. I've heard what you've done for
others. Do it for me. Do it for me. Don't pass me by. You're the only Savior. You're
the only mediator. You're my only hope. You're all
the salvation that there is. Don't pass me by. And you know
the story. Oh, what a glorious picture.
Our Lord Jesus Christ did what he always does. Lester, he stopped
dead in his tracks and said, bring that sinner to me. Bring
him to me. Come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Just as he did
to this poor publican. Two results, last of all. I tell
you verse 14 again. I tell you, this man went down
to his house justified rather than the other. The other. The Pharisee went home exactly
as he came, self-assured, self-satisfied, self-righteous, still clinging
to, trusting in his own robe of righteousness, still very
religious, so very religious and so very lost. But our Lord
said, I tell you, this man, referring to the publican, this beggar,
this needy, self-loathing sinner, he doesn't go home like he came
into the temple that day. He came lost, but he leaves found. He came condemned, but he leaves
justified. He came burdened down with a
load of sin, shackled, shackled with a heavy
burden, loaded down with sin and guilt, but he leaves rejoicing
because the King of Glory said, not guilty. Thy sins are all
forgiven thee. Go home justified. And that publican goes home singing
all the bliss of this glorious thought. My sins, not in part
but the whole, have all been nailed to his cross, and I bear
them no more. Oh, praise the Lord, praise the
Lord, O my soul. Justified. He's declared not
guilty, justified from all things, and he'll never be pronounced
unjustified. He'll never be lost again. He's
been found. He's been found. And notice who
says so. Who says so? The Lord Jesus Christ
who himself said, I'm the way, the truth, and the life. He says,
I tell you. I tell you. The only one that
has the right, the only one that has the authority. I tell you,
this man is going home justified. Turn back, if you will, in Luke's
gospel to chapter 1. This is Mary's song of praise
to her God in the house of her cousin Elizabeth. Her tribute. her Hosanna to the King of Heaven. She sings his praises, verse
49 of Luke chapter 1. She says, For he that is mighty
hath done to me great things, and holy is his name. And his
mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
He has showed strength with his arm. He has scattered the proud
in the imagination of their hearts. He has put down the mighty from
their seats and exalted them of low degree." Exalted. Exalted. Lefted up. Lefted up by great mercy. Exalted by a great God and Savior. Exalted to this highest place
in Christ Jesus. In Christ Jesus. Exalted in the
best robe. Not self-righteousness, but the
very righteousness of God. God's righteousness. The righteousness
of God in Christ. Perfect. Perfect. In Ezekiel, we're told, thou
renown went forth among the heathen for thy beauty because it was
perfect. It was perfect through my righteousness
which I put upon you, lifted up from the dunghill to the throne,
from the depths of sin to the eternal joy of everlasting salvation. Let me read you. what the psalmist
said concerning this. Psalm 40, verse 1. Is this your psalm? I waited
patiently for the Lord and he inclined unto me and heard my
cry. Imagine that. Imagine that. God heard the cry of this sinner.
But that's not all. Verse 2. He brought me up also
out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and he set my
feet up on a rock and established my goings. He hath put a new
song in my mouth, even praising to our God. Many shall see it
in fear and shall trust in the Lord." If you follow these two,
our Lord spoke about in the parable, if you follow them in life and then follow them in death,
You find the Pharisee standing before God Almighty. Our Lord
spoke of him in Matthew 7, still trusting his own righteousness.
Lord, we've done many wonderful things in your name. And the
Lord says, I never knew you. Depart from me. But there stands
the publican, still justified. Still justified. And our Lord says, enter into
the joy prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
I said at the beginning of the message that what our Lord taught
here could be repeated today, many times over. What happened concerning the
Pharisee will happen today, but hopefully, what happened concerning this
publican who prayed God. I'm the sinner. I'm bankrupt. My case is desperate. I'm hopeless. All I want is mercy. I want mercy. and Christ said he went home
with it. Justified. One hymn writer expressed it
like this. Not what these hands have done can save this guilty
soul. Not what this toiling flesh has
borne can make my spirit whole. Not what I feel or do can give
me peace with God. Not all my prayers or sighs or
tears can ease my awful load. Thy work alone, my Savior, can
ease this weight of sin. Thy blood alone, O Lamb of God,
can give me peace within. Thy grace alone, O God, to me
can pardon speak. Thy power alone, O Son of God,
can this sore bondage break. Brothers and sisters in Christ, we have reason, great reason
to rejoice, because as we leave here in a few moments, the God of heaven looks down and says, Going home justified. Going home
justified. Would you experience that? Take
your place with that poor publican. God, be merciful to me, thee,
sinner, and he will. He will. God bless you.