I'm a good and responsible man, my yard is trimmed, my car is clean. I pay my bills on time, watch my credit score, and take my vitamins. I go to church, read my Bible, pray, and give my tithe. I love my wife and my kids. I don't curse. I have a temper, but I try to keep it on a short leash. Isn’t God fortunate to have a guy like me on His team? (Of course, I’m playing the Pharisee. Stay with me, please.) If I think, even for a moment, that 'being good and keeping rules' is gaining me right standing with God, I am deceived. Long ago, I abandoned personal morality as a reason to hope for God's favor. The Spirit offered me the gift of salvation, provided freely by Christ Jesus. I received it, by faith. Now I am confident, full of hope for life now, for death when it comes, and for eternity!
Jesus told a story of two men – one who thought he was ‘all that,’ and one who knew how desperate he was. The Lord’s conclusion shocks some people. Read it!
“Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’
“Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not a sinner like everyone else. For I don’t cheat, I don’t sin, and I don’t commit adultery. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’
“But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Luke 18:10-14, NLT)
This is the upside-down, inside-out world of Christian grace. Those who are ‘in Christ’ are good, because they are full of the Spirit, changed from the inside out. They know their spiritual standing is a gift, not a reward. Some disciples begin in faith, accepting God's grace that allows them to enter the Kingdom of God and to live with a sure hope of a home in Heaven. Once their lives straighten out, they turn into smug Pharisees, proud of how good they are. When life is going well, they conclude that it must be because they are being 'good enough.' That fallacy has a terrible downside!
When a self-righteous man hits a rough spot, the Devil exploits his faulty theology by making him think it must be punishment for some sin. “What did I do to bring this on myself?” he asks. With gusto he redoubles his efforts, raises his giving, sings more loudly in church, and tries to be nice. Why? He is tricked by the ‘basic principles of this present world,” (Colossians 2:8) to believe that the favor of God is for sale. When he realizes that he can’t buy God’s favor, he may get discouraged, or worse – he may become angry at at the Lord - because "He is so unfair!" Don't jump to the wrong conclusion here. Our actions do have consequences, both good and bad. The Lord wants us to grow in grace and live good, pure lives. But, we never trust in our own goodness to earn for us, what He wants to give to us freely - salvation, acceptance, and hope!
The prophet Jeremiah gives us the word from the Word for today. May it keep us from the sin of the Pharisee, humbly dependent on Christ and His Cross.
"Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land. But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit." (Jeremiah 17:5-8, NLT)
"Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord. They are like stunted shrubs in the desert, with no hope for the future. They will live in the barren wilderness, in an uninhabited salty land. But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit." (Jeremiah 17:5-8, NLT)
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A friend of Jesus! Oh, what bliss
That one so weak as I
Should ever have a Friend like this
To lead me to the sky!
That one so weak as I
Should ever have a Friend like this
To lead me to the sky!
Friendship with Jesus!
Fellowship divine!
Oh, what blessed, sweet communion!
Jesus is a Friend of mine.
Joseph Ludgate- Public Domain
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