This morning, we continue our series on “The Parables of Jesus.” We will seek to glean “Pearls from the Parables.”
Before we get to the parable, let’s look at a scripture we have been looking at all year. This is something I believe the Lord wants us to meditate on.
(Psalm 126:4 TPT)
Now, Lord, do it again! Restore us to our former glory! May streams of your refreshing flow over us until our dry hearts are drenched again.
This is a season of refreshing and restoring for us.
(Luke 18:9-14 ERV)
9 There were some people who thought they were very good and looked down on everyone else. Jesus used this story to teach them:
10 “One time there was a Pharisee and a tax collector. One day they both went to the Temple to pray.
11 The Pharisee stood alone, away from the tax collector. When the Pharisee prayed, he said, ‘O God, I thank you that I am not as bad as other people. I am not like men who steal, cheat, or commit adultery. I thank you that I am better than this tax collector.
12 I fast twice a week, and I give a tenth of everything I get!’
13 “The tax collector stood alone too. But when he prayed, he would not even look up to heaven. He felt very humble before God. He said, ‘O God, have mercy on me. I am a sinner!’
14 I tell you, when this man finished his prayer and went home, he was right with God. But the Pharisee, who felt that he was better than others, was not right with God. People who make themselves important will be made humble. But those who make themselves humble will be made important.”
So, what does this mean to you today? A few things.
Laying the foundation.
In today’s message, we turn our attention to the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, a powerful illustration Jesus used to address those who were confident in their own righteousness and looked down on others. This parable contrasts the attitudes and prayers of two men – a Pharisee and a tax collector – and reveals truths about humility, grace, and the heart posture God desires from us. As we explore this parable, let us open our hearts to glean life lessons about God’s grace and the dangers of a religious and self-righteous attitude.
1. You are righteous by faith in Jesus and His finished work alone.
To make this point, I will use Paul’s teachings to the believers in Galatia.
The Apostle Paul visited southern Galatia on his first missionary journey (Acts 13–14). Scholars date the trip early in his ministry, around 47–48 AD. Paul preached the Gospel of God’s grace during his journeys, and in the process, churches were planted everywhere he went.
Years later, Paul wrote to the Galatians, clearly frustrated with the fact that they had allowed Jewish converts to Christianity (like he was) to add portions of The Law to the Gospel of grace. He told them clearly, “When you’re placed into the Anointed One [Chrst Jesus] and joined to him, circumcision and religious obligations can benefit you nothing. All that matters now is living in the faith that is activated and brought to perfection by love.” (Gal 5:6).
— Paul says that by adding performance-based religion to the grace Jesus provided, the Galatians were “deceived” and “led astray.”
— Paul was clear that adding religious requirements (performance-based religion) is not what makes you righteous. We are not righteous by what we do. We are only righteous because of what Jesus did.
— The sad truth is that today, thousands of years later, many Christians are making the same mistake the Galatians made back then. They have added religious requirements to God’s grace as conditions for righteousness, as if you could ever be righteous by works. This is what the Pharisee in our parable today was doing.
— Please don’t be deceived like the Galatians were. If you are Born-Again, you are righteous. But you are not righteous because of what you do or what you fail to do. You are only righteous because of what Jesus did. You are the righteousness of God by faith, and that only happened becuase your faith in Jesus’ finished work accesses God’s unearned and undeserved grace.
— Please don’t add human effort to God’s finished work, as if your performance could ever measure up. You are not righteous because of what you do. You are righteous because of what He did. Remember, it’s ALL ABOUT HIM!
— In Galatians 5, Paul was upset that someone had convinced the Galatians to mix God’s grace with human effort. This mixture is dangerous because it can contaminate your entire belief system.
— Paul went on to say, “Don’t you know that when you allow even a little lie into your heart, it can permeate your entire belief system?” (Gal 5:9). Just like a little yeast works itself through an entire batch of dough, a little lie, or a little deception, can work its way through your entire belief system.
— If you start mixing “a little Law” or “a little human effort” with God’s grace before you know it, you won’t look in the mirror and see yourself as righteous because of what Jesus did. You will start seeing yourself as righteous because of what you are either doing or not doing. This is self-righteousness.
— Not only is self-righteousness a terrible thing because you have made Jesus irrelevant (thinking you are righteous by your works and Jesus’ finished work), but this thinking will negatively impact your faith walk because the level of your faith towards God will be contingent upon your perceived level of goodness towards Him. Meaning that if you perform good, you will expect good. But if you perform badly, you will expect bad. If you get to the point where you believe this way, then Jesus means nothing to you. You are living no different than the Old Covenant believers who lived before Jesus came. You are living by works, not by faith in God’s grace.
— It comes down to the fact that you are not perfect, but Jesus was perfect FOR you. You are not righteous, but Jesus was righteous FOR you. If you fully embrace what Jesus did FOR you, you will open your heart to God’s grace and live by faith in Christ and Christ alone. However, if you want to live by faith in Christ, but you then think that you also need to perform to get God to bless you, then you are ADDING performance-based religion to God’s grace. Even if you add “a little” of this type of thinking, it will infect your entire belief system, and before you know it, you will be relying on YOU instead of relying on God! The Bible calls this a false teaching.
2. The Danger of Self-Righteousness.
— The Pharisee’s prayer reflects a self-righteous mindset and attitude. This man focused on his own perceived goodness rather than God’s grace.
— Religious people run the danger of convincing themselves that they are right with God because of their own actions. This, by definition, is self-righteousness.
— If we could be made right by our own works, then Jesus would not have had to die.
— Nothing we do or fail to do will ever make us right with God. The only reason those of us who are Born-Again are right with God is because of what Jesus did.
— Self-righteousness blinds us to our own faults and magnifies others’ shortcomings.
— It leads to pride and a false sense of superiority, distancing us from the heart of God.
— The Pharisee’s attitude represents a works-based (or performance-based) approach to righteousness, which is contrary to the message of grace.
— Self-righteousness hinders genuine spiritual growth and fosters judgmental and critical attitudes toward others.
— It’s a trap that can lead to spiritual complacency and a lack of empathy for those who struggle.
— Jesus’ parable challenges us to examine our hearts for traces of Pharisaical attitudes and to embrace humility.
3. The Humility of the Tax Collector.
— The tax collector’s prayer is a model of humility and dependence on God’s mercy.
— He recognizes his unworthiness and doesn’t attempt to justify himself before God.
— This man knew he was nothing without God. He knew he needed God for everything. Jesus was pleased with this man’s posture and the attitude of his heart.
— The Pharisee was paying loud to make sure others heard him, saying, “O God, I thank you that I am not as bad as other people. I am not like men who steal, cheat, or commit adultery. I thank you that I am better than this tax collector. I fast twice a week, and I give a tenth of everything I get!” Many religious people do the same thing today. They are very public with the things that make them look good, but secretly, they know how flawed they are.
— The tax collector had a posture of humility. This is what God desires – a heart that acknowledges its need for grace.
— The tax collector’s approach aligns with a grace-based mindset, understanding that righteousness comes from God, not self-effort.
— The type of humility the tax collector had leads to true repentance, a turning away from self and towards God.
— This story teaches us that God values a contrite heart more than outward religious observances.
— The tax collector’s example encourages us to approach God with honesty about our flaws and total reliance on His grace and mercy.
4. If you try to take a portion of The Law, you have to comply with the entire thing because violating one rule is like breaking them all!
Let’s go back to Pauls’ teachings for our final point today.
(Galatians 5:1-4 NLT)
1 So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the Law.
2 Listen! I, Paul, tell you this: If you are counting on circumcision to make you right with God, then Christ will be of no benefit to you.
3 I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole Law of Moses.
4 For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the Law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.
There were some Jewish Christians in Galatia who required Gentile converts to Christianity to get circumcised. Paul already taught about this, but he came back to address the issue further. And the Apostle further reiterates his point and says, “I’ll say it again. If you are trying to find favor with God by being circumcised, you must obey every regulation in the whole Law of Moses.” Paul keeps driving home the point that if you attempt to take on a portion of the Law, thinking that your compliance with that portion is making you right with God, then the Law actually requires you to abide by the entire Law, and if you break any portion of it, you are guilty of breaking the entire Law. James made that clear.
(James 2:10 NLT)
For the person who keeps all of the laws except one is as guilty as a person who has broken all of God’s laws.
Paul continues with another very strong statement. Paul says, “For if you are trying to make yourselves right with God by keeping the Law, you have been cut off from Christ! You have fallen away from God’s grace.”
The message of #TheGraceLife has set me free from the bondage of The Law. I am so passionate about this because I know how damaging religion and religious activity can be.
There are people who love God, who have accepted Jesus as their Lord, who are forgiven of their sin, who are filled with the Holy Spirit, and who attend church every Sunday morning and every Wednesday night, wanting to please God, but they don’t see themselves as worthy of the things God has called them to do. The Holy Spirit tries His best to convince them of His love. He gives them dreams while they are sleeping. He gives them open vision while they are wide awake. He gives them revelation while they drive to and from work. He even has people call them on the phone to tell them what God revealed about them. But in the end, these people (who love God) cannot truly see themselves the way God sees them because they are too hung up on their flaws.
They love God, but their performance is holding them back from truly believing God to do what He keeps speaking to them about. They know God loves them, but they can’t believe what God believes about them because they make mistakes every now and then, and when they do, the devil beats them up (in their minds), and they beat themselves up (in their hearts). These people are NOT being held back by God. They are being held back by their performance. They just can’t believe that God wants to do what He wants to do in their lives, DESPITE their performance, not becuase of it. People like me try to preach #TheGraceLife, but their religious mindset does not allow them to believe that God is that good. They hear the gospel of grace, but for them, it seems too good to be true.
It is true. It is the love and grace of God. Please open your heart to it. If you keep living performance-based, you will never be good enough because breaking one rule is like breaking them all. Please embrace the grace of God. It will change you forever. I am a witness!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, this is a season of refreshing and restoring for me!
I declare that my righteousness comes solely from faith in Jesus and His finished work.
I acknowledge that it is not by my works, but by Your grace that I stand justified before You.
Father, I renounce any form of self-righteousness and embrace the humility demonstrated by the tax collector in the parable.
I trust in Your mercy and love, knowing that my imperfections are covered by the sacrifice and blood of Jesus.
Father, I commit to living by faith, activated and perfected by Your love, and not by adherence to the Law.
I declare that I am free from the bondage of religious performance, living in the freedom Christ has given me.
You help me to see myself as You see me, righteous and beloved, not because of what I do, but because of what Jesus did for me.
I commit to a life of faith, relying on Your grace and not my efforts, as I walk in the path You have set for me.
Living with this mindset, I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
