Wednesday, April 6, PM

Prayer for Understanding and Christ’s Well-Pleased Sonship

Folks, we're going to go ahead and get started, open our Bibles, and turn to Luke chapter 18. Luke chapter 18. Let's begin with a word of prayer. Father, I thank you so much for this day. Thank you for the change in the weather, the change in the season, and the beautiful day that we've enjoyed today.

I pray that you would help us as we study your word tonight, that you would give us a right understanding of the text, and that we would rejoice in the person and work of your Son, Jesus Christ, the one with whom you are well pleased.

It is in his name that we pray. Amen. Luke chapter 18, beginning verse 1. We'll read through verse 17. They spoke a parable to them that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying, There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man.

Now there was a widow in that city, and she came to him saying, Get justice for me from my adversary. And he would not for a while, but afterward he said within himself, Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me, I will avenge her.

Lest by her continual coming she weary me. Then the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge his own elect who cry out day and night to him, though he bears long with them?

I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he really find faith on the earth? Also he spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others.

Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself. God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.

I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all I possess. And the tax collector standing afar off would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat 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 everyone who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted. Then they also brought infants to him that he might touch them.

But when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But Jesus called them to him and said, let the little children come to me and do not forbid them for of such is the kingdom of God. Surely I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.

Righteousness in Question: God’s Justice and Human Pride

So what we have in these 17 verses is righteousness in question. Righteousness in question. The first is God's own righteousness. Is God just? Does God do the right thing? Will God avenge the wrong that is done to his elect?

The wrong done to his chosen ones? Is God just? That was the first question. So is he righteous? Righteousness in question. The second question, the second part of this passage is not about God's righteousness, but about man's righteousness.

How is man righteous? How is man right in the sight of God? There's the way the Pharisee thinks, and there's the way that the tax collector thinks. There's the way that the disciples object little children, and there's the way that Jesus talks about little children in the kingdom.

So there's righteousness in question. The first portion of the text is connected to the ending of Luke 17. There is a distinct application that Jesus is making after telling his disciples what he told them in Luke 17 about the day of the Lord on the horizon, one of the days of the Son of Man, when the Son of Man comes to judge.

And we've talked about Luke chapter 17 verses 22 through 37, how this same content is repeated in Mark 13, Matthew 24, and Luke 21. So we know what he's talking about here. He's talking about the judgment to come upon that generation with the fall of Jerusalem.

So when we get to chapter 18, Jesus tells a parable, tells a story, because he does not want his disciples to lose heart. He wants them to pray and to not lose heart. They would have several opportunities to lose heart in the coming days.

If you want to see where those opportunities abound, just read the book of Acts. How did things go for the disciples after Jesus ascended back to heaven? How many times are they in prison? How many times are they on the run?

How many times is there a big fight going on in the church? How often are they facing tough questions without clear answers? Over and over again, there's opportunity for Jesus' followers to lose heart.

But Jesus says, don't lose heart. Keep praying. Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time, there was an unjust judge. He was unjust. He was in his position not because he was doing the right thing, but because he was doing his own thing.

So he was just a normal politician. And he had a widow who was nagging him. And I don't know if he reflected on some of the wisdom of Solomon in regard to this matter, but we see that he did not fear man.

I don't care what anybody thinks. And he did not fear God. I don't care what God thinks. He did not think of God first and most. He did not think of man first and most. But do you see what motivated him?

Not the fear of man, not the fear of God, but the fear of death. She's wearying me. She's sucking the life out of me. I don't want to keep on living like this. And so in the fear of losing out on life, he just gives in.

Now, what an unjust judge and what a poor motivation. Now, Jesus says, in this case, the widow pleading constantly and even this unjust judge will in the end give in. Now, how much better is it when you pray to your heavenly Father?

He is just. He does care. And will he not take vengeance? Will he not avenge the wickedness being done to his own people, to his elect, to his chosen, to his beloved? Will he not do the right thing and avenge their sufferings?

Avenge even their deaths? Will he not do the right thing? And of course, the answer is yes. And so in this way, we have a very common teaching form of moving from the lesser to the greater. If it's true in this lesser scenario, how much the more in the greater?

It's a very common way for Jesus to teach. Now, notice the way in which Jesus assures his followers that their prayers to God for him to act in his righteousness and to avenge the wrongs done to them, done to the people of God.

How does Jesus put it in verses 7 and 8? And shall God not avenge his own elect who cry out day and night to him, though he bears long with them? So first of all, note that when God's people cry out day and night to him, he hears them.

He hears us when we pray. Now it says he bears long with them. We don't like that part. It seems as if God is not answering our prayers. He's hearing our prayers. He's bearing long with us and he will answer in his own way, in his own time, and it'll be the right thing.

Be the right thing. So look at verse 8. I tell you that he will avenge them. No, what is this? Speedily, speedily. Now, in the original language, this word means speedily. Yeah, fast. And this is not going to be something he's going to allow to drag on.

Do you remember, do you remember how Jesus dealt with one notable persecutor of the church? Do you remember how he dealt with him? Saul of Tarsus was a premier persecutor of the church. Even as Jesus said what happened in the Gospel of John, that Saul of Tarsus thought he was doing God's will, pleasing the Lord in his persecution of the followers of the way, stamping out what he saw to be a heretical cult.

And Jesus said, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? So acts of persecution against the body of Christ, Christ takes personally to himself. It's not my people that you're dealing with, you're dealing with me.

There's a great chapter in the book of Acts, chapter 12. It begins on a sad note with James being killed, but then ends with what? A famous verse. He was eaten by worms and died. Who was eaten by worms and died?

Herod, the guy who was persecuting the church at the beginning of the chapter, died by the end of it. We see that God avenges his people speedily. Now notice in connection to this word of vengeance and speedy vengeance, Jesus talks about the Son of Man coming.

Now, if we've just read chapter 17, he's been talking about the Son of Man coming to do judgment, and he says here it's going to be speedily. Again, the same verses, the same context as in Matthew 24, Luke 21, Mark 13.

It's all dated within that generation. So it's speedily. Now he asks a very important question. Here's the question. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he really find faith on the earth? And the word earth there is earth, meaning earth or land, not cosmos, global world.

But is he going to find faith on the earth in his day of judgment? This is a good question because at the very beginning of the chapter, Jesus tells a story because he doesn't want them to lose heart.

He wants them to trust. He wants them to believe. Then he tells another story. Isn't it interesting that after he asks the question, will the Son of Man find faith on the earth when he comes, he immediately then talks about a story that has to do with faith.

Isn't that convenient? The very next story, what does he say? He also spoke this parable to some who trusted. There's the verb form of the noun faith. The question is, will the Son of Man find faith on the earth?

And then he gives a story in which two examples of faith are shown. What kind of faith is he going to find when he comes in judgment? That's the question. And then there's two versions, two examples of faith given in the very next story.

The Pharisee, the Tax Collector, and Justification by Faith

He also spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. So having settled the matter of righteousness in question that God is righteous, now he begins to deal with the question of righteousness in men.

What makes a man or woman righteous? How is it that we can be right in the sight of God? And this is a matter of faith. What do you trust? He's dealing with those who trust in themselves and they ought not trust in themselves, they ought to trust in God.

So here's the story about two men. Who are the two men? There's a what and a what. Pharisee and tax collector. First question guys ask each other when they meet. So what do you do? I'm a Pharisee. I'm a tax collector.

These two guys are in the same temple at the same time. What a great story. What a great contrast. The Pharisee seen as one who was greatly favored by God. Probably wealthy. Knows the code and how to do everything just right and make sure everybody else knows that he's doing it just right and that they're not.

Then we have the tax collector and the King James the publican. Not the republican, it's just the A tax collector seen as a traitor. Somebody who's aiding and abetting the oppressing, occupying force of the Romans.

Either collecting taxes for the Romans or collecting taxes for Herod's mercenaries who help him keep order. Usually drawn from various Gentiles in the area. A Pharisee and a tax collector. Now just like the unjust judge who said within himself, we have the Pharisee who prays thus with himself.

You see how Jesus ties the two men together. The Pharisee prays thus with himself, God I thank you that I am not like other men. Extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. By the way, are extortioners good people or bad?

Bad people. How about adulterers? Not something you want to be. So he's saying, thank you God that I'm not like one of those. There for the grace of God go I. Verse 12, I fast twice a week. Mondays and Thursdays, by the way.

Those were the market days. So they could go drag themselves in front of everybody at market and everybody would know that they were fasting. I give tithes of all that I possess, even the herbs, even the herbs they tithe.

And the tax collector standing far off prayed differently, didn't he? But consider this Pharisee. What kind of understanding about salvation do you think he has? Works-based. Now how committed is he to the works-based?

I mean, is he a consistent Pelagian or is he not? I mean, is he as consistent as Charles Finney, perhaps? He said, it's impossible for God to justify a man while one particle of sin still remains in him.

And the reason why God is just because he keeps the law like we should too. Now, Charles Finney was the perfect Pelagian, an abject heretic. But what about this man? Is he as Pelagian as Finney? I don't think so.

Notice how he prays. God, I thank you. Oh, he's giving credit to God, isn't he? His hand is still lifted upward. It's not exactly this. He's thanking God that he is not an abject sinner. And truly, the thanksgiving extends to the fact that he's able to fast twice a week, that he gives tithes of all that he possesses and so on.

You see, as much as we wish that the Pharisee was the perfect Pelagian that we could just pummel, you know, the straw man that we could duke it out with, he's actually something less than a Pelagian. It's not even semi-Pelagian.

This man is a covenantal gnomist. Isn't that great? Here's how it works to a Jewish mommy and a Jewish daddy. Eighth day, they circumcised the young lad and they took him and they offered a sacrifice at the temple.

And they rejoiced that yet another Jew was born into the covenant. Born into the covenant. How did he get in? Did that little baby work to get in? He didn't get in by works. He got in by what? Grace. He didn't do nothing.

God gave him life. God gave him believing parents. They did all the work. They offered the sacrifices on his behalf. He got in by grace, but you got to stay in by works. That is covenantal gnomism. Making quite a comeback in our day, by the way.

You get in by grace, but you got to stay in by keeping up with things. Right? And occasionally, things will be announced to you and declared to you that unless you have, unless you fill out all of these requirements, oh and these new ones that we've discovered, you don't have a full gospel.

You're not measuring up. You get in by grace, but you have to keep it up by works. And that concept is what Jesus is condemning here. Pelagians are even further out of bounds than this. And Jesus says this is not.

This is trusting in themselves that they were righteous. Okay. The tax collector standing afar off would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast saying, God be merciful to me, a sinner.

Now does anybody have a different article? It's not a sinner. The sinner. Be merciful to me, the sinner. And what is his prayer? He does not use the word normal, normally translated mercy. He uses the word for propitiation.

He says be propitious to me, a sinner. Meaning God, satisfy your justice concerning my sins and my guilt. This is what I need. And look, he's in the temple. What a great place to pray this. Recognizing that he is in need of the mediator.

He's in need of sacrifice. He is in need of the shedding of blood for the remission of his sins. See, he is laid hold by faith of the shadows of Christ, therefore laying hold of the substance of Christ.

And he goes home justified. He goes home right in the sight of God because he is the sinner who humbled himself before the Lord and said, be propitious to me. Be merciful to me. Satisfy your justice concerning my sins in a gracious and merciful way.

A substitute sacrifice is what I need. And this man went down to his house. He had to go down from the temple. The Why? Look, you can't exalt yourself. You can't exalt yourself and be saved. You have to humble yourself.

Blessed are the poor in spirit. You have to humble yourself to be saved. Point in case, what about these little children? Verses 15 through 17. Then they also brought infants to him that he might touch them.

But when the disciples saw it, they rebuked them. Why did the disciples rebuke these parents bringing their infants to Jesus for a blessing? We got, we don't have time for this. We have more important things to do.

But Jesus called them to him and said, let the little children come to me and do not forbid them for of such is the kingdom of God. Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.

Coming to the Kingdom Like a Child

All right. So what's going on here? Did Jesus just say, did Jesus just say the only way into the kingdom of God is that you have to be an infant? Yes, kind of. Nicodemus got confused too. Say what? I have to be born again?

How do I do that? How do I enter my mother's womb a second time and be born? So Jesus is not affirming a continuance of the old covenant. You get into the covenant by being an infant. He is using that as an analogy and an illustration, as he says to the disciples, whom he called to follow him, if you'll remember when they were grown men.

Okay. Telling them this as a little child. What does a little child, what does an infant bring to a family, by the way? What kind of resume do they have? What can you do for us? Cause extra work? How about sleepless nights?

How about that? How about a financial burden? A child, an infant can do nothing to help a family. It is completely, the child is completely dependent on the family for everything. Jesus is saying, that's how you come into the kingdom.

You don't come in with your qualifications. You don't come in with your resume. You don't come in with saying, here's what I can offer. You come in like a little child. I've got nothing. I'm in total need.

Just like the tax collector who said, be merciful to me, the sinner. So that's how you come in to the kingdom. So there's two fundamental falsehoods that Jesus deals with in this passage. Distrusting that God is righteous.

And then trusting that I myself am righteous. Two fundamental falsehoods. So reverse it. Two fundamental truths. God is righteous. I am not of my own self righteous. That's what's being emphasized in this passage when the righteousness is in question.

Jesus began by saying, pray always, do not lose heart. He says, don't trust yourself, don't exalt yourself. And it's clear that the joy of kingdom life, the joyful communion of kingdom life, is for those who humble themselves as children.

So the upshot of it is this, we must trust in God's righteousness rather than our own. Any questions or thoughts before we close? Dwight, would you run the prayer meeting side of it? I want to try some water.