The Gospel of Luke (#78); The Pharisee and the Tax Collector September 22, 2024

First Baptist Church Leominster

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Pastor Jason will come, and today we're reading the last chapter of the book of Acts, and of course we're reading of the

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Apostle Paul arriving to Rome in fulfillment of what the Lord told him what would take place long before.

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And really this culmination of reaching Rome, the capital of the

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Roman Empire, Paul saw the success of the gospel going out into the

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Gentile world. And in one sense it was achieved that even in Rome apostolic

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Christianity had arrived and he was free to be able to speak forth the kingdom of God to all those who came into his presence there in Rome.

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Acts chapter 28. Acts 28.

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And we were brought safely through when we learned that the island was called Malta. The native people showed us unusual kindness for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all because it had begun to rain and was cold.

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When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand.

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When the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, no doubt this man is a murderer.

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Though he has escaped from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live. He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.

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They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

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Now in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island named

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Publius who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days.

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It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery and Paul visited him and prayed and putting his hands on him healed him.

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And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured.

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They also honored us greatly and when we were about to sail, they put on board whatever we needed.

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After three months, we set sail in a ship that had wintered in the island, a ship of Alexandria with the twin gods as a figurehead.

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Putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there for three days and from there we made a circuit and arrived at Regium.

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And after one day, a south wind sprang up and on the second day, we came to Putoli.

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There we found brothers and were invited to stay with them for seven days. And so we came to Rome and the brothers there, when they heard about us, came as far as the forum of Apias and three taverns to meet us.

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On seeing them, Paul thanked God and took courage. And when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself with the soldier who guarded him.

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After three days, he called together the local leaders of the Jews and when they had gathered, he said to them, brothers, though I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the

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Romans. When they had examined me, they wished to set me at liberty because there was no reason for the death penalty in my case.

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But because the Jews objected, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, though I had no charge to bring against my nation.

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For this reason, therefore, I have asked to see you and speak with you since it is because of the hope of Israel that I am wearing this chain.

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And they said to him, we have received no letters from Judea about you and none of the brothers coming here has reported or spoken any evil about you.

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But we desire to hear from you what your views are, for with regard to this sect, we know that everywhere it is spoken against.

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When they had appointed a day for him, they came to him at his lodging in great numbers. From morning till evening, he expounded to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus, both from the law of Moses and from the prophets.

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And some were convinced by what he said, but others disbelieved. And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement.

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The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet, go to this people and say, you will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.

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For this people's heart has grown dull, with their ears they can barely hear and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their hearts and understand with their heart and turn and I would heal them.

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Therefore, let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles. They will listen.

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He lived there two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the

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Lord Jesus Christ with boldness and without hindrance. Let's pray.

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Our Father, we thank you so much that the salvation of God has come to the Gentiles.

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We thank you, Lord, that your word is proclaimed throughout this world and that we have been saved by it.

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And so, Lord, we rejoice that we know you. We rejoice that we, as a group, can come together and exalt you and lift your name on high.

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And, Lord, we pray that as we continue our worship through the preaching of the word that you would help us hear what the word has to say, that we would align what's being said with what the word of God states and that we would know you better, that we would understand your will for us and that we would walk in your truth.

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Lord, we pray that you would help us in all these areas. Thank you. In Jesus' name, amen. Well, you need not roll your eyes when you look down and see there's 13 pages before you.

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Obviously, we're not going to be able to address them all, but I felt necessary because of the people that receive our notes that I needed to treat the subject in more detail for their benefit.

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And so, obviously, we're going to have to do a little trimming as we go through for our sake.

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And so, we turn to Luke 18, and here we read of another parable given by our

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Lord, the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. It's a short parable.

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Jesus introduced it, or Luke introduced it in verse 9, and then Jesus told the parable in verses 10 to 14, which read,

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Also he, Jesus, spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others.

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Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself,

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God, I thank you that I'm not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.

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I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I possess. And the tax collector standing afar off would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying,

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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 abased, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

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The setting of this parable of Jesus is the last journey that our

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Lord made from Galilee to Jerusalem. Luke recorded that Jesus and his disciples left

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Galilee back in Luke 9 .51, and they arrive at Jerusalem in Luke 19 .28

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and following. And so 11 chapters with this travel narrative. Of course, after our

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Lord's arrival to the city, he would be betrayed, tried, and crucified, but then he would rise again on the third day.

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Well, between where he was here in Luke 18 .9 and his arrival to Jerusalem in Luke 19 .28

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and following, Luke recorded a number of teaching subjects and personal encounters of our

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Lord. And so I've listed them, some of them here. This parable, then next week,

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Lord willing, Jesus and the children, and then Jesus and a rich young ruler, followed by the healing of a blind man,

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Bartimaeus in Jericho, and then the story of Zacchaeus that he also met in Jericho.

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And so through all these subjects, these ones just listed, however, there emerges a single theme. They're related, which may be described as the scope of salvation.

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One wants to summarize this section of Luke's gospel this way. The present section deals with the question of who will be found faithful when the

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Son of Man comes. In other words, it deals with the qualifications required for entry to the kingdom and demonstrates in a radical manner that entry is on the basis of divine grace and human faith, all claims based on legal righteousness being rejected.

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And thus it is demonstrated that tax collectors who cast themselves on the mercy of God are accepted by him rather than legalistic

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Pharisees. To be sure, this does not mean that tax collectors are excused from making restitution for their extortion, as 19, 1 through 10 makes clear, a reference to Zacchaeus, who was also a publican, by the way.

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What is demanded is the attitude of childlike faith and trust, which the rich ruler was unwilling to show, which was demonstrated by Bartimaeus, the blind man who was healed.

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In this way, the ministry of Jesus on the way to Jerusalem reaches something of a triumphant climax in the account of what

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Jesus did at Jericho. And so it would seem like these are separate, disparate events and whatnot, but there is this theme that permeates all of them, the scope of salvation.

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In the first episode of this section, we have the Lord Jesus confronting self -righteous religious people who think that they are right with God because of their own goodness.

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Through this parable, our Lord refutes those who think they merit God's favor because of their works.

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But in Jesus refuting them, he also, of course, has brought comfort to millions of souls through the centuries who read the story of the tax collector, a humble, seeking sinner who found mercy with God.

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But there are other themes in this short parable. I have a

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PDF copy of a John Bunyan treatise that I found a couple days ago who wrote on this parable of the

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Pharisee and the publican, King James term for tax collector, which encompassed a total of 78 pages of double -column text on these few verses here.

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And so in introducing this parable, Bunyan listed several predominant themes set forth by our

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Lord, and so his title page read this way, and they tended to be rather long in their titles, a discourse upon the

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Pharisee and the publican, wherein several great and weighty things are handled as the nature of prayer and obedience to the law, with how far it obliges

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Christians wherein it consists, wherein it is also showed the quality deplorable condition, the equally deplorable condition of the

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Pharisee or hypocritical and self -righteous man, and the publican or the sinner that lives in sin and in open violation of divine laws, together with the way and method of God's free grace in pardoning penitent sinners, proving that he justifies them by imputing

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Christ's righteousness to them. That explains why there's 78 pages of double -column text in Bunyan's treatise, and I can send that to anyone who's interested in it.

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I started reading it. I didn't have time to read the whole thing this week. And so in these five verses, there is really a great deal of information that can be drawn from it.

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But this morning, we'll address our subject by first considering the details of the parable itself, and then secondly, we'll affirm the primary doctrine of the passage, which is clearly the sinner's justification by God's grace through faith alone.

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And then we'll identify four errant doctrines regarding believers' justification that are held all too commonly by evangelicals.

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We'll close with that. So let's first consider the details of the parable.

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Notice first to whom the Lord addressed this story. Verse 9. Also he spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others.

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The ones to whom our Lord directed this parable were confident in their own righteousness, that this qualified them to be right with God.

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They, in effect, trusted in themselves for salvation rather than in the mercy and grace of God.

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They saw their own good works as the basis of God's acceptance of them.

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They believed that God accepted them because they were good, whereas others were evil.

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They saw themselves as good, very good, that they actually lived in a manner beyond what the law of God itself required of people.

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And therefore they did not doubt but that they were the objects of God's love and favor. They were self -righteous.

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They believed salvation was obtained through works righteousness by the merit of obeying the law of God.

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Again, in fact, they believed they were capable of doing works of supererogation, that is, works beyond what

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God required of people to save themselves. And that's, of course, a predominant doctrine of Roman Catholicism that undergirds the whole idea of saints.

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They lived lives with good works far more than what

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God required of them in his law, and therefore they've got extra merit. It is put in a treasury of merit that can be dispensed by the church through its sacraments as you come and do their bidding or you worship them, works of supererogation.

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Of course, there's no such thing. The Lord himself, we saw recently, when you've done everything you should do, it doesn't bring any credit to you, then you're still but an unprofitable servant.

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Luke, in describing some to whom Jesus was teaching this parable, was really the character of most of Jewish Pharisees that Jesus encountered during his earthly ministry.

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Not all, but most. While they looked with favor upon themselves, they despised others.

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And that's what happens when you think that you are saved by works righteousness. There's always somebody less than you that you can look down upon.

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There's always somebody you'll tend to look up to as well. That's one of the problems. You'll look to a pope, all right, but you'll look down at the wretched person thinking that somehow you are on a higher plane, closer to God.

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But they were not only condescending toward others, they were disgusted with them, those who did not live like they lived and believed like they lived.

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And so they saw themselves as having superior righteousness and therefore excluded most others from their company.

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They treated others with contempt. And this is typical of self -righteous people.

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They feel that they are superior to others and deserving of things for which others are undeserving. They are elitists.

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They believe that they are among the privileged, deservingly so. They are patronizing toward others who do not rise to their standard of believing and living.

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It's apparent that others are repulsed by their arrogance and conceit. It was to these people that our

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Lord addressed this parable. He desired to denounce their belief system and humble their pride.

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And Jesus did so by describing two praying persons. Verse 10 reads,

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Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. Both men went to the temple in Jerusalem in order to pray to God.

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Daily prayers of the Jewish people were offered in the mornings and afternoon.

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The temple was a place of prayer for all nations. All people were to come before God in prayer.

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Jesus quoted the scriptures, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.

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Now, Gentiles could only come so far, Jewish women a little farther, but only

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Jewish men closest, and then priests, of course, only in the temple proper. And so both men went to the place of worship, but only one truly worshipped.

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The other did not. Both went to pray, but only one truly prayed. He prayed with regard to himself, didn't he?

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And so only one truly prayed, the other did not. And so it would do us well to consider closely these two prayed persons, for one thought he was okay, but wasn't.

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The other thought he was not okay, but he was so, in the sight of God. Complete reversal of what people normally consider and people normally think.

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So let's first consider the Pharisee. The first two men, the first of these two men introduced, the

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Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank you,

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I'm not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this text collector singled him out,

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I fast twice a week, I give tithes of all that I possess. So we can envision these two men entering the temple, can't you?

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There goes the holy man, as he appeared to be, dressed in all his glory, he walks forward and upward without hesitation, without caution, taking center stage, and before all he stands, he lifts up his hands and eyes to heaven, begins to brag on himself in the hearing of others.

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Now standing was at that time a common posture of prayer, and it's true that he voiced thanks to God, he said,

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God, I thank you, but in actuality he was giving credit to himself, he prayed thus with himself.

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He was so full of himself, there was no room in his heart for God, he was self -righteous. He had read the scriptures, he did more than what he thought

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God required of him in the written word of God. The scriptures only commanded that Jews fast once a year on the day of atonement, although Jews would voluntarily fast at other times, but this

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Pharisee boasted he fasted twice a week. Tuesdays and Thursdays, I believe, was the practice of Pharisees.

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It's apparent this man regarded his fasting activity as something that won him favor with God. Of course, our

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Lord soundly denounced such thinking elsewhere. This praying man boasted that he gave tithes of all he possessed, again assuming this earned him the favor of God.

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This Pharisee viewed his acceptance by God to be based on two things. First, what he didn't do, verse 11, for he prayed to God, I thank you that I am not like other men.

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So, based on things he didn't do, extortioners, unjust adulterers, even as his tax collector.

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And second, he believed God had accepted him for what he didn't do. He prayed further. I fast twice a week,

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I give tithes of all that I possess. And so we see this Pharisee who is very religious, very proud, very confident, very self -centered, very judgmental.

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He was condemning of all but himself. But he was very lost, and he was very ignorant of his lost condition before God.

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These are people, even in many churches across the land this morning, who think they're right with God, but who are not.

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But try convincing them of that. It's a difficult task. Only the

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Holy Spirit can do that. This Pharisee knew the scriptures, or so he thought, but he had not learned from them.

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He could not hunger for things from the Lord, for he was already full. He could not mourn regarding himself, for there was so much about himself that made him proud.

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He would not seek the true wealth which comes from God, for he did not see himself as poor. Beatitude, Sermon on the

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Mount. He would not seek mercy, for he did not see that he needed mercy, for he had earned God's favor.

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He was a man full of self -esteem. He thought all too well of himself.

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As one preacher described him, he had already all that he required, and he had so much that he could only stand still and overflow with a kind of gratitude to the one to whom he owed everything, namely himself.

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This man's error is seen in his brashness, his presumption, his presumptive trampling into the holy temple of God as God, through Isaiah the prophet, denounced

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Jewish worshipers in Isaiah 1, verse 12. Certainly through his ignorance of personal sin, his boasting of religious deeds that he performed, and most clearly in his denunciation of others.

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He thanked God that he was not as others. Now in one sense, it's right to thank

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God for keeping you from falling into certain sins. If God would but withdraw his restraining hand, any one of us would find ourselves before long plunging into the deepest of sin.

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You know, look out Steve Lawson, we'd be there too, if it weren't for the mercy and grace of God. We should pray for one another in this regard.

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I pray for you folks, knowing where some of you work and live and the temptations to which you are probably subjected.

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We pray for you. It's a wonderful thing that God in mercy and grace spares us, for he has not done so with some.

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Some he allows to continue in their sin to their destruction, but of us Christians, due to his sovereign grace toward us, he stops us in our tracks and brings us to repentance and faith in his

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Son. Thank God, we should thank God, profusely, for his mercy and kindness.

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God should be praised for having done this. But that's not what this Pharisee was doing. He was boasting of himself and his own attainments, but God never does a true good work of grace in the soul when there's pride in the heart.

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This is one of the many problems with the Corinthian believers, you might recall. Some of them thought that they were saved by their own free will rather than by the grace of God.

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The Apostle Paul showed them that no one had the right to boast before God, not even he or Apollos, who some were comparing with Paul.

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They were comparing Apollos with Apollos, but Paul wrote, Now these things, brethren, I have figuratively transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes that you may learn in us not to think beyond what is written that none of you may be puffed up on behalf of one against another.

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No place for pride, personal pride in the kingdom of God. For who makes you to differ from another?

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Was it you? No. That's a rhetorical question. And what do you have that you did not receive?

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Nothing. Everything came from God. Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you glory or boast as if you had not received it, as though you were the one that achieved it of your own free will or your own effort?

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He rebuked them for it. But this self -righteous Pharisee gave lip service to thanking

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God, I thank you God, but all the while he was congratulating himself, taking credit for his own righteousness.

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After all, was it not he who willingly chose to serve God? He thought so.

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Was it not I who chose of my own free will to do all these things? Who else should be given credit?

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If not I. That was his attitude. That was his doctrine. Had he only a true glimpse of himself as God truly viewed him, if he had only an inkling of what

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God really thought of him and of his most certain outcome in God's judgment, it would have shriveled him on the spot.

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It would have humbled him. And perhaps he'd be seeking counsel from the tax collector on how to become right with God.

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But then we're introduced to the tax collector. We read of the publican, and the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast, saying,

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God, be merciful to me, a sinner. This man, of course, would have been a

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Jew, a Jewish man who collected taxes on behalf of Rome. He was a man who had betrayed his people, defected, departed from his

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Jewish religion due to his longing for power and for wealth and oppressed people through the authority that Rome had given him.

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He had been given more authority than he should have had. He had more authority than he had good character to supervise him.

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May the Lord spare us from unjust persons in high places. I think of the rhetorical question, who died made you,

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Caesar? We're to be a self -governing people in our land if the

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Constitution were followed. But a change had been wrought in this man, in this tax collector.

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He was not the callous, scheming, cruel, indifferent man that he was formerly. What had made this man different?

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Well, he had become sensitized to his sin. He had become aware that God's just judgment was upon him.

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He was a man who was poor in spirit. He would be granted a place in the kingdom. He was a man who mourned.

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He would be comforted. He was a man who was meek. He would inherit the earth. Here is a man who was hungering and thirsting after righteousness.

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He would be filled. So we see this man coming who did not often trouble the temple.

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He came sheepishly, creeping into an obscure corner, seeking a humble place, for the hand of God was heavy upon him.

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And he found mercy because he sought mercy from God in faith. And we too may find mercy when we follow his pattern.

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Oftentimes in God's dealings with people, he'll bring someone who is like this proud Pharisee and cause them to become like this humble tax collector.

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The transition of a proud Pharisee to a humble sinner is a work of grace which God performs frequently.

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It goes something like this. One commonly begins assuming his acceptance with God.

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Obviously God loves me. I'm so lovely. No other thought enters his mind.

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No concern, no worry, no distress over sin, no sense whatever of the wrath of God. After all, mom loves me.

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I love me. My kids love me. Others seem to like me. Why wouldn't God? God, here

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I am. I give you my heart. All is well with my soul. Just interjecting a word here.

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What is this appeal we so often hear? Won't you give your heart to Jesus? As if your heart were an acceptable sacrifice that God would receive to atone for your sin?

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Actually the heart of an unconverted sinner is the worst possible sacrifice that could be offered to God. Coming to Christ for salvation is not giving your heart to Jesus.

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It's Jesus giving a new heart to you. This man knew the wretchedness of his heart, which is probably why he beat his chest while praying.

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He knew that's where the problem lie in himself, in his heart. We are to be humble, broken sinners, desiring the mercy of God and Christ.

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We should be concerned about carefree, careless Christianity that does not see sin as a horror, as those who have little concern for the law of God, who view

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God's words, his commandments, his advisories to take or leave. After all, we're under grace.

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To pick and choose without consequences for having done so. But has

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God not said, but on this one will I look in other words, favor on him who is poor and of contrite spirit and who trembles at my word?

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Each of us should be like this publican. But we have seen, and you have too, that person who attends church and God begins to do a work of grace in his soul.

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Perhaps a church member who's professed to be a Christian many years comes under a grievous sense of sin and condemnation.

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Sometimes his work of grace comes suddenly. A sense of sin strikes the heart sharply and severely.

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Frequently this work of the Holy Spirit comes about gradually. An awakening comes to him.

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He may say to himself, you know, the preacher's right about that thing that I allow. It's not right.

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I see it is so in the scriptures. I need to amend that. So he does, or at least he attempts to do so.

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But soon another matter follows on its heels. Why, here's something else that really is not good.

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I better take care of that matter also. But then another follows. Why, there's more about me not right than I ever realized.

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I'd better take stock of my condition. And as more issues arise and things are dealt with, he finds himself failing in his efforts to amend.

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Not only does he begin to see that he's powerless to conquer new issues that arise, but he also finds old ones reemerging.

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And before long, he sees himself in a light which he had never seen before. He sees his sin and he's troubled.

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He sees God's judgment on sin is set forth in the scripture. He finally comes to an end of himself.

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He sees his hopelessness to reform or amend his ways. He's laid low. Perhaps he despairs of all hope.

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But now he sees his hope is only in the mercy of God. Like this poor republican.

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He'd been brought so low he cannot see anybody below himself with which to view himself is better by comparison.

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I'm the chief of sinners. He sees himself as the sinner, the chief of sinners. It is then that the spirit brings to his heart the glorious gospel that an ungodly person an ungodly person can be justified before God through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.

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He sees that God has sent Jesus to be the great savior for great sinners. And Christ gets greater glory with the greater sinner that he saves amazingly.

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And he understands that God will save any and all sinners who come to him totally devoid of personal righteousness but coming humbly empty handed on the basis of Christ's sacrifice, pleading and believing

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God for his mercy. And so resting in God's provision in Christ he accepts God's verdict in his word freely forgiven and restored fully.

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And trusting in Jesus to give him what he cannot produce in himself. He relies on Jesus alone to give him the

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Holy Spirit to enable him to live the kind of life which he requires of his people.

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He takes to heart Jesus' words, without me you can do nothing. And that's the

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Christian's understanding too. Well it's important we consider the sinner's pleading then we'll consider the savior's pronouncement the sinner's plea.

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First notice the posture of the sinner and the tax collector standing afar off would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven but beat his breast.

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We see he stood at a distance. A sinner under conviction is a strange thing.

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His awareness of sin draws him to God but his awareness of sin also keeps him at a distance.

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How different from the Pharisee who saw no reason at all why entrance into the presence of God should not be granted him.

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But in contrast to the Pharisee displaying himself, the sinner hid himself. And we read this man would not even look up to heaven.

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Looking up to heaven when praying was the standard practice of the Jewish people. The fact that we close our eyes and bow our heads probably is more according to the publican here rather than the typical way

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Jewish people prayed with their eyes looking up to heaven. How humble and lowly was this publican.

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He was hesitant to even approach the temple but a sense of sin drives the daringness of a man as one once wrote.

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His understanding of his sin gave him an understanding of a holy God. And we read that he beat his breast.

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He knew where the problem was right here in the heart. The heart is the seed of sin.

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And so we see sincere heartfelt heart deep sorrow and remorse. And second take note of the words of this sinner.

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God have mercy on me a sinner. He addresses God as God. This in itself reveals the measure of faith.

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But he even confessed that he was a great sinner. The Greek text by the way has a definite article in front of the

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Greek word. It's not conveyed in English. He confesses that he's a sinner. But in the

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Greek text he prays God have mercy on me the sinner. There's emphasis there.

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He's singling out himself. This man knew that though he was a great sinner he could still pray however for God was greater in mercy than he was guilty in his sin.

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Thankfully mercy triumphs over judgment. But some do not have that much faith. They despair of all mercy.

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They think God is a harsh God unmerciful and unyielding. He will not hear respond to me.

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What's the point of even trying? And so perhaps they give themselves over to their sin knowing full well the consequences.

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But this man had faith that God was a loving God who made provision for sinners. Guilty sinners.

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He believed that God could be approached though he were a sinner albeit humbly. The text collector prayed

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God have mercy on me. He pleaded for mercy.

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Here's an acknowledgement of guilt. He had no merit to plead. He had no rights to claim.

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He was guilty deserving all that God said he deserved as a sinner. His only basis of appeal was mercy.

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God don't give me what I deserve. Have mercy upon me. Blood out my transgressions. Forgive my sin.

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Mercy. What is the nature of mercy? Well the quality of mercy can be described in several ways.

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First to show mercy is to refrain from harming or punishing someone with whom it is in your power to harm or punish.

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It's therefore a manifestation of kindness. In excess of what may be expected or considered on the basis of fairness or justice.

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Mercy is not justice. It's the setting aside of justice with regard to us.

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God doesn't set aside his justice but he satisfies his justice and therefore is free to be just and the justifier of the guilty.

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Second, mercy may be seen to be an exhibition of kindness, patience, compassion extended to the undeserving.

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Are you merciful to others? Are you merciful with respect to Steve Lawson or do you desire mercy for him?

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Of course again he failed apparently. Adultery, who knows? Not enough detail.

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Third, to bestow mercy is the sparing of the guilty from impending punishment or ending the suffering the guilty are presently experiencing.

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Mercy. Fourth, persons that are the objects of mercy are not deserving of it by definition.

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Mercy must be an act of grace on the part of the greater to the lesser. The lesser having no claims or basis of demand or expectation of mercy, you cannot expect or demand mercy.

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If it's bestowed be grateful for it but you don't deserve it by definition.

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When we consider the mercy of God as taught, illustrated in the Bible, we can see that a two -fold distinction should be made with respect to the objects of mercy.

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First, there is God's general mercy that's bestowed upon all his creatures, not only to people, whether they're believers or not but also to the animals he has created.

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We read of God's tender mercies over all his works. Psalm 145 9, a general mercy because God is a benevolent, kind good

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God. God is a merciful God toward all that he has made. And our

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Lord Jesus taught this of God's mercy when he described the dealings of his father. He makes his son rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and the unjust.

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God's a merciful God, generally speaking. But second there is the special mercy of God that he bestows uniquely upon his covenant people, those that are in Christ.

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God deals in mercy with all but he's merciful uniquely and specially to the heirs of salvation.

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They were chosen by God in Christ in eternity to be the recipients of his mercy.

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It's the sole prerogative of God to choose who will be recipients of his mercy.

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This is what God declared when Moses, you know, God show me your glory, show me your goodness.

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God said I'll make my goodness pass before you. I'll proclaim the name of the Lord before you.

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Will be gracious to whom I will be gracious. I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.

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God doesn't show mercy on everyone in the same way he shows mercy on you in Christ.

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So we see that God's mercy is a manifestation of God's sovereign good pleasure. God has the right to extend or withhold mercy.

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No one has a claim upon his mercy for God is free to bestow or withhold mercy.

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Objects of his mercy forfeited any privilege or expectation for themselves of God's favor but God chose and purposed in himself to have mercy on those he purposed to save.

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He could have just as easily determined I'm not going to have mercy on you but you are going to be a display of my justice.

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You're going to get what you deserve, eternal hell. But he chose if you're in Christ or you one day will be in Christ he determined to glorify himself by being merciful to you.

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Now we must extend mercy to others for God has promised if we do so he will extend mercy to us.

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Our Lord Jesus taught his disciples blessed are the merciful. Why? For they shall receive mercy or obtain mercy.

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But if we refuse to extend mercy to others we will forfeit his mercy. He'll not grant us mercy in the day of judgment.

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James wrote so speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty for judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy.

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Mercy ought to characterize you and me. God please don't give him or her what she deserves but have mercy.

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But secondly he not only pleaded for God's mercy he pleaded for God's mercy on the basis of sacrifice and this is critically important.

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It's not apparent in the English translation but it is in the original Greek text. What he was asking

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God was that he be propitious toward him. That is that God would turn his wrath from him.

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Forgive and remove his sin. He went to the temple where sacrifice for sin is offered.

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He pleads for mercy but it was on the basis of the sacrifice that he made his request. He believed that the animals put to death in that temple showed forth what he deserved.

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Death for his sin. He deserved death for who he was a sinner. He knew he deserved and was under God's just condemnation.

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But here is a point to note. It's not merely God's mercy that will move God to forgive.

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God is a just God. Payment must be made or else God's justice will suffer and he'll not allow this to happen.

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You can say you're sorry to God for all the days of your life and never be granted pardon until you come on the basis not of your humility not of your repentance not even your faith but on the basis of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice on the cross in the place of sinners.

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This man pleaded the sacrifice offered in the temple. That is the provision God made for that time that pointed to the sacrifice of the

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Savior who was to come. But we are to plead the sacrifice of Christ who has come.

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No mercy will be granted otherwise. It's for Christ's sake God have mercy on my soul.

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Be gracious toward me forgive my sin based on the truth that Christ died for sinners bearing the penalty that was justly mine.

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And then we have the Savior's pronouncement wonderfully regarding this humble believing sinner.

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I tell you this man went down to his house justified rather than the other for everyone who exalts himself will be abased and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.

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And so our Lord pronounced the one justified the other not. Justified means that this sinner went home right with God that's what justified means at peace with God forgiven by God but the other man did not.

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It's clear this sinner's faith is the means by which he received his justification by God and this is the one place in the gospels that the idea of justification by faith alone as Paul teaches repeatedly is most clearly reinforced.

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Now it's implied in many places in the gospels but here you can't make it read anything else.

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Those are the details. Let's consider the doctrine that the Lord was emphasizing.

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The sinner's justification by God's grace through faith alone. Here we have to pick up our speed.

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It's important to give great emphasis to this doctrine this teaching. God justifies the ungodly through faith alone.

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The good news of Jesus Christ is that God receives sinners just as they are. He justifies the ungodly.

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That's good news for until a person is born again and dwelt by the Holy Spirit he cannot be anything other than what he is, an ungodly sinner in both nature and practice and for this reason

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God does not require sinners to reform their lives before he will justify them.

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He justifies sinners. He justifies the ungodly even as he calls them to repentance.

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He doesn't justify them for their repentance. He justifies them through faith alone.

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The faith that trusts him for his righteousness however will lead that person to repent of his sin as well.

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More precisely what is justification? The Westminster Shorter Catechism. Question 33.

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What is justification? Answer. Justification is an act of God's free grace. God does it, declares it wherein he pardons all our sins.

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I forgive you of your sins. Accepts us as righteous in his sight.

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It's not just a cancellation of guilt. There is righteousness conferred to you.

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Reckoned to you. Counted as if it were yours. Only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us.

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Not imparted to you. That's what Rome teaches. No, imputed to you. It's not yours.

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It's Christ's righteousness but it's a gift that he gives you if you believe on him.

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Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone. The Bible teaches that guilty sinners become fully and completely and forever justified before God when they believe on Jesus Christ in the gospel.

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To be precise we affirm the biblical teaching that God justifies sinners by his grace. Alone. Through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.

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In justification God forgives the believer of the guilt and condemnation of his sin counting the righteousness of Jesus Christ as if it were the believers and thereby enabling the believing sinner to satisfy the justice of God that was against him for having broken

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God's law. This is an essential doctrine.

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Without an understanding and acceptance of this biblical teaching one cannot legitimately biblically claim to be a

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Christian. If a church does not teach rightly on this matter it's no legitimate church of Jesus Christ.

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Luther had elevated sola fide faith alone to the principal cause of the Protestant Reformation.

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It was the rallying cry of the Protestant cause and the chief distinction between Protestants and Rome.

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John Calvin taught that everyone who had obtained the righteousness of Christ must renounce his own.

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Fitting statement. According to Calvin it's only because the sinner is able to obtain the good standing of the

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Son of God through faith in him and union with him that sinners have any hope of pardon from acceptance by and peace with God.

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We affirm this as true teaching of God's word. It's true that the precise expression by faith alone is not to be found in the

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English Bible but the teaching of justification through faith alone is found everywhere.

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Some have said as many as 200 statements may be found in the New Testament that support and underscore this teaching this doctrine.

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We won't read our confessional statement on justification but I listed them. There are six of them that describe justification, what it is, what it isn't.

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Middle of page eight, letter B, we read of the essential doctrine of justification through faith alone.

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Again the Latin word sola fide, one of the five solas of the

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Protestant Reformation, faith alone. Martin Luther declared, this is the article of faith which determines whether the church is standing or failing.

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It's essential and foundational element of the gospel itself. It's not the entire gospel but it is certainly central and foundational to the gospel.

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What is meant by this is that the gospel is the good news of salvation from sin through Jesus Christ. Salvation by Jesus Christ is from all the effects of sin.

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I wish everybody understood what this means and the implication of it because not a lot do frankly.

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Yes it includes salvation from sin's penalty. That's our justification. That's an essential part of the gospel.

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That's an essential foundation of our salvation but that's not all of salvation because salvation also speaks of being delivered from all the effects of sin, not just sin's penalty but also from the alienation that resulted from our sin, our reconciliation, our adoption.

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Certainly salvation involves deliverance from the power of sin through our sanctification, through life and finally from the very presence of sin, our future glorification.

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Now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed, Paul wrote in Romans 14.

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Receiving the end of our faith, the end result of our faith, even the salvation of our souls, 1

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Peter chapter 1. The gospel entails salvation from all the effects of sin, not just the penalty of sin.

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If you don't have this right you hold to another gospel and many times another gospel is proclaimed.

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You're guilty before God, you need forgiveness, this is how you need forgiveness but not a word is said about the need for repentance from sin, obeying the

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Lord Jesus, being sanctified by the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, the journey of faith, persevering in faith, he who does the will of God that abides forever, the one who overcomes is the one who inherits salvation.

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We won't read Romans 8 but there Paul clearly says the ones that God calls, effectually calls, he justifies and then he justifies, he glorifies.

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It all is described salvation at its fullest. On page 9,

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I quoted Donald Carson, D .A. Carson and J .I. Packer about their understanding of the doctrine of justification, how central it was and down toward the bottom of page 9

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Packer also wrote an essay to a classic work on justification which was republished by Banner Truth.

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It's a book entitled The Doctrine of Justification written by James Buchanan originally published back in the 19th century.

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Here's a few of his words, justification by faith has traditionally and rightly been regarded as one of the two basic and controlling principles of the

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Reformation theology. The authority of scripture was the formal principle of that theology to determine its method providing its touchstone of truth justification by faith was its material principle determining its substance.

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In fact these two principles belong separately together for no theology that seeks simply to follow the

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Bible can help concerning itself with what is demonstrably the essence of the biblical message.

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The fullest statement of the gospel that the Bible can name is found in the epistle to the Romans and Romans minus justification by faith would be like Hamlet without the prince.

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A further fact to weigh is that justification by faith had been the central theme of preaching in every movement of revival and religious awakening within Protestantism from Reformation until the present day.

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The essential thing that happens in every true revival is that the Holy Spirit teaches the church afresh the reality of justification by faith both as a truth and as a living experience.

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This could be demonstrated historically from the records of the revivals that we have. It would be theologically correct to define revival simply as God the spirit doing this work in a situation where previously the church had lapsed if not from the formal profession of justification by faith at least from any living apprehension of it.

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We could go into Romans 3 where Paul clearly set forth that we're justified by faith alone through faith alone not of works that we perform not by the deeds of the law.

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Page 10 at the bottom and following I listed we can't go through these too many of them but again

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I was thinking that the receivers of our notes now numbering about 650 now.

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I don't know how many of them read them but there's pastors in other lands I thought they could benefit from this what justification is like what it isn't like and I listed eight ways to describe justification but now let's look at page 12 as we wrap things up here because I didn't want to conclude without mentioning these four errant doctrines regarding the believers justification that are commonly espoused by evangelicals

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I hear it all the time read about it see it the first the teaching that faith is man's effort to save himself from God's condemnation for his sin you know

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I heard it read I won't mention the man's name he's with the Lord now but he was a rank Arminian who basically said

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God cast his vote Satan cast his vote and you cast a deciding vote. Faith was actually made into a work that you perform by which you save yourself and that's not faith is

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God saves us by grace through faith. Faith is the instrument you're not saved because of your faith you're saved because of Christ and God saves you by his grace and he does so through the instrument of faith for by grace you've been saved through faith and that faith is the gift of God not of works lest anyone should boast and so teaching that faith is man's effort to save himself

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God's done all he can do and now the rest is up to you is you're more like that Pharisee standing in the temple than you are the man begging for God's mercy and secondly a very common error is that justification is the complete gospel of salvation that scripture set forth and we've already spoken about that very very common error sinners are told by sincere well intended

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Christians you must obtain God's forgiveness of sins which is a truth and this is how you may do so by believing on Jesus Christ who suffered and died for sinners but again we stated earlier salvation is from sin and all its effects people need more than just forgiveness of their sins justification does not say a word about changing your heart or life it's a declarative act of God I declare you the believing sinner to be just righteous before me and pardoned of sin but it doesn't change your heart that's

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God's grace in regeneration giving you a new heart and God's grace in sanctification giving you the desire and the ability by the

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Holy Spirit to become more and more obedient to the word through life and adoption justification does not speak directly to adoption when you're justified before God God adopts you as one of his children you become a child of God through faith in Jesus Christ and certainly justification guarantees our future glorification

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Romans 8 says that but justification is not the same as glorification that's when you and I are completely delivered from our sin either upon death or maybe more fully at the resurrection our glorified bodies and so justification is essential to the gospel you don't have the gospel unless you got that right but it's not all the gospel people not only need to be told they need to be forgiven by God of their sin they need to be told that unless you turn from your sin believe on the

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Lord Jesus Christ and become his disciple take up your cross daily and follow him you're going to die in your sin because this is what saving faith does it leads people to Jesus Christ the

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Lord and then third error is the error of decisionism a one time expression of faith is assumed to justify the sinner again we've emphasized the moment you begin to believe and you're going to believe throughout life but the first moment you believe the gospel

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God justifies you he declares you forgiven past present future all your sin is forgiven and he declares you to be as righteous as Jesus Christ in his sight the gift of righteousness is credited to you it's in heaven on your record and it'll be shown to you on the day of judgment so you cannot be condemned

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Solomon Stoddard Edwards grandfather preached there's safety in the day of judgment through the righteousness of Christ alright and so at the moment you believe that's when that takes place the wrong conclusion is that all you have to do is believe one point one time at the end of a crusade evangelistic meeting or at the end of a gospel track with the sinner's prayer and at that moment

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God justifies you well he may but he may not I prayed that sinner's prayer a hundred times before I truly exercised faith in Christ and was saved but so often decisionism leading to make people or lead people to make a decision for Christ and then they're turned around and they're told now you're justified before God I used to do that when

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I was 21 years old I was an associate pastor in charge of evangelism and I could lead a sinner to make a sinner's prayer and about 50 % of the people

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I encountered if I was able to give my entire spiel I was a salesman for Jesus but then

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I'd come back the next day to bring them to church they didn't want to have any part of it I thought there's something wrong here but it's easy to get decisions for Christ because people everywhere want to be forgiven of their sins and if you can tell them you can have forgiveness free if all you do is believe on Jesus never tell them they have to turn from their sin they'll accept that readily but tell them unless they repent of their sin they'll perish well then they'll have second thoughts well yeah maybe

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I will but maybe I'll wait until the end of life and do that just before I die I've heard that many times and then last error we'll close with this thank you for your patience the error of antinomianism that all one has to do to be saved is to believe this is commonly thought wrongly believed as long as I believe on Jesus Christ it doesn't matter how

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I live for I'm justified by faith alone from works and not saved from works well the scriptures declare that faith without works is dead being alone saving faith is always evidenced in the way you live you turn from sin you humble yourself you become a disciple of Christ you walk with Christ in faith and fellowship with his people you love the people of God and John actually warned the

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Holy Spirit through John actually warned us about being deceived by this false doctrine the error of antinomianism little children let no one deceive you and yet multitudes of evangelicals are deceived about this they've made a decision in a crusade they accepted

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Jesus as their savior they're told and they're promised that they're forgiven they go forth thinking they're forgiven but they're not justified in the sight of God even though somebody told them so and John said little children let no one deceive you he who practices righteousness that's sanctification is righteous that's justification and the

01:03:47

Puritans were the ones who recovered the biblical truth you cannot truly know you're justified by grace unless that grace is sanctifying your life and that's what

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John declared don't be deceived about this who so ever practices righteousness not perfectly nobody does not completely nobody does but this is the general tenor of your life you seek to do the will of God to set forth in the scriptures and you're frustrated and defeated because you don't do it enough

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John wrote he who lives and sins he who sins is of the devil for the devil sinned from the beginning for this purpose the son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil for whoever has been born of God does not live in sin it's a present tense verb there that's what's emphasized why because God's seed remains in him he cannot live in sin because he's been born of God and then verse 10 in this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest some say you can't tell the difference between a child of God and the child of devil not perfectly you can't see into people's hearts but there is a way to tell every one of us has to make assessments whether somebody needs the gospel or they're already in the gospel everybody does in this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God if you claim you're a

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Christian you believe all the right things you can believe in justification by grace through faith alone and still be lost you can teach justification by grace through faith alone and still be lost if you do not practice righteousness you can believe yourself having been justified by grace by the grace of God through faith alone in Jesus Christ but if you're living in for sin in sin totally disregarding

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Jesus Christ the Lord you're just deceiving yourself and you might deceive others but you're not deceiving

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God true saving faith is a living faith it's transformative and John says you can tell the difference not infallibly but it's apparent who's a

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Christian and who's not if you're not living as a Christian you ought to examine yourself very carefully 2

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Corinthians 13 5 examine yourself whether you be in the faith do you not know you're a reprobate unless you pass the test may the

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Lord help this help us in this we'll close with this word from Thomas Brooks who once described the matter well heaven is only for the holy man without holiness no one shall see the

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Lord and the holy man is only for heaven heaven is a garment of glory that is only suited to him that is holy

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God whose truth itself cannot lie has said it that without holiness no man shall see the

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Lord mark that word no man Hebrew 12 14 without holiness the rich man will not see the

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Lord without holiness the poor man will not see the Lord without holiness the noble man will not see the

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Lord without holiness the common man will not see the Lord without holiness the prince shall not see the

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Lord without holiness the peasant shall not see the Lord without holiness the ruler shall not see the

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Lord without holiness the ruled shall not see the Lord without holiness the learned man shall not see the

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Lord without holiness the ignorant man shall not see the Lord without holiness the husband shall not see the

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Lord without holiness the wife shall not see the Lord without holiness the father shall not see the

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Lord, without holiness the child shall not see the Lord, without holiness the master shall not see the

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Lord, with holiness the servant shall not see the Lord, for faithful and strong is the

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Lord of hosts that has spoken it." A person who is a Christian, it's evident in the way they're living and if it's not you need to seriously take stock of yourself and I would urge you to follow the pattern of the sinner, the publican,

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God be merciful to me a sinner or I'm a goner. I'm trusting in you

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Jesus Christ alone for my righteousness and Lord Jesus as your servant as your child give me the

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Holy Spirit that I might live as you've instructed me and guided me and continue to cleanse me and pardon me of my sin.

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May the Lord help us in these matters, amen? Let's pray. Thank you

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Father for your word, help us our God to take these matters to heart. Thank you for the glorious promise our

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God that the most wretched sinner humbly can come before you and ask you to have mercy on him or her for Jesus' sake.

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We don't look to ourselves, we look outside of ourselves to the only Savior of sinners, great sinners our

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God. Help each one of us our Father go forth from this place with a soul solid faith in Jesus Christ alone for our justification before God and help us out of love and duty our

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God to you to order our life in faith and faithfulness on to you as you enable us our

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God by the blessed Holy Spirit for we pray these things Father in Jesus' name, amen.