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Sermon Audio: Thank God I’m Not Like…
Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 18:9-14
Duration: 14:36
Size: 6.69 MB
Luke-The Investigative Gospel
Thank God I’m Not Like…
Luke 18:9-14
“In the eyes of Christ a person confessing sin is nearer to true goodness than a person boasting of his goodness.” (F.F. Bruce, Theologian)
Specifically, the parable of The Pharisee And The Tax Collector deals with the attitude with which we offer up our prayers:
Two Men
A Pharisee was a member of the Jewish faith set apart to maintain and further the divine cause.
A tax collector was at the other end of the spectrum. He would have been perceived by the community as the worst of the worst of Jewish citizenry, perhaps even lower.
Two Prayers
Yes God, thank you that I am not like these other people.”
He wouldn’t even lift his eyes to heaven as was common among those who came to pray but rather, he pounded his chest over and over again crying, “God have mercy on me, a sinner.”
Two Outcomes
Pharisee
Measured himself to others rather than to God who is absolute in holiness; he built his self-worth on the moral failings of others.
Tax Collector
He recognized the sin in his life; he didn’t hide it or deny it. He recognized his need for God’s grace and pleaded for it.
Pray with a spirit of humility recognizing that we are sinners saved by grace.