Wednesday, January 24, 2007
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector, Part 17 of 44
TEXT: "Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves at 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 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, "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' " (Luke 18:9-14).
IDEA: It is an enormous accomplishment for God to forgive our sin.
PURPOSE: To help listeners appreciate what it cost God to forgive our sin.
Listen to this parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee, found in Luke 18:9-14. As you listen to it, try to imagine the scene. What did it look like?
When you think of the “temple,” what picture do you think forms in a listener’s mind? We tend to think of the temple as a grand cathedral.
It actually resembled a slaughterhouse where animals were killed in sacrifice every day.
Do you think that people feel it is hard or easy for God to forgive sin?
“Of course, God forgives sin -- that’s His business!”
When people came to the temple at the time of sacrifice, what would those sacrifices have told them, if they thought about them?
I. The sacrifices at the temple demonstrated that it is very hard for God to forgive sin.
God is the moral governor of the universe. If God overlooks sin, it’s as though sin doesn’t really matter much.
He can’t lay Himself open to the charge of moral indifference or moral inconsistency. If He did, He would sacrifice His holiness.
II. The sacrifices at the temple demonstrated the seriousness of sin in God’s eyes.
We are squeamish about blood. God is squeamish about sin.
Every time a sacrifice was made, it was a grim reminder that God takes sin very seriously.
III. The sacrifices were a symbol of the penalty for sin.
Blood speaks of death, and sin demands death.
Forgiveness may be offered freely in the Bible, but that doesn’t mean it’s cheap.
The tax collector understood that. He cried, “Let my sin be atoned for. Be satisfied with that offering. I don’t shrug off the seriousness of my crimes. I don’t underestimate the penalty they deserve. I see the blood. I know the cost. So, please, God, turn Your anger from me; be satisfied with the sacrifice on the altar as a substitute for the death I should die. Have mercy on me, the sinner!”
Many professing Christians do not understand that. They have never really understood the enormity of their sin, nor the necessity of Christ’s sacrificial death for their sin. Therefore they never feel pardoned.
“The hardest person to forgive is yourself.” The recognition of deep guilt haunts us until we deal with it God’s way.
