Tuesday, January 30, 2007

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector, Part 21 of 44

TEXT: "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 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: We may easily turn genuine Christians into Pharisees.

PURPOSE: To help listeners understand how easily we may revert to being Pharisees.

Paul Harvey has an interesting feature that he calls “The rest of the story.” Why is it fascinating?

Read again the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, after which I want to raise some questions about “the rest of the story.”

I. Given his of life, how would you picture the tax collector when he came to the temple and after he left the temple?

Imagine all of this taking place in our day. He would come to the services with all the usual dress and habits of a “sinner.”

At the end of the service, he goes home “justified,” How much would have changed inwardly?

II. Imagine that he comes back the following Sabbath to worship at the temple.

Would you have expected him to change much in the way he dresses, his occupation, or his habits?

What might devout people tell him he needed to do in light of the fact that he has now made a profession of faith?

Would he be told about extortion, injustice, or sexual looseness?

Would he be challenged to give a tithe or even fast?

How long would it take before we turned this tax collector into a Pharisee?

III. Imagine that this tax collector heard Jesus tell the story about the tax collector and the Pharisee.

He says to himself, “Hey, that’s me He’s talking about! What do you know!? I’m famous! I’m the supreme example of how people should approach God and pray to Him!”

So the next day the tax collector goes up to the temple again. He looks around to see if there is anyone there who recognizes him. He keeps beating on his breast and crying out, “O God, be merciful to me, the sinner!”

Then he looks out of the corner of his eye and sees the Pharisee going through his daily prayers. And the tax collector thinks, “That pompous, pious old fool. I’m glad I’m not like him!”

Where does humility come from?

Humility is what we experience when we live before God.

To live before God always makes us more conscious of our desperate need for God than any attainments we might have achieved in God.

When you substitute conduct and performance for reality of life before God, you turn tax collectors into Pharisees.