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: It’s possible for grace to turn sour.

PURPOSE: To have listeners understand that we can turn God’s gifts against Him.

Read again a story Jesus told in Luke 18:9-14.

Imagine that we were having a retirement dinner for the Pharisee. We’ve been invited, along with others who knew him, to celebrate his long years of service. If you’re on the planning committee, what kind of program would you have?

Suppose you were asked to introduce the Pharisee at this dinner, so that he could make a few “appropriate remarks.” From what you know of him what would your introduction sound like?

Granting that it would be a flattering introduction, would you be wrong or sinful in saying such things about him?

I. Do you think the Pharisee’s religion had done him good?

What kind of standing would he have had in the community? Do you think he was a better person than the tax collector?

Would you like to have been on the planning committee for a retirement dinner for the tax man, if what we read about him in the parable had not taken place?

Could you say that the Pharisee’s life had been blessed by God? Could you say that God had been gracious to him?

(The Pharisee’s religion had done him good.)

II. When he stood in the temple before God praying, were God’s kindnesses to him a help or a hindrance?

It is possible for grace to turn sour? That’s the smell that is in this parable.

God had blessed the Pharisee. He had a good religious tradition. He probably came up in a good home.

But now he thinks that those gifts from God had made him a creature of special merit. He has become proud before God for what God has given him.

There is always a danger of grace turning sour.

A young person can be brought up in a good home, have good moral training, have high standards, but then assume that other people in the church, who may not have had those advantages, are hypocrites. They drop out of church and walk away from God. The very advantages that God has given them cause them to separate from God, and that’s grace turned sour.

Churches, seminaries, radio ministries, etc., can, by the grace of God, stay true to truth. But in order to prove that to their constituencies, they feel compelled to point out how others have strayed from the truth. There are no tears in their eyes about this. In fact, you sense a certain delight that “we are not like other people.” That’s the smell of grace gone sour.

In the letters to the seven churches (Revelation 2-3) we see grace gone sour.

The toughest people for Jesus to reach were those who had much going for them in their religious background.