THE PROUD AND THE HUMBLE
Luke 18:9-14
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable: 10 \”Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: \’God, I thank you that I am not like other men — robbers, evildoers, adulterers — or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.\’
13 \”But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, \’God, have mercy on me, a sinner.\’
14 \”I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.\”
RELIGIOUS OR RIGHTEOUS
The definition of religion is respect for a sense of right, moral obligation, and respect for what is sacred.
Religion is what you do regularly. Religion is how you see yourself.
Religion is what you do for yourself. Religion is what you do to honor yourself.
The definition of righteous is acting in accord with divine or moral law; free from
guilt or sin.
Righteousness is how you see God. Righteousness is what you do to honor God.
PRIDE, SELF ELEVATION
The Pharisee was confident in himself. He was proud of his morals and the way
he lived his life. He compared himself to others and valued his lifestyle better than
others.
He was a religious man. In his prayer, he thanked God that he was better than other people.
In his prayer, he pointed to the shortcomings of others. The Pharisee listed all the people
he judged as sinners thanking God that he was not like them.
In his prayer, he gave God his moral resume.
In his prayer, the Pharisee focuses on the sins of others rather than His relationship
with God. While we do not have the Pharisees’ entire prayer, we do not see a request
for forgiveness or a confession of his sins
What we do hear is his self-righteousness and the sins of others. The Pharisee
lifted himself before the Father. He judged those he considered sinners.
POINTING OUT THE SINS OF OTHERS CONVICTS YOU
When we focus on the sins of others, we neglect our own sins. The first sin of
the Pharisee was his pride, the original sin of heaven. Satan proud of his position,
wanted to be God or at the level of God. The Pharisee failed to confess any sin
he may have committed in the past. He was committing sins by judging others in the
temple. His prayer was sinful because he did not love his neighbor enough to pray
for their well-being. His pride of what he was not guilty of, blinded him to the sins he was committing.
You are looking at a man who was saying I am right and everyone else is wrong.
I think he was suggesting to God that the section of the law he read was the thing that justified him. He disregarded the rest of the law as unimportant.
The Pharisee did the minimum to be considered righteous in his eyes and the eyes of
those around him. By his prayer, he considered what he did and what he didn’t do
justified him for heaven. He was in an I am good enough for heaven state of mind.
HUMBLENESS A STATE OF THE HEART
The tax collector, whom the Pharisees pointed out to God, came to the temple
convicted of his sins, confessing them to the Father,
He did not consider himself worthy to look up to heaven. He asks for God\’s
mercy.
His posture and action was a sign of his repentant heart.
Holding his head down toward the ground was a sign of his deep distress,
The beating of his breast was an expression of his grief.
He was conscience that his sins grieve the Father.
He knew that there was no relief with the Father’s mercy.
Because the tax collector asked and was repentant, he was forgiven.
EXALTING THE HUMBLE
God hates the proud.
Proverbs 16:5-6
The Lord detests all the proud of heart.
Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.
The pride of the Pharisee was his fall from grace.
He knew the law that made him feel good about himself but neglected the
commandments of God that would convict him. He lifted himself above
others proclaiming his self-righteousness.
God loves the humble
Proverbs 16:6-7
6 Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for;
Through the fear of the Lord, a man avoids evil.
7 When a man\’s ways are pleasing to the Lord,
He makes even his enemies live at peace with him.
The tax collector came to the temple fearing the Lord. He came with a heart
to be right before the Lord. He was troubled by his inability to resist the
temptation to sin.
He was faithful to come to the Lord in prayer confessing his sins,
Because of his love for God’s commands he was forgiven.
