Salvation comes by grace. What is grace, you may ask? It is God’s unmerited favor toward people who do not deserve it. This is an accepted definition of grace, but it is much more than that. The New Testament is written in Greek, and the word for grace in the New Testament is Charis. Another word that refers to a specific manifestation or a form of God’s grace is Charisma, Charis, with the suffix ma at the end. By God’s grace, we find justification and right standing before God as a gift.
Right Standing With God
“They which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.” Rom 5:17
The above scripture indicates that God offers us the right standing before him and justification as a gift. This gift of righteousness only comes through Jesus.
“For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.” John 1:17 This grace that comes through Jesus is given only to one kind of person, the one who humbles themselves and cries out to God, knowing they have no standing with God. Such are the ones who are recipients of God’s mercy and kindness.
The parable of the Pharisee and the Publican
In Luke 18:9-14, Jesus told a parable correcting those who think themselves righteous and despise others. It was meant for people who trusted in the things that they did. You can think of them as self-righteous, which is what Jesus meant when he said they looked down on everyone else and had the attitude of, “I am better than you.”
The parable Jesus tells is of two people who went to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a publican. A Pharisee was very religious, while the Publican was a tax collector and very aware of his sins. The name Pharisee means separated. The Pharisees at the time of Jesus showed so much external holiness that their attitude was always, “Do not defile me, don’t get too close to me; I am not like other men.”
On the other hand, tax collectors were known to cheat and defraud others. People considered them evil, sinful people. By any means they found necessary, they collected taxes, stole the money, and stashed it in their pockets. They only remitted a little cash to the Roman government, so their peers did not think well of them. They were seen as thieves and extortionists.
Luke 18:11 records the prayer of the Pharisee.
“The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not like other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.”
Even though the Pharisee was saying the word God and using the right words, he was praying to himself. God was not acknowledging his prayer, and the reason is that he was justifying himself and taking pride in what he did. He despised and looked down on others because he thought he was better than them. Verse 12 continues his prayer,
“I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.”
He was commending himself for his deeds and saying, notice what I do. To fast means going without food. He also gave at the temple. His attitude was, ‘I have a good life, don’t bother me. I give cash in church, and I give to charity.’
The Publican’s prayer is introduced in verse 13,
“And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.”
From his body language, you can tell that he was ashamed of himself. He was ‘standing afar off.’ He smote his breast and bent his head. In the old testament, when the Bible says a person smote their breast, they would also, most of the time, tear their clothes in grief. It was their way of showing God they were sorry for their sins. Such actions were a sign of repentance, a broken spirit, and a contrite heart which the Bible says God does not reject.
The next verse, 14, sums up the message of Jesus in telling the parable.
“I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.”
Jesus Loves You
The tax collector went home righteous before God and justified, unlike the Pharisee. The religious Pharisee did not find favor with God because he justified himself and exalted himself while despising others. While the tax collector knew he had no standing before God because he was sinful, the Pharisee said he was sinless, not like other men, and saw himself as deserving the favor of God. The tax collector humbled himself and found acceptance and forgiveness.
The Bible tells us that Jesus came to save not the righteous but sinners and that we have all fallen and come short of the Glory of God. We cannot justify ourselves, but we must humble ourselves and find justification and forgiveness. The gifts of God are not earned by works but are received through grace.
Questions and Answers
LUKE 18:9-12 – And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others. [10] Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee and the other a publican. [11] The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even this Publican. [12] I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.
1. Read Luke 18:9. What is a parable?
Answer: A biblical parable is a story that illustrates a spiritual truth
2.Read Luke 18:9. To whom did Jesus direct this parable?
Answer: To those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous; that is, they were self-righteous
3. Read Luke 18:9 (the last part of the verse). Self-righteous people always reveal an attitude toward others. According to Luke 18:9, what is that attitude?
A. They like others.
B. They despise others or look down on others.
C. They love others.
4. Read Luke 18:10. Two people went to pray; in modern language, where did they go to pray?
Answer: To the church
5. Read Luke 18:10. Who were these people?
Answer: A Pharisee and a publican/tax collector
6. Read Luke 18:11. What was the Pharisee’s prayer?
Answer: God, I thank you. I am not like other men (I’m not a sinner). I’m not a swindler, unjust, an adulterer, or even like this tax collector
7. Read Luke 18:12. What does fasting mean?
Answer: Going without food
8. Read Luke 18:12. What does it mean to give tithes?
Answer: To give a tenth of one’s income
LUKE 18:13-14 – And the Publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. [14] I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
ROMANS 10:13 – For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
1 JOHN 1:8-9 – If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. [9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
9. Read Luke 18:13. Where was the tax collector standing? Why?
Answer: Afar off. He was ashamed to go into the church (or temple) because he was such a terrible sinner, so he stayed outside
10. Read Luke 18:13. Why did the tax collector hang down his head and not look up?
Answer: He was ashamed
11. Read Luke 18:13. What was this tax collector’s prayer?
Answer: God be merciful to me—I am a sinner!
12. Read Luke 18:14. Which one of these men was declared righteous before God when he went to his home?
Answer: Tax collector
13. Read Luke 18:14. Why was the tax collector declared righteous and not the Pharisee?
Answer: Because he humbled himself and did not think highly of himself
14. Read Luke 18:14. Did God forgive this tax collector?
Answer: YES
15. Read Romans 10:13. If you got down on your knees and cried out to God from your heart, “God be merciful to me, a sinner,” would God treat you the same way He treated the tax collector?
Answer: Yes, He would. He would forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness.