Creator, Father, King #207

I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God.

OUR LIVES ARE OFTEN built on performance.

In school, if you study and excel on tests, papers, and other projects, you will earn a good grade. In sports, if you perform well, you will likely earn a starting position on the team. If you participate in the Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts of America (or something similar), you must meet certain criteria in various activities to receive merit badges. In your professional career, you will typically earn promotions and pay raises only by performing well.

But when it comes to spiritual righteousness, human performance doesn’t matter. This is hard for many people to understand. Maybe it is for you, too. That’s why Jesus told the parable found in Luke 18:10-14:

Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: “I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.” But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, “O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.” I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God.

What’s It Mean?

We can’t earn our own salvation. There’s nothing we can put on a spiritual résumé, so to speak (e.g., Christian upbringing, good works, ethical living, church attendance, etc.), to impress God. We need a righteousness outside ourselves. We need the righteousness that comes “through faith in Christ” (Philippians 3:9).

Your heart’s posture must be like that of the tax collector’s. He knew he had sinned greatly and had nothing to offer God to merit his own righteousness. So he humbly repented and asked forgiveness. God mercifully justified him—or declared him righteous—by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9).

Are you basing your righteousness on your own merits? Are you trying to earn your salvation like a scouting merit badge or a professional promotion? You can’t! Leave pharisaical righteousness behind and take a cue from the humble tax collector!

Now What?

For more on justification, review the August 26 devotion and read Romans 3–5.

Did You Know?

Most first-century Jews looked up to the Pharisees as the elite moral standard, while tax collectors were considered reprehensible sinners. Jesus played on these cultural stereotypes to teach an important lesson about righteousness and justification.