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I'd like to bring to mind a passage where Jesus speaks of two men who had faith. One was justified, but the other was not.
Here's the passage in Luke 18:
Quote:
And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 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 as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 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. 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.
Both of these men had faith. But both men were not justified before God.
Why?
Because of humility and lowliness. One man was broken, and God heard his prayer. The other man was proud of his faith, of his spiritual position, of his "I've seen the light." And God did not hear him.
Well this is a lesson of a selfrighteousness and judgemental attitude from one who studied , studied and studied the scriptures and became in his mind the only one who "got it".
On the other hand, the publican represents humility in acknowledging his sins and asking for forgiveness. I think He understood that God was a part of him, and without that part he was not complete
Both are valuable lessons on what a Christian/believer is "to be, or not to be"
I think God heard both prayers and will be the final say.
The man depended on what he did for God. He began with I,I,I
" I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess."
he stated that he was not an extortioner ( lust of the eyes $$), adulterer ( the the lust of the flesh, " or even as this publican ( you can feel the pride of life the has, almost like saying that he, as a human, is better that the publican.
this pharisee was not of God
1 JN2:16 : For all that [is] in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
the man fasted and gave for all the wrong reasons.
We cannot be too hard on this guy, we have all been there. you know, give for the wrong reason. think that for some reason if we do certain spiritual things God will somehow love us more.
The other man was humble, he smote his chest. He might have been like the first guy, but when he realized the truth, he smote his breast. he didnt just get on his knees and beg for mercy. There was gnashing of teeth for him. he was in anguish.
Many folks have been there, after realizing that everything we do is dung, we finally see Christ, He is finally revealed in a way we never seen him. We smite our chests in anguish. The Christ will walk in the garden of our hearts and begin pruning. I guess the meaning of the parable is about humility. It not really a guess, it actuall says it.
After we get into spiritual maturity, we can go from I, I, I to HE, HE ,HE.
One point: Jesus said that the Pharisee was not justified; note that he was not asking for justification, he was thanking God that he was right with him. After all, he had been saved, right?
And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 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 as this publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 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. 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.
This passage always brings to mind, "looking into another's eyes and seeing a reflection of yourself". Meaning, we are all in this together. Love your neighbor as yourself.
The pharisee sees the publican as apart from himself.
Thank you all for your posts. All very interesting and thought-provoking, for sure.
Question: Is it closer to God to be a saint or a sinner? From this parable, it would seem that the sinner was closer to God than the saint (pharisee). This reminds of when Jesus said that "the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. " Matt. 21.31
Also, the father of the prodigal son killed the fatted calf, not for the sake of the righteous, but for the one who spent his time with harlots. Luke 15.30
"Faith is sufficient for what?" -- (What am I missing here?)
Didn't the Lord declare that His "Grace" was sufficient (2 Cor 12:9). Faith is the vehicle by which we access God's Grace: Eph. 2:8 - "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God." Without God's 'Grace', our faith is meaningless.
From this parable, it would seem that the sinner was closer to God than the saint (pharisee). This reminds of when Jesus said that "the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. " Matt. 21.31
Romans 6: 1What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase?2May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?3Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death?4Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
It is not the fact of sinning that brings us closer, but the realization that we need help.
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