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. Amen. You may be seated. Herod the Great built a massive, beautiful temple. In some respects, the was even more magnificent than Solomon's temple. And so the time of the New Testament is sometimes called Second Temple Judaism. That temple that was rebuilt is kind of ignored, whatever the reason. It's called Second Temple Judaism. It's kind of a scholarly term. And there are all sorts of people who write about this time. And there are those then who claim that the reformers did not truly understand what Jewish people at the time of the New Testament believed. They said the reformers were too narrow-minded on individual salvation. They missed the essence of the Jewish religion. And some of these ideas are now called the new perspective on Paul movement, the new perspective on Paul movement. We need to have a different idea of what the Apostle Paul meant when he was preaching a message of grace and justification. It's wrong to compare what the Roman Catholic Church at the time of the Reformation believed and compare that to Judaism. That's what this movement would claim. Further, these scholars have come up with new ideas of what justification means, some of it going in a very radical, ecumenical direction, that all who have some idea of God are saved. And that's what justification does. It opens the door, basically, to everyone. Well, we believe that history is important. We do try to understand as much as we can about the past, the language that's part of what we call the historical, grammatical way of interpreting the Bible. And yet we also say this, far more important than some historical discovery we claim to have made or what some great understanding is on the language in particular, it's what God's Word says that's clear, that helps us interpret other passages. It's sometimes called the analogy of faith, but that scripture interprets scripture. And so although it's important to read and understand, our starting point has to be anchored in what the Bible says about the Bible. And so indeed, in the Gospels, where we find so many references to the scribes and the Pharisees, some of the traditions of the Jewish people. The Gospels are an amazing resource for what did the Jewish people at the time of Jesus believe. In the epistles, not every one, but in some of the epistles, we're also given essential understanding of what many Jewish people believed about righteousness and salvation. We have the Apostle Paul, a former Pharisee, who writes 14 books of the New Testament. Now, do you think the Apostle Paul understood Judaism better than a scholar today? I think we have to say, yes, he did. So whatever he has revealed to us, that should be of greater importance, not exhaustive in terms of all we might need to study. But shouldn't that take the priority, of course? Scripture always takes priority. the priority. So we'll consider some of the background that we have in Scripture to our text here in Luke 18. We'll look at the purpose And then this parable that Jesus told us in verses nine through 13, and then we have the great conclusion. This man went down to his house justified. Verse 14, all under the summary, the beautiful prayer of this tax collector. God, be merciful to me, the sinner. Well, the Gospels don't give us everything that we might like to know. But there is so much that we do learn. Let's start just a brief survey of Luke's gospel. Let's begin with Luke 3 and verse 7, if you want to turn back there. This is the preaching of John the Baptist. What is the first message recorded here that John brings? Fascinating. John says to the multitudes, that came out to be baptized by him, brood of vipers. What a introduction. Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Verse eight, therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance and do not begin to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father. For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. We'll stop with verse eight. So many Jewish people said, well, we have Abraham as our father. That's all that's really necessary for salvation. If we can trace our lineage back to Abraham, then all must be well with us. And John says, don't say that. God can raise up children from these stones. In Luke 5, if you want to turn there, many of the interactions that Jesus had was not with what you call the average Joe Israelite, whatever that would mean, but with the religious leaders. And that is significant. So maybe we can't say, oh, this is what every individual Israelite believed at the time of Jesus. But when Jesus is interacting, often it's with the teachers. And you would think, it's the teachers that are going to influence others, right? Isn't that the normal progression? In Luke 5, the friends of a paralyzed man lower him through the roof so that Jesus can see him. And we read, and this is Luke 5, starting in verse 20, when he saw their faith, he said to him, man, your sins are forgiven you. Verse 21, and the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone? Obviously, we're familiar with this. Jesus repeatedly clashed with the leaders, the leading influences of his day, and we said, who was right? Who was better at identifying the problem, the religious leaders or our Lord? Well, that's an easy answer. So most of the leading figures in Israel did not want to recognize Jesus. Now, we know there were exceptions. Two key people at the time of Jesus did come to believe, Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, They were part of the Sanhedrin, the highest governing body, so it wasn't that none came to understand, only a few. Under God's judgment and wrath, we can't say exactly what happened to all of them as the rest of the New Testament continues, but we can say most of them refused to turn and believe. But certainly there were those in Israel who did come to follow Jesus. Earlier in Luke, we have Simeon's testimony, Luke chapter two, verse 30. When Simeon saw Jesus, he said, my eyes have seen your salvation. Anna in that same chapter, verse 38, she gave thanks to the Lord and spoke of him, excuse me, to all those who look for redemption in Jerusalem. What did Jesus say he came to call? Not the righteous, but sinners to repentance. That is significant. Jesus is not calling those who already think they are righteous. but those who know they are sinners. And Jesus often then warned that those who would be his followers, what would they expect? Would following Jesus make all your dreams come true or would it be the path of difficulty? and conflict and we know the answer to that. The path of discipleship would be the path of suffering and persecution at the hands of others. Luke chapter six and verse 22, blessed are you when men hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and cast out your name as evil for the son of man's sake. In Luke 7, when Jesus accepted the worship of a sinful woman, it caused great scandal. This was the house of Simon. There were other Pharisees who were gathered there. We know this is such a beautiful verse, Luke 7, verse 47. Jesus said, therefore, I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. but to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little." So there's so much just in Luke's gospel that helps us understand, by the time we get to Luke 18, we already know at least some of the background, as it were, some of the important background. I want to mention one other thing. that I noticed as I was studying this passage. There's two parables at the beginning of Luke 18. The parable of this widow who does not give up which is our encouragement in terms of prayer, and then this parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. These parables seem to not have much in common on the surface, but actually, they are joined together. Obviously, Luke has placed them together. But there's a word, the word that we would translate as justice, is the root word that's used at least nine times in these opening verses. Let me just highlight how this is a link. In verse three, Luke 18, verse three, the widow says, get justice for me. The root of that is, again, the Greek word dike. In verse five, the word avenge is related to that, same root. It's used in verse six, unjust. the unrighteous person, the unjust person. In verse 7, it's avenge. Verse 8, again, avenge. And then we move into the second parable. The word righteous shares that same root. Some trusted in themselves that they were righteous or just. In verse 11, the word unjust again used again. And then verse 14, this man went down to his house justified. So nine times, this root word brought out as justice connects these two parables together. And we can really see, we'll focus more on this next week, Lord willingly, just how this entire chapter is so beautifully brought together. When you read it, you say, okay, how are these things put together? But if we carefully reflect on it, we can see, no, all of these things fit together like beautiful puzzle pieces. So let's look at this second parable now, starting with verse nine. We observe that just like the first parable, It's the purpose that comes first, and then the parable. I think these are the only two examples that you'll find in the Gospels where the purpose comes first. We don't want to miss the purpose, and then we have the parable. So what's the purpose? Quite clear. Jesus spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others. This introduction, obviously very important. Not everyone thought this way. Jesus did not say every single person in Israel thinks this way. No. Some. How many? We're not told. You might say if the shoe fits, you wear it. But some, they trusted in themselves and then they looked down and despised others. Now the word righteous is used in other places in the New Testament. In Luke's gospel, I'll mention one passage not in Luke, Joseph, the husband of Mary, Joseph is described as a just man. Joseph is a righteous man. Earlier in Luke's gospel, we have Zacharias and Elizabeth. This is Luke chapter one, verse six, and we read, they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. Now that's an amazing statement. And some could twist that statement to say that they were righteous because they did all those things. But is that what Scripture is saying? That if you go through all of God's law perfectly, then you'll be righteous? Wouldn't that be kind of odd? Why would Jesus have to come after so many thousands of years if the plan of salvation was already there, if it was just your external obedience? Why did Jesus have to call Zacharias and Elizabeth and give them a baby that would be the forerunner to the Lord Jesus Christ? Why would God do all these miraculous things if it was just as simple as just try really hard? So when we read that Zacharias and Elizabeth were righteous, we have to understand, no, this is not because they tried really hard. It has to be God's regenerative grace. They understood what the law said and they realized, no, we cannot do everything perfectly. It's salvation always through faith, just like Abraham. So righteous doesn't mean you've earned that righteousness. It's always through faith and understanding, indeed, how righteous God is and how unrighteous you are. The apostle Paul, and this is a very powerful passage in Romans 10, as Paul is describing his sorrow and the horror of the unbelief of his own people, Listen to Romans 10. Let me read verses one through three of Romans 10. Paul says this, brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness have not submitted to the righteousness of God. If you need to know some background on the time of the New Testament, I would say this would be the best passage to really study and consider. And what Paul says here in verse three, not that we want to take a single verse and say this is everything we need to know, but listen to that. to establish their own righteousness. I think that is so common, not just in Jewish unbelief, but in general, the unbelief of people. We want to establish our own system of righteousness. I've been doing some study of Eastern religions. And I would say in Buddhism and in Hinduism, you find a similar thing. It's your own way of salvation. You basically can create it, your own system of righteousness. And Paul says, they have not submitted to the righteousness of God. Well, getting back to Luke 18, one thing that we must consider, we are so familiar with these passages that immediately, when we hear about a Pharisee, what do we tend to think? Someone that's bad, the tax collector We might identify, OK, that's not a good person, but we know the story. We know he's the good one. But when this parable is first given, Jesus is not bringing up a Pharisee as the villain, but actually as someone that would have been very highly respected. Of course, the tax collector That is the person that's working with the enemy. That's the person that's compromised. Not only is he working with the enemy, he's making his money by overcharging. He's making the profit, and the enemy, Rome, somehow is getting even greater power and benefit. So that's what we have to consider. The Pharisee is the one that, generally speaking, would have been praised. and respected." We find references to tax collectors throughout Luke's gospel. Luke 7, 34, Jesus said, the Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners. In Luke 15, verse 1, we read, then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to him to hear him." So sometimes the tax collectors and the sinners are brought together. And part of the understanding is tax collectors were not people that were highly esteemed. Who could they, as it were, hang out with except people that were notorious, sinners, as it were? The Pharisee and the tax collector both went up to the temple to pray. And then we have the prayer of the Pharisee first. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself. That language almost makes it sound like he's just praying to himself. Versions differ slightly on the best way of translating this expression. It might be best to understand he's praying out loud about himself. strange way of praying. I've mentioned repeatedly that as we study the Gospels, we see that Jesus so powerfully cuts through, you could say, the external matters and goes right to the heart. Jesus is not exaggerating. in any of this. This is not just to make something that is ridiculous on the surface, but no, it's to expose what is natural and present in the heart. Now, maybe the way, I don't think Jesus is saying every Pharisee prayed this way, but it's what's behind it. That's what's important. This is the natural expression of all who trust in themselves that they are righteous. Even if you would shudder to pray this way, if you're trusting ultimately in yourself, this is how you end up praying. And I almost get the sense that after just two verses, Jesus says, we've had enough. The prayer, as it were, is cut off. We can't take any more, as it were. And notice the prayer begins with giving thanks. God, I thank you. This Pharisee is very biased. He's not saying, I did this on my own. He said, no, God, I thank you. And then as we have the prayer, it's two parts, what he's not and what he is. He's not a swindler. He's not trying to get things from other people that don't belong to him. He's not unjust. He follows everything that God has said. He's not an adulterer, or he's not even as this tax collector. Then he boasts about how much he fasts and how he gives. Now, how often did God's law require believers in the Old Testament to fast? Just once a year. The Day of Atonement is the only day where they're commanded to afflict their souls, which we understand was a reference to fasting. So one day out of however many days they counted in the Old Testament for a year, it's a lunar calendar, a little different than ours. So this Pharisee is basically saying, God, I fast 100 times more per year than what you require. And we've talked about the tithe before. Jesus talks about how the Pharisees would take from their tiniest plants and would tithe. And I read a source that said Pharisees would sometimes tithe on what they purchased. If you buy some grapes, maybe you should tithe from those grapes. Why? Because maybe the person who produced those grapes did not tithe. So I have to buy, and notice I give tithes of all that I possess. Maybe even what I buy, I have to add a tithe from that because someone might not have tithed originally. It's this attempt to say, I'll go even beyond what God demands. I mentioned earlier the debate about what many people at the time of the New Testament believed, and we asked, what does this parable show us? Did the Jewish people believe in grace? Certainly. This Pharisee, he's giving thanks. It's not that God is somehow not gracious. The problem is what? The confidence of this Pharisee is entirely his own works. Excuse me here. John Calvin wrote here, this thanksgiving, which is presented exclusively in his own name, does not all imply that he boasted of his own virtue as if he had obtained righteousness from himself or merited anything by his own industry. On the contrary, He ascribes it to the grace of God that he is righteous. Now, though his thanksgiving to God implies an acknowledgment that all the good works which he possessed were purely the gift of God, yet as he places reliance on works and prefers himself to others, himself and his prayer are alike rejected. I think that's very important. We sometimes say people who believe in works don't believe in God's grace. Now, that sometimes is a twisting of the truth. The problem and the confusion among the vast majority of people is not that they deny that God is gracious or that they say, I don't need God's grace. It's what they place as their confidence. It ends up, it's God who enables me to reach this point. God gives me the grace to achieve what I could not do on my own. In the end, it's their own effort, their own confidence. This is why, you know, the solas of the Reformation, it's just not one sola. It's Christ alone, grace alone, faith alone. And they all have to work together. So this Pharisee, he believed in grace, but it goes back to himself. And then we also see, as Jesus said, not only did he trust in himself, but then this despising of others. And this is an amazing thing that sinners do. We cover over some aspect of our life by, as it were, going beyond what God requires in some other aspect, and we think it kind of evens out in the end. This Pharisee can boast of all that he does in terms of God's law and yet despise someone else and cover that over because he's exceeded what God demands in some other area of life. It's kind of like, you know, in a class, you can get an A, even if you don't score 100 on every test, as long as you do better on some quizzes and assignments than the others. And we tend to think God grades on a curve. So this Pharisee at the temple is openly despising someone else who has gone up to the temple. Isn't that amazing? To pray, in such a way you're coming before a holy God, supposedly in a spirit of reverence and humility, and you're looking down on someone else who has also come up to the temple to pray. John is not writing exactly of this context, so I think we can make a connection. This is 1 John 2, verse 9. He who says he is in the light and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes. You know, John must have been dealing with a similar attitude. that Jesus is bringing out in this parable. There are those who now, they're going beyond this Pharisee. They're claiming to now be a believer, a follower of the light. And yet John says, when they hate their brother, no, it means they're still in darkness. The contrast, verse 13. What do we observe here in verse 13? The prayer, very short, The description of the attitude of the tax collector is longer than the prayer. He stands afar off. Wherever the Pharisee was, he's standing farther away. There were degrees of, let's say, holiness as you came to the temple. So women could only come so far if you were a foreigner, then you even had to stand farther away. We assume this tax collector, excuse me, he's a Jew. He's not a Greek. He's not a pagan. But he stands afar off. He's not raising his eyes to heaven, though that's common. He's repeatedly beating himself on his chest or his breast. Again, an expression of humility. And then his prayer, God, be merciful to me, a sinner. Some translations have, God, be merciful to me, the sinner. Kind of like this is how the tax collector was known, but I think even more. No, he realizes, like the Apostle Paul, I'm the chief of sinners. God be merciful to me, the sinner. And the word mercy, one version brings it out this way, and I think properly, as this. Turn your wrath from me. This word used one other time in the New Testament in the book of Hebrews, and it's translated there as propitiation. The idea of the satisfying, the turning away of the wrath of God. God, turn your wrath away from me, a sinner. Listen to Hebrews 2.17. Therefore in all things, He had to be made like his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. That same word, propitiation, is the word merciful used here in verse 13. This prayer might be short, but it's not simplistic, is it? Now verse 14 tells us, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other, the tax collector rather than the Pharisee. And again, we're so used to hearing this parable, that doesn't shock us. But in the time of the New Testament, the words of Jesus would have shocked many. I mean, it would have been unbelievable that collector, not the Pharisee. That's the one going home justified, and the Lord gives a reason. Proverbs 3 verse 34 is very similar to what Jesus says here. Jesus says, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. The tax collector has a humbled himself. The Pharisee has exalted himself. And so Jesus is saying, even in your own law, this is what it says. Or in the book of Proverbs, which is, in a sense, part of law. It's part of instruction. Proverbs 3, 34 speaks about how God does not exalt the boaster. And it's significant that the words of Jesus and Proverbs 3.34 are used both by James and Peter. Listen to James 4.6, but he gives more grace. Therefore, he says, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. That's Proverbs 3.34. And then verse 10 says this, humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he will lift you up. So Jesus is taking an application of Proverbs 3, 34, using it in this context, and so do Peter and James. Now look at verse 14 again. This man went down to his house justified. rather than the other. This same word justified is what's used repeatedly in the book of Romans, in Galatians, other parts of the New Testament. Turn, if you would, to Romans 3. Romans chapter 3. This is the great chapter which speaks of how can sinners be righteous before a holy God. You have three chapters where Paul lays out the sin of both Gentile and Jew. And then we have in verse 20, this is the key verse in the argument of the first couple of chapters of Romans. This is a summary statement. By the deeds of the law, no flesh will be justified in his sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin. For most of his life, the Apostle Paul would have believed, no, the law is that means so that we can obtain our justification. But he comes to realize, no, the law is the knowledge of sin, verse 24, then being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. And then the end of the chapter, verse 28, Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. Some have tried to suggest, well, the deeds of the law just mean the ceremonies of the law. It can't be restricted to just being the ceremonies of the law, like circumcision. It has to be more encompassing than that. A man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. That's the only thing that makes sense with the parable that Jesus has just delivered. So this Pharisee, he is not justified because he has not humbled himself. He is trusting in what he has accomplished. This tax collector has come to be brought to this realization that there is no way he could ever atone for his sin on his own. He knows he has been a sinner. Yes, this is a parable, of course. This person, I don't think, lived unless Jesus is used as an example. But this is showing the grace of God. If we turn back to Luke 18, We observe, obviously, Jesus has not yet died. We say, where's the death of Jesus in this? Except to say this. This Pharisee and tax collector may well have gone up to the temple to pray, but at the time of sacrifice, very commonly There was the morning and the evening sacrifice, and those became times of public prayer. Not exclusively, but very often. For example, in Luke 1.10, there are crowds outside the temple when Zacharias is inside the temple offering incense, but the offering of incense was also the time of sacrifice. The two go together. So we can't be dogmatic, but when this Pharisee is praying for God's mercy, it at least coincides very likely with the time of sacrifice. Almost the idea that, Lord, let this sacrifice be in my place, perhaps, is a possible idea. We can't be dogmatic. But we do observe this. Yes, Jesus has not died, he has not been resurrected. It's not the fullness of the gospel that we have just in this parable. But observe this, verse 31, for the third time, Jesus speaks, we're going to Jerusalem. so that all that has been written in the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be accomplished." Jesus speaks of his delivering up to the Gentiles, his mocking, the insults, the scorn heaped upon him, the scourging and killing him, and the third day he will rise again. So certainly this parable is in the context of the gospel message. John Calvin said this, It is not said that the tax collector was justified because he suddenly acquired some new quality, but that he obtained grace. His guilt was blotted out. His sins were washed away. Hence, it follows that righteousness consists in the forgiveness of sins. Indeed, that's the heart of justification. God declares us as righteous. Our sins are forgiven. The righteousness of Christ is accounted as our righteousness. That's the heart of justification. We're made just before a holy God. And it's not because we pray a little prayer. It's not because you've prayed some little prayer. Well, that earns you God's favor. If you just duplicate what this tax collector did, then you can somehow find salvation. Just say these couple of words, and you're now a believer. That's what I think some have twisted the message of grace into, just say ABC. And there is a beautiful simplicity to salvation. It's not that we complicate salvation, but we never want to do what? We never want to make salvation man's performance, whether it's a prayer or a life of extraordinary works. If your salvation depends on something you have done, then there's no hope in that. So it's not, the question is not, have you prayed this same little prayer as the tax collector, but rather, have you been brought to that point of confession? Have you been humbled? As Jesus says, everyone who exalts himself will be humbled. He who humbles himself will be exalted. Have you been brought low before a holy God so that you know you have no hope other than the mercy of Christ? It's not we have prayed a prayer and asked Jesus into our heart. It's God has worked in my heart and he has humbled me, he has brought me low, and then he has given me an understanding to see the beauty and the glory of Jesus Christ. R.C. Sproul mentioned in his commentary back in the 1960s, he would go out, this is when he was living in Ohio at the time, And I think he was doing one of the evangelistic outreaches that was common at that time, and they would go to people's houses and ask them the question, if you died tonight, why should God let you into heaven? I think that was the prompt they were encouraged to ask so that they could have some discussion with people as they rang their doorbell. So go up to the house, ring the doorbell, ask the person, if you died tonight, why should God let you into heaven? And he said 90% of the time, the answer was works righteousness. It was, I went to church every Sunday. I tithed my income. I tried to live a good life. I did this good work and performed that good work. 90% of the people answered they were trusting in their own righteousness. Sadly, if you did this same survey, I don't think you would find a whole lot of difference, probably. Why? This is the natural way people think. Those that care, those that care about heaven, in whatever that means, I think there are people who realize they are wicked and evil, they want nothing to do with the truth. In a sense, they're more honest than the people who have this wish mentality, and although this is the 1960s, Yeah, things have changed somewhat, but this is still the dominant idea. In fact, about a year and a half ago, in 2022, Ligonier commissioned a poll where they surveyed people who many would have considered themselves religious. And out of the people they surveyed, 66% agreed with the statement that everyone sins a little, but most people are good by nature. Imagine that. 66% of people think we are good by nature. Only 28% disagreed. The other percent, they weren't sure. But the dominant view is we're basically good. If we're basically good, Then to get into heaven, we just basically have to continue in our basic goodness, basically. That's the modern gospel. Remain as you are. Improve where you can. And God should let you into heaven as long as you're ahead of the curve. Now, thankfully, at least for that question, or excuse me, for a different question, most identified evangelicals, and I kind of shudder even to use that term because it has lost so much meaning, evangelicals did understand we're saved not because of our own works. That was the small bright spot in this 2022 survey. But sadly, the survey was shocking, I've mentioned this before, on what other supposedly Bible-believing evangelical Christians believe on other critical issues. We've maybe maintained a small element of the gospel, which I'm thankful for, but I fear it's very twisted. I found a quote by D.L. Moody, He said this, I'm glad we're saved by grace, not by good works. Because I don't want to sit in heaven and listen to everybody brag for eternity of how they got there. Well stated. Listen to the question 60 of the Heidelberg. The question is, how are you righteous before God? The answer is very profound. Only by true faith in Jesus Christ. That is, although my conscience accuses me that I have grievously sinned against all the commandments of God, have never kept any of them, and I'm still prone always to all evil, yet God, without any merit of mine, of mere grace, grants and imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness of Christ, as if I had never committed nor had any sins, and had myself accomplished all the obedience which Christ had fulfilled for me, if only I accept such benefit with a believing heart. How are you righteous before God? Only through what Christ has done. Only received by true faith in Jesus Christ. Question and answer 60 of the Heidelberg. I would commend to you the word of God even more. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we do rejoice in the perfection of your word. Its convicting power, its encouragement, And we know, O Lord, salvation is not a mechanical process that we manipulate and control. It is your sovereign work, accomplished as you determine in the lives of those you determine. And so constantly we pray that we might be humbled. that we will not turn into Pharisees, as is so common. That's the natural path, O Lord. Turn us and keep us from that path. Keep us ever grateful, not that we're constantly being regenerated again, but as we grow and as we live, we never somehow surpass the beautiful message of salvation through what Jesus Christ has accomplished. And we desire to see many others brought to that understanding, so many that we know, maybe even other family and friends. And we desire that they would be convicted, that they would understand the grounds for confidence that it can never be in what we have done. We are grieved to see how much ignorance there is. To know it's not because, it's not a lack of resources. If only we had a few more books on the subject. No, so much has been written. But so much is either not read or not understood properly. And so as a church and as a ministry, oh Lord, keep us in this truth. And may this truth drive us evermore in seeing others come to understand and that we would live before you in great humility. We pray this in Jesus' name.