Morning Message Text: Luke 18: 9-14
The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone 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 by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—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 all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Morning Message: “Conviction, Truth, Repentance, Optional?”
Morning Message:
It seems that God keeps bringing me back to this issue of faith verses works. I found this explanation in some of my readings this week. Christ gave himself for us, that He might
redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works (Titus 2: 14). It is wrong to assume that because we are saved by grace that works don’t matter. Works have always mattered in God’s economy. In fact, Christ died to redeem us from “lawless deeds” and create in us a zeal for “good works.” We are not saved by good works, but we are saved for good works.
Ephesians 2: 8-10 is the passage that best incorporates the place of works in salvation and the Christian life. In those verses, Paul wrote that we are saved by grace through faith, “not of works, lest anyone should boast.” Rather, we are “created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” In other words, God has saved us from doing “bad works” so that we might be empowered to do “good works” for His glory. In fact, a life of righteous works is partial evidence of new life in Christ. As James wrote, “Faith without works is dead.” (James 2: 26).
Poor old Jeremiah had one of the toughest assignments of any of the prophets. He was called to proclaim God’s judgment against Israel. He was a man of God, and he believed in the grace and mercy of a loving God. No matter how hard he prayed, no matter how many moving sermons he preached, no matter how many times he attempted to give harsh warnings to his people and their leaders, it was already too late. They say that Jeremiah was the weeping prophet. I guess that is true, but he didn’t start that way. He started his ministry just like most ministers start out, hopeful that he could make a difference, hopeful that his people would see the light. When they didn’t, and God made it clear that judgment must take place, he then became the weeping prophet. How difficult it must have been to hear God say, “Do not pray for the well-being of this people.”
I can’t possibly cover all the reasons, the repeated actions, the awful sins that lead up to this point of no return. What I can tell you is their hearts were beyond conviction, they had lost all moral clarity, they were without remorse. They no longer knew the truth of God’s Word. Their minds had been so clouded by sin that they made up their own version of the truth to suit their needs. Repentance was no longer possible because you can’t be sorry unless you can admit that you were wrong. These three things go together. You can’t have one without the other, this is not optional. In the case of Israel, God knew that there was only one option left. Israel would only respond to judgment. God knew there would be salvation for some through this tribulation, but poor Jeremiah must have felt like he had failed.
There is a shift that has taken place in our society, and it is not a shift in the right direction. This has been a very slow but steady shift, and it may be complete. This shift is dangerous. It replaces conviction with comfort, truth with tolerance, repentance with self-affirmation. It makes the gospel optional, and grace feel cheap. I could point my finger at the world around us, at our leaders, at the people we put in charge of our government, but
that is not where the blame lies. Since when do our leaders make us who we are? We need to look in the mirror and take responsibility for where we find ourselves today. What is our
attitude towards sin? When sin is obvious in our lives or in the lives of loved ones do we take steps towards conviction, or do we seek to comfort. “Oh, that’s okay honey. Yes, what you did was wrong, but come here and let me make it better.” It used to be truth or consequences. Now it’s: Let’s be tolerant so we don’t hurt anyone with the truth. We have disarmed the power of the gospel message out of fear of offending people, and where has that gotten us?
There was a time when people went to church, heard the truth, and wept over their sins. Hearts trembled at the sound of grace. The word didn’t just inspire, it convicted. It cut deep, but it healed deeper. Conviction wasn’t cruel, it was mercy in motion. It broke chains before it broke hearts. People didn’t leave unchanged; they left worship transformed. But now, we walk into church, smile, nod, and walk out the same. We hear words that lift us up, but not words that call us down to our knees. We get a concert, a feel-good moment, and we walk out unchanged. We’ve traded repentance for reassurance, conviction for comfort, truth for tolerance. And it sounds gentle, but it’s dangerous.
Today’s sermon text seems like a simple commentary on the proper way to approach God in worship and prayer. That is the easy message today. It is not difficult to understand, as Christians, that we should approach God humbly, and it doesn’t matter to God how we measure up to other people. When we stand before God we stand only through the power of the blood of our Savior. This text shows us the right way and the wrong way to worship. It shows us that living out our faith should not be attempted systematically, but with a heart attuned to the will of God. The tax collector comes to worship beating his chest, confessing his sinfulness and taking his rightful place under God’s leadership. He comes with conviction, he comes in truth, he comes with a heart of repentance. This should never be optional.
Listen, when truth is watered down, grace loses its weight. Can’t you see this in our world, in our country? Truth is not just watered down, it’s replaced with lies. I will get myself in trouble for saying this, but it needs to be said. People and institutions that we used to be able to depend on for the truth can no longer be trusted. We used to be able to turn on the news and feel comfortable that what we were hearing was true. We had Walter Cronkite and we never had to wonder what was true. You may not want to believe this, but today’s news is so full of opinions that the truth is hard to find. I am a firm believer that truth is vital. When sin is left unnamed, the soul forgets it needs a Savior. Hearts are stirred but not surrendered.
A motivational speech might lift you for an hour; only truth can save you for eternity. Encouragement can fill a room, but only repentance can fill a soul. If we keep choosing comfort over conviction, we’ll keep smiling, inspired, but asleep. There was a time when the presence of God broke hearts open. May that time come again.
In Christ’s Love and Peace,
Pastor Bob
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