2016-09-11 Luke 18:9-14 Getting "In" (2): Not Right for the Part

GETTING “IN” (2): NOT RIGHT FOR THE PART (Luke 18:9-14) September 11, 2016 Intro – Charlie Brown is talking to Linus one day about his persistent sense of inadequacy: “You see, Linus, it began the moment I set foot on the stage of life. They took one look at me and said, ‘Not right for the part.’” The truth is we all feel inadequate – not quite right for the part – therefore, looking for approval all our lives. At the top of the list – how to be acceptable to God. For most people it comes down to doing something to make them feel “good enough”. Perhaps that is you. If so, Jesus has something to say to you today. He is addressing those “who trusted in themselves that they were righteous” (v. 9). Their religion was if I do enough good, I’ll be significant, acceptable to God – I’ll be in, righteous. Were they right? Jesus answers with a parable about 2 men at the end of which he says in v. 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. So in this parable one guy finds acceptance by God; the other does not. One is in, one is not. In simple terms, one is going to heaven; the other is not. And it’s the do-gooder who is not! These 2 men took radically different approaches to gain acceptance. Tim Keller points out one worked from the outside-in thinking all he had to do was be outwardly as compliant as possible and he would be okay. The other worked inside-out, realizing that it was his heart that mattered. Thus he confessed himself and sinner and threw himself on God’s mercy and gained acceptance. Jesus Himself pronounced that it was this 2 nd man who got it right and was justified. He was the dirty, rotten tax collector, while the clean living Pharisee was left on the outside looking in. That amazed His audience, just as intended to show them that outside-in doesn’t work, because that was them. So let’s examine this outside-in, self-centered approach that Jesus rejected. I. The Wrong Way – Outside-In (Self-centered) Note again Jesus described these people as those “who trusted in themselves that they were righteous.” They had declared themselves righteous rather than having God declare them righteous. That’s like walking into a courtroom and declaring yourself acquitted. Good luck with that, right? What led to such a wrong-headed conclusion? Two things. They trusted in themselves, not God. And they judged based on outward performance, not inward orientation. A. Self-Righteousness 1 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ This guy’s a spin doctor. He sounds good at first. “God, I thank you.” But it’s all downhill after that. Having mentioned God once, he never refers to Him again. Having said he thanks God, he lists only things he has done. He is not thanking God; he is informing God what a great guy he is. Trying to impress the Almighty. Declaring himself righteous. This is self-justification at its finest. As Kent Hughes says, “After his initial nod to God, his was essentially a selfcongratulatory monologue disguised as a prayer. There are five uses of the personal pronoun “I". I—I—I—I—I. He was stoned on self.” This is not a prayer; it is an exercise in self-congratulation. There is no praise, no worship, no humility, no sense of reverence, and most of all no confession of sin. If he had any sense of the divine presence, he would also have had a sense of guilt, but that is missing altogether. He is not addressing God at all. He is addressing himself and anyone else who happened to be listening. That was the Pharisee way – impress others with their false prayers. This exercise was intended to elevate this man in his own eyes and in the eyes of others. And don’t we often do the same thing? A critic once described one pastor’s prayer as “the most eloquent prayer ever offered to a Boston audience!” Praying to impress others, not praying to God. Ever hear a prayer or testimony that went something like this: “I’m so thankful to God for blessing our family. Our business has grown every year as we have faithfully tithed. Our kids are all following the Lord and doing well in their careers. It really pays to follow Jesus.” Now listen, Beloved. That could come from a heart that is good and true. But it could also be a self-congratulatory declaration of selfrighteousness on the order of this Pharisee. It certainly shows no sensitivity to others who have been at least equally faithful, but have suffered financial setbacks or faithless children or deep persecution for the sake of Christ. Nietzsche saw this long ago. He said that when people declare their morality, it’s a power play. They’re saying, “I’m mostly good, so God has to accept me and give me a good life. And you have to approve me too cuz I’m good.” But it’s all backwards. People who are “in Christ” don’t advertise their own goodness. The gospel is not about getting eternal life for “doing it right.” The gospel is about “doing it right” because we’ve already have eternal life. Outward success has little to do with it. 2 The tendency toward such self-justifying statements ran deep in Jewish psyche. One man, Rabbi Simeon ben Jacai actually said, “If there are only two righteous men in the world, I and my son are these two; if there is only one, I am he!” He apparently forgot, we’re not the judge; God is. Most of us aren’t as blatant as those guys, but let’s be honest, declaring oneself “good enough” is at the heart of moralism. We camouflage it better – even from ourselves. But we have our little lists of things that will make us acceptable to God – and our lists of excuses why we are not to blame for those things He objects to. But we ignore the fact that the final decision is not in His hands, not ours. Our good intentions and raft of excuses will not count then. The little town of Gerald, MO had one of the highest meth problems in the country – until Sgt. Bill Jacob arrived. He was an undercover FBI agent heading a federal task force and he was there to help. Police Chief Ryan McCrary was only too happy to have help from any source. Over a 2-month period, Sgt Bill, shotgun in hand, kicked in doors and took names – arresting more than 20 people, most of whom confessed. But a local reporter’s background check revealed that Sgt. Bill’s relationship with the FBI was one of arrestee, not employee! He was convicted on 23 counts and sentenced to 5 years. When interviewed on 48 Hours by Katie Couric in Oct., 2008, he admitted his impersonation and lies but justified himself: “I’m going to prison for arresting drug dealers who aren’t going to prison.” Couric wisely responded, “That’s not why you’re going to prison.” In Bill’s mind, good intentions offset any guilt. He declared himself righteous! But a real judge saw the bigger picture, declared him guilty and put him away. How many people will try that with God – wrapping themselves in the dirty garments of self-righteousness declaring themselves “good enough” all the way to hell. Self-justifiers assume the wrong judge – Self. That’s God’s prerogative. B. Self-Sufficiency The self-sufficiency of the Pharisee is evident immediately. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself. Contrast that with 13 But the tax collector, standing far off. Luke is using physical position to contrast the inner attitude of these 2 men. The tax collector is far off and stays right there. No attempt to bridge the gap! But the Pharisee removes himself from the crowd, closer to the symbolic presence of God. His actions say what his heart believes, “I can bridge the gap. I am self- sufficient.” Was he right? Could he do that? 3 He certainly was an upstanding man. No reason to disbelieve him when he says he didn’t cheat on his taxes, was fair to employees, faithful to his wife and loyal to his country. He gives his tithe and beyond. What pastor wouldn’t welcome such a man to his church!? He’s a good guy. He could be any of us here today. So how can Jesus say at the end of this parable that the tax collector went home justified and this man did not? Since this could be us, we better know. Why was his self-sufficient, outside-in approach not accepted? 1. Wrong tape measure His standard was not divinely approved! His yardstick is in v 11: “I am not like other men.” His standard was other men, and against them, he looked pretty good. He didn’t participate in the evil he saw there – extortion, cheating, injustice, sexual impurity, betraying one’s people and country. Against that tape measure, he declared himself “in” – righteous! Furthermore, he fasted twice a week and tithed everything. He’s giving himself extra credit here. Fasting was required only on the Day of Atonement, but like most Pharisees he did it every Monday and Thursday. And he tithed everything – even spices. Way beyond most people. Extra credit, to be sure. Now, in comparing himself to others, he didn’t exactly pick the cream of the crop. Did you notice that? He doesn’t compare himself to Moses or Samuel or Joseph or other devout people. His yardstick is more like a foot-stick! But in truth, he’d have done all right even against the best. He’s confident. Like another rabbi who prayed: “I thank Thee, Lord, that thou hast put my part with those who sit in the Academy, and not with those who sit at the street corners. For I rise early, and they rise early; I rise early to the words of the law, and they to vain things. I labour, and they labour; I labour and receive a reward, and they labour and receive no reward. I run, and they run; I run to the life of the world to come, and they to the pit of destruction.” He could’ve prayed that. He was plenty religious. So what’s the problem? The problem is wrong yardstick, isn’t it? Wrong standard. God’s standard is not other people; God standard is – Himself! Jesus nails that in Mt 5:48: “You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” If you want to self-justify, the issue isn’t to be better than the tax collector who has betrayed his country, the dad who deserted his family or the reprobate around the corner; the issue isn’t even to be better than Billy Graham. This issue is to match God. The question is not, “Am I as good as my neighbor?” The question is, “Am I as good as God?” Want to self-justify against that?! 4 I used to listen to Cardinal games on the plains of KS. One night Harry Caray interviewed catcher Bob Uecker who later made a career out of his humor. Uecker had hit a hard grounder booted by the shortstop. It had been scored an error rather than a hit. Caray asked how he felt saying, “I guess you’d like to see them all called a hit.” Uecker’s response was classic. He said he personally called everything a hit – walks, errors, fielder’s choices. If he hit the ball, he called it a hit! That stopped Caray for a moment. He said, “Well, by your own system, what are you hitting right now?” Straight-faced Uecker replied, “.745!” He was a pretty good hitter by his own system. But by the standard of major league baseball he hit exactly .200 lifetime – which explains his short career. And depend on it, your self-justification career will be pretty short as well when you get the wrong yardstick. 2. Wrong target measured But not only is this man using the wrong yardstick, he isn’t even measuring the right thing. His list is entirely external behavior, not a word of internal character. “I don’t rob. I don’t cheat. I don’t commit adultery. I tithe. I fast. I do my religious observations.” And God says, “Great. How’s your heart. How are you doing on patience? forgiveness? Kindness? Repentance? How are you doing there?” And there would have been no comment. He’d forgotten I Sam 16:7, “For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” This man was all external; God is all internal. And what God sees in the unregenerate heart is enough to sink the Titanic, regardless of how good it looks outwardly. We don’t have to wonder how the unrepentant heart looks: Jer 17: 9) The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” “Desperately sick” -- ‫( אָנַש‬anush) – incurable, terminally ill. It cannot be cleansed by any human effort for ritual. It requires a heart transplant. God had said that centuries ago. Ezek 36:26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” That’s the new covenant promised in the OT and paid for by Jesus Christ. He told His disciples regarding the cup at Communion: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood” (I Cor 11:25). He bought our new heart at the price of His life. To suggest we can buy our own way in is an insult and a capital offense. It’s like robbing someone of their prized Porsche, totaling it in a wreck and then offering your little toy match car in re-payment. It’s laughable, and so is trying to buy God 5 off with our good works. It’s not what we can do but what He has done that matters. That is the only thing that can cure your terminally ill heart. Conc – The wrong way to get “in” with God is to declare ourselves accepted based on our own efforts. Self-righteousness, self-sufficiency, selfpromotion, self-justification -- all anathema to God. They may meet your standard, but they can never meet His standard. What can? His own Son can. But to get Him, self must die. The natural tendency of the human heart is to think I can earn my way in. We think like this. In The Sound of Music, when Maria (Julie Andrews) realizes the Captain (Christopher Plummer) is in love with her, she breaks into song: "Nothing comes from nothing, nothing ever could. So, somewhere in my youth or childhood, I must have done something good." That’s the devil talking through human nature. To get anything good, I must earn it. The gospel says, “You can never earn it. But what you can never earn, He has already earned for you. All you need do is accept it, but confessing yourself a sinner and opening your life to Him.” Self-sufficiency will never cut it. Look with me at one last passage. Deut 34:5-8: “5 So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD, 6 and he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Bethpeor; but no one knows the place of his burial to this day. 7 Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated.” Okay so Moses died. So what? So this. Moses never got to go into the Promised Land. The one who led Israel out of bondage, the one through whom the Law of God came, and the greatest prophet in the OT died outside the land though his eye was undimmed and his vigor unabated. Why? As a symbol, Beloved. God is showing us that even the messenger of the Law could not keep the Law, and when his heart failed him and he disobeyed on a relatively minor issue of striking the rock instead of speaking to it to get water, God prevented his going in. In his last act, Moses was demonstrating, you can’t earn your way in. Even the messenger could not earn is way in. Now, is Moses saved? Of course, but his death symbolizes that Self can never earn its way in. We can only accept the gift of grace bought and paid for by the one who was greater than Moses – by Jesus Christ. Do you have Him? The question is not, “Am I as good as my neighbor?” The question is, “Am I as good as God?” He is your only hope of being “as good as God.” Let’s pray. 6