Elements of Grace: God’s Grace is for the Humble

Pastor Scott Applegate

Sermon Notes:
“To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: ‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 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. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 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.’ 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.’” Luke 18:9-14 NIV

What Jesus knows about all of us:

• All of us are looking for ways to find a sense of approval and self-worth

• All of us are looking to find something to remove our guilt and shame

• In other words we are all looking for a sense of “right-ness” or righteousness to our lives

Jesus wants us to find this sense of righteousness through learning how to live from the inside out rather than the outside in

Two men:

• A Pharisee: Literally, “separate ones”; these were the religious elite

• A tax collector: Jews who collected taxes from the Jews on behalf of the Romans and extorted more than required to get rich

Two kinds of people:

• Proud

• Humble
“…God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6 NIV

Two prayers:

• “The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself…” Vs 11

• “..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.” Vs 14

Two paths to “right-ness”:

• Performance
“To some who were confident in their own righteousness…” Vs 9

• Justification
“…this man, rather than the other, went home justified by God…” Vs 14

Two choices:

• Will I choose to live from the outside in like the prideful Pharisee?

• Will I choose to live from the inside out like the humble tax collector?