LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for May 6: Christianity 106: Learn to pray

I love the parable Jesus tells in Luke 18:9-14. I think every time I read it, I feel convicted for the sin of pride in my heart. I’m reminded of the subtle seduction of self-trust and the beauty of brokenness before the Lord. I’m also reminded of the wonder of the cross and the precious core of the gospel, justification by faith alone.

We often can misread this parable as being spoken against legalism. Legalism is the attempt to gain righteousness by our own works, and Jesus often taught against it. But I don’t think legalism is the issue for the Pharisee in this parable, but a different form of self-righteousness.

Also, I’m not so sure prayer is the main topic on which Jesus is teaching, but what our prayers reveal about our faith in God. The height of the story comes in verse 14: “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other.” This parable is above all about what sort of faith justifies (makes us acceptable) before God.

We have no reason to believe this Pharisee was an obviously immoral man. In fact, we have every reason to trust he was the upstanding citizen and religious leader he claimed to be. He wasn’t an extortioner, unjust, adulterous or of ill-repute; he was devout in his religious practices, including fasting, prayer, and tithing (18:11-12). Doesn’t that sound like someone you want to go to church with?

Notice in Luke 18:9 who Jesus was addressing in speaking this parable. He “told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous.” Legalism can lead people to self-righteousness, but it is not necessary to end up there. Consider the words of this Pharisee as he begins his prayer: “God, I thank you …” (18:11).

The Pharisee credited God with all those evidences of righteousness in his life. He did not approach God saying, “Look at all the good things I do! Look at what a good person I am! Now, accept me God.” No, this man was saying, “Thank you, God, for making me who I am,” and then he named all the ways he thought God was at work in making him righteous.

Do you see the problem? The problem was not that the Pharisee didn’t credit God with making him righteous, but that he was focused on the wrong righteousness—self-righteousness. He seemed to have faith in God, but it was not a gospel faith. He believed God was making him righteous in himself.

Now compare this Pharisee to the tax collector. Whereas the prayers of the Pharisee had himself as the subject (“I am not like other men … I fast … I tithe …”), God alone is the subject of the tax collector’s prayer. He mentions himself only as a sinner and the requested recipient of God’s mercy (18:13).

The Pharisee’s prayer reveals his understanding of how acceptance before God works: God justifies a person by working within in his life to make him a better man, more religious and devout and upright. He was counting on God to look at the evidences of goodness within him (for which he gave God the credit) and deem him acceptable.

The tax collector’s approach to God is totally different: There was nothing in himself he could point to as worthy of acceptable before God, but instead was totally dependent on God’s mercy. He looked to God alone for justification. This is gospel faith.

The gospel of Jesus Christ says the only hope we have for acceptance before God is for God to apply to us his own righteousness. No lesser righteousness will do. The gospel tells us God has offered to give us the perfection of Jesus Christ, to reckon to our accounts Jesus’ own record of obedience, while simultaneously taking our record of sin and placing it upon Jesus. “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

How easily can the Pharisee’s subtle misunderstanding sneak into our own thinking and teaching? Take this very Sunday’s lesson on prayer. Should we pray? Yes. Do we want to learn from God’s word how to pray better? Absolutely. Do we trust that God, by his Spirit, will give us the grace to be more effectual in our prayers? Certainly, for he is good. But can we look at our prayer life and say, “See! God has justified me!” No, no, no.

We know saving faith always is accompanied by works of faith (James 2:18). But we always must remember the difference between our salvation’s root and fruit. The root of our salvation is the righteousness of Jesus Christ that is ours by grace through faith in him. Our union with him by faith alone is the source of our salvation. Gospel faith is a position of receiving, trusting in, the work of Jesus to accomplish required for our salvation.

From that root comes fruit. As we trust in Christ alone and look only to him for our acceptance by God, our hearts find peace with God and grow in love for him and others. Our zeal to worship and serve the Lord becomes evidence for our justification by Christ alone, not a bit of self-righteousness we claim gives us any merit before God.

Let’s remember to trust in Jesus and not in ourselves. Let’s praise God for all the evidences of grace he produces in our lives, but not confuse them with the Source of justification. “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption” (1 Corinthians 1:30).