INTRO: Two cars were waiting at a stoplight. The light turned green, but the man didn’t notice it. A woman in the car behind him is watching traffic pass around them. The woman begins pounding on her steering wheel and yelling at the man to move. The man doesn’t move.
The woman is going ballistic inside her car, ranting and raving at the man, pounding on her steering wheel and dash. The light turns yellow and the woman begins to blow the car horn, flips him off, and screams profanity and curses at the man.
The man, looks up, sees the yellow light and accelerates through the intersection just as the light turns red.
The woman is beside herself, screaming in frustration as she misses the chance to get through the intersection. As she is still in mid-rant she hears a tap on her window and looks up into the barrel of a gun held by a very serious looking policeman.
The policeman tells her to shut off her car while keeping both hands in sight. She complies, speechless at what is happening. After she shuts off the engine, the policeman orders to exit her car with her hands up. She gets out of the car and orders her to turn and place her hands on her car.
She turns, places her hands on the car roof and quickly is cuffed and hustled into the patrol car. She is too bewildered by the chain of events to ask any questions and is driven to the police station where she is fingerprinted, photographed, searched, booked, and placed in a cell. After a couple of hours, a policeman approaches the cell and opens the door for her. She is escorted back to the booking desk where the original officer is waiting with her personal effects.
He hands her the bag containing her things, and says, "I’m really sorry for this mistake. But you see, I pulled up behind your car while you were blowing your horn, flipping off the guy in front of you, and cussing a blue streak at him. Then I noticed the "Choose Life" license plate holder, the "What Would Jesus Do" bumper sticker, the "Follow Me to Sunday School" bumper sticker, and the chrome plated Christian fish emblem on the trunk. So, naturally...I assumed you had stolen the car."
We’ve begun a series of sermons that deal with the "Pharisee Syndrome."
Last week we looked at the Lord’s warning in Matthew 16:5-6: Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees.
-We saw how they diluted and distorted the word so by the time it reached the hearts of the people it had relatively little effect.
TITLE: What Every Christian Should Know – Part 2
TEXT: Luke 18:9-14
I. The deceived Pharisee. Throughout his public ministry, Jesus exposed the self-righteousness and unbelief of the Pharisees. He pictured them as debtors too bankrupt to pay what they owed God (Luke 7) and guests fighting for the best seats (Luke 14).
A. The sad thing – the Pharisees were completely deluded and thought they were right with God.
-So Jesus told them about this parable.
1. Two men go off to pray – one was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
-From the natural eye, one was used to the place of prayer (a Pharisee) and the other one the scum of the earth (a tax collector) who probably never walked through the doors of the temple.
2. They both came to pray – one would be blessed by God and one wouldn’t.
Thought: Did you ever realize (coming to a prayer meeting) that you could walk away with no blessing, in fact you could walk away under judgment. It’s dependent on your attitude.
B. Look at the Pharisee zeal.
1. The Pharisee stood up and prayed – this takes courage to stand and pray out loud.
-There’s only a few that can stand and pray in comfort. I could ask and folks would pray, but you’d feel uncomfortable. But to just stand and pray with no one prodding, this shows his passion.
a. The problem: He was praying about himself and all he had done.
2. List of works.
a.He fasted twice a week. The Jews were required to fast only once a year - on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29).
-This man fasted 104 days a year - almost 1/3 of a year.
b.He tithed everything that came into his possession.
-In Matthew 23 Jesus gives information that they even tithed off the smallest of herbs in their possession.
Thought: Fasting and tithing are great things to do. That’s what Christians are supposed to do but if you do them for the wrong reasons it’s wrong.
Example. If you fast to try and twist God’s arm to get your way, it’s wrong. If you tithe to get something in return, it’s wrong.
3. This Pharisee thought very highly of himself
-He viewed himself as a cut above. He thought he was better than the others.
a.Look who he compared himself to—robbers, evil-doers, adulterers—even this tax collector.
Thought: Isn’t a strange thing that our human nature loves to always compare to something less or worse off.
-In this case this Pharisee is comparing his righteousness or holiness to this tax collector.
b.This is a huge mistake. The only person we are to compare ourselves to his Jesus.
Question: What would have happened if this Pharisee would have compared himself to God? What would have been the outcome? He would have come up short.
-He wouldn’t have measured up, which would have resulted in humility rather than pride. But that is the deceptive part of our human nature.
C. Human nature tries to make itself look holy by legalism.
1.Legalism – strict conformity to the law.
2.The problem with legalism is the false sense of holiness that it gives to the person who is practicing it.
-When you are convinced that you are holy by what you do not do, it is very hard to convince you otherwise.
Point: True holiness is never a system, whether oral or written. True holiness comes forth from a relationship with the Holy One (Jesus).
Example. When I was newly saved I had some well-meaning Christians saying I can’t go to movies or watch TV and I got so under bondage because I thought I’d never make it. I’ll never forget in my torment the Spirit of God spoke to me and said, "Mark, you worry about what I say and do what I tell you."
Truth: Holiness comes out of a relationship with God. It starts there and then we walk in God’s ways because he has set us apart.
Simply put: Holiness comes from a relationship with God rather than obeying a bunch of do’s and don’ts.
D. Jesus was holy – out of the nature of who he was and out of his relationship with his Father.
1. The Pharisees were holy out of a relationship with the diluted word of God, because of their traditions.
2. The difference is striking. The holiness that Jesus gives comes from the power of God. -The holiness that the Pharisees give comes from the power of man.
a. Its power is in the human will and in the persuasion of the human mind. But Jesus has the power to pierce hearts and change them.
Point: When your heart no longer desires to sin, you don’t need rules against sin. The problem has been corrected on the inside.
E. This Pharisee could not love this sinner because he could not repent himself.
1. When your view of yourself is where you think you’re holy by what you do, you think you’re okay.
-Why would I need to repent? I’m okay with God. (After all, don’t you see what I do for God?) The truth is this person is more lost than the prostitutes or the so-called wicked sinners.
-Matthew 21:31, "Jesus said to them, I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you."
2. We need to understand – real repentance is a death to the love of sin, whether it’s my sin or your sin.
3.John the Baptist, when he’s challenging the Pharisees (Matthew 3)
: You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore, bear fruits worthy of repentance.
TS:Brings me to the tax collector.
II. Tax collector and his actions.
A. This man took a serious look at himself. You could tell by what the story reveals.
1. Stood at a distance – He realized he was unworthy.
2. He would not even look to heaven. This man was comparing himself to God, the correct way. He wasn’t comparing himself to the Pharisee. The text would have said something like, "He couldn’t even look at the Pharisee because he was too unworthy.
3. He beat his breast and cried out to God and asked for mercy.
B. True repentance – turn from our wickedness, the death of the love of sin.
1. It starts with ourselves. It begins with me, the sin inside. (You first deal ruthlessly with that.)
Warning: You don’t start with someone else. "You know, Honey, you need to deal with this." No, you look in your own heart and ask God to help you, just like this tax collector did.
2. He did not worry about this Pharisee and what he thought. He worried about what God thought and wanted to make it right with him.
C. Who went away blessed?
1. The tax collector went away justified – meaning he went away in a right relationship with God (righteous).
2. The Pharisee left thinking he was blessed because he was relying on what he did through his religious belief system.
-Do you see the deception, pride, arrogance, and lack of love for the tax collector? -The Pharisee relied upon his works rather than a relationship.
In Conclusion:
Pharisee Quiz
1.Are you always blaming others rather than yourself?
2.Are you always thinking about yourself and your ways?
3.Have you ever asked God to forgive you for your sins?
4.Do you often find yourself offended in humbling situations?
5.Do you get upset when others are honored?
