What kind of life do you live?

How would you describe your life to someone if they asked you how you live? Would you say that you live your life to the fullest or would you describe your life as careless? Would you describe your life as rough and full of dark seasons or would you describe it as light and full of open doors and opportunities? Would you describe your life as one that has been lived on the straight and narrow or would you describe it as one that has been lived on the path of brokenness and pain?

How would other people describe the life you live?

Would other people describe your life as up-tight and prim and proper or would they describe your life as a total wreck and out of control? I think it would do us some good sometimes to listen to the voices around us because I think that most of us might find that we have a much higher view of ourselves than we are able to admit or recognize. We may think we’re living high on the hog when in reality we’re living in the dump. We may think that our lives are all unicorns and rainbows until one day something happens that wakes us up out of our dream state and we realize that even though we have everything put together nicely on the outside we are an absolute train wreck on the inside.

How do you choose to live your life?

We can either live our lives worried about keeping the exterior clean while the interior goes to hell in a hand basket or we can live our lives in a visible state of humility, need and dependence. We can either live our lives in total dependence upon what we can achieve, what we can earn, what we can accumulate and what we can accomplish or we can live our lives in total dependence upon what Christ has achieved, what Christ has earned, what Christ has accumulated and what Christ has accomplished for us. When it comes to the Bible and what Jesus says about how we live our lives we learn that there’s really only two ways to live. We can either live a life that trusts in ourselves or we can live a life that trusts in God. We can either live a life that esteems ourselves or we can live a life that esteems God. We can either live a life that promotes ourselves or we can live a life that promotes God. There’s only two ways to live. The choice is ours!

Look at Luke 18:9 – 14…

9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 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.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

In this passage, Jesus is preaching to a group of self-righteous people and he tells this story about two different men, two different prayers and two different destinations. One man appears to be as good of a person as you can find while the other man appears to be the worst person you could find. One man offers what appears to be a good prayer while the other man offers what appears to be a short and uneducated prayer. One man is declared good while the other man is declared, not so good. In all of this we learn that… There’s two kinds of people in this world, there’s two kinds of prayer and there’s two roads to travel. What kind of person are you? What kind of prayers do you pray? What kind of road do you travel? What kind of life do you live? There’s only two ways to live. The choice is yours!

Look At How Jesus Describes Two Different Kinds Of People…

In verses 9-10 we see a Pharisee and a Tax Collector. We see two different kinds of people. We see a contrast between one man who is as religious as a person can get and then we see another man who is as filthy as a person can get.

Notice who Jesus is talking to…

Luke tells us that Jesus is telling this story to people who “trusted in themselves that they were righteous”. In other words these people that Jesus is preaching to, believe they are ok because they do a lot of right things. Maybe they show up on time for church. Maybe they are there early when they are scheduled to serve. Maybe they’re the biggest financial contributors. Maybe they carefully take notes on every sermon they hear. Maybe their marriages are pristine and their kids are well behaved. I’m not really sure exactly what kind of personal rightness these people were trusting in but I do know that they weren’t trusting in pure rightness that only God can apply to us through the cross of Christ.

Notice the evidence of how these people trusted themselves…

One of the distinguishing marks of someone who trusts in their own rightness is their continual looking down their noses at others who don’t measure up. Luke tells us that these people who trust in their own righteousness also “treated others with contempt”. To look at someone else with contempt is to despise them or even to hate them because they don’t measure up or conform to the standard. It’s not just that they don’t drive nice cars or wear fine clothing. That’s not the kind of contempt Luke is describing or that Jesus is confronting. This isn’t about mere physical wealth or possessions. Jesus is confronting the heart of the religious person who believes that all of their external behavior is what makes them right with God and subsequently despises other people who haven’t attained the same higher level of right living.

Notice where Jesus strategically places the two characters in his story…

Jesus says, “Two men went up to the temple to pray”. In other words this isn’t just some trip to the supermarket or the auto parts store where people spend time comparing their worldly value. No, this is taking place at a local space of worship. A place of prayer. A place where God’s Word is taught. Where else would spiritual elitism take place then in a place where spiritual growth is valued? How many people do you think are sitting here right now, listening to this message, who are trusting in their own ability to be made right with God rather than trusting in God to make them right? How many people do you think are hearing this that look down their noses in contempt and frustration and anger as they despise the person in the row right next to them? At some levels I think we are all guilty of this.

Do you really understand how different the two men in our story are?

Jesus tells us that the two men that were at the temple were very different men because one was “a Pharisee and the other a tax collector”. Two men sitting side by side in the same place of worship claiming to worship the same Savior. Listening to the same sermon. Joining in the same prayers. Eating of the same communion meal together. Enjoying the same coffee from the same window in the back. Dropping change in the same offering box. But even though these two men were in the same worship space their hearts were very different. The Pharisee was known to be the most spiritual and the tax collector was known to be the worst sinner. The Pharisees were loved by people and the tax collectors were despised and hated and held in contempt. The Pharisees were welcomed guests at the party because they were typically wealthy and well mannered and spoke of God’s blessings. The tax collectors were viewed as scum of the earth because they stole money from their own people so that they could get rich off of them. Which person do you want to be? No one in his or her right mind wants to be a filthy tax collector. Everyone wants to be like the Pharisee.

What Kind Of Person Are You?

Are you living a life that trusts in yourself or are you living a life that trusts in God? Do you see others with contempt because they don’t measure up to your level of holiness? Do you despise other people because you can’t stand their filth? Do you constantly work through your checklist of right living so that you can ease your mind? There’s only two ways to live. You can either live a life that trusts in yourself or you can live a life that trusts in God. The choice is yours!

Look At How Jesus Describes Two Different Kinds Of Prayer…

In verses 11-13 we see a prayer life that is severely dependent upon one’s own accomplishments and then another prayer life that is completely dependent upon God. We see a contrast between one kind of prayer life that bubbles up out of self-esteem and another kind of prayer life that bubbles up out of God-esteem.

Notice the prayer life of the Pharisee…

Jesus says “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. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ Sounds like a pretty good dude huh!! He doesn’t steal money from people. He doesn’t treat people wrongly like the unjust judge. He doesn’t sleep around. He certainly doesn’t have the reputation of a scumbag like the tax collector. He fasts twice a week instead of once a year like the Law calls for. He doesn’t steal from God and in fact he gives more to God than the Law requires because he gives a tenth of every single dime that comes in. He sounds like a good guy!

But the problem with this Pharisee isn’t necessarily what he does or doesn’t do because what he does and doesn’t do is good stuff. I wish that just half of the professing Christians in the world practiced what this Pharisee practiced. The problem isn’t what this Pharisee does or doesn’t do the problem with this Pharisee is his self-esteem. He stands by himself because he doesn’t want to get too close to the filthy tax collector and he uses the personal pronoun “I” no less than 5 times while using the name “God” only once. This dude is so self-inflated because he esteems himself so much that he barely recognizes the fact that his prayer is really a long list of his accomplishments as though he needs to remind God of all that he has done to deserve God’s attention and all the reasons why it’s ok to look upon another sinner with contempt and hatred. This Pharisee’s prayer life is riddled with high self-esteem, which has to make you wonder at all the psychobabble we hear today about raising our low self-esteem. Wouldn’t it be better to esteem ourselves less and esteem God more? Isn’t this problem of God-esteem… really the problem… that’s at the core of the human heart? We can cloak our language in all sorts of religious jargon but the reality is that when “I” becomes what captivates the longings of my heart then “God” ceases to captivate the longings of my heart. When I begin to esteem myself more then I begin to resist esteeming God.

Notice the prayer life of the tax collector…

Jesus says “the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ Observe the fact that this tax collector won’t even get close to the Pharisee because he feels unworthy. Observe the fact that this tax collector can’t even lift his eyes off the ground because of his shame. Observe the fact that this tax collector beats his chest in anxiety because of his despicable position. Observe the fact that this tax collector cries out to God and asks him to be merciful towards him because he is a sinner. The tax collector can’t make a list of right things done or wrong things not done. He can’t use personal pronouns. He can only see himself as a sinner in need of God’s mercy, which covers and removes sin (propitiation) and diverts or turns away God’s wrath (expiation). This tax collector esteems God more than he esteems himself.

What Kind Of Prayers Do You Pray?

Are you living a life of prayer that esteems yourself or are you living a life of prayer that esteems God? Do you find yourself consumed with your accomplishments or even in the same vein do you find yourself consumed with all of your failures? Is the word “I” the most famous name on your heart or is “God” the most famous name on your heart? Are you coming to God cloaked in your righteousness or desperate for his mercy, which covers and removes sin and diverts and turns away God’s wrath? There’s only two ways to live. You can either live a life that esteems yourself or you can live a life that esteems God. The choice is yours!

Look At How Jesus Describes Two Different Roads…

In verse 14 we see one road that is paved in self-exaltation and we see another road that is paved in humility. We see a contrast between the path of pride, which leads to the destination of destruction, and the path of humility, which leads to the destination of salvation.

Notice the last verse of our passage…

Jesus tells us that the tax collector “went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” To be exalted in one sense is to be promoted from a lowly place to a higher place. Think of this in terms of our vocations. If we work hard at our jobs and we do everything our boss tells us to while one of our coworkers is slacking off and showing up late or calling in sick while they’re really out partying then who gets the promotion? We get the promotion right! We get the promotion because we worked hard for it. But only our employer can declare our promotion right? And only when our employer declares our promotion can we then declare our own promotion based upon the declaration of our employer. So even in this world in our daily lives… our exaltation or promotion even though we must work hard for it is still under the rule and reign of an earthly master. With God it’s different because our promotion or exaltation is declared over us from the standpoint of what Christ has done instead of what we have done. The point is this… We can either live a life that promotes ourselves like we’ve been conditioned to do all of our lives or we can live a life that promotes God. We can either live our lives from a place of God’s declaration of love over us or we can live our lives from a place of trying to earn or manipulate or coerce or control or force God into making a declaration of love over us.

Notice Jesus’ declaration of love over the tax collector…

Jesus says that the tax collector “went down to his house justified”. Jesus declares that the tax collector is justified. Do you really understand what it means for God to declare you and I as justified? To be justified is to simply be made right in God’s sight. To be justified by God is to have him look upon us and to declare us no longer guilty of sin. To be justified by God is to be promoted by God from the land of the dead to the land of the living. When you and I begin to understand that we cannot justify or promote ourselves then we can stop pretending to be better than we really are. We can stop posing as the spiritually elite. We can stop hiding our sin in our performance. We can stop posturing ourselves in front of God as though he owes us something. If we begin to live from a place of God’s declaration of loving justification and promotion over us then we will begin to live in a way that exalts or promotes God rather than exalting or promoting ourselves.

What Kind Of Road Do You Travel?

Are you living a life that travels the road of self-promotion or are you living a life that travels the road of God-promotion? Are you a prideful poser or are you a humble follower? Are you still working to earn God’s declaration of love or are you resting in the fact that God has lovingly declared you good because of the cross of Christ? There’s only two ways to live! You can either live a life that promotes yourself or you can live a life that promotes God. The choice is yours!

In Conclusion I want To Remind Us That…

There are two kinds of people… There are two kinds of prayer and there are two roads to travel. There’s really only two ways to live. You can either be the kind of person who believes you’re ok with God because of your efforts and your works or you can be the kind of person that knows there is nothing you can do to cover or remove your filthiness before a holy God. Your prayer life can either be focused on your accomplishments or it can be focused on what God has accomplished at the cross of Christ as Christ’s blood covers your sin and turns away God’s wrath. You can travel down two very different roads… one that is paved in pride that leads to destruction or one that is paved in humility that leads to salvation.

You can either live a life that trusts in yourself or you can live a life that trusts in God. You can either live a life that esteems yourself or you can live a life that esteems God. You can either live a life that promotes yourself or you can live a life that promotes God. What kind of person are you? What kind of prayers do you pray? What kind of road do you travel? What kind of life do you live? There’s only two ways to live. The choice is yours!