Luke: How do we become righteous?

Notes and thoughts from Sermon by Pastor Mark Driscoll

http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/luke
 
There are two ways people gain righteousness, but there is only one correct way.

Luke 18:9-12

Method 1: Righteousness by works

In this parable, Jesus first spoke about a Pharisee who prayed about HIMSELF, "God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get."

Back in those days, the Pharisees were a group of very religious people. That is, they were very set on following the Laws, such as fasting and donating. However, Jesus said this man prayed about himself and ultimately denied him as righteous. Why?

Because the Pharisee didn't do any of those things for the glory of God. He did those things so that he can show off how deserving he was of God's glory. Well, the problem is, no man DESERVES God's glory! No matter how much he has done, no man will ever do enough to be good enough!

Here are some of the problems with the idea that righteousness can be gained/earned through human works:

1. It is man-centered, not God-centered [Look what I did! Look how much I have sacrificed! Look what I have suffered! Do I not deserve God's compassion?]

2. It compares us to someone other Jesus, when we were taught to be like Jesus [I'm better than him. At least I don't do that. Instead of, There is no way I could ever be as righteous as Jesus. There is no way I can ever measure up to Him.]

3. It is based on our performances reestablishing our own worth [I did this, so I must be good.]

4. It focuses on the external and not on the internal [I have given all this, I have accumulated all this, I have accomplished all this. Instead of, I love, therefore I do things out of love.]

5. It is based on the idea that God is not the judge. People are. [The Pharisee prayed in public so that the people can hear of the great thing he has done to be declared righteous. Not by God. But by the people. The Pharisee was seeking approval from the people, not God!]

6. It ultimately leads to pride. [I did this, so I am better than everyone else!]

7. It causes contempt, not compassion [I don't do this. People who do this are therefore disgusting. Instead of, We are all sinners, and we all have own inner battles. Let us help each other overcome our sins. In fact, this parable specifically addressed this in the beginning: "To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable"!]

8. It offends God.

Isaiah 64:6

All of us have become like one who is unclean,and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.

Philippians 3:8

Paul said, "What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ."

Simply put, God's view of our works of righteousness is that it is offensive and disgusting. 

There is a reason why we cannot return to Heaven or to be in the presence of the Lord. This is because we have sinned, and we are no longer perfect. We may think we can work hard to earn our way back to the Lord, but how do imperfect beings become perfect? How do unrighteousness beings gain righteousness?

WE DON'T!

Jesus did all the work for us! When He died for our sins on the cross, He said, "It is finished." The work that is needed to be done for our salvation has ALREADY BEEN DONE. Jesus did it all. And ONLY Jesus could do it because He was the ONLY perfect man.

And so, it is extremely insulting to think we can ever do it better than Jesus. It is extremely offensive to think we can add to the work that has already been accomplished perfectly by Jesus. Is is extremely proud to think we can be good enough without Jesus Christ!

And so, Jesus talked about a tax collector in the same parable.

Method 2: Righteousness by Gift

Luke 18:13-14

Jesus said, "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 everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

The tax collector of back when is like loan sharks of our day. People who we do not equate with high moral values. People who we think of as monsters who would pray on those who are already down. Yet, Jesus said this man went home justified before God. Why? He preyed on the weak and extorted from the poor. He certainly did not religiously fast twice a week and definitely did not donate a tenth of his earnings. So, why was he justified? Because the tax collector showed true repentance. He knew he was not good enough to march right up to God and expect redemption. He knew there was nothing he could ever do to deserve anything good from God. And so, the tax collector prayed for God's mercy.

And that is the greatest Gift of all: God's mercy.

If we demanded justice, we would deserve death and eternal suffering. We do not deserve anything but that! But the good news is, Jesus offers us His mercy freely and openly. He willingly took our sins and gifted us with His righteousness. All we need to do is extend our arms and ask for His mercy. To ask Him not to give us what we deserve (for He is a Just God), but to give us His mercy (for He is a Loving God). He DIED on the cross for us, just so He could remain both a Just AND a Loving God. That is just amazing. To think we can ever do anything remotely impressive, to think we can ever add to that great feat... that is just ungraciously proud.

So, how do we become righteous?

Through Jesus Christ.

1. We should compare ourselves to Jesus and the Word of God

2. We should despise, not celebrate, our sins [The Pharisee was extremely proud, and his prayer exploited his sin. Worse, it also showed how he was celebrating his sins!]

3. We need to humbly repent to God

4. We need to receive God's Grace and place our faith in Jesus Christ [That is, we need to trust that Jesus has done all the works for our salvation. We cannot count our own righteousness--Do we honestly believe we will never falter? But we can count on Jesus. And we should.]

2 Corinthians 5:21

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Jesus is our righteousness!

We are indeed saved by works, but NOT by our works! We are saved by JESUS' works! Jesus takes our sins and makes us righteous! If God can be impressed by our works, then we need to keep performing to make sure we never disappoint Him. But that is not how God works. God loves us. And He loves us for who we are. And He wants us all to be back Home with Him. And to do that, He sent us Jesus to shepherd us Home.

Does this mean works is not important?

No!

James 2:26

As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

We need to realize that we do works not to earn righteousness. We do works because we have been gifted righteousness!

Jesus has stressed time and time again that it is the heart that is the most important. The act of carrying out religious acts and following the laws are meaningless when our hearts are still bathed in its sinful nature.

However, when we sincerely seek mercy and redemption, we allow the Holy Spirit to enter us and to guide us. We allow God to work within us, to lead us toward righteousness. We therefore change because of God's work in us. Doing the right thing therefore becomes a product of great inner joy and not a list of duties.

This is a very different mindset from wanting to do things to impress others. The motive from this is self-serving and prideful.

There is nothing wrong with being a good person. But no matter how great of a person we think we are, we need to realize that we will never be able to measure up to Jesus. We need to stop thinking that we can rely on ourselves to get back to God (think, Adam and Eve), and pray for God's guidance. Let Him show us the way and shine through us. Let Him purify us from within and out!