GETTING IN (2): NOT RIGHT FOR THE PART

(Luke 18:9-14)
September 11, 2016
Intro Charlie Brown is talking to Linus one day about his persistent sense of
inadequacy: You see, Linus, it began the moment I set foot on the stage of
life. They took one look at me and said, Not right for the part. The truth is
we all feel inadequate not quite right for the part therefore, looking for
approval all our lives. At the top of the list how to be acceptable to God.
For most people it comes down to doing something to make them feel good
enough. Perhaps that is you. If so, Jesus has something to say to you today.
He is addressing those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous
(v. 9). Their religion was If I do enough good, Ill be significant, acceptable
to God Ill be in, righteous. Were they right? Jesus answers with a parable
about 2 men at the end of which he says in v. 14 I tell you, this man went down
to his house justified, rather than the other. So in this parable one guy finds
acceptance by God; the other does not. One is in, one is not. In simple terms,
one is going to heaven; the other is not. And its the do-gooder who is not!
These 2 men took radically different approaches to gain acceptance. Tim
Keller points out one worked from the outside-in thinking all he had to do was
be outwardly as compliant as possible and he would be okay. The other
worked inside-out, realizing that it was his heart that mattered. His life had
been a shambles. He made every wrong choice and judgment there was to be
made. But now he confessed himself a sinner, begged for mercy, and gained
acceptance. Jesus Himself pronounced that it was this 2nd man who was
justified. He was the dirty, rotten tax collector, while the clean living Pharisee
was left on the outside looking in. His audience was amazed that their
outside-in approach wasnt acceptable. Thats what they counted on! So lets
examine this outside-in, self-centered approach that Jesus rejected.
I.

The Wrong Way Outside-In (Self-centered)

Note again Jesus described these people as those who trusted in themselves
that they were righteous. They had declared themselves righteous, like
walking into a courtroom, saying Im 90% good, so I acquit myself of robbing
that store. Good luck with that, right? What led to such a wrong-headed
conclusion? Two things. They trusted in themselves, not God (self1

righteousness). And they judged based on outward performance, not inward

attitude (self-sufficiency).
A. Self-Righteousness
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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. This guys a spin
doctor. He sounds good at first. God, I thank you. But its all downhill after
that. Having mentioned God once, he never refers to Him again. Having said
he thanks God, he lists only things he has done. He is not thanking God; he
is informing God what a great guy he is. This is self-justification at its finest.
As Kent Hughes says, After his initial nod to God, his was essentially a selfcongratulatory monologue disguised as a prayer. There are five uses of the
personal pronoun I". IIIII. He was stoned on self.
This is not a prayer; it is an exercise in self-congratulation. There is no
praise, no worship, no humility, no sense of reverence, and most of all no
confession of sin. If he had any sense of the Gods presence, hed have had a
sense of guilt, but that is missing altogether. He is not addressing God at all.
He is addressing himself and anyone else who happened to be listening. That
was the Pharisee way impress others with their false prayers. This exercise
was intended to elevate this man in his own eyes and in the eyes of others.
And dont we often do the same thing? A critic once described one pastors
prayer as the most eloquent prayer ever offered -- to a Boston audience!
Praying to impress others, not praying to God. Ever hear a prayer or testimony
that went something like this: Im so thankful to God for blessing our
family. Our business has grown every year as we have faithfully tithed. Our
kids are all following the Lord and doing well in their careers. It really pays
to follow Jesus. That could come from a heart that is good and true. But its
likely a self-congratulatory declaration of self-righteousness like this Pharisee.
I put God in debt to me and He paid off. It certainly shows no sensitivity to
others who have been at least equally faithful, but have suffered financial
setbacks or faithless children or deep persecution for the sake of Christ.
Nietzsche saw this long ago. He said that when people declare their morality,
its a power play. Theyre saying, Im a good person, so God has to accept
me and give me a good life. And you have to approve me too cuz Im good.
But its all backwards. People who are in Christ dont advertise their own
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goodness. The gospel is not about getting eternal life for doing it right. The
gospel is about doing it right because weve already have eternal life.
Outward success has little to do with it.
The tendency toward such self-justifying statements ran deep in Jewish
psyche. One man, Rabbi Simeon ben Jacai actually said, If there are only
two righteous men in the world, I and my son are these two; if there is only
one, I am he! He apparently forgot, were not the judge; God is.
Declaring oneself good enough is at the heart of moralism. Moralists have
their little lists of things that will make them acceptable to God and their
lists of excuses why they are not to blame for those things He objects to, why
in their case, its okay! But we ignore the fact that the final decision is in His
hands, not ours. Our good intentions and raft of excuses will not count then.
The little town of Gerald, MO had one of the highest meth problems in the
country until Sgt. Bill Jacob arrived. He was an undercover FBI agent
heading a federal task force and he was there to help. Police Chief Ryan
McCrary was only too happy to have help from any source. Over a 2-month
period, Sgt Bill, shotgun in hand, kicked in doors and took names arresting
more than 20 people, most of whom confessed. But a local reporters
background check revealed that Sgt. Bills relationship with the FBI was one
of arrestee, not employee! He was convicted on 23 counts and sentenced to 5
years. When interviewed on 48 Hours by Katie Couric in Oct., 2008, he
admitted his impersonation and lies but justified himself: Im going to
prison for arresting drug dealers who arent going to prison. Couric wisely
responded, Thats not why youre going to prison. In Bills mind, good
intentions offset any guilt. He declared himself righteous! But a real judge
saw the bigger picture, declared him guilty and put him away. How many
people will try that with God wrapping themselves in the dirty garments of
self-righteousness declaring themselves good enough all the way to hell.
Good intentions are no substitute for a repentant heart. Self-justifiers assume
the wrong judge Self. Thats Gods prerogative.
B. Self-Sufficiency
The self-sufficiency of the Pharisee is evident immediately. 11 The Pharisee,
standing by himself. Contrast that with 13 But the tax collector, standing far
off. Luke is using physical position to contrast the inner attitude of these 2
men. The tax collector is far off and stays right there. No attempt to bridge
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the gap on his own! But the Pharisee removes himself from the crowd, closer
to the symbolic presence of God. His actions say what his heart believes, I
can bridge the gap. I am self- sufficient. Was he right? Could he do that?
He certainly was an upstanding man. No reason to disbelieve him when he
says he didnt cheat on his taxes, was fair to employees, faithful to his wife
and loyal to his country. He gives his tithe and beyond. What pastor wouldnt
welcome such a man to his church!? Hes a good guy. He could be any of us
here today. So how can Jesus say at the end of this parable that the tax
collector went home justified and this man did not? Since this could be us, we
better know. Why was his self-sufficient, outside-in approach not accepted?
1. Wrong tape measure
His standard was not divinely approved! His yardstick is in v 11: I am not
like other men. His standard was other men, and against them, he looked
pretty good. He didnt participate in the evil he saw there extortion,
cheating, injustice, sexual impurity, betraying ones people and country.
Against that tape measure, he declared himself in righteous!
Furthermore, he fasted twice a week and tithed everything. Hes giving
himself extra credit here. Fasting was required only on the Day of Atonement,
but like most Pharisees he did it every Monday and Thursday. And he tithed
everything even spices. Way beyond most people. Extra credit, to be sure.
But note, in comparing himself to others, he didnt exactly pick the cream of
the crop. Notice that? He doesnt compare himself to Moses or Samuel or
Joseph or other devout people. His yardstick is more like a foot-stick! But in
truth, hed have done all right even against the best. Hes confident. Like
another rabbi who prayed: I thank Thee, Lord, that thou hast put my part
with those who sit in the Academy, and not with those who sit at the street
corners. For I rise early, and they rise early; I rise early to the words of the
law, and they to vain things. I labour, and they labour; I labour and receive
a reward, and they labour and receive no reward. I run, and they run; I run
to the life of the world to come, and they to the pit of destruction. He
couldve prayed that. He was plenty religious. So whats the problem?
The problem is wrong yardstick, isnt it? Wrong standard. Gods standard is
not other people; God standard is Himself! Jesus nails that in Mt 5:48:
You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. If you
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want to self-justify, the issue isnt to be better than the tax collector who has
betrayed his country, the dad who deserted his family or the reprobate around
the corner; the issue isnt even to be better than Billy Graham. This issue is to
match God. The question is not, Am I better than my neighbor? The
question is, Am I as good as God? Want to self-justify? Thats the goal!
I used to listen to Cardinal games on the plains of KS. One night Harry Caray
interviewed catcher Bob Uecker who later made a career out of his humor.
Uecker had hit a hard grounder booted by the shortstop. It had been scored an
error rather than a hit. Caray asked how he felt saying, I guess youd like to
see them all called a hit. Ueckers response was classic. He said he
personally called everything a hit walks, errors, fielders choices. If he hit
the ball, he called it a hit! That stopped Caray for a moment. He said, Well,
by your own system, what are you hitting right now? Without missing a
beat, Uecker replied, .745! He was the greatest hitter who ever walked the
face of the earth -- by his own system. But by the standard of major league
baseball he hit exactly .200 lifetime which explains his short career. And
depend on it, your self-justification career will be pretty short as well when
you get the wrong yardstick.
2. Wrong target measured
But not only is this man using the wrong yardstick, he isnt even measuring
the right thing. His list is entirely external behavior, not a word of internal
character. I dont rob. I dont cheat. I dont commit adultery. I tithe. I fast.
I do my religious rituals. And God says, Great. Hows your heart. How are
you doing on patience? Forgiveness? Kindness? Repentance? Self-control?
Longsuffering? How are you doing there? Thered have been no comment.
Hed forgotten I Sam 16:7, For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on
the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart. This man was all
external; God is all internal. And what God sees in the unregenerate heart is
enough to sink the Titanic, regardless of how good it looks outwardly. We
dont have to wonder how the unrepentant heart looks: Jer 17: 9) The heart is
deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
Desperately sick --
( anush) incurable, terminally ill. It cannot be
cleansed by any human effort for ritual. It requires a heart transplant.
God had said that centuries ago. Ezek 36:26 And I will give you a new heart,
and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone
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from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Thats the new covenant
promised in the OT and paid for by Jesus Christ. He told His disciples
regarding the cup at Communion: This cup is the new covenant in my blood
(I Cor 11:25). He bought our new heart at the price of His life. To suggest
we can buy our own way in is an insult and a capital offense. Its like robbing
someone of their prized Porsche, totaling it in a wreck and then offering your
little toy match car in re-payment. Its laughable, and so is trying to buy God
off with our good works. Its not what we can do but what He has done that
matters. That is the only thing that can cure your terminally ill heart.
Conc The wrong way to get in with God is to declare ourselves accepted
based on our own efforts. Self-righteousness, self-sufficiency, selfpromotion, self-justification -- all anathema to God. They may meet your
standard, but they can never meet His standard. What can? His own Son can.
But to get Him, self must die.
The natural tendency of the human heart is to think I can earn my way in. We
think like this. In The Sound of Music, when Maria (Julie Andrews) realizes
the Captain (Christopher Plummer) is in love with her, she breaks into song:
"Nothing comes from nothing, nothing ever could. So, somewhere in my
youth or childhood, I must have done something good." Thats the devil
talking through human nature. To get anything good, I must earn it.
The gospel says, You cant earn it. But what you can never earn, He has
already earned for you. All you need do is accept it, but confessing yourself
a sinner and opening your life to Him. Self-sufficiency will never cut it.
Look with me at one last passage. Deut 34:5-8: 5 So Moses the servant of the
LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD, 6 and
he buried him in the valley in the land of Moab opposite Beth-peor; but no one
knows the place of his burial to this day. 7 Moses was 120 years old when he
died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated. Okay so Moses died.
So what? So this. This is a picture. Moses never got to go into the Promised
Land. The one who led Israel out of bondage, the one through whom the Law
of God came, and the greatest prophet in the OT died outside the land though
his eye was undimmed and his vigor unabated. Why? As a symbol, Beloved.
God is showing us that even the messenger of the Law could not keep the
Law, and when his heart failed him and he disobeyed on a relatively minor
issue of striking the rock instead of speaking to it to get water, God prevented
his going in. In his last act, Moses was demonstrating, you cant earn your
way in. Even the messenger could not earn is way in.
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Now, is Moses saved? Of course, but his death symbolizes that Self can never
earn its way in. We can only accept the gift of grace bought and paid for by the
one who was greater than Moses by Jesus Christ. Do you have Him? The
question is not, Am I as good as my neighbor? The question is, Am I as
good as God? Only Jesus is that. Only Jesus can save you. Lets pray.