The Sinners Prayer

“The Sinners Prayer”

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Jesus tells this parable to people who were trusting in themselves, their clean living, and there good works to get them to heaven. They were self-righteous, and look down on other people.

They thought they were good enough to get to heaven on their own; so Jesus told them this parable that they might stop trusting in themselves, and cry out to God for mercy! There’s nothing more dangerous than Self-righteousness! Why?

Self-righteousness is as bad as un-righteousness, because it keeps you from God’s righteousness! And without God’s righteousness you are unacceptable before God!

There are two kinds of people in this room this morning:

The first kind of person is the one who thinks they are going to make it to heaven because they are a good person, and they think good people go to heaven. They think they deserve to go to heaven because they’ve earned it by the good life.

The second kind of person is the person who knows they are not good, they know they are unrighteous before God; so they accept the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ.

We are far removed from first century life, we don’t know any Pharisees, our tax collectors, and we don’t go to the temple to pray.

So I want us to bring this story up to our modern time. Jimmy and Joe went to church one Sunday morning.

Jimmy had grown up in the church, went to Sunday school, Awanas, he had been in church his whole life. He came in church carrying his Bible. He knew all the songs, set down toward the front where people could see him. He lived a good, clean, mortal life; he had never drank, or done drugs, no messing around with his girlfriend; he tithed and gave to missions, and everyone looked up to him, but Jimmy had never been saved. He feels like he is a good person, after all he had been in church his whole life.

Joe on the other hand, had hardly ever gone to church; and it had been years since he stepped into a church. But he had a terrible Saturday, his mother had thrown him out because she caught him stealing from her purse again. His girlfriend broke-up with him, because she found out he was cheating on her. He had been to the bar the night before, and didn’t even remember how he got home. As a matter of fact he had drank a beer before he came to the 11 o’clock service.

But, he was at rock bottom, the world, and sin, and self-had disappointed him and left him empty in his heart! He came in the church and sat on the very back row, put his head in his hands, and under conviction cried in brokenness over his sin, told God from his heart he was sorry, and ask Jesus Christ to forgive him of his sins and save his soul!

I want you to know; that it was Joe that went home justified that day; not Jimmy!

This story is a story that teaches us how a person is saved! Can a person be saved by their good works, or do they have to be saved by the mercy of God? This story answers life’s most important question; how can a person be justified, make righteous before God? In this story; we meet two men, hear two prayers, and see two destinies.

First of all:

1. We Meet Two Men.

V:10-Read.

Jesus is telling us the story that we might identify ourselves; are we trusting in ourselves, and our good works, and our religious activities to get us to heaven? Or do we identify ourselves with this tax collector, who knew he desperately needed the mercy of God? Jesus holds up these two men in order that we might see ourselves.

First of all Jesus introduces us to;

a. The Pharisee.

V:10-“one was a Pharisee…

When we hear about a Pharisee, negative thoughts come into our head. If you know anything about the Bible at all, you know that the Good Samaritan was a good guy; and Pharisees were bad guys. The people who heard Jesus tell this story understood that Pharisees were the most religious people in their community. Pharisees represented everything that was right and good. The Jewish historian Josephus, described the Pharisees as a group of men more religious than any others, and were protectors of the law of God. They were highly regarded by the people who heard Jesus tell this story. Nicodemus in the New Testament was a Pharisee, so was the apostle Paul. The Pharisee was a Bible student, a regular church attender. The Pharisee read his bible, he knew his bible; he was the kind of guy who carried his bible in a leather case, with pockets to put paper and pen in to take notes. You see him and you think…Oh he must be a Holy guy to have such a marked up bible like that. He kept the law and gave to help the poor and needy.

b. The Publican.

V:10-“the other a publican.

A publican was a tax-collector, he was a Jew who had sold his soul to the Roman government to take taxes from his own people. Tax-collectors were hated, they were considered traitors to the Jewish people. They not only took taxes for the Roman government, they took more than was owed, and put it in their own pockets. They were thieves, crooks, greedy and dishonest. This publican, would be like the mayor of a small French town in a WW 2 move who had sold out to the Nazis; a traitor to his country, everybody hates that guy. Tax collectors were hated! In that culture you didn’t have to keep promises to thieves, murders or tax-collectors. A tax-collector was not welcome in the temple, they were not to get to close to the altar. V:13-publican standing for off…

People in that day would go across the street to avoid a tax collector. Jesus gives us two men that represent the extreme of humanity.

It’s like us talking about the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and a rapist.

The contrast that Jesus makes is as strong as possible. If we did a man on the street interview and asked people which one of these two people would go to heaven when they die.

It would seem like a no-brainer, the religious man would go to heaven, after all it is religious people to go to heaven. This wicked crook, wasn’t even allowed to come near the altar, he has no chance of going to heaven.

Jesus introduces these two men to us, they are as different as two people could be.

1. We meet two men.

Second of all:

2. We Hear Two Prayers.

V:10-“two men went up into the temple to pray…

Jesus records the two prayers of these two men, first of all let’s look at:

a. The Pharisees prayer

V:11-12-Read.

Jesus said this man “prayed with himself”… He prayed to himself, his prayer is not about God, or to God, his prayer is to himself, about himself.

His prayer is full of self-congratulations, he breaks his arm patting himself on the back.

V;11-“The Pharisee stood and prayed…

This indicates the Pharisee stood in a place where everyone could hear him, probably upfront by the stone banister that separated the court of the men, from the court of the priest. His prayer was to himself, about himself, and for the ears of people.

He wants people to see him, and hear him, and think that he is a wonderful example of what a Christian is meant to be.

Someone said, he glanced at God… But concentrated on himself.

He started his prayer addressing, V:11, God, but spent the rest of his prayer talking about himself.

The Pharisee says, V:11- God, I thank you I’m not as other men are…

He feels good about himself because he is comparing himself to other people; we always compare ourselves to people who are worse than we are. He finds comfort in the things that he does not do. Now if we take this man at his word, he has many wonderful qualities, he does not steal, which the tax collector standing in the back did. He was fair, and treated people right, he did not commit adultery, he did not run around on his wife, and he says I thank you God I’m not like this publican, this tax collector over here.

And God as you know I fast two times a week, and I tithe 10% of my money to your work. The law only required a Jew to fast once a year on the Day of Atonement; but this guy fasted two times a week. He was a very devoted religious man.

Today he would be a highly respected deacon, teacher, or beloved pastor.

This man’s prayer only focused on the outward, he was congratulating himself on what he did not do. It was a smokescreen, to keep from dealing with the real issue, the issue of his heart! He used the little word, “I” five times in, V:11-12.

This guy had developed a religious routine, focused on himself, that avoided his real guilt before God.

God is not impressed with mere external religion, God is not going to judge you on the outward actions of religious devotion, but on the inward condition of your heart!

Get a picture of this man in your mind; he is standing in a prominent place, so people could see and hear him. He did not actually ask God for anything, or offer God any praise, he only talked about his own goodness, and superiority to other people. He was comparing himself to other people; the real issue for the Pharisee, was not whether he was better than other people, the real issue was what he looked like before a holy God! The issue for you and I this morning, is not whether you are better than the person next to you, are behind you; the real issue is what you look like before the all seeing eye of God. One of the things that the devil loves to do, is to get us to compare ourselves to someone else who is worse than we are outwardly; so we will feel better about ourselves.

Please do not let coming to church, doing good things, become a covering to keep you from allowing God to exposure your heart so you can see what you look like before him. This Pharisee felt all right, but his feelings did not reflect the true condition of his heart. What if the way you feel, does not represent the truth about your spiritual condition? It is very easy to allow all the good things, religious things that we do to make us feel good about ourselves; instead of letting God reveal to us the truth about ourselves. Listening to this Pharisees prayer, reminds us of a person going to the doctor for a checkup. They go in the doctor’s office, and they tell the doctor, I am in perfect health, there’s not a thing in the world wrong with me. Doc, I’m healthy as a horse; my appetite is great, my breathing is wonderful, I sleep like a baby, I don’t take any medicine, I’m a perfect specimen of health. I feel great! I met some people out in the waiting room that are in bad shape, but NOT me. The doctor says, why don’t you let me check you out? So he draws some blood, ask you to stick out your tongue, look in your ears, check your blood pressure, and pushes and probes around your abdomen. And while he’s probing, he makes one of those medical noises… Hum…hum… and then he goes back for a second try at it..hum..hum… And you say, is there something wrong, and he says, it’s probably nothing… But will have it checked out just in case.

Then he says, your blood pressure is extremely high, and the bloodwork says, you have diabetes…

What you feel and think about yourself; is altogether different than what the doctor says is true about yourself.

The Pharisee says, I’m fine, I don’t do any bad stuff, I do a lot of good stuff, I’m a good guy, I come to church every Sunday, I’m going to heaven.

This man was like the people Jesus was telling this story to, V:9-“trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others.

He trusted in his own good works, and felt no need to trust in God.

Let’s look now at;

b. The Publicans prayer.

V:13-Read.

This man stood at a distance, he didn’t feel worthy to even come near the altar. He would not look up to heaven, but with a sense of guilt and shame he had his head bowed to the ground. He has a sense of his sinfulness, before a holy and righteous God.

He beat upon his breast a sign of humility, brokenness and repentance.

His prayer was short, to the point, and from his heart, V:13-“ God be merciful to me a sinner”

God be merciful to me “the” sinner.

As far as this man was concerned he was the worst sinner who had ever lived. He was like the apostle Paul who said he was the chief of all sinners. This man was not comparing himself to others, the way the Pharisee did, he measured himself against the perfect holiness of God; which caused him to understand that he was the worst sinner in the whole world. This man saw what we all see when we become conscious of how holy God is.

The prayers of these two men are as different as night and day. It is hard to imagine a greater contrast.

Pharisee-stood close to the front.

Publican-stood far off.

Pharisee-looked up to heaven.

Publican-looked down to the ground.

Pharisee-bragged about his righteous life.

Publican-was beating on his breast in repentance.

Pharisee-declared he was not like other men.

Publican-called himself a sinner.

Pharisee-never ask God for anything.

Publican-ask God for mercy.

The Pharisee thinks he is right before God because he is a good person, and better than others.

The publican knows that there’s no way for him to be right before God, unless he can get some outside help, unless God himself will show him mercy, he can never be forgiven or go to heaven.

The publican’s prayer really has three parts to it, V:13-“God… be merciful to me… a sinner”.

· God.

God, who is perfect and holy, God who is just and righteous, God who declares the wages of sin is death. God who says the soul that sins shall die.

The publican knows that God is holy and judges sin.

Look at the last part of the prayer:

· A Sinner

Because he knows that God is holy and perfect and righteous; he knows that he is a wicked sinner. The knowledge of God and the knowledge of ourselves go together. To truly see God as holy, is to see herself as sinful. We don’t compare our self to other people, to feel good about ourselves; we compare ourselves to God, to know the truth about ourselves. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. The tax collector saw himself as a sinner who only deserved the wrath of God.

It was knowing that he was a sinner, who deserved the wrath of God that led him to cry out to God for mercy.

Now I purposely skipped the middle part of his prayer. His prayer started with God… And ended with… Me a sinner.

But in between those two he prayed:

· Be merciful to me.

Between acknowledging that God was holy and righteous…and that he was wicked and sinful… The tax collector inserted a plea for mercy.

The word, V:13 “merciful” is a word that means propitiation. To make atonement for sin by means of a blood sacrifice. The Bible teaches us, that the payment for sin is death, and because all of have sinned, death comes to all people. And after death comes the judgment of God.

But God mercifully provided a way for sinners to be saved from his judgment and wrath. God allowed a substitute to die in the place of guilty sinners. This truth is taught throughout the Bible. God instructed Moses, to build a Tabernacle, where God could meet with his people. They carry this Tabernacle around with them and set it up when they camped in the wilderness. After they moved into the land of Israel permanently, Solomon built a temple that was set up exactly like the tabernacle. At the heart of what happened in the tabernacle and the temple; was the offering of a substitute.

A sacrifice given in the place of sinful people.

God allowed an innocent animal, to die as a substitute for the guilty people.

Once a year on the Day of Atonement, a goat would be sacrificed, the death of the goat was a reminder that the life of every sinner is forfeited to God, that the proper penalty for sin is death. The blood of the goat would be caught in a bowl, and the high priest would carry the blood into the temple, and sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat in the holy of holies.

You ask, Pastor what is the mercy seat? And why is it important? The mercy seat was the lid for the Ark of the Covenant.

The Ark of the Covenant, was a wooden box about a yard long, covered with gold, and inside was a stone tablets containing the 10 Commandments, a pot of manna, and Aaron rod of authority. On top of the Ark of the Covenant was a solid gold lid, called the Mercy seat; on each end were cherubim’s looking down on the mercy seat.

When God looked down from heaven, between the wings of the cherubim’s, he would see that man had broken his law, and deserved death and judgment.

So God placed between sinful man who had broken his commandments, and his wrath a mercy seat. The way God showed mercy to sinful man, was allowing a sacrifice to die in man’s place, and the blood to be sprinkled on the Mercy seat.

So when God looked down from heaven he would not see that man had broken the law, he would see that judgment had fallen, blood had been shed to cover the sin of man. Sprinkling blood on the Mercy seat show that an atoning sacrifice had come between God and his sinful people.

There were two things that the sacrificial blood accomplished for man:

1. The blood provided a covering.

Their sin was covered, their guilt was removed, and their iniquity was pardoned. The penalty for sin had been paid and no further guilt remained.

2. God’s wrath against sin was satisfied.

Propitiation had been accomplished; God’s wrath against sin had been satisfied in the death of that substitute. God’s justice had been satisfied; that God might be just and the justifier of him that believes in Jesus. When the publican prayed God be merciful to me a sinner; he was looking to the altar where the blood was being shed, and would be sprinkled on the Mercy seat.

He was asking God to make atonement for his sin, he was asking God to forgive him of his sin on the basis of the shed blood of a substitute! He was asking God to cover his sin and protect him from eternal judgment because of the death of that substitute in his place.

The only thing that can bridge the gap between God… and a sinner… Is the blood that Jesus Christ shed on the cross.

-“Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins”

Today the cross of Jesus Christ is our Mercy seat; and the blood that he shed on the cross is our salvation!

Jesus Christ bore our sins in his own body on the tree. -“Christ has appeared once and for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself”.

-“And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Jesus blood on the cross provides a covering for our sins, taking away our guilt, and at the same time satisfy the wrath of God!

What can wash away my sins, nothing but the blood of Jesus. What can make me whole again, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

What about you? Which one of these men represent you; which one of these prayers represent your heart? Do you feel like you are a good person, and you feel righteous compared to others? Do you think that God is going to see all you good and he is going to let you into heaven?

Or have you acknowledged before God that you are sinful, wicked and lost. And the only hope you have of getting to heaven, is to cry out and ask God to be merciful to you like this publican. Like the thief on the cross, who said remember me King Jesus when you come into your kingdom.

Which one of these prayers best represents your heart. We meet to men, we hear two prayers.

Last of all:

3. We See Two Destinies.

V:14-“I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other…

One man walked away unsaved, unjustified, still under the judgment and wrath of God. The other man walked away, declared righteous before God.

The Pharisee though he looked good outwardly, was condemned inwardly; all his good works could not make them righteous before God. The publican because he trusted in the atoning blood of a perfect sacrifice was justified. Justification is the legal term that says an unrighteous sinner has been made right before God. To be justified means a sinner has been acquitted of all charges, spared all punishment, and considered acceptable to God. The tax collector was justified not because of anything he had done, he was justified by God’s mercy on the basis of a blood sacrifice.

The only way a person is justified is by placing their faith in what Jesus Christ did on the cross in their place!

-“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”.

Have you ever asked God to pardon you like the publican did; through the Mercy of God, because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Have you ever bowed on your knees and asked Jesus to have mercy on you, to save you, to wash your sin away with his blood? Anyone who prays the sinner’s prayer like the publican prayed, will be saved!

Will you come forward and pray “God be merciful to me a sinner”?

Your eternal destiny, depends on you acknowledging that you are a sinner, and asking God to have mercy on you, pardoned you because of the blood of Jesus Christ! When you walk out of these doors this morning; will you go way justified, declared righteous; are still lost in your sin?

The good news is, you can walk away, righteous before God, with your eternal destiny being heaven!