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The Parables of Jesus (Part III)

By James Jeffery

“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!” (Luke 18:13)

One of the greatest misconceptions about Christianity is that the church is filled with ‘good’ people. I suspect what people generally mean by this is that Christians are those who are worthy of God, while those outside the church are the unworthy.

One reason people believe this is the prevalence of liberal theology. Liberal theology is a distortion of Christianity which denies the supernatural and teaches that the gospel of Jesus Christ is ultimately about following Jesus by being a kind and loving person.

Yet, liberal Christianity is Christless Christianity – it has nothing to offer but a ‘respectable’ path to hell. As J. Gresham Machen (1881-1937) argued in Christianity and Liberalism, liberal Christianity is not Christianity, but an entirely new religion. Christianity is not fundamentally about being a ‘good person,’ or even following the example of Jesus.

If this is what Christianity is all about, it is no surprise that those outside the church see Christians as the ‘righteous’ (dare I say, the self-righteous) ones. Indeed, C.S. Lewis highlighted the danger of self-righteousness:

“…a cold, self-righteous prig who goes regularly to church may be far nearer to hell than a prostitute.”

The harshest words of Jesus were reserved for self-righteous religious leaders. That is, people who did not believe they needed God’s grace, and who therefore made God their debtor.

The problem was the way they approached God. Rather than relating to God as a gracious Father, they treated Him as an employer who owed them wages.

The problem with self-righteous people is that they think God’s love can be earned. We have all seen the ugliness of this in the lives of others, but most prominently in our own hearts. At the end of the day, there are only two ways we can approach God.

Two Ways to Approach God

Jesus taught that there are only two ways you can try to approach God. The first is to exalt yourself, and the second is to humble yourself. Only one of these ways works, and He communicated this truth by means of a parable.

He begins the parable by introducing us to two characters: 1) a Pharisee, and 2) a Tax Collector. Jewish listeners would have been shocked by the stark difference between these figures; one a moral citizen, and the other a backstabber. 

Pharisees were the religious elite of Jesus’ time and sought to live as an example to the Jewish people of how to obey God’s law. Though they claimed to represent God, their hearts were filled with pride and contempt for those who did not measure up to their man-made traditions.

Tax collectors, on the other hand, were despised by the Jews. They were Jews hired by the Romans to collect taxes, often taking more than required. In addition to regularly dealing with Gentiles, which rendered them ceremonially unclean, seen as traitors to the Jewish people.

Both men went up to the temple to pray, and it is through their prayers that we see what was going on their hearts. Given his religious status, the Pharisee would be expected to be the one who pleased God. Yet, the truth is stranger than fiction.

Two Prayers

The Pharisee was first to pray. He distinguished himself by highlighting that he was not like ‘other men,’ including ‘extortioners, unjust, adulterers,’ and even the very man behind him – a tax collector (18:11). The phrase ‘standing by himself’ may also be rendered ‘standing toward himself,’ emphasising his self-oriented gaze. The Pharisee then told God about all the ‘good’ he had done, including fasting and tithing. In Jesus’ words, the Pharisee was a man who trusted in himself (18:9).

The tax collector was the second to pray. He did not compare himself to others or attempt to justify himself before God. He did not consider himself worthy to look up toward heaven. Instead, he beat his breast and begged God to show mercy to him, a sinner.

Jesus tells us that it was the tax collector, rather than the other man, who went home in a right relationship with God. The reason being, ‘…everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.’

Who is this Parable for?

This parable was delivered to ‘some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt.’ A litmus test to determine whether you are self-righteous is to ask yourself this question:

“How often do I show contempt for other people?”

Contempt can manifest in various ways:

• Anger toward others.
• Bitterness and a refusal to forgive.
• Disdain for those we see as ‘unworthy’ and ‘worse than us.’
• Despising others for sins of which we too are guilty.
• A lack of patience toward others.

The clearest symptom of self-righteousness is contempt for others. If we find ourselves scorning others, there is sure to be self-righteousness lurking in our heart.

Our default setting as humans is ‘self-righteousness’ – we make excuses for our sin, and we despise those we deem worse than us. We invent rules, and judge others if they fail to comply by them. Self-righteousness makes us miserable.

As G.K. Chesterton once wrote:

“It is impossible without humility to enjoy anything – even pride.”

If this is the case, how can we be freed from the destructive power of self-righteousness?

How to Be Freed from Self-Righteousness

The FIRST step to being freed from self-righteousness is accepting the diagnosis God gives of your heart’s condition. We are not merely sick, we are dead. We do not just do ‘bad things’ sometimes; we are enemies of God. We aren’t sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners. It is in our very nature.

Therefore, the fundamental question Christianity answers is not ‘How can I be a good person,’ but rather ‘How can a sinner like me be right with the good God of the universe?’ As Romans 3 says, ‘All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,’ and ‘there is no one righteous, no, not one.’ If this is the case, then we need more than self-help; we need a Saviour.

The SECOND step to being freed from self-righteousness is repentance. Like the tax collector, we must bring our sin to God. We must experience sorrow for our sin and confess it to God, acknowledging that our sin deserves God’s wrath. If you do not recognise the penalty of sin, you will never recognise the grace of God in Christ. In other words, the gospel is not good news to people who think they do not need it. 

The THIRD step to being freed from self-righteousness is surrendering to Jesus as our Saviour. The only way to be freed from the punishment of sin is to trust in the only good man: Jesus Christ. If it took the blood of the precious Son of God to save us, how wicked is the sin that drove the nails into his wrists! He bore our sin in His body on the cross, that we would be freed from the judgment of God.

There is nothing more humbling than realising what Jesus Christ went through to save sinners like us. Romans 5:8 tells us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. There is no room for pride or disdain for others.

Therefore, the only proper response is to stand with the tax collector and declare, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ If we confess our sins to God, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8-9). Only when we understand the depth of Christ’s love toward sinners like us can we be freed from the bondage of self-righteousness.

Closing Prayer

Dear Father,

Forgive us for our self-righteousness, and for the way we have looked down upon others. Holy Spirit, open our eyes to see that we are wretched sinners who have been saved by a gracious and merciful God. Transform our lives, that we would show the same grace and love to others.

We ask in Jesus’ name,

Amen.