Are you confident of your own righteousness? Be constantly examining your heart, careful to humble yourself.
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Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada with just a little test for you to take.
And don’t worry, nobody’s going to grade you. It’s just a small test to help you gauge your own growth, spiritually. I came up with this idea when I was reading Luke 18. Let me read the story so that you have a context, okay? Jesus is talking and he shares this parable; he says, “Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a Pharisee, and the other was a despised tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed this prayer: ‘I thank you, God, that I am not like other people—cheaters, sinners, adulterers. I’m certainly not like that tax collector! I fast twice a week, and I give you a tenth of my income.’ But the tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed. Instead, he beat his chest in sorrow, saying, ‘O God, be merciful to me, for I am a sinner.’ I tell you, [Jesus said], this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” Isn’t that a great parable?
Okay, so here’s the thing. Almost every Christian identifies with the tax collector. And almost no one that I know sees himself in this parable as the Pharisee. But could it be true that we are, in fact, more like the Pharisee? A good, solid citizen who does things above the religious call of duty and would never consider himself capable of really gross sinning? Someone who’s discreetly careful not to associate with other Christians whose reputation has been stained, even if justly? A good, solid citizen who disparages “those troublemakers in the streets?” Well, maybe I’m being too hard on you here. So let’s try a different test of the Lord’s words from Luke 18.
Are you confident of your own righteousness? Do you compare yourself with others to see if you’re coming out stronger, spiritually? Okay, now here’s a good one: do you, like the Pharisee, spend most of your prayer time petitioning God about yourself? Ask yourself, when you go to God in prayer, how often is it just to ask for things? Is most of your prayer time spent on petitions for yourself? Okay, so, still convinced you’re most like the repentant tax collector? “Be merciful to me, O Lord, a sinner?” Well, if you answer yes to any of the questions I posed, then it’s time to swallow the Lord's prescription in Luke 18: humble yourself. And I’m swallowing that prescription myself. Because Jesus gave this parable to his disciples. That’s people like us. Jesus wants us, his disciples, to constantly examine our hearts, because all of us – and I include myself – all of us are more like the Pharisee than we’d like to think. We’d be shocked to see the many times we think and act self-righteously.
So, humble yourself and follow your fellow Pharisee here, and join me in a prayer of humility. And a great place to start is this old prayer from the Puritans: “Merciful Lord, pardon all my sins of this day, [this] week, year, [and] all the sins of my life, sins of early, middle, and advanced years, [sins] of omission and commission, of morose, peevish, and angry tempers, of lip, life, and walk, of want of bold decision in the cause of Christ, [pardon my sins] of deficiency in outspoken zeal for [your] glory… Pardon all my sins, known and unknown, felt and unfelt, confessed and not confessed, remembered or forgotten. Good Lord, hear; and [in] hearing, [please] forgive.” And friend, today, I thank you for taking this test from Luke 18. Go today to joniradio.org.
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