FAITH: trusting in ourselves.
The search for faith may start out with disappointments. We may be disappointed when we learn that God does not regard how sincere we are but who we sincerely trust. Now we meet another disappointment, trying hard is not enough! That is a real disappointment. Our own effort to be acceptable to God is something we can produce and control, we get pleasure from following certain rules of religion and believing that we are going to be congratulated and thanked by God for working so hard at right-ness, and it isn't so! That really hurts.
Jesus tells the story of a man congratulating himself for all his hard work, he does this as he is praying. He reminds God of the way he follows the religious law, he fasts twice a week, he gives one tenth of all his finances to the temple funds. He actually tells God how grateful he is that he is not like the less religious people. Jesus states, in his story, that all this isn't enough to impress God. Then Jesus includes a man who is despised by the rest of society, he works for the occupying army collecting taxes for them, taking money from his own countrymen to give to foreigners. This man stands in a less than prominent place and simply prays, "God be merciful to me a sinner" Jesus is impressed by that prayer, he says that man began to be put right with God.
So is it only social failures who can hope to be accepted by God? No, social successes, moral upright citizens can be accepted by God but on one basis only; that basis is transferring faith from their own good works to the work that Jesus has done.
In one way this tax collector was truly fortunate, he was able to understand that he needed God's mercy and forgiveness, the morally upright religious man couldn't understand that. He could see that other people might need mercy, but he couldn't see his own need.
We used to call it 'conviction' and with that word we meant an act of the Holy Spirit which convinced people that they needed God's forgiveness and mercy. Some people are so afraid of conviction that they won't go near a church that might shake their faith in themselves.
There are many Christians who still secretly harbour the notion that they are not bad people, and privately think that God should congratulate them for having the good sense to choose to believe in Jesus. Jesus would call it exalting ourselves (we want to ask what is wrong with that, doesn't society teach us to believe in ourselves?) This kind of faith is untested; people who believe in themselves will readily transfer their allegiance to another leader. There is another kind of Christian faith which puts all confidence in the leader and would not dare transfer to another because we know that only this leader (Jesus) can save us from ourselves and make us acceptable to God.
For some people blessing comes in disguise. It comes in the form of conviction. They are visited by the Holy Spirit who shows them the comparison between their own right-ness and God's right-ness and who convinces them that they are truly unacceptable to God, no matter how hard they try. Those people have received a blessing which is the beginning of all other blessings, they have learnt that Jesus Christ alone can make them acceptable to God, and if they are sufficiently blessed they have come to understand that they personally need mercy.
"God be merciful to me a sinner.' It is the cry of the blessed, who are no longer exalting themselves but who have been humbled in order that God might exalt them and make them his sons and daughters.
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Luke 18:9-14[9] Jesus also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: [10] "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. [11] The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. [12] I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.' [13] But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' [14] I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted."
Jesus tells the story of a man congratulating himself for all his hard work, he does this as he is praying. He reminds God of the way he follows the religious law, he fasts twice a week, he gives one tenth of all his finances to the temple funds. He actually tells God how grateful he is that he is not like the less religious people. Jesus states, in his story, that all this isn't enough to impress God. Then Jesus includes a man who is despised by the rest of society, he works for the occupying army collecting taxes for them, taking money from his own countrymen to give to foreigners. This man stands in a less than prominent place and simply prays, "God be merciful to me a sinner" Jesus is impressed by that prayer, he says that man began to be put right with God.
So is it only social failures who can hope to be accepted by God? No, social successes, moral upright citizens can be accepted by God but on one basis only; that basis is transferring faith from their own good works to the work that Jesus has done.
In one way this tax collector was truly fortunate, he was able to understand that he needed God's mercy and forgiveness, the morally upright religious man couldn't understand that. He could see that other people might need mercy, but he couldn't see his own need.
We used to call it 'conviction' and with that word we meant an act of the Holy Spirit which convinced people that they needed God's forgiveness and mercy. Some people are so afraid of conviction that they won't go near a church that might shake their faith in themselves.
There are many Christians who still secretly harbour the notion that they are not bad people, and privately think that God should congratulate them for having the good sense to choose to believe in Jesus. Jesus would call it exalting ourselves (we want to ask what is wrong with that, doesn't society teach us to believe in ourselves?) This kind of faith is untested; people who believe in themselves will readily transfer their allegiance to another leader. There is another kind of Christian faith which puts all confidence in the leader and would not dare transfer to another because we know that only this leader (Jesus) can save us from ourselves and make us acceptable to God.
For some people blessing comes in disguise. It comes in the form of conviction. They are visited by the Holy Spirit who shows them the comparison between their own right-ness and God's right-ness and who convinces them that they are truly unacceptable to God, no matter how hard they try. Those people have received a blessing which is the beginning of all other blessings, they have learnt that Jesus Christ alone can make them acceptable to God, and if they are sufficiently blessed they have come to understand that they personally need mercy.
"God be merciful to me a sinner.' It is the cry of the blessed, who are no longer exalting themselves but who have been humbled in order that God might exalt them and make them his sons and daughters.
------
Luke 18:9-14[9] Jesus also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: [10] "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. [11] The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. [12] I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.' [13] But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner!' [14] I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted."
posted by Jessie Coates at 10:52 PM
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