Justified: Pulling Up the Roots of Legalism
October 27, 2024 Speaker: Brian Wilbur Series: Dismantling Legalism
Topic: Justification Passage: Luke 18:9–14, Romans 3:20–28
JUSTIFIED
Pulling up the roots of legalism
By Pastor Brian Wilbur
Date: October 27, 2024
Series: Dismantling Legalism
Note: Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
A NEW SERMON SERIES: “DISMANTLING LEGALISM”
This morning we begin a short series of sermons on the topic of legalism. The series is entitled “Dismantling Legalism” and I regard it as of paramount importance. Before I start the attempt to dismantle legalism, I should explain briefly what legalism is and why it is so important to dismantle, uproot, and kill it.
Legalism actually has a few different layers to it, and it is important to understand these inter-related layers.
First, legalism first and foremost refers to the effort to make yourself acceptable to God through your own good works and religious observances: if you are good enough, then God will accept you. This is a legalistic approach to justification.
Second, legalism may refer to the attempt to achieve spiritual maturity by following all the rules. Saved by grace, but sanctified by rules: if you keep the rules, then you will advance in your spiritual life. This is a legalistic approach to spiritual growth.
Third, legalism may refer to the habit of adding your own rules on top of God’s commandments: if you make up enough rules and keep them, then you can feel really good about yourself. This is a legalistic approach to being super-spiritual, to feeling good about yourself and feeling superior to others.
Fourth, legalism may refer to any number of misplaced emphases: externals are more important than internals, appearances are more important than heart attitudes, man-made policies are more important than people, man-made rules are more important than relationships, checking the right boxes is more important than checking for right motives, the letter of the law (topped off with your own made-up rules, of course) is more important than the spirit of the law: if you get in line by conforming externally to the policy manual, then you fit in with the group; but if you don’t play by the rules, you’re out. This is a legalistic approach to just about everything, and it profoundly affects our relationships with one another.
Finally, legalism may refer to making harsh judgments about other people on the basis of these other examples of legalism that I’ve just mentioned. In other words, legalism isn’t just about your own effort to measure up and fit in; legalism is also about you looking down upon people who don’t measure up and fit in, and only accepting the people who do.
Legalism is pervasive in society, especially in religious society. And sometimes so-called churches are really legalistic religious societies dressed up in Christianese. In a legalistic religious society, the people who gather together are attempting to be good enough to be accepted by God, which results in either pride (if you think you have succeeded) or despair (if you realize that you’re always falling short). The proud people have their nose in the air and they look down on all the people who can’t seem to get their act together. The despairing people are exhausted from their unsuccessful efforts to measure up, and they are walking on egg shells because they know that the next mess-up will reinforce their despair and will also draw criticism from the proud high achievers. Frankly, everyone in this scenario is playing a game and striving to appear righteous in the court of public opinion. Judgmentalism runs rampant. Pretension runs high. Looking the part runs high. The rules are many, and there are many rules enforcement officers scattered throughout the congregation. Moralistic sermons are common. Honest prayers are rare. Confessions of sin are rare. Acknowledging our weakness is rare. Asking and wrestling with tough questions is rare. Transparency is rare, and the stress is high. The stress is high because legalistic religious societies are high pressure and high-performance environments: they keep telling us what to do and how to do it. They are big on formulas, methods, and procedures. Adhere to the system, and you’ll be accepted and celebrated by the gatekeepers of the legalistic religious society.
But be assured of this: in a legalistic religious society, you will not be a sheep who enjoys green pastures and still waters and a cup that runneth over, because in a legalistic religious society the good news of God’s grace is not proclaimed, the good news of God’s grace is not embraced, and the good news of God’s grace is not reflected in relationships with other people. The good news of God’s grace actually sets people free, and legalistic religious societies do not want people to be free. Free people are not able to be controlled, pressured, and manipulated by other people, and that would spell the end of the legalistic religious society. They must keep people in bondage, and therefore they must hide the gospel. In a legalistic religious society, the fear of people and what people think overwhelms the community, but the fear of the Lord is absent, the grace of the Lord is absent, the joy of the Lord is absent.
Furthermore, underneath all the legalistic façade of religiosity and righteous appearances, fleshly sins run rampant. All the legalistic strategies in the world don’t have the power to subdue the sinful flesh (see Colossians 2:20-23), and so it comes as no surprise that sooner or later legalistic religious communities are exposed as centers of greed and lust, power and abuse, manipulation and threats, often accompanied by a cult of personality. These whitewashed tombs look really good on the outside, but inside they are shot through with corruption and moral filth. And sooner or later we learn about the survivors of these cesspools of religious fakery. Some of these survivors walk away from Christianity altogether because Christianity was radically misrepresented to them in their legalistic religious community. Other survivors discover the true gospel of Jesus Christ, and they are set free.
In the weeks ahead I want to unpack some of these inter-related layers of legalism. My aim in this first sermon is to go directly to the root of legalism. The fruit of legalism is dysfunction in human relationships: insecurity, fear, judgmentalism, control, hypocrisy. That is the fruit. But the root of legalism is dysfunction in a person’s relationship with God. If you think that you have to earn your acceptance with God by being good enough for God, then you are going to have a broken relationship with God and you are going to carry it into all of your relationships with other people. People who are insecure in their vertical relationship with God bring that insecurity into their horizontal relationships with other people. But if you know that God is 100% for you because of His grace and not because of your works, then that will give you a security, stability, and peace that other people cannot disturb, and you will bring that security, stability, and peace into your relationships with other people.
INTRODUCING THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION
So, the doctrine that I want to unpack this morning is the doctrine of justification. Justification has to do with how a sinner’s dysfunctional relationship with God is rectified, how a sinner gains acceptance with God, how an unrighteous person becomes righteous in God’s sight.
The utterly key and foundational issue of life is knowing that God has accepted you, that God approves of you, that God is 100% for you, that God regards you as righteous in His sight. This foundational issue must not be cheapened and diluted into a liberal ‘God accepts everyone’ mantra. When Jesus says to many on the future day of judgment, “I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness” (Matthew 7:23), the ‘God accepts everyone’ mantra will seem profoundly lame.
Here's the problem: to be justified means that God sees you as just and righteous in His sight, but every human being is a sinner who is characterized by unrighteousness. Romans 3:10-12 says,
“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:10b-12)
We sinners are not righteous and not good. So, how does an unrighteous sinner get counted righteous in God’s sight? The destiny of an unrighteous sinner can only go one of two ways: either you remain unacceptable to God, in which case God is against you, and you are condemned, rejected, and denied access; or you somehow find acceptance with God, in which case God is 100% for you, and you are justified, approved, and welcomed in.
Are you righteous in God’s sight, or not? You might know the answer to that question, or you might not. You might be unsure or confused. Of course, it is entirely possible to be mistaken or deceived. What could be more valuable to your overall well-being than to know that the Father in heaven accepts you and counts you as one of His beloved kids who is in right relationship with Him? On the other hand, what could be more disruptive to your overall well-being than to have the strong suspicion that God is against you? Let the listener beware: God accepted Abel, but rejected Cain. What about you?
As I indicated above, if a sinner is to be justified, then a sinner must somehow find acceptance with God. The doctrine of justification addresses the somehow, and tells us how it is that a sinner is put right with God.
THE PHARISEE AND THE TAX COLLECTOR (LUKE 18:9-14)
In order to unpack this doctrine, I want to show you a few different passages, starting in Luke 18. In Luke 18:9-14, Jesus tells us the well-known parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. This passage of Scripture says:
9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 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.’ 13 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!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9-14)
The Pharisee
The Pharisee is an example of those people who “[trust] in themselves that they [are] righteous”. As these people survey their own lives, they are confident that they are righteous. They think that they have done a respectable job of keeping God’s commands, and they think it is rather obvious that they have out-performed all the average low-life sinners around them. They are self-righteous. They are righteous in their own eyes. They have justified themselves in their own minds; they have exalted themselves.
Don’t miss the obvious. Self-exalting, self-justifying, self-righteous people go to the temple: they attend worship services. Self-exalting, self-justifying, self-righteous people also pray and thank God: they are adept at pious God-talk. These people are outstanding in their own estimation: “I thank you that I am not like other men”. Other people are easily overcome by various sins, including extortion, injustice, and adultery. But the Pharisee manages to keep himself unstained by such gross and public sins, and he is impressed with his own moral performance.
Notice that it is characteristic of self-exalting, self-justifying, and self-righteous people to “[treat] others with contempt” (v. 9). And so, true to form, the Pharisee looks with contempt upon the tax collector: “I thank you that I am not like other men… even like this tax collector.” Those tax collectors were selfish and greedy opportunists, traitors against Israel and collaborators with Rome. But the Pharisee is the cream of the crop, or so he thinks. Proud and self-willed people who justify themselves in their own eyes, will always look with contempt on everyone else who can’t seem to get their act together.
The Pharisee is also impressed with his religious observances: “I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.” At this point, though he is standing in God’s house and even praying to God, it seems that the Pharisee would welcome a round of applause: look at me, look at how great and wonderful I am, and look at how much I have achieved.
The tax collector
Having told us about the Pharisee’s prayer in the temple, Jesus now tells us about the tax collector who also “went up into the temple to pray”. In contrast to the Pharisee, the tax collector is not impressed with himself. He doesn’t presume to waltz into God’s presence, but “[stands] afar off”. He isn’t full of himself as he visits God’s house. Instead, he is overwhelmed by his own sinfulness, even “beating his breast”. He understands that he is, in fact, a sinner, and that his sin is a barrier between him and the Holy One. He doesn’t presume to “even lift up his eyes to heaven”. The Pharisee’s prayer was far too casual; the tax collector’s prayer is sober-minded and reverent. His prayer is not a rehearsal of his own wonderful qualities. Instead, his prayer is a plea for mercy: “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”
It is important to point out that the word translated “be merciful” literally means “to be propitious” or “make propitiation for”. To be propitious means to be favorable; To make propitiation means to make favorable. So the tax collector is essentially praying: God, be favorable to me, a sinner! Or: God, make yourself favorable to me, a sinner! Or: God, make propitiation for me, a sinner! God, make atonement for me, a sinner! If the tax collector had come to the temple to pray at the time of the daily sacrifice, then his prayer could even take on the sense of: God, let the sacrifice be for me, a sinner! God, look on the sacrifice and thus take me, a sinner, into your favor!
The bottom line is that the tax collector didn’t have confidence in himself that he was righteous. In fact, he knew that he wasn’t righteous. The tax collector understood that the only way for him, a sinner, to be justified in God’s sight, would be to receive justification as a gift of God’s grace. There is nothing that he could do to earn it or deserve it.
The divine verdict
Jesus drives the point home in verse 14: “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other.” The words righteous (in v. 9), unjust (in v. 11), and justified (in v. 14) are all related to the same Greek word. And these three words reveal the surprise of the parable. The outwardly respectable Pharisee was righteous in his own eyes; he had justified himself; he had reckoned himself righteous. This same Pharisee looked down upon those who were obviously unjust or unrighteous. Nevertheless, the Pharisee was not truly justified, that is, he was not justified in God’s sight. God did not regard the Pharisee as righteous in the court of heaven. By contrast, the unrighteous tax collector – who knew himself to be unrighteous, who knew that he was a sinner and that he didn’t measure up – the unrighteous tax collector got justified and was counted righteous in God’s sight. And how did that come about? The tax collector didn’t work for it. He didn’t make amends. He didn’t reform his life and accumulate an impressive record of good works and religious acts of devotion. The only thing that the tax collector did was to entrust himself to the mercy of God. The tax collector asked God to do something in order to make God favorable to him. And God did: God made Himself propitious and favorable to the brokenhearted man who had no works but only cried out for mercy.
Jesus concludes: “For everyone who exalts himself [like the Pharisee] will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself [like the tax collector] will be exalted.” The act of justification is, in fact, an act of exaltation, of accepting and approving and lifting up and welcoming in. Self-righteous, self-justifying, and self-exalting men are going to be humbled, humiliated in fact, and shown to be unrighteous and condemned. But those who with a simple and humble faith cast themselves on the grace of a merciful God, will be justified, counted as righteous, and lifted up by him.
PAUL’S TEACHING IN ROMANS 3:20-28
Keeping Luke 18:9-14 in mind, I want to shift over to another passage that tells us how God has made himself propitious and favorable to sinners. Turn to Romans 3:20-28 and let’s walk through it one phrase at a time.
Romans 3:20
Romans 3:20 says,
“For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:20)
We cannot obtain justification in God’s sight by keeping the law or by doing good works. In fact, God’s law shows you that you don’t keep it, that you are unrighteous, that you stand condemned. Attempting to make a little moral improvement will not earn you God’s favor.
Romans 3:21-22a
Romans 3:21-22a says,
“But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it— the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.” (Romans 3:21-22a)
The “righteousness of God” is not a righteousness that you achieve, earn, or deserve. The “righteousness of God” doesn’t originate with you at all and it doesn’t come about as a result of your best effort to keep God’s law. The “righteousness of God” originates with God and God freely bestows this righteousness upon sinners who don’t deserve it. The “righteousness of God” is not achieved by our works, but can only be received by faith as a gift. Here we begin to see that the object of our faith is not merely God’s mercy in general, but specifically the person and work of Jesus Christ: “the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.” The entire Old Testament – “the Law and the Prophets” – points to this reality, and we should read the Old Testament with this reality in view.
Romans 3:22b-24
Romans 3:22b-24 says,
“For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:22b-24).
“[All] have sinned”. This reminds us of Romans 3:10 – “None is righteous, no, not one”. We are, by nature, unrighteous. Unrighteous people are in no position to achieve their own justification. All of us “fall short of the glory of God”. God created us in His own image and likeness, that we might know Him and honor Him and reflect His character as His representatives on earth. Our entire life ought to reflect the glory of God’s excellence and abound to His honor and praise. But we “fall short” – far short – and we cannot pay our debts and purchase our freedom. God must do it. And so, sinners who cast themselves on the mercy of God “are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus”. His grace, not our works. Not a burden to carry, not a paycheck to be earned, not a system to negotiate, not a checklist of duties to work through, but a gift to be received. We could never pay the price or foot the bill. Someone else had to pay, someone else had to shed blood, someone else had to die, in order to lift us out of the quagmire of sin, guilt, and condemnation. Our works only got us deeper into the quagmire; it is the only the work of Christ Jesus, our great Redeemer, that gets us out.
Romans 3:25a
Romans 3:25a says,
“whom [Christ Jesus] God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.” (Romans 3:25a)
In Luke 18:9-14, the tax collector prayed, “God, be propitious to me, a sinner!” Ultimately, God made Himself propitious to sinners by making propitiation for them. God presented Christ Jesus “as a propitiation by his blood”. This takes us right back to Romans 1:18 – “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” (Romans 1:18) And since “all have sinned”, we’re all in the same boat. We all have to reckon with “the wrath of God”. God has a principled opposition to all that is ungodly and unrighteous, and unless something is done about it, “you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.” (Romans 2:5) The tax collector understood that he deserved God’s wrath, God’s opposition, God’s righteous judgment. But he asked for mercy, for favor, for propitiousness.
When God makes Himself propitious to the sinner, He first of all appeases and satisfies His own wrath against sin. And so, God put Jesus forward “as a propitiation by his blood”, as an atoning sacrifice for our sins: though perfectly righteous, Jesus stood condemned in our place; Jesus took responsibility for the guilt and punishment of our sin upon His own shoulders; Jesus gave Himself for us, suffering and dying on our account and for our sake; and the Father accepted His Son’s perfect sacrifice as perfect satisfaction for our sin problem. Thus, God saves us not only from sin and death and hell and the devil, but also and most fundamentally from His own wrath, justice, and righteous judgment. God saves us from His own wrath that would rightly fall on us if He hadn’t provided a Mediator to suffer His wrath in our place. God has put forward this most precious gift “to be received by faith”.
Romans 3:25b-26
Romans 3:25b-26 says,
“This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” (Romans 3:25b-26)
We are fond of saying that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ upon the cross shows us the love of God, and indeed it does: “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:10) But we must also take to heart the fact that the sacrifice of Jesus Christ upon the cross also shows us the righteousness of God, as it says two times in Romans 3:25-26: “This [the propitiation by Christ’s blood] was to show God’s righteousness”. Throughout the course of history, God has not meted out a suitable punishment for every sin – and so it might appear that God has been unjust. Furthermore, how in the world can it be right for God to justify the wicked? It says in Proverbs 17:15 that justifying the wicked is “an abomination to the LORD” (Proverbs 17:15). So how can God justify the wicked without being unjust?
Make no mistake about it: when God justified any of us, He was justifying a wicked human being. This, by the way, is what makes the gospel of Jesus Christ so stunning and refreshing and hopeful: “Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness.” (Romans 4:4-5) How does God justify the ungodly without being unjust? How does God pronounce ungodly people ‘not guilty’ without being unjust? How does God examine ungodly people and declare them ‘righteous’ without being unjust? The answer, of course, is the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. In the cross of Jesus Christ, no sin is overlooked, no sin is passed over, no sin is unaddressed. In the cross of Jesus Christ, in which the eternal and infinitely valuable Son of God, who for us and for our salvation condescended from heaven to become a Man with a human nature like ours, yet without sin – the beloved Son, the dear Lamb of God, the great and sinless High Priest, atoned for all of our sins, discharged every debt, and perfectly satisfied the justice of God. Therefore, when God justifies the wicked, He is acting justly. If the devil were to ask God, ‘How can you justify that wicked and filthy sinner named Brian Wilbur?’ The answer would essentially be: ‘My beloved Son took responsibility for all of Brian’s sins, and my beloved Son took all of Brian’s sins into the firestorm of my wrath on the cross, and my justice is perfectly satisfied in Brian’s case. Now Brian is clothed in my righteousness, and in the righteousness of my Son. Brian is mine, sealed in blood, case closed.’
Because of the infinite value of the sacrifice of the infinitely valuable Son, God is “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”
Romans 3:27-28
Romans 3:27-28 says,
“Then what becomes of our boasting? It is excluded. By what kind of law? By a law of works? No, but by the law of faith. For we hold that one is justified by faith apart from works of the law.” (Romans 3:27-28)
The Pharisee contemplated his own works as indicating that he was righteous, but the Pharisee contemplated incorrectly. Your own works might convince you that you are justified in your own mind, or in the mind of your peers. But your works can never succeed at getting you justified in God’s sight. Justification in God’s sight is a free gift of God’s grace, revealed and secured by the Lord Jesus Christ, and received by faith alone: in other words, justification is by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. This truth destroys human pride and cuts the power of legalism at its root. Pride is the engine of legalism: we can do it, we can make ourselves acceptable to God, we can be good enough for God, and if others fail we can do better than them, because ‘we’ve got this’. In truth, however, we don’t got this. The cross of Jesus Christ makes human boasting completely and totally inappropriate. To say that we are “justified by faith” means that we are justified by putting our confidence in someone else’s work, in God’s work in fact, and in Christ’s work. Therefore: “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:31) Sinners are forgiven of their sins and “justified [in God’s sight] by faith apart from works of the law.” Christ alone is our righteousness, our sanctification, and our redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30).
THE PARABLE OF THE TWO SONS
Doctrine explains. Stories illustrate. Let’s recall another parable that illustrates the concept of God’s justifying grace. This is the much loved parable about the two lost sons, one a prodigal and the other self-righteous.
Luke 15:11-16 says,
“There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.” (Luke 15:11-16)
The younger son reached the point of being destitute and morally bankrupt. The parable continues:
“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.” (Luke 15:17-24)
In great compassion, the father justifies his destitute son, clothes him in the family’s attire, and reinstates him to the position of sonship – not because of the son’s work, but because of the father’s grace. But some people are not enthusiastic about this justifying grace, as the rest of the parable indicates:
“Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’” (Luke 15:25-32)
The older son mistakenly thought that his relationship with his father depended on his own moral performance, and when his younger brother shows up after a train wreck of poor performance and receives the father’s grace, he is upset. Those who stand on their own works don’t delight in those who stand on grace.
THREE APPLICATIONS
I want to impress upon you three applications in light of today’s message.
Lay hold of Christ
First, if you are on the treadmill of religious activity but you know it’s never enough, if you are constantly walking on egg shells in your relationship with God, if you think that God is probably disposed to zap you because you didn’t read your Bible this morning, if you live with a pervasive insecurity and anxiety about where you stand with God, if you process life as if God is against you but that maybe He would come around to your side if you ever got your act together, if you are preoccupied with your own sins and your own efforts to remedy them, if deep down in your heart you believe that you’re supposed to be good enough for God so that your goodness will earn His favor, if you are addicted to securing your own well-being by conforming to an extensive list of rules, if you look down with contempt on other human beings who seem more depraved than you are, if you are resentful when God’s grace is bestowed on tax collectors, prodigals, and other unseemly rascals, then I urge you to take heed, because one of two things is going on: either you are not justified and remain outside of Christ, or you are deeply immature in your understanding of what God’s gracious justification means in your life. In either case, I counsel you to lay down the exhausting treadmill of anxious activity, and lay hold of Christ as the only, all-sufficient, and all-satisfying basis of a right standing with God. If the Holy Spirit, through this message today, is shining the spotlight on some bad fruit in your life, don’t ignore it. God doesn’t desire mere fruit replacement. Instead, He wants to go deep to the root of the matter: He wants you to be in right relationship with Him, and He wants your discovery of His plentiful grace to shape your entire life. Quit fooling around with self-willed religiosity, and fix your gaze on the Lord Jesus Christ, “who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.” (Romans 4:25)
The stability of knowing that God is 100% for you
Second, when you receive and rest in Christ and in His gracious gift of forgiveness and justification, you enter into the stability of having peace with God and knowing that He is 100% for you. This makes a profound difference in everyday life. If God is for you, then it doesn’t matter what or who else is against you. Circumstances may be unpleasant, enemies may oppose you, fellow Christians may misunderstand you, relational conflicts may arise, trials may attend you, temptations may strike you, but since God is for you and is working all things together for your good, you have nothing to fear. Do not lose heart: you know who you are and whose you are, and now it is your privilege to walk in communion with God everyday through the valleys of this life, knowing that He is leading you through the valleys to the joy of your eternal home.
The fruit of justification is tenderhearted love for others
Third, when you trust in Christ and enjoy the justification that God freely gives through Christ, then you develop a tenderhearted love for fellow sinners. This is not a peripheral matter, but gets to the heart of how true love happens. In the first parable about the Pharisee and the tax collector, the Pharisee trusted in himself that he was righteous, and treated others with contempt. When you trust in yourself and are impressed with yourself and have a proud self-confidence, then what flows out of that is a critical and harsh spirit that treats other people with contempt. Likewise, in the second parable the older son looked with disgust upon his younger brother, because the older son was trusting in his own record of service and obedience to be accepted by his father.
By contrast, when you understand that a poor and sinful wretch such as yourself has discovered the stunning and overflowing grace of God through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, and that by His grace alone you have been made alive and raised up and seated with Christ in the heavenly places, then you are profoundly humbled and you know that you have absolutely nothing to be proud about. Knowing that this great salvation is all a matter of mercy and grace, creates in you a tender heart to be like your heavenly Father, who is kind to the ungrateful and who is eager to show compassion to tax collectors, prodigals, lepers, prostitutes, and other misfits. You see, the Pharisee was profoundly wrong: deep down in my heart, I am like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, and even like this tax collector. If someone like me can receive mercy from God, then I can become a reflector of His mercy to others.
Paul wrote that “only faith working through love” matters (Galatians 5:6). It is worth pointing out that Paul wrote those words in the context of a lengthy teaching about justification. When you rest in God’s justifying grace, the fruit is love for other people. So on the one hand, Galatians 5:6 teaches us that what really matters in the Christian life is “faith working through love”. And on the other hand, the Pharisee in the parable illustrates what the opposite looks like: ‘self-confidence working through contempt for others’ or ‘smug boasting in yourself, which is then expressed through critical comments about others’.
And so, the lesson is clear: the biblical way of getting love to increase and flourish within a community of believers, is not by multiplying rules and programs and clever tricks, but by magnifying the sovereign grace of God in justifying sinners. The way to grow love in your family and in this congregation is not by guilting people into changing their behavior: guilting people is the very antithesis of the gospel. The gospel of God’s justifying grace is about the removal of guilt and the freedom this brings. So, the way to grow love in your family and in this congregation is by proclaiming and celebrating God’s guilt-removing grace! Get people to understand that, and legalism dies and love grows. Indeed, Ephesians 4:32 captures the only sensible response to God’s justifying grace: “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32)