Essays in Romans 9:30-33... The Conclusion of it All

Are you more concerned with looking right and feeling right? Is the focus of your faith “looking the way a Christian should look?” Consider the contrast in Luke’s Gospel between the tax collector and the Pharisee in Luke 18 where He witnesses a tax collector praying: 9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ 13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” The contrast is deliberate: The Pharisee trusts in his own righteousness: “I thank you that I am not like other people…” The tax collector recognizes his sin and throws himself upon God's mercy. Jesus says the tax collector went home justified. The tax collector demonstrated this “Abrahamic” faith I have been talking about. How does your faith in God present itself to the world around you? Personally, I am becoming more like this tax collector in recognizing that, in and of myself, there is nothing special or worthy of commendation. I recognize that I am a sheep and He is my shepherd. I know that He gives me “…eternal life, and Paige shall never perish; no one will snatch Paige out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given Paige to me, is greater than all[c]; no one can snatch Paige out of my Father’s hand.” (John 18:28.29 NIV - modified) So my redemption is not an issue. But accompanying this certainty of my justification and redemption is the humility that comes from an ongoing realization of my sinful nature that grieves me. So within me are these two things… I rejoice because He redeemed me. I grieve because of the sin in my life. I am not an Eeyore (the depressed donkey from the story of “Winnie the Pooh”), always gloomy and seeing only the darkest side of things. I identify with the tax collector mentioned previously. I am with Paul in his description of his walk with Christ in 1 Timothy chapter 1: 12 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service. 13 Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. 14 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. 15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. The Apostle Paul, even when writing this letter towards the end of his life, considered himself the “worst of sinners”. I want to be like Paul - not to imitate him intellectually, as I consider him the greatest apologist of all time - in the sense that, while recognizing the greatness of Christ’s work in him, he never ignored the sin that he saw in himself. I don’t know if I worded all that sufficiently, but I will leave it right here and let you sort it out for yourself. Are you the tax collector - or are you the Pharisee? The answer to that question has HUGE repercussions.