Justified by faith? (2)

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 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. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’

“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.’

“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.” Luke 18:9-14

Last time we thought about “justification by faith”, and how it has become crystalized into a “doctrine” which might be called the motto-definition of the Protestant Reformation: If you feel the need to be right with God (as we all should, for we are all sinners) then simply put your trust in what Jesus did on the cross, and abandon any attempt to put yourself right by your own efforts. God in his mercy will forgive and save.

I mentioned that the idea of “justification”, which is gone into in detail by the Apostle Paul (Romans 3:28 being a key summary) is used hardly at all in the Gospels by Jesus himself. It is in essence a term from the legal world, pretty much the equivalent of “acquittal”, “getting the verdict” or, if we might invent an ugly word, being “righteoused” by God.

But there is one outstanding exception to this generalisation: Luke 18:14, the final verse of a wonderful little story Jesus told to demonstrate what it means to be “justified” by God. It’s about two men, a very religious Pharisee and a broken, humble tax-collector, who go into the temple to pray – and how it was the second one, the one who didn’t try to “righteous” himself, who went home with the peace of mind that comes of knowing that you are forgiven. There, in story form, is the “doctrine” of justification by faith.

Jesus loved telling stories (I wonder, by the way, why we who preach seem often reluctant to follow his example!). Some of those stories, like the Good Samaritan or the Prodigal Son, are well known even outside Christian circles, for they glow with life-changing meaning. But they don’t come any simpler or more powerful than this one.

What is it that makes it so special? I would suggest…

First, it’s beautifully short (less than 150 words in the NIV Bible, roughly half that in the Greek). Yet in those few words Jesus conjures up the whole atmosphere and culture of those far off days by showing us these two people: and, I think, implicitly inviting us to find our place in their drama. It’s massively heartening to the humble, and, hopefully, massively challenging to the proud. Where am I – where are you? – in this story? The problem, often, with “doctrine” is that it can seem very wordy and hard to grasp; thanks be to God for Jesus’ little story!

Second, it’s beautifully simple.

The self-righteous man is not short of words; he presents God with a comprehensive list of all the nasty things he isn’t – a robber, an evildoer, an adulterer, and certainly not “like this tax collector” (can you see him looking scornfully down his lordly nose?) – and then he reminds God (though I suspect that God already knew, don’t you?) of a few of his plus-points: look, I fast twice a week! look, I even tithe my income! Aren’t I good!

The tax-collector, on the other hand, clearly knows his own true self. He belongs to a profession (probably employed, and paid, by the hated Romans) not renowned for their honesty. No doubt he has other moral and spiritual blemishes we aren’t told about. But what matters is that he is aware of his sinfulness: “God, have mercy upon me, a sinner” is all the prayer he can muster.

But… the wonder is that it is all the prayer he needs to muster! And so, says Jesus, he was the one who “went home justified…”, at peace with the one true and holy God. The gospel of Jesus is, then, essentially simplicity itself. It isn’t, first and foremost, a “doctrine” to be studied and puzzled over; it’s a wonderful truth that you discover, live, experience, and enjoy, a gift of God’s grace to be received with childlike faith.

Do you know what it is to “go home justified”?

There is a third feature of this story which is worth commenting on. Does it raise hopes that people who have never heard the gospel may be saved?

The tax-collector, obviously, didn’t believe in Jesus, because he had never heard of him. How could he? – he is, after all, only a fictitious character! and in historical reality, the cross hadn’t yet happened anyway. Yet he “went home justified”; his cry for mercy was enough.

Could the same thing be true of people throughout history who for various reasons have never had the opportunity to put faith explicitly in Jesus? From our human perspective it seems troubling to think of people – sinful people, certainly - condemned for failing to believe in a Saviour of whom they have never heard… as if God is a doctor who says to a sick patient, “I have a medicine which could cure you, but I am not going to tell you what it is, or give it to you”.

These are deep waters to swim in, and we have to be tentative! Our understanding of the mind of God is limited, to put it mildly. But I freely confess that I, for one, would be delighted if it turns out to be so!

Lord, have mercy!

Father, thank you for loving us so much that you sent your Son to save us. Help me, in return, to live a life of gratitude and glad obedience! Amen.