Luke 18: How Can You Be Justified Before God?

Introduction

"What do you think of yourself?" With this question, Yves opens his message at Église Saint-Lazare, on the Sunday the clocks changed. Depending on our upbringing, our personality and our story, the answer varies a great deal: some will do anything to be accepted, others have a poor image of themselves, and still others are fairly self-assured and tell themselves they are "not so bad."

In everyday life, we often hear: "I'm a good person, I'm righteous, I do what is right." And we line up our good deeds, our good habits, our good upbringing. These are not bad things in themselves. But Luke 18:9-30 asks a different question: who is righteous? Who is acceptable before God?

In this series on the Gospel of Luke, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem and, shortly after, he will announce again to his disciples that he must be handed over, die and rise again. The text presents several characters and three attitudes: the humility of the tax collector, the simplicity of little children, and the impossibility for man to meet God's demands.

Message outline

1. What do you think of yourself?

The opening question is simple: what opinion do you have of yourself? Some put a lot of energy into being well regarded, others put themselves down, others are confident in themselves.
We often hear: "I'm a good person." People back up this claim with a whole list of good deeds, habits and a good upbringing.
Today's text speaks of righteousness, of attitude and of appearances, which are often deceptive. Through the words of Jesus, we see what the kingdom of God is, what those who enter it look like, and what those who do not enter it look like.

2. Humility: the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14)

Jesus tells this parable to "certain people who were convinced of their own righteousness, and who despised all others" (Luke 18:9). Two men go up to the temple to pray.
On one side, the Pharisee: a deeply religious man, devoted to Jewish laws and traditions, the "super Christian" of his day. Jesus often denounced the hypocrisy of this group. On the other, the tax collector: a despised revenue collector, regarded by the Jews as a traitor, a collaborator in the pay of the Romans. One comes from high society, the other is rejected by it.
The Pharisee thanks God for what he is not. He presents an impeccable résumé: "I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all that I get" (Luke 18:12). He even does more than the law, which prescribed fasting only once a year. "Twice a week. He's strong."
The tax collector does not dare to lift his eyes to heaven, beats his breast and says a single sentence: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner!" (Luke 18:13). His only hope is that God will show him grace.
One talks a lot, "me, me, me," compares himself to others and despises them. The other talks little, looks at his own condition and asks for God's favor. One is self-sufficient, the other is dependent. It is precisely this claim to be righteous that Jesus judges: man's independence from God. "That is the problem of humanity."
It is easy, as good Christians, to judge the Pharisee. But is there not a bit of him in us? "I followed my Bible reading plan this week, not a single day behind." "This Sunday, I'm on duty." "When I watch the news, I tell myself I'm not so bad morally." We don't put it that way, we are more subtle, but we tend to justify ourselves with a good résumé.
Reading your Bible, praying and doing good around you pleases God. But believing that it contributes to salvation is a mistake: the good things we do are the consequence of salvation, not its cause. Yves paraphrases a quote that he attributes to Jonathan Edwards and that he loves: "You contribute nothing to your salvation except the sin that made it necessary."
The tax collector has nothing to offer except sincere repentance. If we are convinced that we are righteous on our own, we are saying to God: "Thanks, but no thanks."
An artificial intelligence tends to be agreeable, to go along with us and to tell us what we want to hear. "If you want something that does the same thing, I strongly advise against the Gospel." Humbling yourself and admitting your faults is costly, but it is the attitude God honors: "for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted" (Luke 18:14).
Thankfully, the Christian life is not limited to noticing your sin and wallowing in it.

3. Simplicity: let the little children come to me (Luke 18:15-17)

In the Gospels, people hope to touch Jesus' garment in order to be healed. Here, newborns are brought to him so that he may touch them, but the disciples stop them.
In Jesus' day, children were not regarded as they are today: they had no value, no rights, they were at the bottom of the ladder. The disciples sort out who may come through and who may not, in Jesus' place.
This can resonate in our lives: we tell ourselves that we are not enough of this or too much of that to approach God. Or we say it of others: some would be far too bad for God to take an interest in them.
Jesus corrects his disciples: "Allow the little children to come to me, and don't hinder them, for God's Kingdom belongs to such as these. Most certainly, I tell you, whoever doesn't receive God's Kingdom like a little child, he will in no way enter into it" (Luke 18:16-17). He overturns the perspective of his time.
What does a little child look like? At the birth of his son, Yves saw with his own eyes how totally dependent a baby is. He cannot eat, drink, protect himself, stay warm or keep clean. "We were a long way from the babies in the ads who do roller-skating and somersaults." Less than an hour or two after the birth, he had to be given a bottle. "If you put the baby down and walk away, he dies. The dependence is vital."
A child is precious, fragile, vulnerable. He does not question the good things he is given. He trusts his parents completely, surrenders and receives with joy. He arrives with nothing, "not even a diaper," and has nothing to offer in return, except perhaps his gratitude and his love.
In his simplicity and fragility, the little child resembles the tax collector. We tend to complicate things: "I'm not good enough, I first have to sort out certain problems to be presentable." Or: "I can't show up empty-handed." Ecclesiastes 7:29 says it: "God made mankind upright; but they search for many inventions."
As a big American fast-food chain would put it: "Come as you are." Through Jesus, God makes himself accessible and welcomes the one who comes to him like a little child, with the love, the tenderness and the security he needs.

4. Impossibility: the rich young man (Luke 18:18-27)

This ruler has neither the arrogance nor the contempt of the Pharisee. He comes to Jesus with a sincere and respectful attitude: "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
Jesus answers that no one is good except God alone (Luke 18:19). It is brief, but the question of being righteous before God already has its answer. "Period."
Jesus then cites the commandments that concern human relationships: not committing adultery, not murdering, not stealing, not bearing false witness, honoring your father and mother. He does not cite the first ones, which concern the direct relationship with God (Exodus 20:3-11), and which neither the young man nor we would be able to satisfy.
The young man replies that he has kept all this since his youth. Jesus does not cite the last commandment either: "You shall not covet" (Exodus 20:17). That is precisely where something is missing. "Sell all that you have, and distribute it to the poor. You will have treasure in heaven."
Jesus touches the area of his life where God is not the priority. He does not give him a magic answer or one last thing to do to be saved: he confronts him with his inability to obey God fully and perfectly.
The young man becomes very sad, because he is very rich. Jesus adds: "For it is easier for a camel to enter in through a needle's eye than for a rich man to enter into God's Kingdom" (Luke 18:25).
In France, money is still a complicated subject and wealth is viewed rather askance. Yves reminds us that we are always someone's poor person or rich person. For the Jews of that time, on the contrary, a wealthy notable was considered blessed by God. Hence the disciples' question: "Then who can be saved?"
"The things which are impossible with men are possible with God" (Luke 18:27). We cannot save ourselves by keeping the law, nor with all the gold in the world, nor by selling all our gold. Man needs help from outside himself: he needs God.

5. Giving things up to follow Jesus (Luke 18:28-30)

Peter says that they have left everything and followed Jesus. He is not "getting a swelled head": it is a statement of fact, the disciples really did leave everything.
Jesus confirms it and reassures his disciples: no one will have left house, wife, brothers, parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God without receiving much more in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life (Luke 18:29-30). What he gives is better.
We may tell ourselves: "I'm not rolling in money, I work hard, I earn my pay, I give to the Church and to charities." Be careful: this text is not a prescription for how to manage your money. Money is not bad in itself. It is not about taking a vow of poverty, emptying your bank accounts, cutting ties with your family and friends or abandoning your home.
But if we decide to follow Jesus, it must show. Obeying Jesus means giving up certain things, material or not: a habit, a relationship, a comfort contrary to God's will. Wealth can blind us and take God's place, as can a multitude of other things.
The rich young man is a bit like the Pharisee. He is not contemptuous, but for him too everything is a matter of things to accomplish and boxes to tick. God calls for absolute faithfulness and asks that following him come before every other commitment and every other love.
"It's hard. I think we have to admit it, myself first: every day we fail to live up to this demand." It is humanly impossible to save yourself. But what is impossible for man is possible for God.

6. Appearances are deceptive

The text sets side by side characters who are worlds apart. Jesus overturns what was commonly accepted in his time, and it is still true today. He highlights the humility of the tax collector and the simplicity of children, who were nonetheless despised and worthless in the eyes of men.
Conversely, with the Pharisee and the rich young man, he warns: those who seem beyond reproach are not necessarily those who enter the kingdom. It is not about politics or social class, but about the conditions for coming to God, which are the opposite of what the world considers.
Society says that success means having money, being famous on social media, believing in yourself, becoming "the best version of yourself." Jesus contradicts all of that. The good résumé, the list of good deeds, possessions, social status: none of it makes us acceptable in God's eyes. "We are all in the same boat."
Maybe you are a Christian and you still have the reflex of thinking that you are accepted by God because you do this or that. Maybe you don't define yourself as a Christian and you follow your own moral code. Or maybe you wonder how a God so perfect could want someone like you. For each of us, it is an invitation to come to him simply.
The kingdom of God is for those who acknowledge their sins before him, who have nothing to offer and who receive grace like little children. God does not save us because of what we do, but by pure grace, because he loves us and because we are precious in his eyes.
Jesus lived the perfect life that we are incapable of living. He died on the cross, paying the price for our lives to offer us forgiveness freely, and he rose again. Thanks to his work, we can today be reconciled with God and justified before him.

Key takeaways

God does not justify us because we accomplish fine things. He does not look at appearances, he judges the heart.
Good works are the consequence of salvation, not its cause. You contribute to your salvation only through the sin that made it necessary.
The kingdom of God is received like a little child: with simplicity, trust and dependence, with nothing to offer.
No one can save himself, neither by the law nor by money. What is impossible for men is possible for God.
Following Jesus must show: it means giving up whatever takes God's place in your life.

Personal application

What do you think of yourself before God? What do you lean on to feel acceptable in his eyes?
How much of the Pharisee do you recognize in yourself: your reading plan, your service, your comparison with others?
Are there people you judge "too far" from God, or do you tell yourself that you must first be presentable to come to him?
Which area of your life, material or not, comes before God today? What is Jesus inviting you to give up in order to follow him?
Have you received the forgiveness offered by Jesus as a gift, or are you still trying to earn it?

Verses cited

Frequently asked questions

Why is the tax collector justified and not the Pharisee?

The Pharisee comes before God with his résumé: he fasts twice a week, he tithes and he compares himself to others. The tax collector has nothing to offer and says only: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner." Jesus judges the claim to be righteous on one's own, this independence of man from God. The humility of the one who acknowledges his sin and relies on God's mercy is the attitude God honors.

What does it mean to receive the kingdom of God like a little child?

A newborn depends totally on his parents: he cannot eat, protect himself or keep warm. He has nothing to offer in return, he trusts and receives with joy. Jesus invites us to come to him with the same simplicity, the same trust and the same dependence, without waiting to be presentable or to have something to bring.

Do you have to sell everything to be saved, like the rich young man?

No. The text is not a prescription for how to manage your money, and money is not bad in itself. Jesus touches in this young man the area where God is not the priority. Following Jesus means giving up whatever takes God's place. No one can save himself, but what is impossible for men is possible for God.