Grace Alone Series

Scripture

During this fall, we are focusing our attention on the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. The Reformation began when an Augustinian monk named Martin Luther nailed Ninety-Five Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. His propositions sparked a debate that eventually gave us five key Reformation doctrines, and are usually referred to by their Latin names: sola Scriptura (Scripture alone), solus Christus (Christ alone), sola gratia (grace alone), sola fide (faith alone), and soli deo Gloria (glory to God alone). Today, I would like to examine grace alone.

Let’s read Luke 18:9-14:

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)

Introduction

In his book titled, Grace Alone—Salvation as a Gift of God: What the Reformers Taught…and Why It Still Matters, Carl Trueman writes:

The language of grace so permeates the Bible and all traditions of Christian theology that to claim that salvation is by grace alone is, in itself, to claim very little at all. It does not distinguish Augustine from Pelagius, Thomas Aquinas from Gabriel Biel, Martin Luther from Desiderius Erasmus, or William Perkins from James Arminius. What distinguishes them is how grace is understood. There is therefore a need for definition, lest grace become merely an empty piece of theological rhetoric. Indeed, unlike “faith alone,” “grace alone” as a simple phrase is unlikely to provoke much controversy among anyone who claims the name Christian.

J.I. Packer defines the grace of God as “love freely shown toward guilty sinners, contrary to their merit and indeed in defiance of their demerit. It is God showing goodness to persons who deserve only severity and had no reason to expect anything but severity.”

As I was thinking of a way to present this message on grace alone, I thought I would do so by way of illustration. Therefore, I selected Jesus’ “Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.” God’s grace is his love freely shown toward the guilty tax collector, contrary to his merit and indeed in contrast to his demerit. It is God showing goodness to him who deserved only severity and had no reason to expect anything but severity.

While Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, where he would soon be crucified, he continued teaching his disciples and even the Pharisees many important truths.

Jesus had just taught his disciples to pray with perseverance for the arrival and consummation of the kingdom of God. Then he taught them about the requirement for entrance into the kingdom of God. In verse 9 Luke said that Jesus also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt. In this parable, Jesus taught how a person gains entrance into the kingdom of God.

Lesson

Luke 18:9-14 shows us that God’s grace alone saves sinners.

Let’s use the following outline:

1. Two Men (18:10)

2. Two Prayers (18:11-13)

3. Two Results (18:14)

I. Two Men (18:10)

First, let’s look at two men.

A. One Is a Pharisee (18:10a)

First, one is a Pharisee.

Jesus said in verse 10a, “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee. . . .”

In Jesus’ day, the temple consisted of the sanctuary as well as the outer courts. People went to the temple to offer sacrifices, to listen to teaching, to fellowship, and to pray. So, it was normal for a Pharisee to go to the temple in order to pray. It is not clear whether or not he went there during the regular hours of prayer. But it did not matter. People expected to see a Pharisee at the temple praying, since the Pharisees were considered to be pious and very religious.

B. One Is a Tax Collector (18:10b)

And second, one is a tax collector.

What is fascinating in Jesus’ parable is that the other man who went to pray was a tax collector (18:10b). Tax collectors were hired by the Roman government to collect taxes for them. These tax collectors were corrupt and were considered among the lowest in society. The Jews despised tax collectors.