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The following is reprinted with permission
of The Timely Messenger
A Sinner's Prayer
By Gregg Bing
Continued from last
month.
"Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that
they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up to the temple
to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood
and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other
men -- extortionists, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.
I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' And the tax
collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven,
but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' I tell
you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other..."
(Luke 18:9-14)
We looked last month at this parable that Jesus spoke to certain Jews
who "trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised
others." In the parable Jesus describes two very different prayers:
one by a self-righteous Pharisee, the other by a hated tax-collector.
The Pharisee prayed with (or about) himself, thanking God that he was
not a sinner, like other men, basing his supposed "righteousness"
upon his religious works. The tax collector, who would not even lift his
eyes toward heaven, humbly prayed, "God, be merciful to me a sinner,"
acknowledging his sinful condition before God, his inability to change
this condition himself, and thus, his need for God's mercy.
Let's look at little closer at the tax collector's request of God, "be
merciful to me, a sinner." He was not just throwing himself upon
the mercy of God. The word "merciful" is closely akin to the
New Testament word for "propitiation." To understand the meaning
of the word "propitiation" we must go back and look at the Old
Testament tabernacle (Heb. 9:1-10).
The tabernacle was that earthly sanctuary prepared as a dwelling place
for God among His people, Israel. Behind the second veil inside the tabernacle
was the Holy of holies. This holy place contained the Ark of the Covenant
in which were kept the stone tablets of the law. The Ark was covered with
a solid gold lid called the mercy seat.
Once each year, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest went alone into
the Holy of holies, "not without blood, which he offered for himself
and for the people's sins committed in ignorance." This blood was
sprinkled on the mercy seat to make atonement for, or to cover, the sins
of the people. In this way, God's holy and righteous requirements, which
were described in the law, were satisfied, but only for a limited time-one
year. These Old Testament sacrifices, which were offered continually,
year after year, could not make those who offered them "perfect,"
for it is "not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take
away sins" (Heb. 10:1-4).
When Jesus told this parable, Israel was still living under the law (Gal.
4:4). They still brought their offerings and sacrifices to the Lord. The
high priest still sprinkled the blood on the mercy seat to cover the people's
sins. When the tax-collector prayed, "God, be merciful to me a sinner,"
he was asking and praying that God would be "propitiated" or
"satisfied" with the sacrifice and shed blood that was offered
as an atonement (covering) for his sins.
It was important for him to acknowledge his sin before a holy and righteous
God, and to realize his need for God's mercy and help, but, more than
that, the tax-collector rested in God's provision for his sins; God's
required payment-the shedding of blood. We read in Hebrews 9:22 that "without
shedding of blood there is no remission (of sins)." This is why,
after Adam and Eve sinned and tried to cover their nakedness and their
shame with fig leaves, "God made tunics of skin, and clothed them"
(Gen. 3:21). There must be the shedding of blood to cover sins. This is
also why God had respect for Abel's offering of a lamb, but He did not
have respect for Cain's offering of the fruit of the ground (Heb. 11:4).
There must be the shedding of blood to cover sins.
The tax-collector understood this requirement, which is why he prayed
that God would be "propitiated" or "satisfied" toward
him, a sinner, based on the sacrifice and offering that was brought; an
offering he knew would have to be offered again; an offering he knew could
not takeaway his sins completely.
The Pharisee, in his "prayer," denied he was even a sinner
before God, showing that he didn't truly understand God's holiness and
righteousness. The sacrifices and offerings that were brought to the temple
really meant nothing to him. They were no more than religious rituals,
traditions to be followed. The Pharisee was not trusting or relying upon
God's provision for sin, the shedding of blood. Like Cain, he was trusting
in himself and his own religious works to establish a righteousness of
his own (Rom. 10:3). Though outwardly religious, inwardly he had no heart
for God (Matt. 15:8).
The death of Jesus Christ on the cross brought about great changes. He
offered Himself to God as a sacrifice for our sins. He shed His own precious
blood "as of a Lamb without blemish and without spot" (I Pet.
1:19), and by doing so, He "put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself"
(Heb. 9:26). The Old Testament priests stood ministering daily, "offering
repeatedly the same sacrifices" which could "never take away
sins" (Heb. 10:11), but the Lord Jesus Christ, "after He had
offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of
God" (Heb. 10:12). By this "one offering He has perfected forever
those who are being sanctified" (Heb. 10:14).
The Lord Jesus Christ was made a "merciful and faithful High Priest
in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the
people" (Heb. 2:17). This was certainly true for the people of Israel.
By means of His death, Jesus Christ became the Mediator of a new covenant
with the nation of Israel (Heb. 9:15-22); "a better covenant, which
was established on better promises" (Heb. 8:6-13, Jer. 31:31-34).
But, Jesus' death was not just for the sins of Israel. God loved the whole
world (John 3:16) and sent His Son to be the propitiation for the sins
of the whole world (I John 4:10, I John 2:2).
In Romans 3:21-26, the apostle Paul describes how God is propitiated
through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and the shedding of His blood.
"But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed,
being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of
God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For
there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory
of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that
is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood,
through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance
God had passed over the sins that were previously committed, to demonstrate
at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier
of the one who has faith in Jesus."
Many people believe that the prayer of the tax-collector, often referred
to as "The Sinner's Prayer," is something that we should teach
people to pray today when they trust Christ as Savior, but we really should
not pray as he did, "God, be merciful to me a sinner." Certainly,
we should humble ourselves before our holy and righteous God, as he did.
We must recognize and acknowledge that we are sinners and that, in ourselves,
we are powerless to change our sinful condition, and therefore we are
dependent upon God. But, this tax collector lived under the Mosaic law.
His prayer for God to be "merciful" or "propitiated"
was based on animal sacrifices which had to be offered each year in the
temple; sacrifices that could never completely satisfy God. Today, we
don't need to ask God to be propitiated toward us because He already
is! God is completely satisfied with the once-for-all perfect sacrifice
of His Son on Calvary (Rom. 3:25).
Being propitiated, God can now justify sinners, declaring them to be
righteous, and yet still remain righteous Himself. Christ paid the penalty
in full (cf. John 19:30) for all our sins, the sins of the whole world
(I John 2:2). Therefore, salvation is "to all," meaning it is
available to all, but only "upon all who believe" (Rom. 3:22).
God only justifies those who humbly acknowledge they are sinners and place
their faith in Jesus Christ to save them from their sins (Rom. 3:26,27).
Though the tax-collector surely didn't understand the death of Christ
and its meaning, he did see and believe the principle of how God must
be propitiated or satisfied through the shedding of innocent blood for
sins. He recognized that, as a sinner, he was dependent on the provision
God had made through the Old Testament sacrificial system.
Which of these two men are you like today? Are you like the Pharisee
who trusted in himself and his own works (religion) for his righteousness,
refusing to admit he was a sinner before God? Or, are you like the tax
collector who acknowledged he was a sinner and asked God to be satisfied
with the blood that was shed and offered as a sacrifice for his sins?
Jesus declared that this humble man went down to his house "justified,"
declared righteous by God.
While the Pharisee may have been righteous in his own eyes or even in
the eyes of other men, in God's eyes he remained in his unrighteousness,
and thus separated from God. Remember, your eternal future does not depend
on what men think about you, but on what God thinks about you.
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