Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - What's the Worst Sin? | New Testament | Luke 18

Episode Date: April 12, 2023

Are some sins worse than others? Do Christians see all sin as equal? Does God? The bottom line is this: every sin separates you from God. In today's episode, Jensen looks at Luke 18 to discuss the need for God's grace. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Join the TMBT community in reading the entire New Testament in one year. Get your FREE reading plan here. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter@TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Luke 18

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. And the time it takes to get to work. I'm Jensen Holt McNair. What is the worst sin? What's the sin you see out in the world and you say to yourself, I will never do that? While I'm sure we all have different answers to that question, we can easily take a look at the church and see what sins it tends to believe are the worst sins. abortion, sex outside of marriage, drunkenness, homosexuality. We know this is what the church thinks is bad because it's these sins that make headline news

as professing Christians stand on the side of roads and protest these sins. Now here's the thing. Not all sins are equal in their effect or how much damage and darkness they bring into the world. But we know that all and any sin separates us from God. Romans 323 all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We are all in need of grace. We are all under the curse of Adam, plagued with a heart that runs after sin. But when people on the outside of the church look in, do they see that truth clearly?

Do they see Christians who see their own need for grace, their own brokenness, their own dire need for Christ? or do they see Christians who are pointing their fingers and shaking their heads at the sins of others? Unfortunately, I think it might be more of the latter. And in Luke 18, Jesus has something to say about this very issue. Verse 9. He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and treated others with contempt. Two men went up into the temple to pray. one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisees, 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. I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all I get. But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast saying, God, be mercy. to me, a sinner. 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. Now, in Jesus' culture, tax collectors were the worst of sinners. They'd betrayed their people. They had joined forces with the Romans. They often took more than what they needed so that they themselves could gain wealth. In contrast, a Pharisee was a religious leader, a member of the

religious institution with power, someone who kept the law religiously, seen as a morally upright and respected figure in the community. And yet, as you read these verses in chapter 18, you cannot help but notice that the Pharisee is not the hero of the story. Why? Is it because he calls out certain sins as sin, that he acknowledges the evil of extortioners, injustice, adulterers, or even the sins of the very tax collector in our story? Well, not exactly. You see, there's nothing inherently wrong with acknowledging the evil of sin and calling out those who perpetrate evil. We see many times in the Psalms people lamenting the evil around them and calling on the Lord to bring justice to the crimes being committed. So if speaking out against sin, it's a lot of

isn't the issue here? What is? Well, Jesus tells us in the final verse, as he commends the tax collector for his prayer and condemns the Pharisee for his. He says this, for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted. Jesus is taking us one step deeper in the story and revealing the heart posture underlying each prayer. You see, the Pharisee is described as someone who trusted in themselves, that they were righteous, who treats others with contempt. And in his prayer, we hear him not crying out about injustice, but thanking God that he is not like those sinners. He even attempts to prove himself more righteous to God by telling him of his good deeds, fasting and tithing. See, the Pharisee is stuck deep in pride. His pride has led him to believe

that he himself is righteous, more righteous and more deserving than the sinners around him. His pride has allowed him to overlook the parts of his life that are not pleasing to God, because at least he isn't like the tax collector, so obviously evil, so obviously flawed, so obviously sinful. He relies on his religious status, his deeds, his belief in his own righteousness, to come before God and call out the sins of others. The irony here is that despite his prideful confidence, he is not the hero of the story. No, it is the very sinner he condemns that is exalted in this story, not him. C.S. Lewis in one of his works, mere Christianity, says this about pride. The vice I am talking of is pride or self-conceit, and the virtue opposite to it in Christian morals is called humility.

According to Christian teachers, the essential vice, the utmost evil, is pride. Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that are mere flea bites in comparison. It was through pride that the devil became the devil. Pride leads to every other vice. it is the complete anti-god state of mine. C.S. Lewis compares the sins that this very Pharisee thanks God he is not committing as flea bites compared to the sins of pride. He does not say that these other sins are good, but that while we worry and point fingers at and call out those other sins, pride is eating away at our

inner being. It was pride that turned the devil against God. He goes so far as to say that pride is a complete anti-God state of mind. Why is Lewis so convinced that pride is so awful? Why does Jesus elevate a sinner like a tax collector over the religious leader? Why does Jesus stress the importance of a humble heart? Because without humility, we cannot know and love God. Martin Luther is quoted saying that if you see yourself as a little sinner, you will inevitably see Jesus as a little Savior. When we see ourselves as righteous, when our pride causes us to belittle our own sin, we will be unable to see Jesus for who he is. We will be unable to grasp the depth of what he died for. In Romans 7 24 and 25, Paul says,

what a wretched man I am, who will rescue me from this body that is subjected to death. Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ, our Lord. In 1 Timothy 1, 15, and 16, he says, Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am the worst. 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. You see, Paul didn't see himself like the Pharisee

did. He knew he was wretched. He knew he was the worst of sinners, and because he humbled himself enough to recognize the depravity of his own heart, he was able to see clearly what the Pharisee couldn't. That while he was still deep in his sinfulness, Christ died for him. That the extent of his treachery didn't disqualify him from the kingdom of God, but displayed the greatness and glory of the mercy and patience of King Jesus. This is why, as the sinful tax collector prays, as he beats his chest, as he begs God to give him mercy, Jesus commends him. The tax collector knew he was sinful. He knew he was in need of God's mercy. He didn't turn a blind eye to his sin or make excuses for it or try to cover it up. No, he laid himself bare before God and asked for mercy.

And he was justified because of it. I want to want to see myself the way the tax collector does. But so often I don't. It's easier to turn a blind eye to my sin, to be a blind eye to my sin, to believe myself to be on a good path, doing enough good to be in God's good graces, to give a little here and there, to call out the sins of this world, than to admit to the darkness that lives in my own heart. That requires vulnerability. It requires honesty. And it requires humility. But those are three things that Jesus himself lived by. Though he was in very nature, God, he did not consider a quality with God something to be used to his own advantage. Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, and being found in appearance as man,

he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. If anyone could have prayed the prayer of the Pharisee, it was Jesus. If anyone could see themselves as better than those around him, it was Jesus because he was perfect. He had every reason to exalt himself, but he didn't. He made himself nothing. He humbled himself to death on a cross. And he did that for you and for me, for all the sinfulness of our hearts. And because of his humility, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus, Every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth. In every tongue acknowledged that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God, the Father.

See, Jesus' humility led to his exaltation as king. And it made a way for you and I, for the body of Christ to acknowledge him, to worship him, and to live with him in his kingdom forever. It is my prayer that when the world looks in at the church in the coming years, more and more, it would see a people of God who are humbled by the incredible grace of their God. That they would see believers on their hands and knees repenting of their own need of a Savior. That when we would speak of sin, it would come not from a place of superiority and pride, but from the love of another who knows that they too daily need the grace of God.

that everyone, no matter how sinful some may label them, would feel welcome in the church, not because their sin doesn't matter, but because they are surrounded by people who know that they are no better off without the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. Lord, I pray that we would faithfully follow King Jesus down the path of humility, and that our small steps would be used by you to make a powerful and positive impact on the life and mission of the church. Amen. Before you forget, sign up for the 10-minute Bible Talks newsletter. Hit the link in the show notes and you'll get an email every Wednesday that will help

encourage you in the middle of the work week and bring you deeper in your walk with Jesus. Thanks for listening.