Jesus many times used parables, stories which illustrated spiritual truths. Luke 18:9-14 begins, “And  he  spake  this  parable  unto  certain  which  trusted  in  themselves  that  they  were  righteous,  and  despised others.â€ 
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Jesus was targeting a certain audience: those who trusted that they were righteous and automatically despised and looked down on everyone else. He told this parable to these people who  trusted  in  the  things  they  did.  We  would  call  them  self-righteous,  which  is  what  Jesus  was  speaking about when He said they looked down on everyone else saying, “I am better than you!â€
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In  verse  10,  Jesus  says,  “Two  men  went  up  into  the  temple  to  pray;  the  one  a Pharisee ,  and the other a publican.â€ We would say in modern language that they went to the church to pray, and one was a Pharisee . A Pharisee was a very religious person. The word actually means “separated one,â€ someone who was so religious that in a sense they would say, “Don’t defile me! Don’t get too close to me. I’m not like other men! I am better than everyone else!â€ 
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The other man Jesus mentioned was a publican. Publicans were tax collectors and were known to be very evil, sinful people who cheated and defrauded. They collected taxes by any means they could, stuck a lot of the money in their pockets, and gave some of it to the Roman government, so they were not looked upon favorably by their peers.
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The story continues in verse 11, “The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I  thank  thee,  that  I  am  not  like  other  men  are,  extortioners,  unjust,  adulterers,  or  even  as  this  publican.â€ I want you to notice that. Who was he praying to? He was actually praying to himself even though he was saying “Godâ€ and using the right words. God was not acknowledging his prayer, and we’ll see later why that was so. 
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Notice that he prayed, “God, I thank You I am not like other men.â€ This Pharisee , this religious man, said, “I am not like other men. I am not sinful. I am not an extortioner, not unjust, not an adulterer, and I am not like this publican right here who came to pray.â€ You see, he despised and looked down on others because he thought he was better than them.
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In verse 12, the Pharisee said, “I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.â€He  was  saying,  “Notice  what  I  do?â€  Do  you  know  what  it  means  to  fast?  It  actually  means  to go without food. He also gave money to the church. He was one of those people who say, “Don’t bother me! I live a good life! I give to charity! I give money down at the church!â€
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Then we come to the tax collector in verse 13: “And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.â€ Notice his body language: “standing afar off.â€ He didn’t even go all the way into the church. He was so ashamed of his life and the things that he had done that he stood afar off and wouldn’t even look up, wouldn’t lift his eyes to heaven, but smote his breast. 
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When the Bible talks  of  smiting  the  breasts  in  the  Old  Testament,  many  times  they  also  tore  their  garments,  which was a way of saying, “I am sorry, God, for what I have done!â€ It was a sign of repentance, a  contrite  heart,  and  a  broken  spirit,  which  God  would  not  despise.  This  tax  collector,  sinful  man that he was, cried out to God and prayed, “God be merciful to me, I am a sinner!â€
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Verse 14 says, “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.â€The publican went home justified, declared righteous before God, in right standing with God, forgiven by God. Why was he forgiven? Why did he go to his home in right standing before God and not the religious Pharisee ? 
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It was because the Pharisee exalted himself, saying “I am better than other people! I am not sinful! I am not like other men,â€ while the tax collector knew he had no standing before God, nothing he could offer Him. He was a sinful person. The Bible says Jesus didn’t come to save righteous people but sinners, and we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. This tax collector humbled himself and found forgiveness and pardon.
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We’re talking about salvation by grace. Grace is a wonderful word, and I am going to give  you  an  accepted  definition  of  what  it  means,  but  grace  means  much  more.  In  the  Greek  language  in  which  the  New  Testament  was  written,  grace  is  the  word  charis.  An  accepted  definition of grace is this: the free, unmerited favor of God toward people who don’t deserve it.  
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This  tax  collector  didn’t  deserve  anything  from  God,  but  he  found  God’s  favor because  he  humbled himself. There is another word in the Greek, charisma, which is charis with the suffix -ma on the end. It means a specific manifestation or form of God’s grace, and this tax collector found justification, right standing, before God as a gift.
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 Romans 5:17 says, “They which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.â€ God offers you and me right standing before Him as a gift and, according to our passage, the tax collector found that gift of justification, that gift of righteousness that only comes through Jesus Christ. 
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The Bible says in John 1:17 , “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.â€ This grace is only offered to one kind of person—those who humble themselves and know they have no standing before God, who cry for God’s mercy. These people will find God’s mercy and pardon.
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Scriptures: Luke 18:9-12 Luke 18:13-14 Romans 10:13 1Jhn 1:8-9 
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Questions:
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1. Read Luke 18:9. What is a parable? 
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2. Read Luke 18:9. To whom did Jesus direct this parable? 
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3. Read Luke 18:9 (the last part of the verse). People that are self-righteous always reveal an attitude toward others. According to Luke 18:9, what is that attitude?
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A. They like others.<br>
B. They despise others or look down on others.<br>
C. They love others. <br>
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4. Read Luke 18:10. Two people went to pray; in modern language, where did they go to pray? 
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5. Read Luke 18:10. Who were these people?
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6. Read Luke 18:11. What was the Pharisee’s prayer?
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7. Read Luke 18:12. What does fasting mean? 
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8. Read Luke 18:12. What does it mean to give tithes?
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9. Read Luke 18:13. Where was the tax collector standing? Why?
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10. Read Luke 18:13. Why did the tax collector hang down his head and not look up?
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11. Read Luke 18:13. What was this tax collector’s prayer?
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12. Read Luke 18:14. Which one of these men was declared righteous before God when he went to his home?
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13. Read Luke 18:14. Why was the tax collector declared righteous and not the Pharisee ?
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14. Read Luke 18:14. Did God forgive this tax collector?
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15. Read Romans 10:13. If you right now got down on your knees and cried out to God from your heart “God be merciful to me, a sinner,â€ would God treat you the same way He treated the tax collector? 
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Answers:
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1. Read Luke 18:9. What is a parable?<br>→ A biblical parable is a story that illustrates spiritual truth
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2. Read Luke 18:9. To whom did Jesus direct this parable?<br>→ To those who trusted in themselves that they were righteous; that is, they were self-righteous
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3. Read Luke 18:9 (the last part of the verse). People that are self-righteous always reveal an attitude toward others. According to Luke 18:9, what is that attitude?<br>→ B. They despise other or look down on others
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4. Read Luke 18:10. Two people went to pray; in modern language, where did they go to pray?<br>→ To the church
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5. Read Luke 18:10. Who were these people?<br>→ A Pharisee and a publican/tax collector
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6. Read Luke 18:11. What was the Pharisee’s prayer?<br>→ God, I thank you I am not like other men (I’m not a sinner). I’m not a swindler, unjust, an adulterer, or even like this tax collector
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7. Read Luke 18:12. What does fasting mean?<br>→ To go without food
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8. Read Luke 18:12. What does it mean to give tithes?<br>→ To give a tenth of one’s income
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9. Read Luke 18:13. Where was the tax collector standing? <br>→ Afar off<br>Why? - He was ashamed to go into the church (or temple) because he was such a terrible sinner, so he stayed outside
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10. Read Luke 18:13. Why did the tax collector hang down his head and not look up?<br>→ He was ashamed. Have you ever done something wrong and would not look a person in the face?
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11. Read Luke 18:13. What was this tax collector’s prayer?<br>→ God be merciful to me - I am a sinner!
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12. Read Luke 18:14. Which one of these men was declared righteous before God when he went to his home?<br>→ The tax collector
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13. Read Luke 18:14. Why was the tax collector declared righteous and not the Pharisee ? <br>→ Because he humbled himself before God. The Pharisee was full of pride; he didn’t think he needed a Savior
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14. Read Luke 18:14. Did God forgive this tax collector?<br>→ Yes
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15. Read Romans 10:13. If you right now got down on your knees and cried out to God from your heart “God be merciful to me, a sinner,â€ would God treat you the same way He treated the tax collector?<br>→ Yes, He would. He would forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness - See 1 Jhn 1:8-9 
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