Not good enough (Group study notes)

Luke 18:9-14

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 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. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that 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 merciful 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.”

Thinking Deep

·      Parable was told to people who trusted in themselves.

·      People who trusted in themselves thought they are good enough to be acceptable for God.

·      Since they are good enough, others who are not so good were looked upon with contempt.

·      Standing by himself, a usual posture by a Pharisee. Shows the confidence they had to come before God. 

·      He thanked God, but only in His words. The prayer is all about ‘I’ and not ‘God’

·      Although he went to pray, the Pharisee gave a report assuming he was accepted because of what he had done

·      He never expected anything from God, as he assumed he was approved an accepted by God, because of his works

Comparing the two characters

o        Pharisee	o        Tax Collector
o        Went to pray	o        Went to Pray
o        Called on God	o        Called on God
o        Standing by himself	o        Standing far off, not looking up
o        Reported the good he did	o        Only remembered his sins
o        Sought nothing	o        Sought mercy
o        Expected nothing	o        Expected mercy
o        Self Satisfied	o        Justified

    

    Reflections on the text

     What were the similarities between the Pharisee and the Tax collector here?

·      How were they different?

·      How were there prayer different?

·      How did the tax collector humble himself? or Looking at the tax collectors prayer:

·      I am not good enough for God

·      I cannot do it myself

·      I need his mercy

Practical Reflections

Can you identify a Pharisee in your life that you have met?

Are we good enough for God?

Can we be good enough for God?

What do we seek from God?

Why do we need what we seek?

"Humble people do not trust in themselves but trusts in God"

Being Poor in the Spirit - Part 2

“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" -  Mathew 5:3

In the first part here, the need for being poor in the spirit was discussed. Here I would like to discuss on another aspect of this, i.e. being poor in the spirit is also needed to be/continue in kingdom

• Realizing the need for Christ/Gospel enables us 
• To enter the kingdom 
• And also to stay/continue in the kingdom

A common misunderstanding is saved by grace kept by our works or in other words, Gospel is needed only to start with. This leads to another question, if gospel alone is enough then what is the role of leading a holy life, should there be not any efforts?

Therefore there are two questions to be addressed

• Why do we need to trust the gospel everyday
• What is the importance of leading a holy life/Should we not then put effort to lead a holy life?

Why do we need to trust the gospel everyday?

• Galatians had the same issue – Gal 3:3
• The requirement is to be perfect as always, therefore the reason for acceptance is because of Christ. E.g.: Fuel is needed for the car to start, and also to keep it moving. Thus the gospel not only saves you for a moment, it alone makes us complete. This is unlike a jumper cable/car battery, which is needed only for starting the car :).
• Religion says: ‘I obey – therefore I am accepted by God.'”
• Some examples of things that we think is the reason for acceptance are
• Coming to Church
• Giving tithe
• Praying
• Doing good
• Reading/meditating the Word
• All these are good and have a definite purpose, but the acceptance is not based on this. Legalism is treating which is good as essential
•  Not a performance driven life. If we add to the work, we do not trust His work. Gal 5:4. 
• If we look at Islam (on a very high simplistic way), the final salvation is by weighing the good works. if the good works outweighs the evil, you are saved. In Christian faith, the only reason you are accepted is because of Christ's work!
• Consider the parable in Luke 18: 9-14. The Pharisee never lied, he said only what he had done. The problem was that he thought he gained everything before God because of what he did.

Should we not then put effort to lead a holy life?

• When we are saved, we are conformed to His image. Saved for good works Ephesians 2:10
• The operating principle of the gospel is “I am accepted by God through what Christ has done – therefore I obey.”  
• Gospel is the reason for acceptance and is also, the motivation to obey
• Once justified, the sanctification process starts from there.
• What we do should be based on what he has done/motivated by it
• We strive for holiness because we cannot stay where we are. We are called as we are but not stay as we are (Tim Keller).
• A life that flows out of believing and not merely a religious life.
• The New Testament often calls God’s people to be what they are in principle in Christ and then to put effort to do, that which is in line with their new identity and position in Christ. Col 3:1-5, Romans 6:1-11
• Going to Texans game doesn't make you a fan of Texans. Of course you can go to please others or to show others. A real fan of the texans go for the game because he loves his team and is motivated by his team.

Questions to Ask Our self

• Have we ever thought about the acceptance we have because of the gospel?
• The things that we do, is it out of religiosity or out of our faith/love?
• Are we still religious and trying to earn from God?
• Do we pursue holiness/Godly life in our daily walk or are we trying to achieve his approval through works.
• Are we really saved or following a religion?

Tim Keller on PRAYER

http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/10-questions-on-prayer-with-tim-keller

http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/20-quotes-from-tim-kellers-new-book-on-prayer

Scripture portions study by John Piper

Be blessed by this study with John Piper.

http://www.desiringgod.org/labs/all

A real situation of 'transgender' issue

http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/joan-or-john

Why is it the 'greatest' commandment?

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” - Matthew 22: 36-40

I was initially surprised to know that Jesus would say something as the greatest commandment. I would think His answer would have been, 'OK all commandments are equally important, you have to obey everything'. However the actual understanding of why 'loving God' is the greatest commandment, points to a similar reason, it is the underlying reason that drives someone to obey everything that they can!
One way to understand the greatness or importance of this commandment would be to remove this for a second and then think about every other things that Bible says. We will find that the whole system fails without this command. None of the things would have any value without this. Love for God (because he first loved us) is the source for everything.
We can probably do many of the commands, but if its not based out of love for God we miss the whole point. For example whatever we do not out of love for God would lead us to idolatry. In 1 Corinthians 13 Paul says that even if we have the gifts of the holy spirit, or give our body for hardship, if we don't have love its all a waste.
Everything that we do should originate from love for God and man, it should continue in love. 

FAQ: Life for the glory of God

This is taken from Tim Challies' blog

Q. ULTIMATELY, WHY DID GOD CREATE US?

A. God created us to bring glory to Him.

“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen” (Romans 11:36).

“…[I]n order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:11).

Q. HOW CAN WE GLORIFY GOD IN OUR DAY-TO-DAY LIVES?

A. We can glorify God in our day-to-day lives by doing good works.

“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

“Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:12).

Q. WHAT ARE GOOD WORKS?

A. Good works are works done for the glory of God and the good of other people.

“Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

“Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:12).

“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (1 Peter 4:10-11).

Q. AS SINFUL PEOPLE, CAN WE ACTUALLY DO GOOD WORKS?

A. Christians are able to do good works because of the finished work of Christ.

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).

“[Christ] gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (Titus 2:14).

Q. IN WHAT AREAS OF LIFE SHOULD WE DO GOOD WORKS?

A. We ought to do good works at all times and in all areas of life.

“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).

“Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works” (Titus 2:7)…

“The saying is trustworthy, and I want you to insist on these things, so that those who have believed in God may be careful to devote themselves to good works. These things are excellent and profitable for people” (Titus 3:8).

“Women should adorn themselves … with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works” (1 Timothy 2:9-10).

“So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10).

“Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity” (Acts 9:36).

Q. WHAT IS PRODUCTIVITY?

Productivity is effectively stewarding your gifts, talents, time, energy, and enthusiasm for the good of others and the glory of God.“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15-16).

Through this brief series of questions and answers we have established that we have been given life and salvation in order to bring glory to God by doing good to others.