Cedarville Magazine, Summer 2019

CHAPEL NOTES This Man Went Home Justified The following is an excerpt from the March 27, 2019, chapel presentation by R. Albert Mohler, who was the keynote speaker for the God Revealed apologetics conference. Listen to his full remarks at cedarville.edu/chapel . Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. One of them has every reason to walk in with his head held high. The other doesn’t belong there, and he doesn’t want to be discovered. The Pharisee is supposed to be serving Israel through t he r i gh t e ou s a c t o f entering into this prayer. He opens his mouth, and it’s not even a praise to God. It’s really a praise to himself. You don’t have to know anything about Judaism or Christianity to know this is not the way any prayer is supposed to begin. “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector” (Luke 18:11). And then just in case God doesn’t get the point, the Pharisee recites his resume, “I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get” (v.12). According to the conventions of first-century Judaism, he’s only slightly off from what we think he should be doing. The only problem at this point is that he’s quite self-centered and using the comparison of the tax collector. The tax collector is standing far off not because he feels superior, but exactly the opposite. He knows he doesn’t belong there. He knows there is no qualification for him to be there, that by his conspiracy against the Jews with the Romans, he has no place there. “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!’” (v.13). This is a man coming unglued. Jesus says, “I tell you, this man,” meaning the tax collector, “went down to his house justified, rather than the other” (v.14). Brothers and sisters, this is the whole sum and substance of the Gospel: who goes home justified. That’s the distinction between the saved and the lost. The justified are not justified because they are righteous. They’re justified because of the imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the kind of parable that doesn’t merely need to be heard by lost people. It’s also a parable that from time to time we need to hold up amongst ourselves and in the name of Jesus, let it destroy any pretensions to self-righteousness found amongst us. Because Jesus paid it all. R. Albert Mohler is President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Brothers and sisters, this is the whole sum and substance of the Gospel: who goes home justified. Join the University family in chapel each day via the livestream broadcast ( cedarville.edu/chapellive ) or Facebook Live ( cedarville.edu/facebook ) . Past messages are also archived at cedarville.edu/chapel . August 19–22 Fall Bible Conference Dean Inserra Lead Pastor City Church Tallahassee, Florida August 27 Russell Moore President Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission Southern Baptist Convention Washington, D.C. September 3–4 Matt Smethurst Managing Editor The Gospel Coalition Louisville, Kentucky September 10–11 Isaac Shaw National Director and President Delhi Bible Institute New Delhi, India 20 | Cedarville Magazine