47 Then Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said about him, “Here truly is an Israelite in whom there is no deceit.”
John 1:47 (CSB)
1. Four Things That Melt Authentic Faith.
9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee was standing and praying like this about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I’m not like other people—greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth, of everything I get.’
Luke 18:9-12 (CSB)
• Self-Sufficiency
• Spiritual Performance
• Comparison Culture
11 The Pharisee was standing and praying like this about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I’m not like other people—greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.
Luke 18:11 (CSB)
6 All of us have become like something unclean, and all our righteous acts are like a polluted garment; all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities carry us away like the wind.
Isaiah 64:6 (CSB)
10 as it is written: There is no one righteous, not even one.
Romans 3:10 (CSB)
• Works-Based Religion
12 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get.’
Luke 18:12 (CSB)
2. Four Marks of a Sincere Heart.
13 “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven but kept striking his chest and saying, ‘God, have mercy on me,, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this one went down to his house justified rather than the other, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 18:13-14 (CSB)
• A Heart That Seeks God.
• A Heart That Fears God.
13 “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven but kept striking his chest and saying, ‘God, have mercy on me,, a sinner!’
Luke 18:13 (CSB)
• A Heart That Examines Itself.
• A Heart That Turns Back To God
13 “But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven but kept striking his chest and saying, ‘God, have mercy on me,, a sinner!’
Luke 18:13 (CSB)
14 I tell you, this one went down to his house justified rather than the other, because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 18:14 (CSB)