The Locale of Trust
3/25/25 Bible Thought (Luke 18)
I would say the predominant view in American culture (and perhaps elsewhere too) as regards the life to come is that good people go to heaven and bad people go to hell. Those who are kind to others and treat others well—they deserve heaven. Those who go to church every Sunday—they deserve it. Those who helped their neighbors and were simply “good people” deserve it.
At the end of their life, God will reward them for their goodness and contribution to the world. Or, at the very least, God won’t punish them because they aren’t as bad as others and the good deeds they do outweigh the bad. Although this view is predominant, it’s entirely unbiblical.
In Luke 18, the Lord Jesus shares a parable that warns about trusting in ourselves. There is a Pharisee and there is a tax collector. The Pharisee is outwardly righteous; He faithfully fasts, tithes, prays, and he isn’t like the sinner. In fact, this is the content of his prayer.
On the other hand, we have a tax collector, one of the most unpopular figures of Jesus’ day. They had a reputation for extorting more from others than they were supposed to and as a result many of them became incredibly wealthy. Yet, the content of his prayer is simply, “God be merciful to me, a sinner” (Lk. 18:13b). Out of the two, ironically enough, he is the one who goes home justified. Jesus concludes,
“For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted” (Lk. 18:14b).
Heaven won’t contain a single person who deserved to go there. Instead, it will be filled with myriads of people who were entirely underserving but found mercy in God’s sight. It’s not a matter of being a good person, faithfully going to church, or helping the little old lady across the street. It’s not about who we are, but it’s about who Christ is.
The only reason we can be heaven-bound today is because God took pity on us, sending His Son to die for us while we were still sinners (Rom. 5:8). Apart from the grace and mercy of God, we’d be without hope. No amount of our good deeds will justify us before God. The only hope for justification is the shed blood of Jesus Christ who paid the price for our sins and gives us His righteousness by faith (see 2 Cor. 5:21). As such all of our trust and hope in this life ought to rest in the finished work of Christ, and not in what I bring to the table, no matter how righteous I might think I am.
The only reason we can be heaven-bound today is because God took pity on us, sending His Son to die for us while we were still sinners.
So, for me, apart from grace, I am nothing. Paul once reflected on the nature of his apostleship and cried out, “But by the grace of God I am what I am” (1 Cor. 15:10a). He didn’t deserve it one bit and he never got to the point where he deserved it! In another place, he recollects,
“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost” (1 Tim. 1:15).
Let us never forget that all of God’s gifts towards us are of grace. His work on our behalf is of grace. The life we have today is of grace. Not one part of it did we ever earn or deserve, but we freely receive from the hand of a gracious God.
So then, as we come before His presence in prayer, let us remember that while we’re children of God who can come with confidence to the throne of grace (see Heb. 4:15-16) that we likewise must come humbly. We aren’t entitled to the ear of God because we’re good people. We aren’t entitled to His blessings because we come to church. We aren’t entitled to anything, and yet God lavishes His gracious gifts on us because
He is a God of grace. This should humble us immensely. It should snuff out any ember of pride within us, and it should cause us to magnify the God of all grace who has been merciful to me, a sinner.
Will you go to Him in humble, thankful prayer, today?
Amen!