Guest article written by Demian Farnworth, keynote blogger at FallenandFlawed.com.
There are two people in the world: Those who go to church and those who don’t.
Let’s talk about those who go to church.
We all know a man who never misses a Sunday morning service–not because he wants to be there… But because it’s his duty.
Dad would roll over in his grave if he didn’t.
A duty he symbolically checks off his list as he kisses his shaky, silver-haired mother on the cheek and then slips out the door, never to give church, God or Christ a second thought.
This man “goes” to church.
On the other hand, we have the man who manically drags his family to church every Sunday only to break down midway through the sermon, struck dumb by the conviction of the Holy Spirit on some secret sin holed up in his heart.
Fortunately he eventually pulls himself together and rejoices when God reminds him of Romans 8:1: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
But this man’s not done.
Throughout the week he nurses that tension between conviction and joy–his thoughts always hovering between shame from sin and pride in Christ.
Yes, he goes to church. But as you can see, he’s manifestly different than the first man and church doesn’t define him. What gives?
The truth is really very simple.
And it’s found in the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector.
Here we have one man who goes to the temple. He tithes perfectly. Fasts frequently. He’s the poster child for sublime obedience to rules and regulations.
And he lets you know it.
The man, in reality, is someone we all look up to–and admire.
We gush: “You fast how many times a week? I wish I could do that.” We brag: “Have you heard how much money this guy gives? It’s unbelievalbe!”
He can’t go wrong.
Then stumbles in the tax collector. His shirt is untucked. His children are loud. He forgot his checkbook. He loathes fasting.
But his heart is broken. Not over what you think. No, his heart is broken over his so-called infidelity toward God.
Funny thing, we tend to avoid this guy. And his children. Instead, we crowd around the Pharisee, hoping he’ll invite us to tea.
What’s not so funny is that this man is the tax collector who Jesus said is justified. The reason? The Pharisee exalted himself while the tax collector humbled himself.
Here’s my point: God’s got the tax collector’s heart, but not the Pharisee’s, because the tax guy wants to obey God while the Pharisee wants to impress man with his feats of asceticism.
The Pharisee’s got it all wrong.
God wants obedience over sacrifice. He wants the heart and not the ritual. He wants humility and not self-appointed pride.
More importantly, he wants an empty vessel. One he can fill with Christ. F. B. Meyer said, “The only hope of a decreasing self is an increasing Christ.”
We have abundant examples of Christ-like humility: Jesus said “learn from me for I am gentle and humble of heart” (Matt. 11:29). Christ also said I am among you as one who serves (Luke 22:27).
But if we really want an example of humility, we look to the cross: “He humbled himself and became obedient to death.”
That’s the secret of redemption.
So what does it mean to be a Christian?
It’s not owning a Bible, being nice, “believing”, or living “right”. Nor is it simply going to church.
Being a Christian begins and ends with humility. As Augustine said, “What is the first thing in religion? I should reply: The first, second and third thing therein is humility.”
So, in the end, much to the Pharisees surprise, he who humbles himself is actually the one who will be exalted.
It’s a stunning paradigm that turns our world on it’s head. As it should be.
Editor’s note: We’ve been through a challenging series of “Being a Christian” and I would love to hear your feedback. That means the good and the bad. Has this affected you in some way? Has your understanding of what being a Christian is been challenged? Please tell us in the comments below.
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Demian, you hit home with me when you made the tax collector real:
Too often we want people to get better before they come to our churches. And even if we let them “come as they are,” we are really saying, “Come as you are, but only for a week or two.”
Great work on the post. Thanks!
Ohboy, I could max out the character limit on this… This hit home for me, in a lot of ways, because of the ugly situation that took place in our church in December and the fallout we’re experiencing now.
Suffice it to say, there are a lot of folks in our church that make me so furious, I should really consider declining the next Communion offering. I certainly don’t like them much, that’s for sure. They stick to their own little clique and stare down at you if you approach them during the opening meet-and-greet. They whisper among themselves and gossip during the sermon, but they’re quick with the amens and the raised hands during the hymns. They want the worship to go their way and are completely hostile to anything that is out of their routine, and they are not above storming self-righteously up to the preacher after the sermon to loudly and publicly denounce him for preaching something that they didn’t approve of. They have walked out of worship sessions because they didn’t like the music, but you can bet dollars to deutschmarks they’re first in line at the Business Meeting potluck supper.
I’m hard-pressed to feel honest Christian love toward some of these people, and it shames me to admit that.
Demian did a great job on this post, didn’t he? It’s very convicting.
I hope and pray that you and your church can become a family and talk about brokenness and healing. It’s such a burden to carry.
I appreciate the prayers, Jon. Yes, Demian has a singular capacity to smack that big honking CONVICTION button! LOL
…a capacity I relish.
I cringe at the thought of ever being the first man even while I weep at the realization that I am too often the second man minus the properly repentant heart.
Yes, it is easy for us to say, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector” (Luke 18:11). May we always be convicted by our Lord of our depravity and dependence on Him.
Thanks for stopping by Bernard!
Sometimes it’s easy to say “Thank you, God, for making me a sinner and not a hypocrite like this Pharisee”. In other words, I have the attitude completely wrong even while I realize that I shouldn’t have it wrong. I get up on my high horse about the fact that I don’t get up on my high horse.
Thus, become a pharisee to the pharisees
That’s me. Or, at least, I’m perfectly capable of it.
You must go perform 30 minutes of self-flagellation. Everything should be fine after that…
Okay, just kidding.