Growing In The Gospel: What It Isn't And What It Is

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.
Luke 18:9-14

If you’re like me, then when you read verse 9 you think to yourself, “Treating others with contempt? That sounds so harsh. I don’t treat people with contempt.” But that’s because we always want to make the evil that we commit seem less serious than it really is.

But you know what? If it’s easier for you to point out the sins of other people than it is to point out the sin in your own heart, like it naturally is for me, then you’re treating others with contempt. If it’s easier for you to get frustrated over the sin that you see others commit than your own sins that you commit, then you’re treating others with contempt.

How many of you, when you get into a conflict with someone, the first place you point the finger is at yourself? No, usually the first place we point the finger is at other people. That’s because we’re usually convinced that they are the ones who need to repent and not us. When we do this, we treat them with contempt.

But that’s clearly not how Jesus wants us to treat people. He wants us to treat others with love. Perhaps we could do that by being the first to repent of our own sin when we get into a conflict with someone instead of first telling them what they did wrong. Or even if we think we are innocent, we could serve them by refusing to become defensive and instead being quick to listen and slow to speak.

If doing what I just said feels really hard for you, or if it’s easier for you to see the sin in others than it is for you to see the sin in your own heart, or if you struggle with judging others in your heart, then you might be growing in outward obedience, but you’re not growing in the gospel. And God isn’t interested in that kind of growth. The only way to begin to love others authentically instead of treating them with contempt is to grow in the gospel.

An excerpt from the message I preached last night at the large group meeting for the InterVarsity chapter at San Jose State Universtiy. You can read the entire message here.