The Pharisee’s First Mistake: Minimizing His Sin

“‘Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men-robbers, evildoers, adulterers-or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
       ‘But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
       ‘I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God.’” Luke 18:10-14a NIV

Jesus was telling this parable to some people. The Pharisee thought he was good with God, but in reality, he was not. It was the tax collector who “went home justified.” Because of his attitude, God took away his status as being guilty and saw (and judged) him as being innocent.
      I see the Pharisee as having made two mistakes. The first is that he minimized his sin.
      He didn’t acknowledge his sins. He found nothing in himself worth apologizing for or repenting of. Instead, he pointed out to God how he did not commit the “major” sins of others (including the tax collector).
      In April, I went to a conference and received a little book called For Your Joy by John Piper. In it Piper makes an amazing argument about sin. He says, “Therefore sin is not small, because it is not against a small Sovereign. The seriousness of an insult rises with the dignity of the one insulted” (p.12).
      How good do you believe God is?
      It doesn’t matter how “small” or “major” our sin is. Because God is pure and perfect, all sin is a grave offense against Him.
      Let’s not fall into the trap of thinking we’re anywhere near God’s goodness just because we seem to be further from the sinfulness of others. We have to look at our character in comparison to His and humble ourselves.