“I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.” (Luke 18:14)
What did these two men have when they left the house of God that they did not have when they arrived? The Pharisee still had his worthless self righteousness but in addition, our text suggests that he had abasement. For hundreds of years his story has been told thousands of times . He left the house of God with a bad reputation, something he will carry with him forever.
When the publican left the house of God he had justification and a right standing with God, something he did not have when he arrived. I believe he arrived as a lost man and was a saved man when he left. He had thrown himself on the mercy of the court.
What do you have when you leave church on Sunday morning that you did not have when you arrived? I hope you can say that you left with a “clean slate,” that all your sins have been forgiven and that if you were lost when you arrived you were saved when you left. If you arrived at church with a guilty conscience you left with a clean conscience. If you arrived with ill feelings toward others that you now have love toward them.
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