Hi everyone and welcome to Living Supernaturally. Thank you so much for giving us this opportunity to come together and meditate on God’s word and spend a few moments in prayer. This week, we’ve been talking about repentance and even as we wrap up this week, today, we will talk about being justified. Luke chapter 18, verses 10 through 14, ‘“Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like others—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. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”’ The Lord Jesus directed this parable to the self-righteous people who looked down on others. This was a problem that needed to be exposed in the community of God’s people. So, He told a story about two men who went to the temple to pray. One of them was a Pharisee, a religious elite, he was a brilliant student of the law of God and he was probably a leader and a teacher among the Jewish people. He cherished the traditions and the history of being a covenant child of God. He followed the law precisely and he expected all the others to do the same. He thanked God that he was not like the others who didn’t keep the law faithfully. The other man was a tax collector. In those days, tax collectors were despised and viewed as traitors because they gathered taxes for the Romans and they often charged high rates so that they could keep extra money with them, but this man had a repentant heart and he cried out, ‘God, have mercy one me, a sinner.’ Did you notice, that the Pharisee did not ask for forgiveness, he figured that he was already justified. That is the point of this parable, trying to justify our position with God without the mercy of God is futile. We can’t walk our way into God’s good graces. Justification is more than forgiveness; it is to be cleared of all the blame and to be free from every charge. In an earthly court, a judge cannot both forgive a man and justify him at the same time, for if he forgives him then he must be guilty and therefore he cannot be justified. On the other hand, if he justifies him, he does not need forgiveness. God however, undertakes both for us, He forgives our sins and justifies the sinner, that is He forgives the guilty, the condemned sinner and takes him to a place, a new position where there is no charge against him at all. Thankfully, God’s mercy is available for you and I through Jesus who paid the price for us. Let’s pray, Father, we thank you for this wonderful truth. We thank you that you are a God who justified us, you forgave us and you have put us in a new position. We thank you that we can walk as your children with boldness, with confidence, empowered by your Holy Spirit, we give you all the praise and glory, in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

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