You Are Justified

What do you have to boast about before God? The short answer: nothing. In the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector, Jesus gives us a picture of two men standing before God. One boasts about his righteousness. The other can only confess, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” And Jesus says that the tax collector—not the man boasting about his works—went home justified. This sermon explores Ephesians 2:1–9 and Luke 18, reminding us that salvation is not our achievement. We were dead in sin, but God, rich in mercy, made us alive together with Christ. “By grace you have been saved through faith.” The sermon then turns to Cain—the first murderer—and shows how even a sinner with blood on his hands was met by God's mercy. Like Cain, we cannot boast of our works. Like the tax collector, we cry out for mercy. And in Christ, God gives it. You are a sinner. Christ has forgiven you. You are justified. You live in the abundant grace of God.