What did I do to deserve this?

Nathan Hooper
Message: What did I do to deserve this?
Harvest Bible Chapel
Text: Luke 18:9-14
October 8, 2023

As grateful Christians, justified by grace,…

…we understand what we deserve as the result of our sinfulness.(v. 9-13)

If there were only thirty righteous persons in the world, I and my son should make two of them; but if there were but twenty, I and my son would be of the number; and if there were but ten, I and my son would be of the number: and if there were but five, I and my son would be of the five; and if there were but two, I and my son would be those two; and if there were but one, myself should be that one.
– Rabbi Simeon, the son of Jochai (Bereshith Rabba, s. 35, fol. 34.– from Clarke’s Commentary)

Romans 3:23-24
Romans 6:23

… we rightfully trust in the mercy, power and holiness of God.(v. 13)

Mercy is not a feeling that (God) drifts into when he is in a generous mood. It is the ever-flowing fount of the deepest part of his heart.
Adam Ramsey

Holy is the way God is…He does not conform to a standard. He is that standard.
AW Tozer

… we are freed from the bondage of sin to truly live for Christ! (v. 14)

(God) has given us our identity in order that his identity might be proclaimed through us. God made us who we are so we could make known who he is. Our identity is for the sake of making known his identity. The meaning of our identity is that the excellency of God be seen in us.
John Piper

True humility is not thinking less of yourself, It’s thinking of yourself less.
C.S. Lewis