By Jeff Larson, The Back Pew
“The words of the Pharisee as he prayed summarize how most people think of themselves: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men – extortionists, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector’ (Luke 18:11). Every human effort toward reconciliation with God is unacceptable to him and constitutes a rejection of the biblical teaching concerning man’s total inability to assist in his own salvation…The ladder of human works, including promises, is well-worn but too short. No man has or ever will reach God’s presence by climbing its rungs. Every such attempt, however small it may be, is evidence that the condemned sinner does not really believe he stands condemned.”
-Robert J. Lightener in Sin, the Savior, and Salvation
