Whose failures do you quietly use to feel righteous? What changes when you measure yourself against the holiness of God instead of against other people?

When NASA launched the Hubble Space Telescope, the most advanced eye humanity had ever built came back blurry. The mirror had been ground to a breathtaking precision — but to the wrong specification. Worse, the device used to check the mirror was calibrated against the same flaw, so every test came back 'flawless.' The telescope was, in the most literal sense, blind to its own blindness. It passed every inspection it gave itself, because it was the wrong inspection. That is the Pharisee in Jesus' parable. 'Standing by himself,' Luke says, he prayed: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men.' Notice he is not measuring himself against God's holiness. He is measuring himself against extortioners, the unjust, adulterers — and especially against the tax collector a few feet away. Agains

Who is the person or group you most often compare yourself to in order to feel okay? How has needing to be 'better than them' shaped the way you treat them?

There is a reason the Pharisee felt so good about himself: he had picked his comparison carefully. Paul names the whole game in a single line — some people, he says, 'measuring themselves by one another, and comparing themselves with one another, are without understanding.' Comparison feels like clear thinking. It is actually the opposite. It is a way of staying confused while feeling certain. Here is how the trap works. You don't compare yourself to everyone — you compare yourself to a carefully chosen few. Not the generous, but the stingy. Not the patient, but the people who blow up faster than you do. You find someone whose sin is louder than yours, stand next to them, and feel the warm glow of 'at least I'm not like that.' The sermon called it comparative righteousness, and it is the

What would it look like to pray the tax collector's prayer without adding a single word of self-defense? What are you most tempted to say to God to make yourself look better?

The Pharisee prays a long prayer full of himself — a soliloquy disguised as worship, a résumé read aloud to God. The tax collector prays seven words: 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner.' And Jesus says it was the tax collector, not the religious professional, who went home right with God. Look at the man. He stands 'far off,' as if he knows he has no business being close. He 'would not even lift up his eyes to heaven.' He beats his chest — a gesture of grief, the body confessing what the mouth can barely say. There is no comparison in his prayer. He doesn't mention the Pharisee. He doesn't grade himself against anyone, because he has finally stopped using the wrong mirror. He sees only two realities: a holy God, and his own sin. 'Be merciful to me, the sinner' — not a sinner, the sinner, a

Where are you still trying to earn a standing with God that He has already given you as a gift in Christ? What would change today if you truly believed it could not be un-earned?

Jesus ends the parable with a verdict that would have stunned His audience: 'I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other.' The word justified is a courtroom word. It means declared righteous — not 'helped along,' not 'given a second chance to do better,' but pronounced right with God, fully and permanently. And it was handed to the man who walked in with nothing. Paul explains how that is even possible: 'all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.' Read those two verses together; they were meant to be one breath. The bad news and the good news are welded together. Yes — all have sinned, the Pharisee and the tax collector and you and me, every last one falling

The wrong mirror. Elder Rick opened with the Hubble telescope — a mirror ground to perfection against the wrong standard, 'blind to its own blindness.' Where have you caught yourself grading your life against the wrong standard? What standard were you using instead of the holiness of God?

What about the hypocrites in the church — and what if one of them is you? Elder Rick Closius on the Pharisee, the tax collector, and the grace that humbles us, from Luke 18:9-14.

Two men, two prayers. Read Luke 18:9-14 together. What do you notice about HOW the Pharisee prays versus how the tax collector prays — their posture, their words, who they mention? What does each prayer reveal about how they see themselves?

What about the hypocrites in the church — and what if one of them is you? Elder Rick Closius on the Pharisee, the tax collector, and the grace that humbles us, from Luke 18:9-14.

Comparative righteousness. The sermon named the trap of feeling righteous by comparison — 'at least I'm not like them.' Who is the person or group you most often compare yourself to in order to feel okay? Be specific. How has needing to be better than them shaped how you treat them?

What about the hypocrites in the church — and what if one of them is you? Elder Rick Closius on the Pharisee, the tax collector, and the grace that humbles us, from Luke 18:9-14.

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What About? (Week 10)

What About Hypocrisy?

Luke 18:9-14

Rick Closius Sunday, June 14, 2026

Watch & Listen

Summary

Elder Rick Closius works through Jesus' parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9-14), exposing 'comparative righteousness' — measuring ourselves against other people instead of the holiness of God, and quietly concluding we're glad we're not like them. The Pharisee leaves the temple unchanged while the tax collector, who can only cry 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner,' goes home justified. The message lands on grace: we cannot fix the broken mirrors of our own hearts, but Christ's perfect righteousness, received as a gift, covers all our distortion.

Sermon Outline

1

The wrong mirror (Hubble) ▶ 1:01

Closius opens with the Hubble Space Telescope, whose mirror was ground flawlessly against a broken standard — leaving it 'blind to its own blindness.' That is exactly what hypocrisy and self-righteousness do to the human heart.
2

Reading the Word: Luke 18, Romans 3, Mark 2 ▶ 5:53

He reads the parable of the Pharisee and tax collector, Paul's verdict that 'none is righteous, no, not one,' and Jesus' word that He came not for the well but for the sick.
3

Anatomy of hypocrisy: comparative righteousness ▶ 11:20

The Pharisee was conservative, orthodox, and disciplined — yet his sin was measuring himself against other men instead of the infinite holiness of God. The law is a mirror to expose us, not a ladder to climb.
4

The danger of legalism vs. grace ▶ 19:22

Two systems of religion: God's accomplishment in Christ, or man's achievement through works. The tax collector's 'be propitiated to me' throws itself wholly on the atoning blood of Christ, bringing nothing but guilt and need.
5

Personal testimony: 'I'd become the very Pharisee' ▶ 23:25

After 32 years as a deputy sheriff, Closius confesses he looked smugly at the wrong mirror, glad he was not like the train wrecks he encountered — until the Spirit convicted him through these very verses.
6

Self-righteousness and respectable sins in sound churches ▶ 29:59

He applies the parable to confessional churches: theology used as a weapon, comparison with the culture, performative family life, and service without love.
7

The physician's mission: justified as a gift ▶ 33:02

Jesus came for the sick, not the well. We cannot fix our own broken mirrors; Christ's flawless righteousness, like the corrective lens NASA installed, covers our distortion. Drop the mask and go home justified.

Key Points

Hypocrisy and self-righteousness make us 'blind to our own blindness' — like a mirror ground perfectly against a broken standard.
Comparative righteousness is the trap: we measure ourselves against other people instead of the infinite holiness of God, and quietly congratulate ourselves.
God's law was never given as a ladder of self-justification but as a mirror to expose our inability and drive us to Christ.
Legalism always curdles into contempt, because it exalts self at the expense of grace; the gospel humbles us and exalts Christ alone.
The tax collector's cry — 'God, be merciful (be propitiated) to me, a sinner' — casts itself entirely on the atoning blood of Christ, bringing nothing but guilt and need.
Justification is a gift: declared righteous by grace through the imputed righteousness of Christ, received by faith alone, not earned by works.

Quotable Moments

“They were utterly blind to their own blindness. Brothers and sisters, this is exactly what hypocrisy and self-righteousness do to the human heart.” ▶ 3:41

“I was looking smugly at the wrong mirror. But one day, the Spirit convicted me through God's Word. It was actually these verses that I'm reading to you today. It's uncomfortable, but you see, I'd become the very Pharisee in Luke chapter 18.” ▶ 26:04

“The church is not a museum for saints. It's a hospital for sinners.” ▶ 33:59

“My invitation is for you to go home justified today. Not because your mirror is flawless, but because your Savior is.” ▶ 40:27

Scripture

LUKE 18:9-14 (ESV)

He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

ROMANS 3:10-12 (ESV)

As it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

ROMANS 3:23-24 (ESV)

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

MARK 2:17 (ESV)

Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.

Discussion Questions

1
Closius opened with the Hubble telescope — a mirror ground to perfection against the wrong standard, 'blind to its own blindness.' What standard do you tend to grade your life against instead of the holiness of God?
2
Read Luke 18:9-14 together. What differences do you notice in how the Pharisee prays versus how the tax collector prays — their posture, their words, who they mention?
3
The sermon named 'comparative righteousness' — feeling okay because 'at least I'm not like them.' Who is the person or group you most often compare yourself to, and how has needing to be better than them shaped how you treat them?
4
Closius warned that respectable sins thrive in sound churches — theology as a weapon, performative family life, service without love. Which of these is most tempting in a church like ours, and where do you see it in yourself?
5
The tax collector prayed seven honest words and went home justified, while the Pharisee left unchanged. What is one area where you've been performing or pretending to be well, and what would it look like this week to come to Jesus honest about your need?

Take It With You

This week, catch the 'at least I'm not like them' thought and name it as the trap it is — then measure yourself against God's holiness, not your neighbor's worst day.
Pray the tax collector's prayer — 'God, be merciful to me, a sinner' — without adding a single word of self-defense.
Drop one mask: admit a real weakness or struggle to a trusted brother or sister instead of curating a flawless image.

Related Resources

The study guide above (summary, outline, key points, quotes, questions) was generated from the sermon transcript with AI and reviewed by our team. Spot something off? Let us know.