Jesus was teaching the people, and he spoke to some of these who trusted in themselves that they were righteous people and despised others. This is like we are the good people and we can throw stones at the bad people. Jesus told about these two people who went up to the temple to pray. One of them was a Pharisee, a religious leader of the people, the kind who have a Doctor of Divinity behind their name. Jesus said that this Pharisee prayed with himself about how good he was, and God did not hear him, as he was praying with himself and not to God. He prayed about how he was not like all the sinners who were guilty of terrible things, and he thought that surely he would be accepted of God because he was so good. But Jesus said that when he went to his house he was not justified, but God still held his sins against him. But the Publican, the sinner, the tax collector, who was dishonest, in his humility he knew that he was in trouble with God, and he did not pray about how good he was, but he would not even lift his eyes to heaven, but hit is chest in contrition, saying, "God be merciful to me a sinner." Jesus said that this publican went to his house justified, made just, just as if he had not sinned. So if you want God to hear you, don't tell Him how good you are, but beg for His forgiveness and His mercy, and then you will find it.
In I John 2:1; John says, don't sin. It is always better if you don't sin, but if you get caught in sin, you have a advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2; "And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world."
Romans 10:8; "But what saith it?, or what says the scriptures, The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; 9; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
