Therefore my spirit is overwhelmed within me;My heart is appalled within me. Take a moment and pray for the lost sheep. If God so rejoices when sinners repent, should not we? That is not good economics. Many hear the Word of God and have tasted Gods goodness (Heb 6:4-6), but they just keep on sinning, showing they are not Gods children anyway (1 John 1). For the younger son, the father was the provider of the inheritance, so he could indulge his fleshly desires. Lets put this question in hold, momentarily. Do you think that now He will let you go back into your sins and be lost again? So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. Demonstrative Pronoun - Nominative Masculine Singular. If you are saved, you know that it is not because you sought after God, but because God sought after you and kept seeking until He rescued you from your sin. How much like the Heavenly Father he is. But if youre up for it, lets have respectful conversations. He graduated from Dallas Theological Seminary (Th.M., 1976 in Bible exposition) and Califo More, Acts 11:18), and is inextricably bound up with saving faith. Then they said, Come and let us devise plans against Jeremiah. Verb - Perfect Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular. 6 There is some question as to what the reading of the original text should be at verse 21, as indicated by the marginal note in the NASB. God is coming to your rescue He was lost, but now he is found! So they began to celebrate. It seems to me that many Christians are sad sacks, devoid of joy, because they have lost sight of their own salvation by grace, and they are not involved in leading others to it. She didnt go to the stream to wash her laundry. Luke 15:7,9 I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. Bright, shining as the sun. I would say it this way; He sought me, He caught me, He bought me, and He taught me what I ought to be. We've no less days to sing God's praise. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ. As I sit at the dining room table surrounded by books, I feel the loving and tender presence of my dear Shepherd. 24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'. This is what the third parable will tell us. Should she be so happy at finding this coin? What a way to live. Peter tells us that the angels long to look into the matters of our salvation (1 Pet. I believe that the fullest explanation of this is to be found in Matthews gospel, in the 23rd chapter. In the same way, the Good Shepherd goes after every sheep whom His Father has given to Him, that none will be lost (John 17:2, 6, 9), but that all will be brought safely into His fold. I can identify with this woman. As for your donkeys which were lost three days ago, do not set your mind on them, for they have been found. 147-148. One. 1 The Pharisees words are pregnant with meaning, I believe. It is not that they did not need repentance for themselves, but rather that they thought that they were good enough not to need repentance. Peter was not a shepherd by trade; he was a fisherman. When they were filled, He *said to His disciples, Gather up the leftover fragments so that nothing will be lost.. Let us concentrate, then, on each of the three central characters of this parable. Jesus continued: There was a man who had two sons. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. I was blind but now I see!' But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love. I can see the Pharisees becoming bug-eyed and red-faced with anger at this mans sin. eternal security, Jesus was, in the minds of the Pharisees, upstaging them. Specifically, they were grumbling about the fact that Jesus received sinners2 and ate with them (v. 2). This presents us with one of the greatest hindrances to our study, interpretation, and application of this text. A lost dog might eventually find its way home, but a lost sheep is unable to do so. WebVerse 25. I will feed them with judgment. Unbelievers are lost and helpless, prey for the enemy unless God intervenes. For this son of mine was dead and has come back to life. Spurgeon pokes fun at the view that those whom the Savior has rescued can ever be lost again. Again, let me briefly apply this. Now you see why the masses went to Jesus. They grumbled that Jesus could gladly receive back repentant sinners and rejoice in their salvation, yet they would diligently search for lost possessions and celebrate when they found them. We will not seek the salvation of those whom we will not also welcome into our fellowship. The imagery of sheep is a common one in the Scriptures, primarily because they lived in a rural society , The sinner may not even know that he is lost and headed for destruction, but that is the truth. (7) Both sons were sinners. Thus weve seen that sinners are lost until God finds them and that He goes to great effort to seek and save them. And they began to be merry. Thus Jesus was using irony to show them their self-righteous pride, especially in the case of the older brother who could not bring himself to rejoice at his brothers repentance. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. No wonder people are flocking to their accountants or those who professionally prepare tax forms. for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to make merry. Her one consuming focus was on looking for that lost coin, no matter how much effort it took. They know that it is the plan and purpose of God to save men, on the basis of the shed blood of the Son of God. Second, let us look at the characteristics of the younger brothers repentance. A Biblical Analysis, What it Means to Become a New Creation in Christ, 25 Encouraging Bible Verses About Strength, Words of Encouragement: 30 Uplifting Quotes. The Pharisees found no joy in repentance of sinners at all. He didnt say, Whoever believes in me will have eternal life unless they blow it. When Jesus says They have eternal life, it is in the Greek form of a present tense or present possession. He could make the truth simple; the Pharisees made it mind-bogglingly complex. The Good Shepherd knows His sheep by name (John 10:3). Heaven, too, rejoices more at the repentance of one lost sinner, more than over the 99 righteous who seemingly did not need to repent.3. Read John 10:11. He hopes only for mercy. The younger son did not enjoy his father, so he left him. The older brother was angry with the father because he felt he did not get what he deserved (a banquet), while the younger brother got what he didnt deserve (a banquet). If, in the gospels we find Christ closely associating with sinners, then we can both have union with Christ and intimate association with sinners at the same time. Let us give serious thought to the matter of biblical separation, for much that passes under this label is counterfeit. 8 It was fitting is not strong enough for his word edei, which means It was necessary. The welcome to the younger son was not simply a good thing which might or might not have occurred. Here is some related reading for you: Can a Christian Lose Their Salvation? In what is perhaps the saddest verse in the Bible, Paul describes the former condition of his Gentile readers: You were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world (Eph. The angels revel in the glory of God and God is glorified in His sovereign grace, secured by the death of Christ and revealed to undeserving sinners by the Holy Spirit. but he is received of Jesus, and confesses him. If you are searching, call out to Him. This young man went and lived among the heathen as a heathen. How great the love of this father. The woman who lost her coin sets aside all her other work and diligently searches until she finds it. But the recipient could get nothing until the death of the giver. (5) The younger realized his sins; the felt righteous. Focus on the great truth that Jesus took upon Himself our sinsthe guilt, the judgment, and the punishment, and bore them for us. Sinners are lost until God finds them. And when the older brother refused to participate, the father sought him out and appealed to him to join in the celebration, which he saw not only as permissible, but as necessary.8 The father was as gracious to the older brother as he was to the younger. Without help, it will forever remain lost. Web22 But the father said to his servants, Quick! To associate with those whose outward lives were sinful was to challenge the entire system of spirituality which the Pharisees had developed, and that was to avoid outward, socially unacceptable, sin, and those who did such evils. This is why I plead with you today to repent and put your trust in Christ. If the younger brother wanted money to spend, the old brother wanted it to save, and thus (it would seem) to make him feel secure. But the Pharisees and scribes were grumbling, This man receives sinners and eats with them. What a great word of hope that is for sinners! Thro' many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come; 'Tis grace has brought me safe thus far, And grace will lead me home. That is the way Gods grace worksit is bestowed on unworthy people, sinners, who do not trust in their good works, but in Gods grace. This, too, did not seem enough to this older son. WebFather, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. For this my son was dead, and hath lived again; he perished, and is found. to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Always Saved, All Rights Reserved. He gave the Lord all the glory, saying nothing about anything that he had done. Wiersbe expounds: Every lost sinner is like a sheep gone astray; ignorant, lost, wandering, in danger away from the place of safety, and unable to help himself. Let us seek to enjoy our heavenly Father for who He is. Lesson Bible Lesson Plans for Kids, The Parable of the Prodigal Son in the Bible Lost Things Get Found (Luke 15:1-32) Lesson