Luke Chapter 15 Bible, Sermon and Commentary

The Parable of the Lost Sheep
15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”
3 So he told them this parable: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

The Parable of the Lost Coin
8 “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.’ 10 Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

The Parable of the Prodigal Son
11 And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. 13 Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. 14 And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. 15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16 And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
17 “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” ’ 20 And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.
25 “Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ 28 But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, 29 but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ 31 And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. 32 It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ ”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Lk 15:1–32). (2016). Crossway Bibles.

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Heaven’s Joy: Recovering the Lost

(Luke 15:1–10)

Now all the tax collectors and the sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. Both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” So He told them this parable, saying, “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!’ In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (15:1–10)

The Bible reveals the many attributes of God, both His incommunicable attributes (those true of Him alone, such as omnipotence, omnipresence, omniscience, immutability, and eternality) and communicable attributes (those also true to a far lesser degree of humans, such as righteousness, holiness, wisdom, love, compassion, grace, and mercy). Believers are very familiar with these. But one of God’s attributes that is often overlooked is His joy. Though an eternally joyful God seems hard to accept, texts like First Chronicles 16:27 and Nehemiah 8:10 refer to that reality. Luke 10:21 even records that Jesus “rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit,” while in John 15:11 and 17:13 Christ spoke of His own joy. Even enduring the cross as a “man of sorrows” (Isa. 53:3) He knew would bring Him joy, the joy of recovering lost sinners (Heb. 12:2).

God, who is by nature a savior (Matt. 1:21; John 3:16–18; 1 Tim. 2:3–4; Titus 1:3, 2:10, 13; 3:4, 6), brings Himself everlasting joy in recovering the lost. It is that joy which is expressed as the point of the three parables the Lord devised in this chapter (vv. 7, 10, 32). And God’s joy in recovering the lost is not an obscure theme in Scripture. In Deuteronomy 30:9 God promised Israel that when He punished them for their disobedience and they repented (vv. 1–8) He would “again rejoice over [them] for good, just as He rejoiced over [their] fathers.” In Psalm 105:43 the psalmist declared that God “brought forth His people with joy, His chosen ones with a joyful shout.” Looking ahead to the future salvation of Israel, God said through Isaiah, “For as a young man marries a virgin, so your sons will marry you; and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you” (Isa. 62:5; cf. 65:19). Similarly, God declared through Jeremiah,

Behold, I will gather them out of all the lands to which I have driven them in My anger, in My wrath and in great indignation; and I will bring them back to this place and make them dwell in safety.… I will rejoice over them to do them good and will faithfully plant them in this land with all My heart and with all My soul. (Jer. 32:37, 41)

The prophet Zephaniah wrote,

Shout for joy, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O Israel! Rejoice and exult with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem! The Lord has taken away His judgments against you, He has cleared away your enemies. The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst; You will fear disaster no more. In that day it will be said to Jerusalem: “Do not be afraid, O Zion; do not let your hands fall limp. The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.” (Zeph. 3:14–17)

God’s joy is the source of believers’ joy; it is a component of the kingdom of God dispensed by the Holy Spirit to the redeemed (Rom. 14:17; cf. 15:13; Ps. 51:12; 1 Thess. 1:6). While Christians are blessed with a rich measure of joy in this life (John 15:11; 16:20, 24; 17:13; Acts 13:52; Rom. 15:13; Gal. 5:22; Phil. 4:4; 1 Peter 1:8; 1 John 1:4; 2 John 12), the full joy of eternal perfection awaits them in heaven when as faithful slaves they “enter into the joy of [their] master” (Matt. 25:21, 23). Believers’ highest joy in this life does not come from the trivial, insignificant, temporal things of this world, but in the spiritual life and fellowship of lost sinners found, restored, and united in Christ’s true church. Believers’ joy, as God’s joy, is the result of the greatness and glory of God’s saving work.

Three points provide necessary background information for the parables in this chapter. The first is clarity. These stories cannot be understood in a vacuum, but only in light of the cultural setting in which they were given. What they meant to the people of Jesus’ day is what He intended them to mean to each and every succeeding generation. A parable in a sense can be like a political cartoon, the point of which is lost on those from a different society. The message of our Lord’s parables was clear to perceptive listeners living together in the common culture of the time. Thus, the essential prerequisite for understanding the message of the parables is established by reconstructing the cultural setting in which they were told.

The second is location. This chapter is centrally placed in Luke’s gospel. The introductory section (1:1–9:50) covers Luke’s prologue, the events surrounding Christ’s birth, and His Galilean ministry. The middle section (9:51–19:27), chronicles the Lord’s ministry in Judea. The final section (19:28–24:53), focuses on the passion of Christ; the events surrounding the cross, His death, resurrection, and post-resurrection appearances. The middle ten chapters, containing more than twenty parables, are the heart and soul of our Lord’s kingdom teaching. Chapter 15 is in the middle of those ten chapters, and the three parables it contains form the high point of Jesus’ teaching in this section of Luke.

The final point is complexity. While illustrations and analogies and never allegories with mystical, hidden, secret meanings, parables can contain various features and layers. In each of these parables, the story itself is first and follows the same form or outline in all three. Something valuable (a sheep, coin, or son) is lost, sought, found or restored, and celebrated. The second layer consists of an ethical implication that everyone would have understood. Did the shepherd do the right thing in leaving the ninety-nine sheep to look for the one that was lost? Should the woman have dropped everything to search for her lost coin? Was the father right to take back the son who had wasted his inheritance? Third, there are theological implications in the lessons each parable teaches about the kingdom of God. The final layer involves what the parables teach about Christ. All three parables also illustrate an aspect of the lost sinner, who like a sheep is stupid and helpless; like a coin is senseless and inanimate, and like a rebel son is wicked and destitute. In each case the seeker (the shepherd, woman, and father) represents God, who after restoring the lost sinner rejoices along with all those in heaven.

With that as a background, the chapter opens on the foundational reality that sets the stage—all the tax collectors (despised traitors who extorted money from their fellow Jews to fill Rome’s coffers) and the sinners (the irreligious and unrighteous riff-raff, whom the scribes and Pharisees considered beneath them and refused to associate with) were coming near Jesus to listen to Him. As a result, both the Pharisees and the scribes began to grumble, saying, “This man re ceives sinners and eats with them.” William Barclay details the Phari sees’ disdain for such people:

The Pharisees gave to people who did not keep the law a general classification. They called them the People of the Land; and there was a complete barrier between the Pharisees and the People of the Land. The Pharisaic regulations laid it down, “When a man is one of the People of the Land, entrust no money to him, take no testimony from him, trust him with no secret, do not appoint him guardian of an orphan, do not make him the custodian of charitable funds, do not accompany him on a journey.” A Pharisee was forbidden to be the guest of any such man or to have him as his guest. He was even forbidden, so far as it was possible, to have any business dealings with him. It was the deliberate Pharisaic aim to avoid every contact with the people who did not observe the petty details of the law … the strict Jews said, not “There will be joy in heaven over one sinner who repents,” but, “There will be joy in heaven over one sinner who is obliterated before God.” (The New Daily Study Bible, The Gospel of Luke [Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2001], 236–37. Italics in original.)

That the Lord associated with the despised outcasts of Jewish society shocked and appalled the religious authorities, and drew their sharp criticism (cf. 5:29–32; 7:34–39; 19:7). But Christ associated with sinners because His mission was to “seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10) and consequently bring joy to God.

It is in the context of His conflict with the scribes and Pharisees that Jesus created the three parables that make up the chapter. They not only reveal that God and all heaven rejoice when the lost are found, but at the same time indict the scribes and Pharisees because they did not find joy in Jesus’ mission of saving sinners. They claimed to know God, but in truth were abysmally ignorant of the heart of God toward the lost. They were just another generation like those whom Isaiah described as hypocrites who “draw near with their words and honor Me with their lip service, but they remove their hearts far from Me” (Isa. 29:13). These stories are the means by which the Lord exposes their complete alienation from God, His joy, and mission of salvation.

The Lost Sheep

So He told them this parable, saying, “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? When he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ I tell you that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. (15:3–7)

By introducing the first two parables with a hypothetical question, the Lord drew the scribes and Pharisees deep into both the experience and thinking of the main characters. Having assumed that role in their minds and affirmed that what the character in the story did was right ethically they were trapped. There was no way to avoid the Lord’s clear and unmistakable application of the truth that it was right to recover a valuable coin and sheep—was it less important to rescue a soul from judgment?

This first story involves poor peasants in a village setting. The man caring for a hundred sheep probably did not own all of them, since it would have been unusual for one villager to have a flock that large. Villagers would often consolidate their sheep into large flocks and hire shepherds from the lower end of the village’s social structure to take care of them. They were reluctant to hire outsiders since such hired hands, having no personal stake in the flock, were not concerned about the sheep (John 10:12–13).

Even though such prominent Old Testament figures as Rachel (Gen. 29:9), Jacob (Gen. 30:31; 31:4), the patriarchs of the twelve tribes of Israel (Gen. 37:12–13; 47:3), Joseph (Gen. 37:2), Moses (Ex. 3:1), and David (1 Sam. 16:19; 17:15, 20, 34) had been shepherds, and even God is described as a shepherd (Gen. 48:15; Pss. 23:1; 80:1; Isa. 40:11; John 10:11, 14; Heb. 13:20; 1 Peter 2:25; 5:4; Rev. 7:17), shepherds were near the bottom of the social ladder. Caring for sheep was the lowest of the legitimate occupations, ranking just above the outcast line, below which were tax collectors and other irreligious sinners. Shepherds were uneducated and unskilled, and were increasingly viewed in the post-New Testament era as dishonest, unreliable, and unsavory—so much so that they were not permitted to testify in court. Sheep had to be watched and cared for seven days a week, leaving shepherds unable to fully comply with the Pharisees’ man-made Sabbath regulations. Because they were in continual violation of those regulations, shepherds were perpetually ceremonially unclean. For Jesus to ask the scribes and Pharisees to imagine themselves in the role of a shepherd was insulting. No Pharisee would demean himself by becoming a shepherd, not even hypothetically. By challenging them to put themselves in the imaginary shepherd’s place, the Lord once again attacked their overweening pride.

As the story opens, the shepherds (there would likely have been two or three for a flock of this size) had lost one of the sheep. This was a dangerous and potentially life-threatening situation, since sheep are defenseless against predators and unable to take care of themselves. For example, if they roll over onto their backs they are often unable to right themselves, which places them in grave danger, as Phillip Keller explains:

The way it happens is this. A heavy, fat, or long fleeced sheep will lie down comfortably in some little hollow or depression in the ground. It may roll on its side slightly to stretch out or relax. Suddenly the center of gravity in the body shifts so that it turns on its back far enough that the feet no longer touch the ground. It may feel a sense of panic and start to paw frantically. Frequently this only makes things worse. It rolls over even further. Now it is quite impossible for it to regain its feet.

As it lies there struggling, gases begin to build up in the rumen. As these expand they tend to retard and cut off blood circulation to the extremities of the body, especially the legs. If the weather is very hot and sunny a cast sheep can die in a few hours. If it is cool and cloudy and rainy it may survive in this position for several days. (A Shepherd Looks At Psalm 23 [Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1970], 61–62)

Losing one of the sheep was therefore a serious situation, which called for immediate action. Shepherds were accountable for their flock, and if a sheep wandered off, they were responsible to rescue it (cf. 1 Sam. 17:34–35), or produce evidence that it had been killed by a predator or stolen (cf. Gen. 31:39). It was this shepherd’s duty to leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture under the care of others and go after the one that was lost and search for it until he found it.

In the Lord’s story the shepherd found the lost sheep, so his search was successful. Having found it, the shepherd laid it on his shoulders, its stomach against his neck and its feet tied together in front of him, and started on the long, arduous journey home carrying the heavy animal (an adult sheep can weigh more than 100 pounds). Further, that he brought the sheep home to the village, not back to the open pasture from where he had set out on his search, implies that it was after nightfall and that he made the return trip in the dark. Yet, he did not do so unwillingly, but rejoicing.

After being lost, sought, and found, the sheep’s safe return was celebrated. In his joy over finding the missing sheep, the shepherd called together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!” The scribes and Pharisees, though loath to be shepherds, even in their minds for the sake of illustration, would have understood fully the monetary value of sheep, since they were “lovers of money” (Luke 16:14). They would have grasped the joyous celebration that would have ensued when the shepherd returned with the lost sheep. They would have agreed that, ethically, the shepherd’s relentless pursuit of the lost sheep was his obligation.

Having drawn the scribes and Pharisees into the story, the Lord delivered a devastating application to them. I tell you, He solemnly declared, that in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. The contrast between the scribes and Pharisees, who were indifferent to the plight of the lost, and God, who seeks them and rejoices when they are found, is striking. That those who claimed to officially represent God did not understand His mission or share His joy at the recovery of lost sinners reveals that their thinking was alien to His. The scribes and Pharisees lived within the narrow confines of superfi ciality and triviality while all around them souls were perishing. They were hypocrites, false shepherds who knew nothing of the compassionate, caring, loving heart of God; they were depicted by the ninety-nine self-righteous persons who saw no need for personal repentance and brought no joy to heaven.

The story also contains Christological overtones. God incarnate in Jesus Christ is the good shepherd (John 10:11, 14), who came “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). He has compassion on lost sinners, whom He likened to sheep without a shepherd (Matt. 9:36; Mark 6:34), and bore the full burden of their restoration to God by laying down His life for them (John 10:11; cf. Isa. 53:4–6; 1 Peter 2:24–25).

The Lost Coin

Or what woman, if she has ten silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? When she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, “Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!” In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents. (15:8–10)

Like the first story, this one also takes place in a village setting. As does the previous parable, this one presents a poor person of low social standing facing a major crisis—a woman who lost a coin of great value.

If the scribes and Pharisees were insulted that Jesus asked them to think like a shepherd, calling on them to imagine themselves in the place of a woman was an even greater insult. Shepherds were considered unclean, and in that male-dominated culture women were deemed insignificant and not worthy of respect. It should be noted that while the scribes and Pharisees resented being compared to a shepherd and a woman, God Himself did not. In Psalm 23 He not only pictured Himself as a shepherd (v. 1), but also as a woman (v. 5; preparing a table was women’s work), while in His lament over Jerusalem, Jesus pictured Himself as a mother hen (Luke 13:34). It was mercy that prompted Jesus to assault their foolish pride, since only the humble can be saved (Matt. 5:5; James 4:6, 10).

The parable describes a woman who had lost one of her ten silver coins. The coin was a drachma (a Roman denarius), which represented a day’s wage for a common laborer. While that may not seem like a large sum, in a bartering society, where money was not used as frequently as in most modern societies, it was a significant loss. The money may have been an emergency fund, to be used when needed to make critical purchases. A more likely possibility is that the coins represented the woman’s dowry, given to her as a wedding gift by her father and providing security for the future.

How she lost it is not relevant to the story. It may be that she had strung the coins together and worn them around her neck and the cord broke, or she may have bound them up together in a rag as a sort of purse and the knot came undone. To carry out her desperate search, it was necessary for her to light a lamp even in the daytime, since houses usually had either no windows, or at best very small ones. When a quick look around failed to reveal the coin, she proceeded to sweep the dusty, hard-packed dirt floor of the house and search carefully and intensely for it.

At last, to her great joy, she found the missing coin. To celebrate, she called together her female friends and neighbors (both nouns are feminine) saying, “Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin which I had lost!” People in a small, tight-knit village would share each other’s sufferings and joys, so a party celebrating the woman’s joy at recovering what she had lost would have been appropriate. Are eternal souls worth less?

In terms of ethics, the Pharisees would once again have agreed that she had done what was necessary under the circumstances. All would agree that having lost a significant sum of money, there was nothing else for her to do but diligently search for it until she found it. This parable too was aimed squarely at them, as Christ’s emphatic statement I tell you indicates. Yet they again failed to make the connection between their contemptuous disdain for lost souls and God’s passionate concern for them. They failed to share in the joy that exists in the presence of the angels of God, who have a keen interest in the redemption that produces God’s joy (cf. Matt. 18:10; 25:31; Luke 2:10–14; 1 Peter 1:12; Rev. 3:5), over one sinner who repents. The joy here is God’s joy, the joy that fills heaven, and in which the angels and the redeemed share (cf. Rev. 4:8–11; 5:8–14).

The Lord’s indictment of the scribes and Pharisees was clear and inescapable. How could they affirm the ethical responsibility of a shepherd to search for a lost sheep and a woman to search for a lost coin, while condemning Him for seeking to recover lost souls? How could they understand the joys of the humble men and women in a village over temporal recovery, and utterly fail to comprehend the joy of God in heaven over eternal salvation?

The theological and Christological elements of this brief parable are clear. The woman represents God in Christ seeking lost sinners in the cracks, dust, and debris of a dirty world of sin. He initiated the search for those sinners who belong to Him through His sovereign choice of them, since like the lifeless, inanimate coin, they can do nothing on their own (Eph. 2:1–3). Jesus came all the way from heaven to earth to search for His lost ones, pursuing sinners into every dark corner, and then shining the light of the glorious gospel (2 Cor. 4:5–6; 1 Tim. 1:11) on them. Having found the lost sinner, God in Christ restores him or her to His heavenly treasury, and then expresses joy in which the holy inhabitants of heaven share.

Recovering the lost requires costly grace. The sinless Son of God became a man, lived with sinners, bore God’s wrath for sin on the cross, and rose in triumph from the grave. None of the false gods of the world’s religions are like the true and living God, who seeks and saves unworthy sinners because He values them as His own; who makes His enemies His friends for the sheer joy that He receives in saving them.

Yet God’s seeking and saving lost sinners does not happen apart from their repentance. That reality is not part of the sheep and coin stories, since they are not persons. It is, however, a theme of the last and longest of the three parables in this chapter, the tale of two sons and a loving father (vv. 11–32), which is the subject of the next chapter of this volume.

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The Tale of Two Sons

(Luke 15:11–32)

And He said, “A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.” ’ So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate. Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’ ” (15:11–32)

The Lord Jesus Christ was the master story teller. His stories were unequalled analogies clarifying spiritual truth. Although they had, above the surface, profound spiritual significance relating to the kingdom of God and salvation, they were, in themselves, stories drawn from everyday life experience that His hearers could relate to. Even Christ’s fictional stories, like the rest of the Bible, stand in contrast to false religions, almost all of which draw their features out of myth and fantasy. The Bible is a real world book, true to fact and to common human experience. Even when the meanings of the Lord’s stories were designed to conceal the truth from those who had rejected Him (Matt. 13:13–15; John 12:39–40), they were still clear and comprehensible stories. Even those who rejected the truth understood the analogies, though in the dark as to their spiritual significance and application.

This story is a clear illustration of that fact. The religious leaders understood the story exactly, but as to its spiritual meaning they were blind. Of all the Lord’s parables, this one is the best known and most memorable. Commonly known as the parable of the prodigal son, it is in reality the story of two rebellious sons and their loving, gracious father. Though a child can grasp the tale, its meaning is probably the most rich and complex of Jesus’ parables.

This story deserves more than just a barebones treatment; a mere superficial understanding that fails to grasp the depth and richness of its message. Since the Bible is an ancient Near Eastern book, its truths are presented in a cultural setting that is alien to our own. It has been all too easy for interpreters to rip this story out of its context, transport it into today’s world, and treat it superficially and errantly. To do so is not only to miss the nuances, subtleties, and features that give this story its full divine message, but also to misrepresent the message of Jesus. And that is no small crime, especially in dealing with this most crucial salvation illustration.

To draw out of this magnificent story all that God put in it is to hear it in the context that Jesus’ audience would have heard it. There were in their minds deeply ingrained social and religious ideas, cultural attitudes, generating predictable feelings and sensibilities typical of life and perception in the ancient Middle East. Even the most educated people of that time would have had their roots in simple, agrarian village life. Understanding some of the features of that life will illuminate the story for modern readers, and prevent superficial misrepresentation.

As noted in the previous chapter of this volume, the three parables in Luke 15 are Jesus’ response to accusations made by His relentless adversaries, the scribes and Pharisees. They hated Him for confronting and exposing their self-righteous hypocrisy, and in return blasphemously accused Him of being empowered by Satan. One way they tried to discredit Jesus was by attacking Him for associating with the “unsynagogued” riffraff of Jewish society, the tax-collectors and sinners (15:1–2). That Jesus associated with Satan’s people (as they viewed them) instead of God’s people (as they viewed themselves) proved, they argued, that He could not be from God.

Like the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin, this parable depicts God’s joy over the salvation of the lost. But while the first two parables emphasize God’s part in seeking sinners this third one, while touching on God as the seeker, focuses more on the human aspect of salvation—man’s sin, rejection, repentance, and return to God. It is a dramatic, moving story of the sinner’s desperate penitence and of God’s love and eager forgiveness for such sorrow.

The story revolves around three characters: the younger son, the father, and the older son and how they acted within a culture whose ethical priority was to seek honor and avoid shame. Told to the protectors of honor and rejecters of shame, this story turns that ethical construct on its head. The younger son appears to be the extreme example of shame by his rebellion against all that is right. Then, in the eyes of the scribes and Pharisees, the father appears more shameful in accepting the son back. To all who understand the story, the older brother is the ultimate exhibition of shame, and he represents the scribes and Pharisees, who believed they were the most honorable and without shame. Those aspects of shame and honor will become clear as the story progresses.

The Younger Son

And He said, “A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.” ’ (15:11–19)

The story of the familiar younger of the two sons unfolds in three stages of shame: he made a shameless request, committed a shameless act of rebellion, and then shamefully repented.

a shameless request

And He said, “A man had two sons. The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.’ So he divided his wealth between them. (15:11–12)

The story opens by introducing a man who had two sons. The common title of this story, the parable of the prodigal son, implies that it is primarily about the younger son. Such is not the case, however. Though he does not appear until the end, it is actually the older brother who is the main focus of the parable. The younger son’s actions at the beginning set in motion the chain of events that led to his brother’s sinful reaction and the indictment of Jesus’ listeners. “Prodigal” is an archaic term that describes a spendthrift; an extravagantly self-indulgent or recklessly wasteful person. It accurately describes the younger son, as his actions reveal.

This young man made a startling request to his father and said to him, “Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.” The scribes and Pharisees listening to this story would have been surprised and shocked by his brazen demand. This was an outrageous, unheard of request for a son to make to his father. It was disrespectful, and expressed an extreme lack of love and gratitude to the one who had provided everything for him. The scribes and Pharisees would have considered it shameful, reprehensible, unacceptable behavior, a flagrant violation of the fifth commandment, “Honor your father and your mother” (Ex. 20:12; cf. Lev. 19:3; Mal. 1:6; Matt. 15:4).

For a son to say such a thing to his father in that culture was tantamount to saying that he wished that his father was dead, since he was not entitled to his share of the inheritance (one-third of the estate, since his brother was the firstborn [Gen. 25:31–34; Deut. 21:17]) while his father was still alive. Since his father retained control and oversight of the estate as long as he lived (cf. v. 31), he stood in the way of his son’s plans. He wanted his freedom to leave the family and gratify his own selfish desires. Normally a son who shamed himself by making such a request would have been publically shamed by his father, perhaps disinherited, or possibly even dismissed from the family and considered dead (cf. vv. 24, 32).

Further evidence of the son’s irresponsibility comes from the use of the term ousias (estate), used only here in the New Testament, instead of the usual term for inheritance, klēronomia (12:13; 20:14; Matt. 21:38; Mark 12:7). Ousias refers to property or material possessions, and its use suggests that he was unwilling to take the responsibility that came with his share of the estate. He evidently was not interested in managing his share for the family’s future good, as those before him had done, but selfishly wanted to liquidate it to use it only for his own pleasure.

Word of the son’s irresponsible and selfish request would have circulated throughout the village. The people would have expected the father to be furious with the son who had shamed and dishonored him and to take appropriate disciplinary action. Instead, in a surprising and unexpected turn of events, the father granted his son’s request and divided his wealth between his sons. Wealth translates the Greek work bios, which literally refers to physical life. It encompasses here all that the previous generations of the family had produced and handed down to the current generation. Had the father done so of his own free will it might have been understandable. But to do so in response to his wicked son’s impudent request was shocking. Instead of slapping him across the face for his insolence, the father gave him what he wanted. In the eyes of the religious leaders listening the father had, by this concession, acted shamefully himself! The Lord is making the spiritual point that God gives sinners the freedom to choose their course of iniquity.

a shameless rebellion

And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be impoverished. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would have gladly filled his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. (15:13–16)

It did not take long for the younger son to take the next step in his downward plunge. Wasting no time, not many days later he gathered everything he had received together. Sunagō (gathered together) has the connotation here of turning everything into cash (the word was so used in extrabiblical Greek; cf. Walter Bauer, William F. Arndt, and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature [Chicago: Univ. of Chicago, 1979], 782), since that was the only practical way he could have taken his share of the estate with him on a journey into a distant country for his sinful pleasure. Although he could not take possession of his inheritance until his father died, he was permitted to sell his share (necessarily at a discounted price) to a buyer willing to wait to take possession until the father died (much like investors today buy futures, hedging against the future by paying the purchase price now).

As if it were not bad enough that he dishonored his father, ignored his responsibility to the family, and set off on a wasteful course of sinful pleasure, he then travelled to a distant country, meaning a Gentile region (as was all territory outside of Israel). He wanted to sin beyond the range of all accountability, far away from his father and the villagers, who scorned him for his disgraceful behavior. His action symbolizes the foolishness of the sinner trying to flee from God, to whom he does not want to be answerable.

The people listening to the story would have wondered why the Lord did not bring in the older brother at this point to act as a mediator. That would have been expected. If he truly loved his father, he would have defended his honor from the irresponsible actions of his younger brother; if he loved his brother, he would have intervened to prevent him from ruining his life and heaping shame on everyone. He bears shame for his absence. The picture is of a loving, generous father who gave his all to two ungrateful, unloving sons, both of whom had absolutely no relationship to him, or to each other.

As he had planned, after arriving at his destination, the younger son squandered his estate with loose living. Diaskorpizō (squandered) literally means “to scatter” (Matt. 25:24, 26; 26:31; Luke 1:51; John 11:52; Acts 5:37). Through his reckless, wasteful, debauched lifestyle—including consorting with prostitutes (v. 30)—he squandered his fortune.

Sin’s pleasures are fleeting (Heb. 11:25), however, and when the last of his money was gone, the party was over. His erstwhile friends, who had gladly binged with him, had no more use for him once he had spent everything. Hard on the heels of his bankrupting himself came another disaster, this one not of his own making: a severe famine occurred in that country. Famine was a dreaded and deadly scourge that was all too common in the ancient world. Famine drove both Abraham (Gen. 12:10) and Jacob and his family (Gen. 47:4) to seek refuge in Egypt, Isaac to seek refuge in the land of the Philistines (Gen. 26:1), and Ruth and her family to take refuge in Moab (Ruth 1:1). There were famines throughout Israel’s history (2 Sam. 21:1; 1 Kings 18:1–2; 2 Kings 4:38; 8:1; Neh. 5:3; Lam. 5:10; Acts 11:28), often with appalling consequences—including cannibalism (2 Kings 6:25–29).

For the first time in his life he began to be impoverished (lit., “come up short,” or, “be in need”). His own bad decisions, coupled with the severe external crisis brought about by the famine, brought him to an inconceivable level of desperation. He had forsaken his family, and his so-called friends had forsaken him. He was a stranger in a foreign land, with nowhere to go and no one to turn to for help. He was penniless, destitute, without resources. Seeking unrestrained pleasure, unabated lusts, and unrestricted behavior, he wound up instead with pain, emptiness on the brink of death. Yet despite his dire circumstances, he was not yet ready to humble himself, return home, seek restoration, and face the consequences of his shameful behavior.

Instead, he came up with a desperate plan. He went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed swine. For a Jewish man to herd swine in a Gentile country was one of the most degrading occupations imaginable. The rabbinic writings pronounced a curse on those involved with swine (Leon Morris, The Gospel According to St. Luke, The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975], 241). The word hired is a stretch for what Jesus meant, since it translates a form of the verb kollaō, which literally means “glued.” This was not a job contract. He was a beggar and like persistent beggars the world over, he probably latched on to this man and would not let go. To get rid of him, the man would send him to feed the pigs, perhaps with no intention to pay him anything. He was reduced to fighting the pigs for the pods that they were eating. These were probably carob pods, which are virtually inedible for humans (although when crushed to powder, they can be used as a substitute for chocolate). Even his attempts at begging failed, for no one was giving anything to him.

The younger son’s behavior exemplifies the sinner’s wretched desires and his predicament graphically illustrates the sinner’s desperate plight. To sin against God is to rebel against His fatherhood, disdain His honor and respect, spurn His love, and reject His will. Unrepentant sinners shun all responsibility and accountability to God. They deny Him his place, hate Him, wish He did not exist, refuse to love Him, and dishonor Him. They take the gifts He has given them and squander them in a life of self-indulgence, dissipation, and unrestrained lust. As a result they find themselves spiritually bankrupt, empty, destitute, with no one to help, nowhere to turn, and facing eternal death. And when all the self-help strategies fail, the sinner hits rock bottom. There is only one solution for those who, like this young man, find themselves in such a situation, which the next scene in the parable reveals.

a shameful repentance

But when he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.” ’ (15:17–19)

In the depths of his hopelessness and despair, the younger son, facing starvation, came to his senses and remembered his rich and generous father. “How many of my father’s hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger!” he reminded himself. This statement further reveals his knowledge of his father’s gracious, compassionate nature. Hired men were day laborers who were generally unskilled and poor, living day to day on the temporary jobs they could find at whatever wages they were offered (cf. Matt. 20:13–14). Recognizing the reality that such people would be part of society, the Old Testament law protected them and required their wages to be paid in a timely manner (cf. Lev. 19:13; Deut. 24:14–15). But as the son knew well and recalled, his father generously exceeded the requirements of the law by making sure that the men he hired had more than enough bread. That recollection gave him hope and, with no other option, with what the scribes and Pharisees would see as brash audacity, he decided to get up and go to his father. The worst that could happen would be no more severe than what he faced, but he hoped at least to be treated with the same mercy and compassion with which his father had always treated his day laborers.

With that in mind, he rehearsed a brief confession to offer when he arrived home: “Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men.’ ” The best he could have expected, after humbly confessing his shameful sin, was to be allowed to work toward restitution (cf. Matt. 18:26) of all he had wasted and after that hope to be reconciled with his father. The scribes and Pharisees would have agreed that he needed to confess, repent, be humiliated, shamed, and perhaps receive forgiveness and mercy, but only after making full restitution. In their thinking, people earn their way back from shame.

The younger son’s actions picture the kind of repentance that can lead to salvation. He came to his senses and realized that his situation was desperate. He remembered his father’s goodness, compassion, generosity, and mercy and trusted in them. In the same way, the repentant sinner takes stock of his situation and acknowledges his need to turn from his sin. He realizes that there is no one to turn to except the Father whom he has shamed and dishonored and by faith, with nothing to offer, turns to Him for forgiveness and reconciliation on the basis of His grace. The son acknowledged to his father that he had sinned against heaven (the Greek phrase could also suggest that he viewed his sins as piling up as high as heaven; cf. Ezra 9:6) and in his sight. In the same way the penitent sinner takes full responsibility for his sin and affirms its heinousness.

Repentance is the sinner’s part in the process of being restored to God, and there is no true gospel apart from it. The call for sinners to repent is at the heart of all biblical evangelism, beginning in the Old Testament (cf. Pss. 32:5; 51:1–4, 14, 17; Isa. 1:16–18; 55:6–7; Ezek. 18:30, 32; 33:19; Jonah 3:5–10). In the New Testament repentance was central to the gospel preaching of John the Baptist (Luke 3:3–9), Jesus (Matt. 4:17; Luke 5:32; 13:3, 5; 24:46–47), the apostles (Mark 6:12), and the early church (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 8:22; 17:30; 20:21; 26:20; 2 Cor. 7:9–11). Repentance must not be misconstrued as a meritorious, pre-salvation work since, though required of the sinner, it must be granted by God (Acts 11:18; Rom. 2:4; 2 Tim. 2:25).

Assuming that he would have to work to make restitution, the younger son did not expect to be welcomed back immediately into the family as a son, or even as one of the household servants. He only hoped that his father would be willing to accept him as one of his hired men. His empty lifestyle had filled him with remorse for the past, pain in the present, and the bleak prospect of even more suffering in the future as he worked the rest of his life to earn acceptance. But as it turned out, he drastically underestimated his father.

The Father

So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate. (15:20–24)

Like the shameful story of his lost son, in the eyes of the religious leaders, the story of the father unfolds in three shameful stages: a shameful reception, a shameless reconciliation, and a shameless rejoicing.

a shameful reception

So he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” (15:20–21)

Forced to his only option, the hopeful younger son got up and came to his father. The reception he was to receive was beyond his imagination, and shocked and stunned those legalists to whom the story was directed. The unexpected reception began to unfold while he was still a long way off. Before he entered the village Jesus said his father saw him, indicating that he had been watching, waiting, suffering silently, hoping himself that one day his shameful son would return. The scribes and Pharisees would have expected that if the son did return, the father, to maintain his own honor, would initially refuse to see him. Instead, he would make him sit in the village outside the gate of the family home for days in shame and disgrace. When he did finally grant his son an audience, it would be a cool reception as the son humbled himself before his father. He would be expected to tell his son what works he would need to perform to make full restitution for his prodigality, and for how long, before he could be reconciled as a son to his father. All of that was consistent with the rabbis’ teaching that repentance was a good work performed by sinners that could eventually earn God’s favor and forgiveness.

But that cultural expectation was shattered by Jesus when He said the father, on seeing his son, felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. It was obviously represented as daylight, since he would not have been able to see his son at any great distance at night. The village would have been bustling with activity, and the father was determined to reach his son before he entered the village, with the intent to protect him from the shame of the taunts, scorn, and abuse that would be heaped upon him by the villagers as soon as they recognized him. The father’s compassion for his son spurred him into action before the abuse could start.

To the utter amazement of the Lord’s hearers, the details of the story convey that the father took the son’s shame upon himself and then immediately reconciled him to the full honor of sonship. Incredibly, this shameful humbling is seen in his eagerness to reach him, because he ran to meet his son. Middle Eastern noblemen do not run. And ran translates a form of the Greek verb trechō, which was used of running a race in 1 Corinthians 9:24 and 26. Determined to reach his son before he entered the village received the taunts of the town, the father literally sprinted to him. For a man of his status and importance to run in public was, and still is, unheard of. Running necessitated gathering up the long robes worn by men and women alike and thus exposing the legs, which was considered shameful. He became at that time the object of shame—taking shame on himself to prevent shame on his son. Even more shocking was what he did when he reached the prodigal; he embraced him despite his impoverished filthiness and the vile rags he wore and repeatedly kissed him. That gesture of acceptance, love, forgiveness, and reconciliation would have further shocked the scribes and Pharisees. Here in this father the Lord Jesus Christ presents Himself, the one who left the glory of heaven, came to earth and bore the shame and humility to embrace repentant sinners, who come to Him in faith, and give them complete forgiveness and reconciliation.

The son’s stunning reception by the horribly offended father took place solely by the grace of that father, apart from any works on the boy’s part. When he finally could speak and make his rehearsed speech, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son,” he left out the last crucial phrase, “make me as one of your hired men.” Why? Because there was no need to work to earn restoration and reconciliation. His father had received him back as a son. He did not have to crawl back one day at a time into his father’s good graces, but was instantly forgiven, given mercy, and already reconciled. The son’s reception is a true illustration of believers, who come in by repentance and faith directed toward God, pleading for His grace and forgiveness apart from works—and receiving full sonship.

a shameless reconciliation

But the father said to his slaves, ‘Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; (15:22)

The father then gave visible evidence of his reconciliation with his son. His actions would have further shocked those listening to this story. They would have found it incomprehensible that he would lavish honors on the son who had shamed and dishonored him. Turning to the household slaves who had followed him as he ran to meet his son, he said first of all, “Quickly, without delay, bring out the best robe and put it on him.” The best or most important robe belonged to the patriarch, and was worn only on the most significant occasions. He was about to call for a grand, gala celebration, yet he gave his son the garment that he would normally have worn to such an event. The ring was the father’s signet ring, which bore the family crest and was used to stamp the wax seal on documents to authenticate them. It signified the father’s bestowing of privileges, rights, and authority on his son. Sandals, not usually worn by slaves, signified his full restoration to sonship. Just as the son returned to his father with nothing, so repentant, empty-handed sinners approach their heavenly Father, who justifies not the self-righteous, but the ungodly (Rom. 4:5).

The father’s giving the robe and ring to his younger son would have shocked Christ’s hearers. They knew that the robe and the ring by rights should have gone to the older brother. He would have first worn the father’s formal robe at his own wedding—the single greatest event that could happen in a family. He should have received the ring as a symbol of his right as the firstborn to act on behalf of his father. But now, incredibly, his father had given them to his younger brother. Such lavish love and grace bestowed on a penitent, trusting sinner is incomprehensible to the legalistic mind. Legalism hates grace.

a shameless rejoicing

and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and celebrate; for this son of mine was dead and has come to life again; he was lost and has been found.’ And they began to celebrate. (15:23–24)

Overjoyed at his son’s return, the father ordered his servants to prepare an extravagant celebration, dwarfing those of the shepherd who found his lost sheep (v. 6) and the woman who found her lost coin (v. 9). The fattened, grain-fed calf was reserved for events of utmost significance, such as the wedding of the firstborn son (cf. Matt. 22:2–4), or the visit of an important person (cf. 1 Sam. 28:24). By ordering his servants to prepare it so that the guests could eat and celebrate, the father revealed how important his son had become. Since a fattened calf could feed up to two hundred people, the entire village would have been invited. The shepherd had found an animal, the woman an inanimate object, and they celebrated with a few of their friends. But the father had found his son, who was dead and had come to life again; who was lost, but now had been found, and the entire village began to celebrate with him. All three celebrations reflect heaven’s joy at the divine recovery of lost sinners (see the discussion of that truth in the previous chapter of this volume). And this party, like the first two, in reality honored not the one found, but the finder, who sought his son and gave him full reconciliation through his merciful forgiveness and gracious love.

The Older Son

Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.’ ” (15:25–32)

Some, simplistically, have argued that the older son represents Christians, since he remained at home and was outwardly obedient to his father. In reality, however, he represents the apostate legalists, in the form of the scribes and Pharisees. The older son’s shameful role may be viewed under two headings: his truly shameful reaction, and his father’s perceived shameful response.

a shameful reaction

Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things could be. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he became angry and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began pleading with him. But he answered and said to his father, ‘Look! For so many years I have been serving you and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a young goat, so that I might celebrate with my friends; but when this son of yours came, who has devoured your wealth with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.’ (15:25–30)

The older son had been out in the field all day overseeing the workers and was unaware of his brother’s return and the subsequent party. When he came in from the field and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. That he knew nothing of the reconciliation and had not heard the sounds of the party earlier indicates the huge size of the family estate designed into the story. Surprised at finding a village-wide celebration in progress that he knew nothing about, he summoned one of the servants (perhaps one of the young boys hanging around the fringes of the party) and began inquiring what these things could be. He was not in the loop regarding the party, even though as the firstborn the responsibility for planning it should have fallen to him. Further, it was his resources, from his share of the estate, that were being used for the party, yet he had not been consulted. Legally, his father did not have to get his permission to use the resources, even though he had already dispersed to him the remaining two thirds of the estate. As noted above, the father retained control (according to the legal principle known as usufruct) of the estate as long as he lived. But his father’s failure to consult him indicates once again that the older brother had no relationship with him or his younger brother. In terms of his relationship to his family he was metaphorically, as well as literally, far away in a field.

The servant’s reply, “Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound,” should have filled him with joy that his brother had returned and his father was being properly honored for his generosity. Instead it outraged and infuriated him that his father had received the prodigal back at all. Even worse from his perspective was the realization that his father had already reconciled with his brother (the Greek word translated safe and sound is used in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, to refer to peace, not merely physical health), instead of making him work to make restitution for his waste and sin.

For years that older rebel had managed to conceal his true feelings of resentment toward his father and brother. All along, though, he had been wicked like his brother, only inwardly, not outwardly. But this event exposed his real attitude. In a burst of public display from long-cultivated private hatred, he became angry and was not willing to go in to celebrate with the others. He could not rejoice over the recovery of his lost brother because he had no love for his father. He failed to understand unmerited favor, free forgiveness, and deliverance from shame by the actions of the offended one endowed with the authority to forgive.

The scribes and Pharisees would have applauded his reaction. Finally, they must have thought, someone is upholding honor and acting righteously in anger over the son’s shameful sin and the father’s shameful forgiveness. They would have considered his father’s actions outrageous and shameful, in the same way they considered Christ’s associat ing with tax collectors and sinners wicked. And picturing them, the older son was a hypocritical legalist, doing what was expected of him on the outside, but inwardly filled with secret sins, such as bitterness, hatred, jealousy, anger, and lust (Matt. 23:28). The truth is, he was more profoundly and truly lost than his profligate younger brother, because he had spent his life convincing himself and others that he was good and morally upright. That made it impossible for him to acknowledge that he was in reality a wretched sinner. So it was with the scribes and Pharisees, they were “the righteous” that unlike “sinners” would not come to repentance (Matt. 9:13).

In contrast to their hard legalism and showing the same compassionate patience that he had toward his younger son, his father came out and began pleading with him to come to the celebration. The father’s action symbolized God in Jesus Christ pleading with sinners (cf. Ezek. 18:31; 33:11; Luke 19:10) to come to salvation. This yet again would have surprised the self-righteous Jews, who would have expected the older son to be honored for his unwillingness to mingle in a celebration for a sinner led by a host whose love overpowered his devotion to the law.

All of the older son’s pent up anger, bitterness, and resentment spilled out in a tirade that disregarded both his father’s honor and his brother’s blessing. Disrespectfully refusing to address him with the title “Father,” he bluntly said to his father, “Look! For so many years I have been serving (douleuō; to serve as a slave) you.” To him, his many years of working under his father had been nothing but slavery. There was no love or respect for his father, merely toil and drudgery, waiting for him to die so he could inherit. It becomes clear that he wanted exactly what his younger brother wanted, all he could get of the estate for his own use, but chose a different path to obtaining it. Then, in a classic expression of self-righteous hypocrisy he declared, “I have never neglected a command of yours” (cf. Luke 18:21). Reflecting the amazing capacity for self-deception exhibited by hypocrites who think they are good, he lived under the illusion that he had never neglected any of his father’s commands. The implied contrast is between his supposedly perfect behavior and his father’s shameful behavior in his lenient treatment of his younger son. The older son saw himself as one of the “ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance” (Luke 15:7).

His outburst continued with allegations that his father had acted unfairly and unjustly. “You have never given me a young goat,” he complained, “so that I might celebrate with my friends.” First, he declared that he had not been celebrated for his legalism. Heaven never holds a party for a self-righteous man. The second implication is that the people who really mattered to him, those that he would like to party with, were his friends, not his family. That was reminiscent of the Pharisees, who associated only with other Pharisees. In addition to allegedly ignoring his faithful service, he accused his father of showing favoritism to his younger brother. Refusing to acknowledge him as his brother or even name him, he disdainfully, contemptuously referred to him as “this son of yours.” Then, painting the scene as black as he could, he reminded his father that his brother had devoured his wealth with prostitutes, and in spite of that, he had thrown a party to end all parties and killed the fattened calf for him.

The picture is striking. The legalistic older brother stood alone in the dark reviling his gracious father, who at the same time was being honored at the joyous celebration of his lost son’s recovery. His actions graphically picture the scribes and Pharisees. They were unrepentant, self-righteous, hypocritical externalists, choosing to revile and scorn Jesus Christ, God incarnate, for reconciling sinners whom all Jewish religious society had rejected, instead of joining the heavenly banquet with those praising God for their salvation.

a shameful response

And he said to him, “Son, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.” (15:31–32)

The father’s gracious, gentle response would have been considered the last shameful act in the story by the villagers had they known of it (as it was by the scribes and Pharisees listening to the story). They would have expected him to slap his son across the face for his insolent outburst. Instead, he addressed him in tender, endearing terms, reasoning with him and reaching out to him with the same compassionate love and mercy he had shown to his younger son. The word translated son is not huios, the term used in verses 11, 13, 19, 21, 24, 25 and 30, but the more affectionate term teknon (“child”). “You have always been with me,” he reminded him, “and all that is mine is yours.” Although the father retained control over the estate, he had already given it to his son. Here is a picture of God’s magnanimity, especially to the Jews, who were given the Scripture, the most generous common grace, and years of gospel opportunity (cf. Rom. 9:4–5). God’s riches were given in greatest abundance and clarity to the Jews, and especially those very leaders who prided themselves on their knowledge of Scripture.

The father’s concluding statement, “But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found,” returns to the theme of all three parables in this chapter—God’s joy at recovering lost sinners. The younger son symbolizes those who seek God’s salvation by grace, the older son those who seek salvation by works.

I give a more complete account of this wonderful parable in my book A Tale of Two Sons (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2008). In that book I wrote the following regarding the shocking, real-life ending to Jesus’ parable:

With those words [v. 32], the parable of the prodigal son ended—but like a musical arrangement without a final, satisfying chord resolution. No more words, and Jesus simply walked away from the public venue where He was teaching. He moved into a more private context with His own disciples, where He began to tell them a whole new parable. The narrative reflects the shift in verse 16:1. “He also said to His disciples: ‘There was a certain rich man …’ ”

This is stunning. The ending is the thing in every story. We wait with anticipation for the finale. It’s so vital that some readers can’t resist turning to the end to see how the plot resolves before they read the actual story. But this story leaves us hanging. In fact, the Prodigal Son’s story ends so abruptly that a textual critic with a low view of Scripture might very well suggest that what we have here is just a story fragment, unaccountably unfinished by the author. Or is it more likely that the ending was written down but somehow separated from the original manuscript and lost forever? There surely must be an end to this story somewhere, right?

But the abruptness of the ending doesn’t leave us without the point; it is the point. This is the final blow in a long series of shocks that were built into Jesus’ telling of the story. Of all the surprising plot twists and startling details, this is the culminating surprise: Jesus marvelously shaped the point and then simply walked away without resolving the tension between the father and his firstborn. But there is no missing fragment. He intentionally left the story unfinished and the dilemma unsettled. It is supposed to make us feel like we’re waiting for a punch line or final sentence.

Surely the people in Jesus’ original audience were left standing with their mouths hanging open as He walked away. They must have asked one another the same question that is on the tip of our tongues when we read it today: What happened? How did the elder son respond? What is the end of the story? The Pharisees, of all people would want to know, because the elder son clearly represented them.

It’s easy to imagine that the guests in the story would be eager to hear how everything turned out. They were all still inside at the celebration, waiting for the father to come back inside. When he left the party so abruptly, people would conclude that something serious was going on. In a real-life situation such as this, it would begin to be whispered around among the guests that the elder brother was out there, very angry that people were celebrating something as reprehensible as the immediate, unconditional, wholesale forgiveness of a son who had behaved as badly as the prodigal. Everyone would want to study the father’s expression when he came back inside to try to detect some clue about what happened. That’s exactly our response, as listeners to Jesus’ story.

But with all that pent-up expectation, Jesus simply walked away, leaving the tale hanging, unfinished, unresolved.

Incidentally, Kenneth E. Bailey, a Presbyterian commentator who was fluent in Arabic and a specialist in Middle-Eastern literature (he spent forty years living and teaching the New Testament in Egypt, Lebanon, Jerusalem and Cyprus) provides a fascinating analysis of the literary style of the Prodigal Son’s story. The structure of the parable explains why Jesus left it unfinished. Bailey demonstrates that the parable divides naturally into two nearly equal parts, and each part is systematically structured in a kind of mirrored pattern (ABCD-DCBA) called a chiasm. It’s a kind of parallelism that seems practically poetic, but it is a typical device in Middle Eastern prose to facilitate storytelling.

The first half—where the focus is completely on the younger brother—has eight stanzas or strophes, and in this case the parallels describe the prodigal’s progress from departure to return:

Then He said: “A certain man had two sons.

A. Death—And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood.

B. All Is Lost—And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living. But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want.

C. Rejection—Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.

D. The Problem—But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!

D. The Solution—I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” And he arose and came to his father.

C. Acceptance—But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.

B. All Is Restored—And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet.

A. Resurrection—And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.”

The second half shifts focus to the elder brother and progresses through a similar chiastic pattern. But it ends abruptly after the seventh strophe:

A. He Stands Aloof—“Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant.

B. Your Brother; Peace (a feast); Anger—And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’ But he was angry and would not go in.

C. Costly Love—Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.

D. My Actions, My Pay—So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends.

D. His Actions, His Pay—‘But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’

C. Costly Love—And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours.

B. Your Brother; Safe (a feast); Joy!—It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.’ ”

A. The Missing Ending

The end of the parable is deliberately asymmetrical, as if to put extra stress on the lack of resolution. The ending simply isn’t there.

We’re supposed to notice that. Since the story stops abruptly with such a tender appeal, every hearer ought to take that plea to heart, meditate on it, personalize it, and see the gentle reasonableness of embracing the father’s joy in the salvation of sinners. And, frankly, no one needed that sort of honest self-examination more than the legalistic scribes and Pharisees to whom Jesus told the story. The parable was an invitation first of all for them to forsake their pride and self-righteousness and reconcile with God’s way of salvation. But furthermore, the same principle applies to everyone else, too—from wanton sinners like the Prodigal Son to sanctimonious hypocrites like the elder brother, and all kinds of people in between. Thus everyone who hears the story writes his or her own ending by how we respond to the kindness of God toward sinners.

It is an ingenious way to end the story. It leaves us wanting to pen the ending we would like to see. Anyone whose heart is not already hardened by self-righteous resentment ought to apprehend in the parable something about the glory of God’s grace in Christ—especially His loving forgiveness and glad-hearted acceptance of penitent sinners. The person who catches even a glimpse of that truth would surely want to write something good—like this:

Then the elder son fell on his knees before his father, saying, “I repent for my bitter, loveless heart, for my hypocritical service, and for my pride and self-righteousness. Forgive me, Father. Make me a true son, and take me inside to the feast.” The father then embraced his firstborn son, smothered him with tearful, grateful kisses, took him inside, and seated him alongside his brother in dual seats of honor. They all rejoiced together and the level of joy [at] that already amazing celebration suddenly doubled. No one there would ever forget that night.

That would be the perfect ending. But I can’t write the ending for anyone else—including the scribes and Pharisees. They wrote their own ending, and it was nothing at all like that one.

The Tragic Ending

Don’t forget that Jesus told this parable—including the abrupt ending—chiefly for the benefit of the scribes and Pharisees. It was really a story about them. The elder brother represented them. The hanging resolution underscored the truth that the next move was theirs. The father’s final tender plea was Jesus’ own gentle appeal to them. If they had demanded to know the end of the parable on the spot, Jesus might well have said to them, “That is up to you.” The Pharisees’ ultimate response to Jesus would write the end of the story in real-life.

We therefore know how the tale really ended, then, don’t we? It is not a happy ending. Instead, it’s another shocking plot turn. In fact, it is the greatest shock and outrage of all time.

They killed Him.

Since the father figure in the parable represents Christ and the elder brother is a symbol of Israel’s religious elite, in effect, the true ending to the story, as written by the scribes and Pharisees themselves, ought to read something like this: “The elder son was outraged at his father. He picked up a piece of lumber and beat him to death in front of everyone.”

I told you it was a shocking ending.

You may be thinking to yourself, No! That’s not how the story ends. I grew up hearing that parable in Sunday school, and it’s not supposed to have a tragic ending.

Indeed, it seems like any rational person whose mind and heart is not utterly twisted by his own sanctimonious hypocrisy would listen to such a parable with deep joy and holy thankfulness for the generous grace that lifts a fallen sinner up, restores him to wholeness, and receives him again into his father’s favor. Any humble-hearted individual who sees himself reflected in the Prodigal would naturally enter into the father’s joy and celebration, rejoicing that Jesus would paint such a vivid portrait of divine grace. As we’ve seen from the very start, the clear message of the parable is about how eagerly Jesus receives sinners. It should end with joy, not tragedy. Everyone should join the celebration.

But the elder brother’s heart was clearly (albeit secretly until now) hardened against his father. He had stored up years worth of resentment, anger, greed, and self-will—while wearing his father’s favor as a badge of legitimacy. He never really understood or appreciated his father’s goodness to him; but he was happy to receive it and milk it for whatever he could get out of it. He completely misinterpreted his father’s kindness, thinking it was proof of his own worthiness; when in reality it was an expression of the father’s goodness. And as soon as the father showed such lavish favor to the utterly unworthy prodigal brother, the elder brother’s resentment quickly boiled over and his true character could not be concealed any longer.

Remember, the elder brother is a picture of the Pharisees. His attitude mirrored theirs exactly. If the elder son’s behavior seems appalling and hard to understand for you and me, it was not at all hard to understand for the Pharisees. They were steeped in a religious system that cultivated precisely that kind of self-righteous, self-congratulatory, self-willed perspective with respect to the goodness and grace of God. They believed they had God’s favor because they had earned it, pure and simple. So when Jesus showed favor to repentant tax collectors, prostitutes, and other lowlifes who clearly did not deserve any favor, the Pharisees resented it. They believed Jesus’ kindness toward lowly sinners took the sheen off the emblem of their superiority, and they became angry in precisely the same way the elder son became angry.

Does it not seem remarkable that when Jesus brought his telling of the parable to such an abrupt halt—leaving off the ending completely—Luke’s account is utterly silent regarding any kind of response from the Pharisees? They knew full well that the message of the parable was aimed at them and ought to have shamed them. But they asked no questions, made no protest, offered no commentary, asked for no further elaboration. The reason is that they understood the elder brother’s attitude already. It made perfect sense to them. Perhaps they didn’t even feel the lack of resolution to the same degree most listeners do, because to them the elder brother’s complaint seemed perfectly reasonable. The way they would have liked to see the story resolved required the father’s repentance. In their ideal scenario, the father would see the elder son’s point, make a public apology to the elder son, publicly shame the Prodigal for his foolish behavior, and then perhaps even cast the Prodigal out forever. But the Pharisees surely saw the point Jesus was making clearly enough that they knew the story would never take a turn like that.

So they said nothing—at least nothing Luke (guided by the Holy Spirit) deemed important enough to record for us. Perhaps they simply turned and walked away. More likely, Jesus turned away from them.

In fact, let’s assume there’s no ellipsis at this point in the chronology of Luke’s narrative. Luke 15 ends where the parable of the Prodigal Son ends. But Luke 16 continues with Jesus still speaking. This seems to be the record of one lengthy discourse. And in Luke 16:1, Jesus does indeed turn away from the scribes and Pharisees “to the disciples,” and He begins to instruct them with another parable. This one is about the shrewdness of unbelievers and the impossibility of serving both God and money. Luke 16:14 says, “Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, also heard all these things, and they derided Him”—meaning they ridiculed Him.

So apparently they hung around, perhaps just on the periphery, after the parable of the Prodigal Son abruptly ended, undeterred in their opposition to Jesus. In fact, they were more determined than ever to silence Him, no matter what it took. And that attitude is what led them to write for themselves the tragic ending to the greatest parable of all time.

The Pharisees’ hatred for Jesus grew from the day he told them the parable until they hatched a conspiracy to kill Him. “And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might take Him by trickery and put Him to death” (Mark 14:1). In the end, they secured the grudging cooperation of the Roman authorities, and even the collusion of Herod—and they had Him crucified.

Christ’s death on the cross occurred at their urging just a few months after this encounter in Luke 15. Then they congratulated themselves on a righteous act that they were certain would preserve the honor of Israel and the true religion they believed was embodied in their beloved traditions.

The Glorious Sequel

Here is the divine irony: when they did their worst, they accomplished God’s best (Acts 2:22; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Isaiah 53). But even Jesus’ death was not the end of the story. No grave could hold Jesus in its grip. He rose from the dead, signifying that He had conquered sin, guilt, and death once and for all. His dying on the cross finally produced the effectual blood atonement that had been shrouded in mystery for all the ages, and His resurrection was the proof that God accepted it.

Jesus’ death therefore provided for us what the blood of bulls and goats could never accomplish: a full and acceptable atonement for sin. And His perfect righteousness gives us precisely what we need for our redemption: a complete covering of perfect righteousness equal to God’s own divine perfection.

So there is true and blessed resolution to the story after all.

The Open Invitation

The invitation to be part of the great celebratory banquet is still open to all. It extends even to you, dear reader. And it doesn’t matter whether you are an open sinner like the Prodigal Son, a secret one like his elder brother, or someone with characteristics from each type. If you are someone who is still estranged from God, Christ urges you to acknowledge your guilt, admit your own spiritual poverty, embrace your heavenly Father, and be reconciled to Him (2 Corinthians 5:20).

And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. (Revelation 22:17)

Now, enjoy the celebration. (pp. 189–98. Emphasis in original.)^[1]

Outline

Introduction

I.            The Sinful Nature of Man

A.       Man’s Weakness: People Are Like a Lost Sheep

1.       A Sheep Is Dumb

2.       A Sheep Is Dependent

3.       A Sheep Is Defenseless

B.       Man’s Worthlessness: People Are Like Lost Silver

1.       Lost in the Darkness

2.       Lost in the Dirtiness

3.       Lost in Disgrace

C.       Man’s Wretchedness: People Are Like a Lost Son

A.       A Life of Depression

B.       A Life of Degradation

C.       A Life of Dissatisfaction

II.           The Saving Nature of God

A.       The Lost Sheep: The Rescuing Nature of the Son

B.       The Lost Coin: The Revealing Nature of the Spirit

1.       His Ministry of Enlightenment

2.       His Ministry of Disturbance

C.       The Lost Son: The Receiving Nature of the Father

Conclusion

Introduction

The message today: “The Father’s Heart.” There’s no passage in all of the Bible that explains the heart of God the Father, therefore, is a heart of instruction for every father, than Luke chapter fifteen—Luke chapter fifteen. I read the first three verses—Luke fifteen, one through three. Then drew near unto Him all the tax collectors and sinners to hear him and the Pharisees and Scribes murmured saying, this man receiveth sinners and He eateth with them. And He spoke this parable unto them.

Now, let me give you the setting. Jesus Christ would eat and drink with unsaved people. He loved them. He kept company with them because He wanted to bring them to Himself. He wanted them to receive forgiveness and redemption and salvation and freedom. But the Pharisees hated Jesus for this.

Now, you know who the Pharisees were. They were the religious crowd of that day, but they were so self-righteous. And in these Pharisees, the milk of human kindness had curdled, and so they criticized the Lord Jesus for receiving sinners and for eating with sinners. And by the way, it doesn’t take much size to criticize. That’s very easy to do.

And, every church has its critics. One little country church, a pastor stood up and said Brother Jones, would you please lead us in a word of criticism. Brother Jones was known for that. But Jesus is answering that criticism. Why does He keep company with sinners? I want you to know before I even get into this message very deeply. I am so grateful that He does. So grateful that He does, because if He didn’t, He wouldn’t have anything to do with me. Thank God for a Savior who receives sinners!

Now, Jesus gave a parable in answer to this criticism. Sometimes we say there are three parables because there’s the parable of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the prodigal son. There are all in this one chapter. Because they are all in this one chapter we say, there are three parables. But if you’ll look carefully, it doesn’t say that Jesus spoke parables to them. It says, He spoke a parable to them. This is one big parable. It deals with the father heart of God, the way that God looks at lost people, the way that God looks at sinners. And it is a parable of a lost sheep, lost silver, and a lost son. All of this makes one great big parable. And I want you to listen carefully because it tells how God looks at you, how God feels toward you, and therefore, how you ought to feel toward others, and how you look at others.

In the parable, we see basically two things. I want you to get it. First of all, we see the sinful nature of man. And secondly, we see the saving nature of God. Do you have it?

I.          The Sinful Nature of Man

Let’s look as we look into this chapter and see first of all the story of the sinful nature of man. And, first of all, he deals with the sheep. Look with me in verses four through seven. Jesus said, what man of you having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety-and-nine in the wilderness and go after that which is lost until he find it. And, when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders rejoicing. And, when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, rejoice with me for I have found my sheep, which was lost. And, I say unto you that likewise, joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

A.   Man’s Weakness: People Are Like a Lost Sheep

When Jesus here is speaking of the sheep, He’s teaching us that the chief characteristic of the sheep is weakness. Weakness. A sheep is weak and that illustrates a man without God. Now, it’s not much of a compliment to be called a sheep. We have sort of an overblown idea of sheep. Let me tell you three things about sheep.

1.    A Sheep Is Dumb

Number one, a sheep is stupid. That’s right. A sheep is stupid. A sheep is dumb. That’s the reason the Bible says in Isaiah chapter fifty-three, all we like sheep have gone astray. If you’ve gone to the circus, you may have seen a trained elephant, trained lions and tigers, dogs and horses, but you’ve never seen a trained sheep. Think about it. You ever see a sheep doing tricks? You never will. Sheep are dumb. And, the Bible says, all we like sheep have gone astray. A sheep is so easily lost. The lost will return to the stall. The cows will come home. The dog can find his way home. Did you ever try to get rid of a cat? But a sheep, he’ll nibble here. He’ll browse there. He’ll go over here and he just keeps going, because a sheep is dumb and so is man without God.

Now, I don’t care if you’re a Ph.D. It matters not if you are a rocket scientist, a philosopher, a scholar. The Bible says in Romans chapter three, concerning spiritual things, there is none that understandeth. Nicodemus was a brilliant man. He was a master in Israel. He had his M.I. He had his master’s degree but he didn’t have his BA. He wasn’t born again. And, Jesus said to him. Art thou a master in Israel and understandest not these things? When Jesus talked to him about being born again.

And, so you may be listening to me today. You may have a high IQ. You may be in the upper echelons of intellectual society. But listen to me today. You cannot think your way to God. You cannot think your way to God. There is none that understandeth, the Bible says, no not one. And, that’s found in Romans chapter three and verse eleven. And so first of all, a sheep is dumb.

2.    A Sheep Is Dependent

Second thing I want you to think about a sheep, a sheep is dependent. That’s the reason sheep need a shepherd. Jesus said, he had compassion upon them because they were like a sheep without a shepherd. A sheep without a shepherd, therefore, is going to be destroyed and devoured because he is so dependent. In his book, a shepherd looks at the sheep. Keller tells about a sheep and a condition that a sheep would get in that the English shepherds would call a cast sheep.

What would happen is this: that after the sheep would browse, the sheep would lie down, perhaps in a crevice or a hollow place on the ground where there was a little depression. Maybe he would stretch his legs, and when he would, the center of gravity would shift a little bit and he would roll slightly on his back. Trying to get up as he pawed, he would roll further on his back and there the sheep would not be able to get his legs back on the ground because a sheep does not have that much agility and the sheep would paw frantically in the air and sometimes bleat trying to get up, but he could not get his feet back on the ground. That is what they would call a cast sheep.

After a while, the gases would begin to build up in the abdominal cavity and circulation would be cut off to the legs and that sheep lying there would be an easy prey for vultures and for coyotes or for whatever predator would come along and the sheep would lie there and die and be devoured, unless the shepherd would come, count his sheep, see that one was missing, go out and find that sheep and put it back on its feet. And, so it is with me and so it is with you.

So, many times I’ve gotten myself into a position where I was totally helpless, had not the shepherd come and put me back on my feet. Isn’t that right?

3.    A Sheep Is Defenseless

You see, a sheep is dumb. And, a sheep is dependent. I tell you a third thing about a sheep. Not only is a sheep dumb and not only is a sheep dependent, but a sheep is defenseless. Defenseless. The sheep does not have the mechanism of defense.

A horse can run. A bear can crush. The tiger can slash. The skunk, we know what he can do. But what can a sheep do? A sheep is not built for fight, nor flight. It can’t run fast. It can hardly swim. A sheep is a defenseless animal.

I read sometime years ago of some tourists in the Scottish Highlands. There were up on a mountainside and one man had some binoculars and he was looking across the valley to another mountain. He said, look, he said to the guy. Is that sheep over there on that ledge? The guide said, yes it is. He said, How did it get there? He said, well, it’s the nature of the sheep in this area. They come down the mountainside, browsing and grazing and they’ll drop from one ledge to another, and then sometimes like this sheep they’ll get on a ledge too narrow for them to turn around and they cannot make their way back up the mountain.

The tourist said, What will happen to that sheep? The guide said, the eagles will get him. If you’ll stay and watch, you’ll see. And, so they watched and after a while there came a formation of five eagles flying together with a lead eagle. And, they spotted that sheep there, that helpless sheep there on the mountainside and the lead eagle fell like a rock upon the head of that helpless sheep. The sheep went to his knees and stood up. Again, the eagles circled, and came down like a rock upon the head of the hapless sheep. By that time, the sheep was so frightened and so frustrated, it turned and tried to turn around and scramble up the mountainside. Of course, when it did, it fell from the narrow ledge and plummeted to the bottom of that gorge. Hundreds of feet below and was crushed and five eagles swept down and feasted on the body of that sheep. The sheep was defenseless. I want to also that you and I are totally defenseless against Satan’s eagles.

Do we not have a shepherd and had we not a shepherd, we would be like that poor sheep, devoured by those eagles, and that’s the reason the Lord Jesus said to these Pharisees, you want to tell you why I keep company with these people. You have criticized me for eating and for drinking with sinners. But I tell you why I do it. They’re like sheep without a shepherd.

B.   Man’s Worthlessness: People Are Like Lost Silver

And, Jesus here spoke of the weakness of man without God. But it tells of the worthlessness of man without God. Look in the second story here in verse eight. Either, what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth light a candle or a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she find it and when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbors saying, rejoice with me for I have found the piece that was lost.

Now, here our Lord no longer speaking of the lost sheep, but he’s talking of the lost silver. Not only the weakness of man without God, but the worthlessness of man without God. What good is a piece of silver, what good is a piece of money, if it’s lost? It can’t be spent and it cannot be treasured. It has become unprofitable.

And, not only does the Bible say that there’s none that understandeth. The Bible also tells us, in Romans chapter three and verse twelve, that without God we’re unprofitable. Listen, they’re all gone out of the way. That’s the lost sheep. They’re altogether become unprofitable. That’s the lost silver. They’ve all gone out of the way. They have altogether become unprofitable. There is none that is good. No not one.

Now, why did God make you? Why did God create you? What is your purpose? It is to spend and be spent for Him or to be a treasure for Him, but you are not to be lost. And, if you don’t know the Lord Jesus Christ, you’re like a coin that is lost, out of circulation. Not doing the things that you were meant to do and no good to your master.

Now, I want you to see how this coin was lost.

1.    Lost in the Darkness

First of all, it was lost in the darkness. Look in verse eight. In order to find the coin, the woman had to do what? She had to light a candle. She had to light a lamp and every man, every woman, every boy without Jesus Christ is lost in the darkness.

John chapter three verse nineteen, and this is the condemnation, that light has come into the world, but men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil.

2.    Lost in the Dirtiness

But not only was it lost in the darkness; it was lost in the dirtiness. Not only did she light a lamp; but she took a broom and she began to sweep the house. What filth must have been on the floor, for a woman to take a broom and have to sweep in order to find a coin. What a sloppy housewife. Here’s a woman. Here’s a woman who has to sweep the floor in order to find a lost coin. Why? Because it was lot in the dark and it was lost in the dirt. And, again, that’s a picture of these people that Jesus was keeping company with. That’s also a picture of you.

Well, you say, no Pastor Rogers, I don’t live a dirty life. You say, yes, I’m a very fine person. I I’m one of the best people in our neighborhood. I’m a member of the garden society. I’m a member of this club or that club. I’m a member of the lodge. I’m a member of the PTA. I pay my taxes. I give to the Red Cross. I’m a very fine person. Do you know what the Bible says about those things that you call fine? The Bible says, your righteousness is as what? Filthy rags in the sight of God. Your righteousness—I’m not talking about your unrighteousness. I’m talking about the things that you count for righteousness are as filthy rags in the sight of God.

And, so you may think you’re brilliant, but God says, spiritually, you’re stupid. You may think that you are moral, but God says, spiritually, your righteousness is as filthy rags.

3.    Lost in Disgrace

This coin, lost in the dark, lost in the dirt, and it was lost in disgrace—in disgrace. Now, why did Jesus say …? Look again here in verse eight.

One woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one … Why did Jesus say ten pieces of silver? Ten in the Bible is what? The full number, the complete number. Seven the perfect number, but ten the complete number. Five and five—ten.

Now, when a woman got married in this day, rather than a wedding ring, she was given a bando, a string of ten coins. Each one of those coins had her husbands name on it. And, there was a ribbon that ran through the center of each coin. Because in each coin there was a hole and those coins were strung to make a beautiful headpiece, a ban don. It would tie there. It would decorate her forehead. If you’ve seen pictures taken from ancient freezes and ancient art, you’ll see pictures of women in the Middle Ease with ten coins across their forehead. That means that she is married. That she belongs to the one whose name was on those coins.

But if she had been unfaithful, if she had become an adulteress, a coin would be taken out of the middle to show her faithlessness and she would live a life of disgrace. Now, you can understand why this woman, having ten coins and she’s lost one of them. She’s searching diligently to find it because that would mean disgrace. And, it is Satan’s aim to make your life a disgrace to the God who created you, to the one who wants to be your husband spiritually.

And, here was a coin, lost in the dark, lost in the dirt, lost in disgrace. And, Jesus said, these people that I keep company with, they’re like that.

C.   Man’s Wretchedness: People Are Like a Lost Son

I see their weakness like a lost sheep. I see their worthlessness like lost silver. And, that’s why I keep company with them. Then the Lord Jesus went on in this story and he speaks also, not only of their weakness and their worthlessness, but he speaks of their wretchedness. Look if you will in verse eleven. He said, a certain man had two sons. And, the younger of them said to his father. Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And, he divided unto them his living.

Now, what did he mean, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. In plain English, he was saying, father, I would like to have mine inheritance now. What you were going to leave me when you die, I’d like to have it now. If you really think through that, he’s saying I wish you were dead. I wish you were dead. I don’t want you. I want yours.

He’s like a lot of people today. They don’t want God, but they want to breathe God’s air. They want to eat God’s food. They want to walk on God’s green earth. Some of them even want to live forever. But they don’t want God. Give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And, he divided unto them his living. That is, he said, all right, son, here it is. And he gave him prematurely his inheritance. Verse thirteen. Not many days after that, the younger son gathered all together and took his journey into a far country and there wasted his substance with riotous living. Wine, women, sodomy. He was having a big time on his father’s money, on his premature inheritance. No God in his life. No father in his life. And, when he had spent all, there rose a mighty famine in that land and he began to be in want. And, he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. Boys and girls, that’s pigs, hogs. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, how many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare and I perish with hunger.

Now, our Lord is speaking not only of the weakness of these people and the worthlessness of these people but he’s speaking of the wretchedness of these people. And, he’s saying, this is why I keep company with them. Look at this boy. This boy now who’s left his father’s home. He’s gone to the far country, some wicked city there where he can live his life high, wide and handsome. But soon, his pleasure turns to poverty. What is the mark of a man without God?

A.   A Life of Depression

First of all, it’s a life of depression. He’s spent all. He’s spent all. What is Jesus telling us? Listen to me. Young people listen to me. College students, listen to me. Businessman, listen to me. The most costly thing in the world is sin—is sin. When he had spent all, sin cost character. It cost influence. It cost reputation. It cost time. It cost health. It cost love, home, money. It will cost you your soul. It cost to serve Satan. It will cost you your soul. It cost to serve Satan. It cost everyday. It cost every step of the way. It was a life of depression.

B.   A Life of Degradation

It was a life of degradation. Look if you will in verse fifteen. The Bible says, and when he’d spent all, he joined himself to a citizen of that country and he sent him into his field to feed swine. Now, his friends were with him when he had plenty of money. But now his friends have deserted him. He has nowhere to go and he gets a job now, taking care of pigs. Jesus had a Jewish audience.

In the Bible, a swine is an unclean animal. And, I believe all of us would do better if never ate any more pork, very frankly. And, I’ll here from the pork dealers. Swine is an unclean animal and a good self-respecting Jew would never touch a pig, not with a ten-foot pole. And, here is a Jewish boy. Now, down there not only feeding swine, but hungry enough to eat what the swine themselves fed on.

In this day, if a man gets low, we say he’s gone to the dog. In that day, he’s gone to the hogs. Here’s a life of depression and a life of degradation. He’s as low as he can get it seems.

C.   A Life of Dissatisfaction

But now, it goes on also, a life not only of depression and degradation but a life of dissatisfaction. The Bible says in verse sixteen says that he’s hungry. He’s hungry. And, what he thought would satisfy him has not satisfied him. And, now he would fain fill his belly with the husks that the swine did eat and no man gave unto him. And, what is our Lord talking about. Oh, friend, if you can only see it. Jesus is talking about the emptiness of a life without God.

Now, physically you may go home today to a father’s day lunch of filet minion, but if you don’t know God, there’s a part of you that’s just like that boy down there feeding on the husks that the swine did eat. There is a hunger that can only be satisfied by the Lord Jesus Christ friends all around me are trying to find what the heart yearns for by sin undermine. I have the secret, I know where ’tis found. Only true pleasures in Jesus abound.

And, so our Lord is saying what? Our Lord is saying, you want me tell you why I keep company with sinners. They’re weak like a lost sheep. They’re worthless like a lost coin. They are wretched like a lost son. That is the sinful nature of man.

II.         The Saving Nature of God

And, now, turn it over. And, I want you to see the saving nature of God, because not only in this parable is man revealed away from God, but God is revealed. The Lord Jesus is teaching us what God is like. How God looks upon fallen, ruin humanity. And, you see God pictured number one, as a shepherd, looking for a sheep. You see God pictured number two, as a woman seeking for a lost coin. And, you see God pictured number three, as a father, seeking a lost son.

A.   The Lost Sheep: The Rescuing Nature of the Son

Now, in the story of the lost sheep, you see the rescuing nature of the son. Jesus is the good shepherd. You remember what Jesus said in Luke nineteen verse ten, the son of man is come to seek and to save that which is lost. That’s why Jesus came. Jesus said, I’m the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. Why did Jesus leave the glories of heaven and come to the agonies of earth, to seek the lost. Why did Jesus leave the golden streets of glory and walk the dusty streets of Galilee? To save the lost. Why did Jesus leave his scepter of righteousness and come and take a wilted reed in his hand as they mocked him? To seek the lost. Why did the Lord Jesus Christ leave his diadem of glory and wear a crown of thorns? The son of man is come to seek and to save that which is lost. Why did Jesus settle Calvary’s dust with his blood? The son of man is come to seek and to save that which is lost.

The Lord Jesus is seeking you today. If you’re listening by television, Jesus is seeking you. If you’re here as a guest today and you just thought you were coming to a worship service, God put this message on my lips and in my heart as a message to you that Jesus Christ today is the good shepherd, you’re the lost sheep and Jesus Christ today is seeking you, the lost sheep and the shepherd pictures God the son.

B.   The Lost Coin: The Revealing Nature of the Spirit

But the lost coin and the woman pictures God the Holy Spirit, because you also here have a picture of the Holy Spirit of God.

Notice if you will in verse eight of this wonderful, wonderful story. Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a lamp and sweep the house and diligently until she find it. What is the job of the Savior? To seek the lost. But what is the job and the duty and the ministry of the Holy Spirit? Twofold.

1.    His Ministry of Enlightenment

First of all, there is a ministry of enlightenment. This woman lights a light. You see, before I preached today, I got down on my knees and I prayed oh God, help them to understand. Why? why? Because I can preach truth, but only the Holy Spirit can impart truth. He’s the light. He is the light. The woman lights a lamp.

2.    His Ministry of Disturbance

And, then not only does she light a lamp, she takes a broom and begins to sweep. You see, that’s the ministry of the Holy Spirit: enlightenment and to stir us—to stir it up. To stir up your heart, that you might come to know Jesus as your personal savior and Lord.

So many people who are lost come to church on Sunday morning but they’re never stirred. They’re never moved. And, I’ll tell you why it’s because those of us who really know God and understand God don’t pray for that divine disturbance. Everybody without Jesus ought to leave a service disturbed. Isn’t that right? Or else, get saved. Get saved. That’s the job. That’s the ministry of the Holy Spirit: enlightenment and disturbance. She lighted a lamp. She took a broom.

C.   The Lost Son: The Receiving Nature of the Father

You see, in this parable, you have a picture of God, the Son, seeking. You have a picture of God the Holy Spirit enlightening, disturbing. But thank God you also have a picture of God the Father receiving.

There’s the rescuing nature of the Son. There is the revealing nature of the Spirit and there’s the receiving nature of the Father. There’s the receiving nature of the Father.

Now, here’s the picture. This boy has gone off. I mean, he is away—he’s away from God the Father. The Father’s sitting there. I can see Him on the veranda, the front porch of the old house. And, and he there’s no he goes to check the mailbox again. He hadn’t heard from the boy. Oh ma, where do you think our boy is. Do you think he’s safe mother. Oh, I wish he’s come home. I wish we could hear from our boy. He’s been gone so long. I don’t know whether it was one, two, three five years, but here’s the prodigal now. He’s down in the hog pen. He begins to think. He says, even the hired servants of my father are better off than I am. I perish with hunger and they’re well fed. Then, he made a decision. And, oh how I pray God you’ll make it today. Do you know what he said? He said, I will arise and go to my father. I will arise and go to my father.

Now, will God the Father receive Him? I want you to see the picture. He begins, points his heart toward home. There’s the father sitting on the front porch of the house. He’s looking down the road a long way. The Bible says, when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion on him and ran to meet him. His father saw him, had compassion—that means his father loved him, and it says that he ran to meet him.

Do you know, in the Bible you never see God in a hurry. God in the Bible, never ahead of time, never late moves deliberate majesty, but this is one time you see God in a hurry. I want you to see the old man as he gathers up his robe and the old man running down the road to meet this son. And, the Bible says, and when he saw him he fell on his neck and kissed him and said to his servants, put a ring on his hand, put shoes on his feet, put a robe on his back and kill the fatted calf. We’re going to have a party. This, my son, was dead and is alive again. He was lost. He’s found. And, they began to be merry.

What’s Jesus talking about? Jesus said, you want me to tell you why I keep company with sinners. They’re weak like a lost sheep. They’re worthless like a lost coin. They’re wretched like a lost son, but let me tell you what God is like. There’s the rescuing nature of God the Son. There’s the revealing nature of God the Spirit. And, there’s the receiving nature of God the Father.

Conclusion

Now, I want to say to you on this Father’s Day. There is a heavenly Father whose arms are wide open to anybody who wants Him, anybody who sees their need of Him, anybody who wants to be saved, God will save you. I promise. I may be speaking to someone this morning who thinks you’ve gone to far, but I want to tell you, you have not. You show me anytime, any place, anywhere where anybody comes to God and He doesn’t save them, I’ll close my Bible and never preach again, but the Bible says, whosoever will may come. And, Jesus says, him that cometh unto me, I’ll in no wise cast out.

Isn’t that a wonderful story? A wonderful story. And, God brought you here today to hear it.

Bow your heads in prayer. Heads are bowed and eyes are closed. I wonder how many today could say, Pastor Rogers, I know that I’m saved and I know that I know that if I died today, I’d go straight to heaven. Thank you for that. Take it down. Now, if you don’t know it for certain, today is the day, if you would pray a prayer like this, God I’m a sinner and I’m lost and I need to be saved. Jesus you died to save me. You’re the good shepherd. You gave your life for this lost sheep. I believe you died for me and I believe if I’ll trust you today, you’ll save me. If you’ll trust him, he will save you.

The Bible says, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. Father, I pray that today, many, many, many will say yes to Christ. Holy Spirit of God, do your work to enlighten and disturb and to point people to God the Father. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Is There a Little Pharisee in Me?

By Adrian Rogers

Date Preached: July 16, 1989

Time: 00PM

Main Scripture Text: Luke 15:11–32

“And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends.”

Luke 15:29

Outline

Introduction

I.            The Performance of a Pharisee

II.           The Pout of a Pharisee

III.          The Pride of a Pharisee

IV.         The Presumption of a Pharisee

V.          The Portion of a Pharisee

Conclusion

Introduction

Would you turn, please, to Luke chapter 15. Right away your mind tells you that’s the story of the prodigal son. But we’re not going to be talking about the prodigal son; we’re going to be talking about his brother. So many times we read about the prodigal son and the wickedness that he got into, but we fail to understand what our Lord was teaching in that story. He does teach that He receives prodigals home, and we thank God for that. But He was teaching more than that. Luke chapter 15 and verse 11: “And he said,”—that is, Jesus said—“A certain man had two sons: and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he”—that is, his father—“divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey to a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he”—that is, the citizen—“sent him into his fields to feed swine.”

Now, remember, this was a Jewish boy. Jesus is talking to Jewish people. A self-respecting Jew would not touch a pig with a ten-foot pole. And here’s this boy out there in the hog pen feeding swine. And the Bible says, “And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.”

And almost every sermon that’s preached on this subject ends at this verse. But let’s go on and see what our Lord was teaching. “Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry,”—that is, the elder brother was angry—“and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid,”—that is, a young goat—“that I might make merry with my friends: but as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.” (Luke 15:11–32)

Now this story is about two kinds of sinners. Perhaps one of them will represent you. Perhaps the prodigal son will represent you. But in a congregation like this, I doubt it. But perhaps the elder brother will represent you. And in a congregation like this, I rather think that there will be some in that category, as we’re going to see. Now Jesus was talking to the Pharisees and the religious leaders of His day. Go back and look at chapter 15, verses 1 and 2: “Then drew near unto him all the [tax collectors] and sinners for to hear him.” Those are the ones represented by the younger brother, the one we call the prodigal son. Now, notice verse 2: “And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.”

Now two kinds of sinners are in verses 1 and 2. In verse 1, you find the kind of sinner that we call the prodigal son. In verse 2, we find the kind of sinner that you call the elder brother, the Pharisee. The title of this message is simply this: “Is There a Little Pharisee in Me?” I want you to listen. I want you to think. I want you to ask yourself this question: Is there a little Pharisee in me?

Now we know the story of the prodigal son, the younger brother. He was a rebel. He was a renegade. He was a rioter. He ended up penniless, shameless, friendless. Somebody said, “At first, he was sick of home. And then, he was homesick. And then, he was home.” It’s a wonderful story. It’s been told around the world, and we love the story. But there is another brother. We don’t hear about him. The story of this other brother is different. He stayed at home. And outwardly, he lived a very respectful life.

Now Jesus told this story to the Pharisees, the self-righteous religious sinners of their day: they had a loveless, judgmental religion, and it made it hard for them to see their sins. Now there are two kinds of sinners, but may I tell you that prodigal sons are easier to reach than Pharisees. I can tell you that after many years of experience in preaching the gospel. And I could tell you that if I’d never preached the gospel but only would read the Bible, because Jesus in Matthew chapter 21 and verse 31 told a story about two sons, and then He said this: “Verily I say unto you, That the [tax collectors] and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you.” (Matthew 21:31) He was talking to these Pharisees.

Now when He said tax collectors, He didn’t mean what we mean today by a tax collector. Today, tax collectors are not in the same category, though we sometimes think they are. But tax collectors in this day were crooks, shysters, connivers in league with Rome, and they were thought of as turncoats, the very worst of the worst, and Jesus said, “Tax collectors and harlots are going into the kingdom of God before you Pharisees.”

Now that is true, and Pharisaism is a very dangerous thing in our day and age. Although we don’t have people who call themselves Pharisees—that was a religious sect of the past—the principles of Pharisaism are with us today, and many times you’ll find Pharisees in Bible-believing, conservative, fundamental churches more than in other places. So I want you just to stay seated tonight. I don’t want you to look around and see if any of those other people are going to hear what I’m saying. I want you to ask yourself this question: Is there a little Pharisee in me? Several things I want you to notice.

I.          The Performance of a Pharisee

First of all, I want you to notice what I’m going to call the performance of a Pharisee. Now if there was ever a man who was a good, hard worker, who worked in his father’s house, it was this Pharisee. Notice here in verse 25 and following. We’re in Luke 15, verse 25. Now the Bible says, “Now his elder son”—that is, the father’s elder son—“was in the field:”—that is, he’s out there in the field working—“and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard musick and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he”—the Pharisee—“was angry,”—the elder brother—“and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.” Now, notice in verse 29. Here’s the key: “And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee,”—now he was in the field when all of this happened. There are calluses on his hand. He is a hard worker. He says—“neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment.” (Luke 15:25–29)

So you find a man here who knew how to perform. He puts a great deal of emphasis upon what he did for his father, but it was a kind of service that the father was not pleased with. It was legalistic service. Now it might have seemed that it was good service; it might have seemed that it was a wonderful performance, but it came from the wrong motivation. As we’re going to see, it wasn’t free. It wasn’t joyful. It wasn’t spontaneous. It was service for the wrong reason.

Now the Bible teaches that why you serve is as important, and really more important, than the service itself. Let’s take the matter of tithing. All of the Pharisees tithed. Jesus said, “Woe unto you, Pharisees, for you tithe mint, anise, and cumin.” (Matthew 23:23) That is, they had their little mint plants and they’d count the leaves: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten—that one is God’s. They literally counted the leaves. I mean, they were punctilious in all that they did.

Now many of you may tithe. And do you know why you tithe? Because you’re a Pharisee; because you think if you tithe, it will pay. Well, my dear friend, it pays to tithe. But if you tithe because it pays, it won’t. You say, “What are you talking about?” The Bible says in 2 Corinthians chapter 9, verse 7, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7)

Now here was a man who was working in the field for his father. Here was a man who said, “Father, I have kept all of the rules.” But Jesus is going to show that this man never really was saved. When a man serves for reward, it’s not long before he’s complaining that he’s not being blessed sufficiently. And it even gets worse when somebody else seems to be more blessed than he is blessed. God told His people in the Old Testament why He was going to judge them. And in Deuteronomy chapter 28, verse 47, this is what He said: “Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things …” (Deuteronomy 28:47)

Now if you are a Pharisee, you’re going to serve the Lord for a reward, not because of love. My friend, I want to tell you there is a liberty and a joy that flows out of a love for Christ, and love is the oil that lubricates the machinery of our lives so that our lives don’t groan when we serve the Lord Jesus Christ. And so you see the performance of this Pharisee. He was very performance-oriented. In verse 29, he says, “I have served you all of these years.” My friend, you may have served in this church from the time it was constituted till this very day, and you can die and go to hell. You can be a Pharisee.

II.         The Pout of a Pharisee

I want you to see something else. I want you to see not only his performance; I want you to see his pout. Here was a man who had a real pout on. Look, if you will, in verse 27 of this same story. Now he learns in verse 27 they’re having a party: “And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.” Now, notice the pout: “And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.” (Luke 15:27–28)

Now his father goes out and says, “Son, come on in. Your brother has come home, the brother that we love, the brother that we’ve prayed for, the brother who’s been away, the brother who’s been living a life of sin. He’s come in! He’s come home! Now, Son, you come in and let’s rejoice with him!” But he wouldn’t come in. He stays outside. He has a pout on. You see, he needs to be corrected. But he won’t be corrected. He won’t hear what his father says. His father entreated him, but he never heard.

Now I want you to know that every Pharisee is self-righteous at heart, and his mind is generally set in concrete. He is not easily entreated. As a matter of fact, the Pharisees in this congregation tonight probably will not hear what I have to say. The Father through this message will be entreating you, but you won’t think that the message is for you. And you will not see the Pharisee that is in you. You’ll have a pout because of the way God does things that you don’t like. And you’ll have your own little pity party with yourself and your pout with God.

III.       The Pride of a Pharisee

Now, let’s narrow the focus a little bit more. We’ve talked about the performance of the Pharisee: he was out in the field working; he served his father for many years. We’ve talked about his pout now: he’s upset because his brother has come home, and they’re having a party for his brother, and he won’t be entreated by the father. But now I want you to go a step further and I want you to see the pride of this Pharisee. I’m going to show you why he had the pout. His pout was rooted in pride.

Now, look, if you will, in verse 29 of this chapter. The Bible says, “And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee,”—just underscore the word I—“neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment:”—underscore the word I—“and yet thou never gavest me”—underscore the word me—“a kid, that I”—underscore the word I—“might make merry with my friends.” (Luke 15:29) I, me, and my: he’s a self-centered person. He thinks of himself as a self-made man, and now he’s worshipping his “creator.” He’s really jealous of his younger brother, and he feels that he is not getting what ought to come to him. You see, up until this time, when his brother had been away, and since he was the elder brother anyway, he was the undisputed heir. And now somebody else is in the center of attention. No longer is the elder brother the center of attention. Somebody else is the center of attention.

You see, every Pharisee, when he serves, has to be recognized; he has to be bragged on; he has to be considered—or else you’re in trouble with him. I’ve seen churches with Pharisees who serve, and you get them on a committee, and if you don’t give them the right strokes, you don’t give them the right recognition, they’re going to cause trouble. You had better remember to keep them in the center of everything. The Pharisee sees somebody else’s blessing as his loss.

I’ll give you an example. A church really starts to grow, and a Sunday School class, for example, grows, and it grows too much, and unsaved people come, and they start getting saved, and they start filling up that class. And the class has to be divided, or the class has to be moved. There will be somebody in that class who will almost invariably say, “Who are these people taking up this room around here? I mean, they’re messing up our class. Do you know what they want us to do? They want us to move to another room. They want to divide our class. These people are coming in here and messing up what we have.” Do you know what that is? That’s Luke 15. It’s exactly what that is. That is that selfishness, that pride, that says, “I was here first. This is mine. Who are these people? I mean, they haven’t worked like we work to build this church. Why should I move over? Why should I go over? Why should I take less and let somebody else have my place here?”

It’s an incredible thing. Sometimes I can’t even believe the attitude that somebody seems to have in some of these situations. You see, there’s the pride of a Pharisee. He’s so self-satisfied about his obedience and his service. Pride is always the mark of a Pharisee.

Do you remember the story Jesus told about the Pharisee and the publican who went to the temple to pray, and the Pharisee stood up, and the Bible says, “and he prayed with himself”? (Luke 18:11) That’s very interesting, because he wasn’t praying with God. He prayed with himself. And this is what he said: “God, I thank you that I’m not as other men are.” And then he rattled off his little list of good things that he did. And then Jesus said the other man, a publican—that means a tax collector—was there. He bowed his head. He would not even so much as lift his eyes to heaven. The Bible says he smote himself upon the breast. He prayed, “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.” (Luke 18:13) Actually, the Greek language says he said, “Be merciful to me, the sinner.” He saw himself as the chiefest of sinners. And then, do you know what Jesus said? Jesus said, “I tell you, that man went home justified rather than the other.” (Luke 18:14) Two men went to church that day. One went home justified; one went home dignified. Here was one man who just told God what a wonderful man he was, and so forth; but he’s just praying with himself. Here was another man who humbled himself before the Lord.

Do you know where we get this pride? We get this pride when we compare ourselves with other people. Here was this man, this Pharisee, comparing himself with his younger brother. The Pharisee loves to stretch himself out in the gutter alongside a prodigal and say, “I’m a little longer than he is. And so, what a good boy am I!” As I’ve told you before, most of the people in America are egomaniacs who are strutting their way to hell thinking they’re too good to be damned.

IV.       The Presumption of a Pharisee

Well, I want you to notice something else. I want you to notice not only his pride, but I want you to notice his presumption. He had an idea that he was better than the other person.

Now we need to understand that he was not better than the other person. If you read Romans chapter 1, it’s the chapter that deals with the reprobates and the homosexuals and the perverts and all of these things—terrible, horrible sin. And the Apostle Paul mentions what we call the sin of the Gentiles—horrible, vile, filthy sin. He mentions that in Romans 1. But then in Romans 2, he talks to the self-righteous Jewish people of that day. In Romans 1, He talks about what we’re going to call the rebellious sinner. Then in Romans 2, He talks about what we would call the religious sinner. And then He brings the conclusion.

And let’s look at it in Romans chapter 3, verses 10 and following. I want you to see it tonight, because if you’re a Pharisee, you’re going to think you’re such a good girl or such a good boy you don’t need to be saved. I want you to look at it here in Romans chapter 3, and I begin in verse 10. Now, remember in chapter 1, He’s talking about the rebellious sinner. In chapter 2, he’s talking about the religious sinner. And then he sums it up—Romans 3, beginning in verse 10: “As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: their feet are swift to shed blood: destruction and misery are in their ways: and the way of peace they have not known: there is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Romans 3:10–18)

That’s the rebellious sinner. But now, continue to listen: “Now we know that what things the law saith, it saith to them that are under the law:”—now, watch it—“that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” (Romans 3:19–20)

What is Paul saying here? The same thing Jesus is saying. Jesus is saying, “Don’t presume because you don’t do bad things that you’re not a sinner. Don’t presume because you’ve had a better upbringing. Don’t presume because you don’t do all these vile, wicked things.” Some people are going to go to hell because they’re drunkards. But some people are going to go to hell because they never drank. I mean, they don’t see their need of being saved. Listen to me. Jesus is saying in Luke 15 there is nobody so bad he can’t be saved and nobody so good he need not be saved. See? Here’s the presumption of this elder brother. He gets the idea that since he’s been such a good boy, since he stayed at home, since he’s not gone out and wasted his substance with riotous living, he doesn’t need to be saved.

Now, you see, outwardly you can suppress your sin. The Pharisees did. Jesus spoke of the Pharisees in Matthew 23, verse 27, and this is what He said: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.” (Matthew 23:27) Now in this day, the people didn’t want to touch a grave, because they’d be made unclean. So what they did, they took whitewash and whitewashed the tombs. And they were beautiful. They glistened in the field. Jesus said, “You Pharisees are like that. You’re whitewashed, but you’re not washed white. You are outwardly beautiful. Inwardly, you are rotten.”

I always enjoy watching airline stewardesses when I fly. You know, they train these girls to keep their cool. And I just watch them, you know, and somebody will criticize them, or complain, or curse them, and they’ll say, “yes sir,” “no sir,” and they smile, you know. They give the coffee and all this. I just know when they get back up there in that little gallery, they say, “That old coot, grrrrrrrrr!” But they know how to keep it in. I mean, they’re just trained that way.

There are a lot of people, a lot of Pharisees, that way. They outwardly have that culture. They have that outward religion. You know, you might be like that prodigal son if you had had the same background, the same upbringing, that he had. You don’t know. You don’t know what proclivities might be in your heart.

V.        The Portion of a Pharisee

Oh, how presumptuous this man was, this Pharisee! You see his presumption. But I think the saddest thing I want you to see is not only his presumption, but I want you to see his portion. Now, you see, the younger brother said, “Father, give me the portion that falls to me.” And he divided to him his living. That is, he got his inheritance and he went off and wasted it.

Now the elder brother, what was his portion? His portion was the portion of the firstborn son. I mean, he had so much coming to him. But I want you to see how the story ends. This story doesn’t have a happy ending. You know, notice what he says in verse 30: “But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.” (Luke 15:30) Now the father entreats him, and the father says unto him, “Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.” (Luke 15:31) But the story ends with the elder brother on the outside and the younger brother on the inside. He didn’t even say, “this my brother”; he said, “this thy son.” That is, he had separated himself from his father. No longer is he calling his father his father, because he can’t call his father his father until he calls his brother his brother: “this thy son.”

The father went out of the house for both sons. When he saw that prodigal son coming, he ran to meet him, fell on his neck, kissed him, and hugged him. He went out for that son. He went out for the other son who was out in the field and would not come in. He went out of the house for both sons. The story ends with one son in and one son out.

I wonder today if you’re not going to have the Pharisee’s portion. I wonder tonight if there’s not somebody in this church, you’ve lived such a good life, you worked in this church so long, you’ve served the Lord, you’ve never committed the sins of the flesh—there’s just one thing wrong with you: you’ve never been saved. You don’t love God. You’ve never been born again. If the story ended tonight, it would end with you on the outside and these so-called vile, wicked sinners on the inside.

Conclusion

You know, you can always tell a Pharisee, because he doesn’t have a love for the lost. You would have thought this boy would have said, “Dad, it’s so great my brother has come home! Oh, I’m so grateful! Dad, let’s rejoice! Oh, I’m so grateful! I’ve been praying for my brother.” As a matter of fact, you would have thought that he would have said, “Dad, I can see your heart is broken. Dad, let’s go look for him. Dad, is there anything I can do? Dad, let’s pray for him.”

I watch the Pharisees sometimes on Sunday. We give the invitation. I say, “Let’s sing another stanza,” and they say, “Oh …” You know what I’m talking about. They don’t care about the younger brother. They don’t care about the lost. They care about being first in the cafeteria line. They care about the ballgame. They care about this thing and that thing.

You think about this elder brother. Now I don’t mean that you are lost. You can be saved and have a touch of the Pharisee in you. Ask yourself this question—not, am I a Pharisee? just ask yourself this question: Is there any Pharisee in me? And be done with it. It’s one of the ugliest, most loveless, things there can be. God deliver Bellevue Baptist Church from ever becoming a church full of Pharisees who are saying, “This is mine, and I don’t care about these other people”! Friend, we’ve got to have an arm wide open for those prodigals. And if we love God, we’re going to love what He loves—and He loves the lost.

Sinners: Nasty or Nice

By Adrian Rogers

Sermon Date: September 15, 1991

Sermon Time: 1800

Main Scripture Text: Luke 15:11–32

Outline

Introduction

I.            You Must Measure Your Love for the Father by Your Love for Your Brother

II.           Service to God Is No Substitute for Fellowship with God

III.          A Self-Centered Life Will Always Steal Away Your Joy

IV.         This “Nice” Kind of Sin Is the Easiest to Disguise

Conclusion

Introduction

Now, the Lord Jesus was the master teacher, and one of the ways that He taught was through parables. And I suppose the parable that sticks in our hearts and minds and has become the predominant parable of all of the parables is the parable of the prodigal son. Would you open God’s Word, please, to Luke chapter 15, verse 11, and we’re going to read about the parable of the prodigal son. But even in introducing the parable, I have done what we so frequently do and called it the parable of the prodigal son. But, really, this is the story of two sons—not one, but two: a younger brother and an elder brother. And I believe that the elder brother has many brothers who may be here tonight, so I want you to listen very carefully: “And he said, A certain man had two sons: and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: but as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.” (Luke 15:11–32)

The title of our message tonight is “Sinners: Nasty or Nice.” Really, what we have here tonight is the story of two sons and two kinds of sinners: nasty sinners and nice sinners. Now, the prodigal son who came to his father and asked for the portion of goods that fell to him, and was given his inheritance, went to the far country. I suppose if he lived in Memphis, he may have gone down to New Orleans. He wasted his substance with wine, women, and song. He was a rebel. He was a renegade. He was a rioter. He ended up penniless. He ended up shameless. He ended up homeless. And that’s the story of this kind of a sinner.

Now he had a brother. The brother did not go away from home. The brother stayed at home. He lived a respectful life. He was outwardly obedient to his father. He was industrious. He was a hard worker. Morally, he was clean. And yet this man was also a sinner.

One was a nasty sinner; one was a nice sinner. One was guilty of the sins of the flesh; the other was guilty of the sins of the spirit. One was guilty of outward sin; the other was guilty of inward sin. One was guilty of gross sin; the other was guilty of subtle sin. And I daresay there are more in the second category than there are in the first in the congregation tonight. Many of us, however, pay little attention to the elder brother. And the reason we pay so little attention to the elder brother probably is we’re so much like him.

Now the fifteenth chapter of Luke is really a love story. And the story of the prodigal son is a love story. But the problem is the love that melted the heart of one hardened the heart of another. And so this elder brother is the one I want us to talk about primarily: the sinner who was not nasty, the sinner who was nice. He was outwardly moral, but I want you to see how Jesus made havoc of his little list of virtues.

And you’re going to find out that the Lord Jesus loved sinners, whoever they are, and wherever they are, but Jesus reserved His hottest words for these who were Pharisaical in their sin. And I believe that our churches are filled with people who are like this elder brother who have the spirit of a Pharisee—that is, the spirit of self-righteousness. They think that the gospel is for the thief, the murderer, the prostitute, the pervert, the drug addict; but they sit in churches, haughty, unbent, unbowed, unbroken, and they think that God is pleased with them. But I want you to listen very carefully and examine your heart, as I must examine my heart here, and make it bow before the throne of the Word of God.

Now, let me show you some things about this elder brother that our Lord, I believe, was saying to those Pharisees of His day. Incidentally, the fifteenth chapter of Luke was given as a response to the criticism by the Pharisees. The Pharisees nitpicked the ministry of Jesus. They criticized the ministry of Jesus. And do you know what they criticized Jesus for? Keeping company with sinners. And I, for one, am infinitely glad that He does and that He did, for if He didn’t, there would be no room for me. And I’m so glad that Jesus had a heart full of love for sinners. But these Pharisees, in whose heart the milk of human kindness had curdled, were criticizing the Lord Jesus Christ. And the elder brother is a picture of those Pharisees who were criticizing the Lord Jesus.

Let me give you tonight four or five principles, and I want you to see if you see any Pharisee in you. You ask yourself this question: Is there a little Pharisee in me?

I.          You Must Measure Your Love for the Father by Your Love for Your Brother

First of all, the first principle is this: that you must measure your love for the Father by your love for your brother. Do you have it? You must measure your love for the Father by your love for the brother. Now, the Apostle John said the same thing in 1 John 4:20, when he said, “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” (1 John 4:20)

Now, some of us are like that elder brother. We say, “O God, I love you so much; all that thrills my soul is Jesus; and more love to thee, O Lord, more love to thee,” but we don’t show any love for sinners who are away from God. We don’t have our broken heart for brothers and sisters who are away from God. Many times we like to try to assume the place of a son without assuming the responsibility of a brother. But Jesus Christ says very clearly in this parable—and the Bible in many places says it very clearly and plainly—that we can measure our love for God by our love for our brother.

Now, if a man doesn’t love his brother whom he’s seen, how can he love God whom he’s not seen? Have you ever seen one of the big aluminum coffee urns, and people make coffee in those things? Sometimes you see them in the restaurant. And you can’t see inside that thing. You can’t see through it. But on the outside is a glass tube, and on that glass tube you see some coffee. And the higher the coffee on the tube, you know the more coffee is in the urn, because it’s the glass tube on the outside that shows you how much coffee is on the inside. And, my dear friend, the way that you love your brother, that can be seen. And, dear friend, what can be seen is the measure, the real measure, of what is on the inside.

Now, here was this prodigal son. He’d been away from home. And finally he comes home penniless, shameless, friendless. But he stumbles home in rags, in tatters. You would have thought that this elder brother would have said, “Praise God! Hallelujah! My brother has come home! What a wonderful day! How grand it is! I wouldn’t blame my dad if he were to overdo the festivities. I’m so glad that my brother is home!” But he was such a poor son because he was such a poor brother. He literally, I believe, was jealous of the fact that his brother was off living in sin. Perhaps he would have done the same thing, except he was afraid to do so. Maybe he was jealous of his brother’s sin, and that’s why he was so judgmental. He might have been like that woman in a country church in a prayer meeting on a Wednesday night when just a handful of people were there, and she prayed, “O God, bless us while we’re down here at prayer meeting when so many of our members are out there having a good time.” We feel that way sometimes. We’re the only ones who love God, and we’re the only ones who care. And maybe we’re just a little jealous of some of those who are living high, wide, and handsome.

But, friend, put it down big, and put it down plain, and put it down straight: you can measure your love for God by your love for lost sinners; by your love for those who are away from the fold. Don’t tell me you love God if you don’t love the things that God loves.

II.         Service to God Is No Substitute for Fellowship with God

Second principle: Service to God is no substitute for fellowship with God. Look in verse 25: “Now he elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.” That is, because the younger son had come home, there was a party. “And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry,”—now, the elder brother is literally angry because of the party—“and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.” Now, watch verse 29. It’s very interesting. I want you to notice five personal pronouns in this verse: “And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends.” (Luke 15:25–29) I, I, I, me and me: here was man who says to his father, “Father, I have served you; I have been a model worker.” As a matter of fact, when the party was going on, where had the elder son been? He’d been out in the field working. And yet the import of this passage is that he was the kind of a son who really did not have true fellowship with his father. Put it down again. Service to God is no substitute for fellowship with God.

You’re going to find out that this boy who worked for his father never ever really knew his father’s heart. I mean, I can just imagine him. Evidently, the father was very wealthy, because the prodigal son says, “My father has bread enough and to spare.” That is, this was not a poor farm. This man was a very, very wealthy man. He had servants. He had a fatted calf. He had gold rings. He had fine raiment. He had robes. He had all of that.

Now, how did he have all of that? Well, evidently, he was a very successful farmer. And, you know, this son might have said, “You know, I don’t understand my dad. Why, just look at these crops. We’ve never had crops like this. Look at the cattle, how sleek they are. Look at the barns, how big they are, and how full they are. Look at all of these workers and these servants and these slaves that are here around this place. I just don’t understand my father. He has it all, and yet there seems to be a faraway look in my father’s eye. There seems to be hollowness in my father’s heart. There seems to be something that is bothering my father. I don’t understand him. It looks like he would be happy with all of this success. After all, I have been working and working and working.”

My dear friend, serving God and working in the church is no substitute for fellowship with God. All of this was simply legalistic service. He was serving for a reward. That’s what he was serving for. I mean, it’s very obvious. He said, “I did this, and did this, and I did this, and you didn’t reward me. You did not kill and barbeque a fatted calf for me, and yet you did for him.” You see, when you serve God for rewards, when you serve God legalistically, when you serve God for what you can get out of it, before long you’re going to be complaining that you are not sufficiently rewarded, and you’re going to be doubly upset if you think that someone else gets a bigger reward than you do.

Now, if you tithe because it pays to tithe, it won’t. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 9:7, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7)

Here was a son. He was working for his father, and yet he never knew his father’s heart. Are you following what Jesus Christ seems to teach in this parable, number one, dear friend, that your love for the Father is measured by your love for your brother? number two: that service for God is no substitute for fellowship with God? You ought to know the heart of your Father. You ought to know what is really concerning the heart of your Father.

What do you think really satisfies God the Father? You think this building pleases God the Father? Be careful how you answer. Do you think these choirs please God the Father? Do you think that this sermon pleases God the Father? It all depends. It all depends. You see, my dear friend, if all of this is not a means to bringing people to Christ, to reaching people, transforming lives, it’s all just splendid nothing.

Here was that beautiful farm. Here were the crops. There were the servants. There were the barns. But, my dear friend, the father’s heart says, “There’s a son out there that’s lost. He’s away from me.”

Some of us sit here and say, “Well, you know, I served on this committee. I worked in the retirement home, Bellevue Woods. I worked in the choir. I was on the building committee. I gave my money. I did this. I did that. I have done fine.” Friend, if you don’t have a heart to bring the lost to Jesus Christ, you’re just like this elder brother, talking about all that you’ve done, and yet you have missed the Father’s heart one hundred percent.

Here was a man who thought he was serving his father and he never knew his father’s heart. Service to the Father is never a substitute for fellowship with the Father.

III.       A Self-Centered Life Will Always Steal Away Your Joy

Number three: Such a self-centered life will always steal away your joy. Look, if you will again, in verse 29. Here’s this self-centered man—listen to him: “And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: but as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet”—or fitting—“that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.” (Luke 15:29–32)

Now, you see, there was a party going on—there was merriment, and there was gladness—but this elder brother didn’t have any. Did you know the most miserable people in this world are self-centered people? You see, you can have it all and not have joy. The father said, “All that I have is yours, son.” And yet that son was perfectly miserable. He’s outside. He’s got a pout on. He has no fellowship with his father. He has no fellowship with his brother. He has no fellowship with the servants. He is a man on the outside. Put it down, my dear friend: If you don’t share the Father’s burden, you can’t share the Father’s joy. If you don’t share the Father’s burden, you don’t share the Father’s joy.

I wonder how many tonight in this building really have joy. I mean, I wonder how many people tonight there are who have an infectious, bubbling-up joy. You say, “Well, pastor, if I would be very honest, I would tell you that I do not have joy.” Do you know why you don’t have joy? Because you’ve not been sharing the Father’s burden. If you have the Father’s burden, the lost, when the lost get saved, you’re going to share the Father’s joy.

Did you know that we have a very wonderful, wonderful church? We have a church where there are people who are saved in almost every service. My children—and I bless God for this—don’t know what it is to come to church and not see people baptized—I mean, all their lives. Now, in some churches, you don’t see that. I don’t take credit for that as a pastor. I’d be ashamed if it didn’t happen. I mean, that’s the normal thing. It ought to be happening. People out to be getting saved all the time. But, you know, there are a lot of folks who don’t get any joy out of that. They don’t get any bang out of that. The baptismal service is an imposition, makes the service a little longer. When the pastor is up there pleading for souls, they wish the invitation would get over. It is an imposition to them. I mean, I see folks, as soon as I finish the sermon, they look at their watch, and out that back door they go.

I’ve been thinking about this. I’ve been thinking about just saying, “You know, this morning we’re going to have an invitation. Those of you who want to receive Christ, you come forward, and they’ll greet you here at the front. Those of you who haven’t been tithing and want to tithe, you meet the usher at the back door.” And, friend, I know there are emergencies. I know there are times when people have to leave the service. I know that. But we have a lot of folks, friends, they don’t share the heart of God. They don’t rejoice when souls are saved. It doesn’t make any difference to them that a poor, lost sinner comes to the Lord Jesus Christ. And those people are perfectly miserable. They don’t know the Father’s heart.

You want me to tell you how to get joy? You get the burden of the Lord; you find out what burdens Jesus and let that burden you, and you let it burden you enough that God will make you a soul winner; you let it burden you enough that you will prepare yourself to bring somebody to Jesus; you let it burden you enough that you will pray that God will energize you and fill you with the Holy Spirit, and that God will lead you to the right person; you go out and lead some person to Jesus, or point some person to Jesus, get in a service where that person is present, and that person that you’ve wept over and prayed over and witnessed to comes forward and gives his or her heart to Jesus Christ, and goes up there and is baptized in the water of believer’s baptism; and I’ll tell you, you’ll leave this church leaping and dancing and praising God. You will be full of joy. The Bible says, “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing”—weeping and rejoicing. (Psalm 126:6) You get the Father’s burden and you’ll have the Father’s joy.

This elder brother, he didn’t have his father’s burden. He had no idea. He had no concern about how the father felt. All the prodigal said, “In my father’s house there is bread enough and to spare.” That elder brother saw there was a surplus in the house and an empty place at the table, and it didn’t move him. It didn’t put a twinge in his heart. You want joy in your Christian life? Well, my dear friend, you let the things that break the heart of Jesus break your heart until you pray and you see what God wants to do with you, and you let Him do it.

You see, can you imagine this elder brother saying, “You know, the barns are full and overflowing. The servants are working hard. There’s bread enough and to spare. And yet my father has a broken heart. Dad, what’s wrong? Dad, there’s something wrong. There’s something that’s breaking your heart, Dad. What is it?” “Well, son, thank you for asking. It’s your brother. It’s your little brother. Son, he left home. He’s been gone so long. Son, I haven’t heard from him. Son, what good is all this farm, what good is this plantation, what good are all of these servants and these fine things when brother is away from home? Son, thank you for asking. Thank you for wanting to know my heart, son. Son, listen. Why don’t you take a few days off from work? Maybe you could go and find out where he is, son. Maybe you could go down there and look for him. Maybe you could tell him that we miss him, and if he’s done wrong, it’s all right. I’ll forgive him.”

But, no. You see, this elder brother never knew his father’s heart, because while he was doing service for the father, he wasn’t spending time with the father. And because he wasn’t spending time with the father, he never knew the father’s burden. And because he never knew the father’s burden, he never knew the father’s joy when the prodigal son came home.

And those of you who don’t have a love for souls, and those of you who are not a soul winner, and those of you who are nice, respectable, stay-at-home, work-in-the-church type of people, and yet you don’t have a burning, blistering thirst to see the lost come to Jesus Christ, do you know what it tells me? It tells me you have not been spending time with the Father. You don’t know the Father’s heart. You don’t know what burdens the Father’s heart. I am telling you, my dear friend, that your love for the Father is measured by your love for your brother. I am telling you that service to God is no substitute for fellowship with God. And I am telling you that you will never know the joy of the Lord until you know the burden of the Lord. And when you get the burden of the Lord, when you get the soul winner’s burden, “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” Jesus said there is joy in the presence of the angels over one sinner that repents. (Luke 15:10)

My precious wife is a soul winner. She’s a real soul winner. She loves people to Jesus. Recently, we had a family that came into the church through her ministry. A number of people in succession were baptized because of her quiet and steady and loving ministry. And I can tell you, each Sunday after one of them would walk the aisle, one of them would get baptized, Joyce would come home and she’d be so full of joy. Why full of joy? Because she knew the burden of the Father. And because she knew the burden of the Father, she knew the blessing of the Father.

There are people who get all upset during an evangelistic service or an evangelistic invitation. They don’t like for us to go out and reach out. They say, “Well, we’re fine just like we are.” When we got ready to build a new, bigger building, one person is reported to have said, “I don’t know what we need a bigger building for: I always get a seat.” That’s the attitude of the elder brother. He was miserable. There was a party going on, and he was on the outside. He was on a pout. He didn’t have a burden for the lost. But, oh, what a respectable person he or she may be!

IV.       This “Nice” Kind of Sin Is the Easiest to Disguise

I want to say fourthly that this kind of sin is the easiest to disguise; it’s more easily disguised. Not the nasty sin. Oh, we all know what the nasty sins are. It’s the nice sin that I’m talking about. You know, most of us, if we were to read this fifteenth chapter of Luke and see this story of two brothers, most people would say the worst sinner was which one? The one who lived with harlots, the one who wasted his substance in riotous living. But that’s not the import of the story. If you read the story carefully, you’re going to find out that the worst sinner was the one who didn’t repent, the one who didn’t get right.

Every human heart is wicked, but not all are apparently wicked. The Pharisee is able to cover up his sin with refinement, with culture, and with outward service and religion. Therefore there are a lot of Pharisees who sit in churches and they don’t think that there’s any real problem with them.

You know, if you read the book of Romans—and, by the way, the book of Romans is a logical, legal, documentary; the constitution of Christianity is what it is—the Apostle Paul piece by piece deals with this. If you’ll read Romans chapter 1, Paul in Romans chapter 1 talks about the nasty sinners. I mean, in Romans chapter 1, he talks about those people who are living in gross immorality and sexual perversion and he lays it out—and those people who are blatantly arrogant against God. But then in Romans chapter 2, he doesn’t deal with the nasty sinner; he deals with the nice sinner. He deals with the religionist. He deals with that person who keeps all of the outward laws of religion and so forth. In Romans 1, he deals with the sins of the heathen. In Romans 2, he deals with the sins of the hypocrite. In Romans chapter 1, he deals with the prodigal son. In Romans chapter 2, he deals, as it were, with the elder brother. But then, when you get in Romans chapter 3, after he’s dealt with the outward sinner, and the inward sinner, in Romans 3, he says, “There is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:22–23) We don’t get drunk, and we don’t do drugs, and don’t commit adultery, and we don’t do this, and we don’t do that—and so we think we must be pretty good. And we even go to the church on Sunday night—and a lot of folks don’t even do that. But, friend, we may be very much like this elder brother. We just simply suppress our sin. We’re able to hide it.

You know what Jesus said about the Pharisees? Matthew chapter 23 and verse 27—listen to it. He said, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward …”—now, you know, a Jew didn’t want to touch a grave or the burial place of a dead person, so they would take whitewash and they’d whitewash the tomb so you could see them. I mean, the reason for whitewashing them was not to make them beautiful but to make them stand out so you wouldn’t accidentally touch or stumble upon it. But they would be gleaming and glistering in the sunlight, these white tombs. The Bible calls them “whited sepulchres.” And Jesus said, “You Pharisees, you’re just like those whited sepulchers”—“which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness” (Matthew 23:27)—outwardly beautiful, inwardly rotten.

Let me give you an example. How many of you know people who when they get angry just explode? I think we all know people like that. But how many people get angry and don’t explode? They are full of bitterness. You never can tell it except that they’re inwardly just full of acid. They’re like this elder brother.

I enjoy watching the stewardesses on the airplanes. You know, they are taught to be nice to everybody. And I’ve watched some people just give them a fit over this little thing or that little thing, and they always smile. I think that smile is glued on. They just always smile. But I just imagine some of them going back there to the little galley back there and saying, “That old coot!” You know, I mean, they’re just able. They’re trained to keep it in.

Now I think it’s better to keep it in than to let it out, because I think that when you outwardly explode, it just leads to more anger and more excess. I’m not trying to say to let it out, but what I’m trying to say is that there is some sin that is far more easily hidden than others.

And perhaps it may be tonight that you’re one of those nice sinners. You’re one of those people like the elder brother: You say, “I love God,” but you really don’t love what God loves. You say, “I serve God,” but you never know God’s heart. You say, “I am a member of the church,” but you don’t have any joy. And everybody thinks you’re just fine. But I’m telling you, if Jesus were talking to you tonight, He might just tell you a story called the story not of the prodigal son but of the elder brother.

Conclusion

As we wrap this up, let me tell you, friend, if you’ve committed adultery, God will forgive you. If you’re a thief, God will forgive you. If you’re taken a human life, God will forgive you. If you’ve been sexually perverted, God will forgive you. If you have hurt and wounded those that you love, God will forgive you. And “though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.” (Isaiah 1:18) But let me say something else. If you’ve never been a drunkard; if you’ve never been a thief; if you’ve never been perverted; if you have lived a good, respectful life; if you don’t get saved, you’re going to die and go to hell. There is no one so bad they cannot be saved, and no one so good they need not be saved.

And this story tells the story of two sons, an outward sinner and an inward sinner; some guilty of the sins of the flesh, and some guilty of the sins of the spirit; some who are nasty, and some who are nice. But the wonderful part of this story is this: that the father who went out of the house to welcome the prodigal son home is the same father who went outside the house to welcome the elder brother back in. And the strange way that the story ends is this: with the prodigal son on the inside, and the elder brother on the outside. Wouldn’t it be strange if some of the more vile, wicked people in this city go to heaven and you go to hell? The devil had just as soon send you to hell from the pew as he had the gutter. As a matter of fact, he would rather do it, because you’re a better advertisement for him.

I’ve been putting the thing in the matter of whether you’re saved or lost. But let’s say that you are saved, and yet you’ve got a lot of the elder brother in you; you’re saved, but there’s no joy; you don’t know the Father’s heart; you don’t know the burden of the Lord, therefore you don’t know the joy of the Lord; you’re really not concerned about those who are members of our church who are away from home who need to be reclaimed: Would you ask God to lay some brother upon your heart, some sister upon your heart? I mean, how can we be here and enjoy all that we have when there are those who are away from home who are breaking the Father’s heart? Would you ask God to speak to you, and say, “Lord, let me really know your heart. Let me forget all of this service that I am doing on this committee, or coaching this ball team, or driving this bus, or singing in this choir, or handling this property. Let me just forget all of that for a moment, Lord. And, Lord, look beyond those things to the things that really burden your heart.”

Sinners: Nasty and Nice

By Adrian Rogers

Date Preached: January 16, 2000

Time: 1800

Main Scripture Text: Luke 15:13–22

“It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this by brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.”

Luke 15:32

Outline

Introduction

I.            We Must Measure Our Love for the Father by Our Love for Our Brother

II.           Service for God Is Never a Substitute for Fellowship with God

III.          You Cannot Enjoy the Father’s Blessings Without Sharing the Father’s Burdens

IV.         The Sins of the Spirit Are More Dangerous Than the Sins of the Flesh

Conclusion

Introduction

Would you take God’s Word and turn to Luke chapter 15? Right away, you will recognize that as one of the monumental chapters in the Word of God, because it is the story of Jesus giving a parable to the Pharisees. Now the Pharisees were religious but self-righteous. They outwardly were fine; inwardly, they were rotten. They were on the road to hell. And Jesus said that publicans and sinners would get to heaven before these who are the counterpart of the straight-laced church member who’s never had an experience of the grace in their hearts and in their lives. They were religious but lost, and they needed to be saved. And tonight, we’re going to think about these and ask ourselves if perhaps there are some like that in the building tonight.

Now it will be very hard for those, if they are like that, to recognize that, because this kind of sin is so easily looked past as we look around at those other sinners. The title of the message: “Sinners: Nasty and Nice.” And Jesus said the nasty sinners will get to heaven before the nice ones. Jesus said the harlots and publicans will go into the kingdom before these others. (Matthew 21:31)

Now, Luke chapter 15, beginning in verse 11: “And he said,”—speaking of Jesus now—“A certain man had two sons: and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living.” That is, he went off to the Las Vegas of that day, wherever it was—wine, women, and song—and he squandered his inheritance. “And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he”—the younger son—“began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he”—the citizen of that country—“sent him into his fields to feed swine.” Now this was a Jewish audience. And a good, self-respecting Jew would not touch a pig with a ten-foot pole. And there he is in the hog pen with the swine. And now in the midst of his famine, his money all dissipated and gone, the Bible says in verse 16, “And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself …”—and, thank God, he did—“when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he”—that is, the elder brother—“was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends.” Notice in that one verse, I, I, me, my. “But as soon as this thy son has come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this by brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.” (Luke 15:11–32) That’s the way the story ends: with the younger brother on the inside, and the elder brother in a snit on the outside.

Now Jesus told this story to the Pharisees, in whom the milk of human kindness had curdled. It’s a story of two sinners. One sinner was a rebel. He was a renegade. He was a rioter. He ended up penniless, shameless, and friendless. And the other brother was different. He didn’t go away from home. As a matter of fact, he stayed at home. Outwardly, he was respectful. He was a hard worker and had been a devoted son. But he somehow has the attitude of a Pharisee. Two brothers, two sinners: one nasty, and one nice. One was guilty of the sins of the flesh, wasting his substance with riotous living. One was guilty of sins of the spirit: bitterness, selfishness, arrogance, and resentment. One’s sins were outward. One’s sins were inward. One’s sins were gross. The other’s sins were subtle. But sinners, both of them.

Now most people who read the fifteenth chapter of Luke know the story of the prodigal son, the younger son, who left home. Very few people pay much attention to the story of the elder brother. But the truth of the matter is that the elder brother is the very crux of the story. This elder brother, who was at home, I think the reason that we ignore him is that he is so much like so many in our churches today. I would like to say this was a wonderful story, and it ends with these words: “and they lived happily ever after.” But it doesn’t end that way. It’s a sad story. Now it’s a love story, but the love that melted the heart of one of these brothers hardened the heart of the other brother. Failure softened one of the brothers, and success hardened the other of the brothers.

Now the elder brother, the one we’re going to be thinking about tonight, outwardly, I say, he was moral. He had his little list of sins, his little list of do’s and don’ts, things that he would not do and things that he did. But yet in spite of his little list of virtues, Jesus had compassion on the sinner that was nasty. And He would have had compassion on the sinner that was nice—but the sinner that was nice shut Him out, because he could not recognize his own sin.

Now I assume that most of us are Christians here tonight, but I’m afraid that even in the church we have Christians who have the attitude of Pharisees. We have some who are Pharisees who have never been born again. So I want to give you four principles, and I pray God that He’ll write these four principles upon your heart as they come out of this story. And, by the way, there was never, never, never ever a teacher like the Lord Jesus Christ. His stories, His parables, were absolutely, incredibly pregnant with truth. And so I’m only going to draw four truths from many truths that we could draw tonight.

I.          We Must Measure Our Love for the Father by Our Love for Our Brother

Here’s the first principle: We must measure our love for the Father by our love for our brother. Now, go back again to chapter 15, verse 25: “Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh unto the house, he heard musick and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant.” (Luke 15:25) And then we go right on down to verse 30, and he is complaining: “But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf.” (Luke 15:30)

It’s very obvious that when he learned that his brother had returned home, he is not at all enthused. He is not grateful. It is very plain that he has no love for his brother. As a matter of fact, he doesn’t even say “my brother.” He says, “this thy son,” not, “this, my brother.” Now, put in your margin 1 John chapter 4 and verse 20, and listen to what the Apostle John said by divine inspiration: “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar:”—and then John explains it—“for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” (1 John 4:20)

Now there are some who would like to assume the place of a son without assuming the responsibility of a brother. Do you know how God measures our love for Him? By our love for one another. It is so clear and so plain.

Many of you have been in restaurants and you’ve seen the old-fashioned urn of coffee. Generally, they’re made of aluminum. They’ll stand about a foot and a half tall if it’s a truck stop. And on the outside there’s a glass tube that runs right alongside that aluminum urn. You’ve seen what I’m talking about. There’s a spigot at the bottom. And in that glass tube, which is clear, you can see the level of the coffee inside the big urn, and you can tell how much coffee is on the inside by the level on the glass tube, is that not right? All right now, if you want to know how much love that you have in your heart for God the Father, just look at the glass tube, which is the love that you have for your brother.

You would think that this elder brother would have said, “You mean, my brother has come home? Oh, praise God! Hallelujah! What a wonderful day. I’ve been praying for my brother. Boy, I wouldn’t be surprised if Dad overdid it and celebrated, because I want to celebrate with him.” You know, the truth of the matter is, I believe, that the elder brother, as you read the tone of this story, was actually jealous of the younger brother. “Here I am staying here working, doing all this work, and he’s out there having a wonderful time.” Like the people in prayer meeting in a little country church, a handful of them were down there at the front praying; one of them began to moan and pray and say, “O God, help us: we’re down here praying in this prayer meeting while the rest of our folks out there in the world having a good time,” that’s the way this man was. He had no love for his brother. And, very frankly, the reason that he had no love for his brother is that he had no real love for his father, as we’re going to see.

II.         Service for God Is Never a Substitute for Fellowship with God

So, principle number one: You measure your love for the Father by your love for your brother. And you cannot legitimately take the place and the blessings of a son without taking the place and the responsibility of a brother. That fits right in with what we had to say this morning about our place in the Father. Now here’s the second principle that I want to lay on your heart—and we’re talking to church folks tonight now—principle number two: Service for God is never a substitute for fellowship with God. Boy, do we need to learn that! Now he begins to talk about all his service to the father. And if you will, look again in verse 29: “And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends.” (Luke 15:29)

Now he had been serving his father and serving his father faithfully, but yet it’s very obvious he was not in fellowship with his father. Outwardly, he was a model worker. Yet he missed the thing that was most important to the father. I mean, he might have said, “Boy, look how our farm is doing! Look at the orchard! It’s full of fruit! Look at the fields! They’re full of grain! Look at the barns! They’re filled with plenty! This has been a wonderful year! We’ve done good! We’ve done great! Look how big everything is! I just don’t understand Dad. Dad doesn’t seem happy. Dad seems to have a faraway look in his eyes. Dad seems to be disturbed about something. What’s wrong with Dad? Can’t he see how prosperous we are? Doesn’t he see how I’ve been serving him? As the elder son, I’ve managed the farm very well.”

You know, I wonder what God thinks when He looks at Bellevue Baptist Church. We say, “Lord, look at these buildings. God, did you check the Sunday School attendance lately? Lord, have you learned how we’ve organized our classes? Lord, have you seen how faithful we’ve been with our tithing? Hey, God, we’re doing pretty good, aren’t we? Oh, you’re not pleased, Father? Father, can’t you see what a great church we are? What’s wrong, God? Don’t you see how we’re serving you?” But, you know, there are some people out there that we don’t seem to be too concerned about. Did you know that? And that breaks the Father’s heart.

Now I’m grateful for all the things we do. I’m grateful for the money that you give. I’m grateful for these beautiful buildings. I’m grateful for our choirs—few like them in the world. But that’s no substitute for the thing that is greatest on the Father’s heart—and that’s bringing the lost to Jesus Christ. Now we can come in here and bask in our blessings and look around at all that we’re doing. And we can be like the man over there in 2 Kings chapter 10, verse 16—old Jehu. I was reading this the other day in the Scripture. And he began to boast, “And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord”—“See what I do for God.” (2 Kings 10:16) That’s one thing. But I think it would be better for us to be like that Samaritan harlot who got saved and she said in John chapter 4, verse 29, “Come, see a man, which told me all things that I ever did.” (John 4:29) One said, “Come see my zeal for the Lord.” The other said, “Come see my Lord, who’s done so much for me.”

Now I wonder, those of us who serve the Lord here, is the motivation of our service for Him a love for Him? It is obvious that the elder brother was working, and working hard. But I can tell you he did not please the father. You know, he had the idea that if we serve, we ought to get rewarded for it. He was working for a reward. It’s obvious. Look in verse 29: “And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid,”—that is, a young goat—“that I might [have a barbeque]”—that is, “have my friends over and have a party.” He was saying, “Where’s the payoff?”

You know, there are people like this, who tithe because they think there’s going to be a payoff. And it pays to tithe. But if you tithe because it pays, I don’t think it will. Why do you tithe? Why do you bring your money here? Do you think you’re going to get God obligated to you? You need to put down 2 Corinthians chapter 9 and verse 7: “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7)

The man who serves for a reward is never really satisfied. He ends up complaining because he never thinks he gets enough. And he’s also upset if he thinks somebody else got more than he got. You see, God takes no pleasure in legalistic service. I’m not asking what you do. It was fine for this son to serve in the field. He should. And you should serve. The Bible says, “A son that sleeps in harvest is a shame to his father.” (Proverbs 10:5) But, you see, God measures our love for the Father by our love for our brother. And service to God is no substitute for fellowship with God. And it’s very obvious that this older brother, though he stayed home and was working laboriously, he never really knew the father’s heart. He was serving for a reward. It was legalistic service.

Again, another verse taken from the Old Testament. God chided His people, and here’s what He chided them for. Listen: “Because thou servedst not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things.” (Deuteronomy 28:47) Are you serving God with joyfulness and abundance of heart? Do you know why you serve is as important as your service? How many are singing in the choir tonight because they just can’t help but sing? Or how many of you are singing because somebody’s got to, and because Brother Whitmire’s going to get you if you don’t? Why? Why are you here tonight? Because it’s the thing to do? Or because you want to come?

You know, I’m disturbed that more people don’t come on Sunday night than do. And I’m grateful for this crowd. This crowd would overrun most church auditoriums in all of Tennessee. I’m grateful for that. But there are a lot of folks who are not here tonight. And that doesn’t bother me nearly as much as the fact that they don’t want to be here. They have no desire to be here. There are other things that are important to them. They say, “You know, I’ve had enough.”

A lady told Dr. Criswell at the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas, where Phil Newberry used to serve—she was a member of another denomination, but she happened to visit on Sunday morning, and he invited the people back Sunday night—she met him at the door and she said, “Dr. Criswell, in our church, we just go to church one time on Sunday. We don’t come on Sunday night. We’re free to do whatever we want on Sunday night.” And Dr. Criswell said in his typical sense of humor, “Well, if I had to listen to what you have to listen to on Sunday morning, once a Sunday would be enough for me.”

Why do we come on Sunday night? Because it’s the thing to do? Or because we want to come and give the whole day to Jesus, loving Him, serving Him, and praising Him? Service to God is no substitute for fellowship with God.

III.       You Cannot Enjoy the Father’s Blessings Without Sharing the Father’s Burdens

Now, here’s the third principle that I want to lay on your heart, and I pray that God will write it upon your heart: You cannot enjoy the Father’s blessings without sharing the Father’s burdens. Now many of us want the Father’s blessings. We want joy. And we wonder why we don’t have joy. Look again in chapter 15—let’s begin in verse 29: “And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends.” It’s obvious he’s not making merry. “But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have in thine.” Boy, you would think he would enjoy his father’s blessings. He’s not enjoying it. I mean, he’s knee-deep in clover, and he’s unhappy, and he’s miserable. And the father goes on to say, “It was meet”—or “fitting”—“that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.” (Luke 15:29–32) And there’s a party going on. But this elder son is not enjoying the party. He’s enjoying a pout. He’s not on the inside. He is on the outside.

Now, listen to this. If you’re a self-centered person—and there are many, many Baptists that I’ve met who are self-centered—a self-centered life never, never, never gives joy. Notice again in verse 29—look at it. He says I or me or my five times. He is full of self-righteousness. He is full of self-centeredness. He is full of self-pity. And he is perfectly miserable. And we have church members like that. I mean, they have all of the blessings of God, and yet they have no joy.

What an inheritance there was! This man was living, this elder son, obviously, in a very, very successful enterprise. And the prodigal son down in the hog pen said this: “Even the servants have bread enough and to spare.” (Luke 15:17) Not just the children, but there was such lavishness on this farm that even a servant had more than enough to share.

This elder brother was there, and the father in the parable, who represents God the Father, said, “Look, it’s all yours.” You know, there’s enough of God’s infinite, marvelous, glorious grace for all six billion people on the face of the earth. And there’s enough grace—grace enough and to share.

But what causes the Father’s joy? What causes God joy? How would you like to bring joy to God? Well, it’s very obvious what brings joy to God. The Bible says there’s joy in the presence of the angels over one sinner that repents. (Luke 15:10) I’ve heard people say all the time, “All these angels are rejoicing.” That is not what it says. It is God who is rejoicing. There is joy in the presence of the angels. God the Father is filled with joy. Now, why is God filled with joy? Because a sinner has come home: “This, my son, has come home again.”

And do you want the Father’s joy? Would you like to have real joy—joy unspeakable, full of glory? (1 Peter 1:8) Would you like to transform your life from the mundane to the monotonous, and from the incidental to the monumental? Would you? Listen to this. Now there’s joy in heaven over one sinner that comes more than ninety-nine just persons that need no repentance. (Luke 15:7) And then the Bible says in the book of Psalms, “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” (Psalm 126:6)

Now this elder brother should have been concerned with a surplus in the house and an empty place at the table. Do you know what we ought to be concerned about? That we have this church building and sometimes on Sunday there are empty seats; that we have this amazing grace of God, and we’re surrounded by literally thousands of people who are lost, dying, and going to hell. And if you want joy, real joy, you let the concern of the Father be your concern, and you join the Father in bringing souls to Christ. And you’re going to find out that Sunday morning when souls get saved, or Sunday night when souls get saved, or when you’re out with EE, or evangelism, or your Sunday School class, or your day-to-day witnessing, and you see people coming to Jesus, your heart is going to be filled with joy.

I have no greater earthly joy, I do not believe, than to lead a soul to Jesus Christ. I found myself this morning when I saw these people coming down the aisle just praising God, I mean, just shouting, praising God, thinking about it, because these folks are coming, and there’s joy in heaven, and there ought to be joy in our hearts. But you cannot enjoy the Father’s blessing without enjoying the Father’s burden. You can come here in this church and see all that God is doing—and He’s doing a lot of stuff—and sit there with no joy, because you don’t have a burden for lost souls, and you don’t rejoice when souls come to Christ.

Why did this elder brother have no concern? Well, he didn’t know his father’s heart. He should have gone to his father. He could have said to his father, “Hey, Dad, what’s wrong? Hey, Dad, you look so burdened. There’s something wrong.” And the Dad could have said, “Son, I’ll tell you what’s wrong: it’s your brother. You know, he wanted his inheritance early, and I gave it to him, and he left home. Son, I’m not even sure where he is. Son, why don’t you take some time off from the job? The farm is not the most important thing. Take some time off. Son, here’s some money. Would you go for me? Would you go to the big city and see if you can find your brother? Tell him I love him. Tell him we miss him. There’s a place for him at the table. Invite him to come home. Tell him Mama wants him to come home. See if he has any needs. Tell him that we long for him to come home.”

I want to ask you a very frank question—and I’m asking myself this question: How much time do we spend listening to the Father’s heart? This elder brother had not a clue as to the concern of the father. While he at the same time was pretending to serve the father, he was living surrounded by blessings: “All that I have is yours.” And yet he was miserable. You’re never going to enjoy Bellevue Baptist Church, you’re never going to enjoy any church, until you let the concern of the Father be your concern and you get in the stream of bringing men, women, boys, and girls to Jesus Christ. This man was self-centered; and because he was self-centered, he was miserable.

You know, these are the kinds of people who don’t love evangelism in a church. And, by the way, before long, we’re going to have seven successive Sundays of nothing but soul winning and evangelism. I’m going to be telling you about it later on. But, you know, there are some folks who’ll say, “Oh, man!” Just like the prodigal son, they’ll come to a service; you’re preaching and crying and pleading and praying for souls, and these people who’ve been starched and ironed but never washed, they’ll come in and they’ll look around, and they’ll be just like this elder brother. They’ll say, “What’s all this noise about?” While we’re pleading for sinners to come to Jesus, they’ll say, “Well, I like a worship service myself.”

I’ve told you this before. I never worship more than when souls are coming to Jesus. And if you would spend some time with the Father and listen to the Father’s heart and let the burden of the Father be your burden, then I’m going to tell you the blessings of the Father would be your blessings and you would have joy unspeakable and full of glory as you know the soul winner’s joy, for the Bible says, “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.”

You know, in a way, I’m kind of glad that this elder brother did not accidentally meet the younger brother coming home. I believe that the elder brother would have been so—I can’t use the word I was about to use, not because it’s profane, but inelegant—toward his brother, that his younger brother may have said, “You know, I really don’t think I need to come back and be around him.”

Do you know what breaks my heart sometimes in this church? We have people who come in here on Sunday morning and put books and coats and so forth in all these front rows to save a seat down front. That’s not altogether bad. As a matter of fact, I’m glad you want to be down near the front. That’s good to get as close to the front as you can. I found out that my grades in college would go up almost a whole letter if I would get close to the front, not that much disturbance between myself and the professor. And, you know, the further in the back that you get, the more you’re tempted to talk and pass notes and to kind of be out of the service. It’s good to get down by the spout where the glory comes out. But—and this has happened in our church—I have seen guests come, maybe move a book that somebody put there, or move a coat, and sit down because there was an empty seat, and our members would come and say, “I’m sorry. That’s my seat. Would you get up?” God have mercy! God have mercy! God have mercy! Do you know what that is? That’s the sin of a selfish, self-righteous, self-centered Pharisee, more concerned about his seat than some precious soul that may be hell-bound and burn in hell forever who has come to hear the Word of God.

Friend, we ought to be willing to sit outside to let somebody come and hear the Word of God. And we’ve got to make folks welcome here. And God has filled this church with blessings. And the Father said to us, “All that I have is yours.” You cannot, however, enjoy the Father’s blessing without sharing the Father’s burden. We need to hear the heart of God. Think how much potentially belonged to this man. First of all, your privilege: “a son.” Your position: “you’re with me.” Your possessions: “all that I have.” Yet with all of that, he was miserable, because he did not share the Father’s heart.

Are you upset with God’s love to somebody else? Does it make any difference to you if God loves sinners if they don’t look exactly like we look? Maybe they’re not dressed in what you think is appropriate. Maybe they have facial hair that you don’t appreciate or are wearing jewelry stuck in different parts of their body. “What is he doing here? What is she doing here?” Do you know why they crucified Jesus? Because He kept company with sinners. We need to have a heart. I’m not saying that we need to try to become like them, but we need to love them so that they can come and share the blessings of Almighty God. When you enter into the Father’s burden, I can tell you you’ll enter into the Father’s blessing and the Father’s joy.

IV.       The Sins of the Spirit Are More Dangerous Than the Sins of the Flesh

Now, here’s the fourth principle I want to lay upon your heart: The sins of the spirit are more dangerous than the sins of the flesh. This elder son was so full of self-righteousness. He had no idea that he was a sinner also. He looked down his self-righteous nose at this younger son: “this thy son.” And many of us, when we read this fifteenth chapter of Luke, we think that the sins of the prodigal son are far worse than the sins of the elder brother.

Now, let me say this about the human heart: All human hearts are wicked. Some are just more apparently wicked than others. You know, the Pharisees are able to cover their sin by refinement and by culture and by religious practices. And before you criticize one of these “old sinners,” you might consider that if you had the same background, if you had the same upbringing, or had not had the opportunities and the training and the culture that you have, you might be very much like them; your life might not be very much different from those that we’re prone to judge.

Read Romans chapter 1 and then chapter 2. In Romans chapter 1, Paul is dealing with the rebellious sinner. In Romans chapter 2, Paul is dealing with the religious sinner. In Romans chapter 1, he’s dealing with the down and out. In Romans chapter 2, he’s dealing with the up and out. And in Romans chapter 3, he’s dealing with both. And he says, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) That is his conclusion: we are all sinners.

Now it’s easy for some, like Pharisees and people who dress up in their glad rags on Sunday morning—and I like to see you look nice—but they come to church, they give the invitation, and they’ll look around to see if any of those old sinners are going to go down there and get saved. And they themselves are so filled with self-righteousness. And Jesus said, “Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 5:20) And He says, “As a matter of fact, harlots and crooked tax collectors are going to heaven before you do.” (Matthew 21:31) But the problem with the sins of the spirit is that they are so hard to recognize and they are so easy to camouflage.

You know, we suppress sin sometimes, and we think that is victory—and the problem is still on the inside. This is what Jesus said to these people like this elder brother. You might put it in your margin—Matthew chapter 23 and verse 27: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres.” Back in this day, for the Jews, of course, you would be ceremonially unclean if you touched a grave. So they would take a sepulcher, which is a grave, a tomb, and they would whitewash it. It would stand out gleaming in the noonday sun. Now even though it was a tomb, it was beautiful: a whited sepulcher, snow white. And this is what He says to these people: “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness” (Matthew 23:27)—outwardly white, beautiful; inwardly full of putrefaction and decay.

There are the sins of the flesh. Have you ever seen people just explode with anger? One man went in the golf store and said, “I need a new putter.” And the salesman said, ‘Well, what was wrong with the old one?’ ” He said, “It didn’t float!” There are some people who just explode with anger. And there are other people, they are so cultured they can keep it in. One is not any better than the other. Have you watched these airline stewardesses? “Yes sir.” “No sir.” “More coffee, sir?” “I’m sorry, sir.” “Thank you, sir.” I imagine they go back there to the galley and say, “That old coot!”

Somebody was playing golf with a pastor and he said, “Pastor, I just admire you. Other people, they miss a shot like you just missed and they’re liable to say something bad. You didn’t say a word.” He said, “Yeah, I know it. But if you’ll watch where I spit, the grass never grows again.” You can contain it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not there.

Outwardly like a whited sepulcher; inwardly full of dead men’s bones. What is the point? The sins of the spirit are even more dangerous than the sins of the flesh, because there is at least a benefit and a bliss to being a drunkard. The drunkard says, “I’m a drunkard.” But so many people wrap their robes of self-righteousness about them and never realize that they’re eaten alive with the sins of a Pharisee.

Conclusion

Now, here’s the conclusion—and I’m finished: The father’s love was the same for both sons. He didn’t love the younger son more than he loved the elder son. He loved both sons. He welcomed the younger son and entreated the elder son. Yet the story ends with the younger son having committed the sins of the flesh on the inside, and the self-righteous, self-centered older brother on the outside. And do you know what this says to me? It says, “Adrian, you need to examine your own life.” And I’m going to tell you this: This story tonight has brought me under conviction. And you are saved perhaps, but we all need to ask ourselves this question: Is there a little Pharisee in me? Do I have a little bit of the spirit of the elder brother? How much do I love God?

Well, I can measure my love for God by my love for my brother. And I cannot share the Father’s blessings without sharing the Father’s burden. And I need to be very, very careful lest I think through culture and refinement that I am okay. And I need to watch and ask myself if I think that my service for God is a substitute for my concern for the things that break the Father’s heart. Am I really, really burdened for the lost?

I want to plead with you, church—I mean, plead from my heart: We are an island of plenty in an ocean of need, and I as your pastor am telling you, commissioning you, calling you, pleading with you, challenging you, and charging you that you get a burden on your heart, the Father’s burden. How would you feel if one of your own dear children were away from home? That’s the way the Father feels. That’s what this story is all about. God give us a burden for souls! May God awaken in my own heart a new burden for souls, and may the things that break the heart of God break my heart! And may the things that give Him joy, may they give me joy! Would you covenant with me that we are going to make our church a welcoming station for the lost? And when they come, and when souls get saved and multitudes are won, we’ll have a party; I mean, we’ll just enjoy it when souls are coming. And there is joy in heaven. There will be joy down here as people are coming to Jesus.

The Ungrateful Brother

By Adrian Rogers

Sermon Date: November 27, 1988

Sermon Time: 1800

Main Scripture Text: Luke 15:11–32

Main Scripture Verse: “It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.” Luke 15:32

Outline

Introduction

I.            You May Measure Your Love for the Father by Your Relationship with Your Brother

II.           You May Measure Your Service to the Father by Your Fellowship with the Father

III.          You May Measure Your Joy with the Father by Your Sharing of the Father’s Burden

Conclusion

Introduction

Now, would you take God’s Word, please, and turn to Luke chapter 15. And as we tune our hearts for this fellowship supper at the Lord’s Table, I want us to do some self-examination, and I want us to examine our faith. And I’m going to give you three measurements so you can find out about your relationship with God and your readiness to come to our Lord’s Table.

Now, this is a time of celebration, but some of us are not ready to celebrate. I want us to read here in Luke chapter 15, and I begin reading in verse 11—I suppose one of the most familiar stories in all of the Bible: “And he said, A certain man had two sons: and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself …”—and I like that phrase because it implies that a person away from God is really not in his right mind—“And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry. Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound. And he was angry,”—that is, the elder brother was angry—“and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him. And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends: but as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. And it was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.” (Luke 15:11–32)

Now, this story is a story that Jesus Christ gave to the Pharisees—the Pharisees in whose hearts and lives the milk of human kindness had curdled. They had complained about the Lord Jesus Christ and they criticized Jesus for keeping company with sinners. And Jesus told this story. It’s a story of two sons and two kinds of sinners. One story, the story we’re very familiar with, is the story of the prodigal, the prodigal son. He was a rebel. He was a renegade. He was a rioter. He ended up penniless. He ended up shameless. He ended up friendless. Someone preached a message on this prodigal son and gave three points: first of all, sick of home; then, homesick; and then, home. It’s a beautiful story. And I think everybody knows it. His were the sins of the flesh. But there was another son, a son that stayed at home. Outwardly, he was a fine son. He worked hard. He kept his father’s commandments outwardly. He did nothing wrong that anyone could obviously see. And his were not the sins of the flesh. His were more the sins of the crowd that’s here tonight. His were the sins of the spirit.

You see, there are some sins that are outward, and there are some sins that are inward. There are some sins that are sins of the flesh, but other sins that are sins of the spirit. There are some sins that are gross sins. There are other sins that are subtle sins. People pay more attention to the prodigal son than they do the elder brother. And you know why we don’t pay much attention to the elder brother, and why you don’t hear many sermons about the elder brother, the brother that stayed home and complained about the younger brother who’d been away—complained when the father lavished his love upon that younger brother? I’ll tell you why: because we’re so much like the elder brother. It’s a love story, this fifteenth chapter of Luke, but you’re going to find out that the love of God that melted the heart of one sinner hardened the heart of another sinner. The elder brother was outwardly moral, but Jesus in this story made havoc of his little list of virtues. And you’re going to find out that Jesus had compassion for that outward sinner, that man who was guilty of the sins of the flesh; but you’re going to find out in the Scriptures that Jesus had white-hot words for those who were self-righteous, those who were guilty of sins of the spirit and would not let go of those sins of the spirit.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, as we prepare our hearts tonight for the Lord’s Supper, let me tell you how our lives ought to be lived. First of all, there ought to be a pure, sincere, overflowing love for God. That love for God ought to lead to service for our Lord. And that service for our Lord ought to lead to great, wonderful, abounding joy. Love, service, and joy ought to mark our lives. Well, I want you to measure tonight your love for God, and I want you tonight to measure your service for God, and I want you tonight to measure your joy in the Lord. And may I tell you several things.

I.          You May Measure Your Love for the Father by Your Relationship with Your Brother

First of all, you may measure your love for the Father by your relationship with your brother—you may measure your love for the Father by your relationship with your brother. Put this verse in your margin—1 John 4:20. Here’s what the wise Apostle John said: “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar …”—boy, there’s one thing about old John: he didn’t beat around the bush, did he?—“If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” (1 John 4:20)

Now, there are some who would like to assume the place of a son without assuming the responsibility of a brother. And I’m going to tell you that you’re not ready tonight to take the Lord’s Supper if your heart is headquarters for hate for some brother, some sister, some child of God. I’m going to tell you again, if you have resentment or envy or jealousy or hatred or malice or contempt for your brother, your sister, I warn you, do not partake of the Lord’s Supper until you’ve confessed that sin, for you are not right with God. How are you going to measure your love for God?

My dear friend, you’re going to measure your love for the Father by your love for the brother. You see, you can’t see God the Father, but you can see your brother. And so, in a very practical way, that which we can see is that which we can measure. Downstairs in our church kitchen, and many church kitchens, we have big coffee urns. They put the coffee or whatever the beverage is on the inside, and on the outside there’s a glass tube that runs up and down, and you can tell what’s on the inside by looking at that glass tube that’s transparent, and as the liquid goes up and down in that glass tube. Do you know what I’m talking about? You know what’s on the inside. You can’t see what’s on the inside, but you can see what’s on the outside. And, my dear friend, your love for your brother is that which can be seen, which is the absolute measurement of what is on the inside.

Now you would have thought that this elder son who was out in the field, when he came home and saw that they had killed the fatted calf, they were having a party, they were dancing, they were making merry, you would have thought he would have said, “Praise God! Hallelujah! Our prayers have been answered! My brother has come home! What a wonderful day! I wouldn’t blame my dear old dad if he overdid the festivities just a little bit.” But he wasn’t that way. As a matter of fact, he was such a poor son because he was such a poor brother.

Do you know what I have in my mind? I really believe that this elder brother was a little bit jealous of the good time he thought the prodigal son had been having. He was just a little envious of those people who were doing things that he really didn’t get a chance to do. He was like that woman who prayed in a prayer meeting when there were only a few in the prayer meeting: “Lord, be with us as we meet here with you while so many of our members are out there in the world having a good time.” You know, this is the way he felt.

And I’m telling you, dear friend, you may measure your love for your Father by your love for your brother. “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”

II.         You May Measure Your Service to the Father by Your Fellowship with the Father

Now, there’s a second thing: You may measure your service to the Father by your fellowship with the Father. Look, if you will, in verse 25: “Now his elder son was in the field:”—that is, he hadn’t been wasting his substance with riotous living. He was out in the field. He’s working the ranch. He’s working the farm. He’s taking care of the flock, whatever it is. He’s in the field—“and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what these things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe and sound.” Now, watch this. “And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore came his father out, and intreated him.” Now, watch verse 29: “And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid,”—that is, a young goat—“that I might make merry with my friends.” (Luke 15:25–29)

Now, he’s interested here in his service. And it’s very obvious that he was a hard worker. He was in the field. And he says to his father and he reminds his father in verse 29, “I have served you for many years.” But, my dear friend, you may measure your service for the Father by your fellowship with the Father. There are people who have worked in this church for many, many years, but they don’t have fellowship with God. This man, this elder brother, was what we would have considered a model worker. And yet he did not know the father’s heart. He did not understand what motivated his father.

I can just almost hear his mind working. He’s saying, “You know, I don’t understand what’s wrong with my dad. We’ve never had finer crops. Look at the cattle—how sleek and fat they are! Look at the barns—how freshly painted, how large, how wonderful they are! Look at all of the workers we have coming and going! Everything looks just so fine. I don’t know what’s wrong with my father. My father just seems to sit there. He never seems to be completely satisfied, no matter how wonderful the farm is, no matter how beautiful everything is. My father seems to have a faraway look in his eyes. I don’t know what’s wrong with my father.”

I’ll tell you what was wrong with the father. He had a broken heart over a son that was away from home, over that fallen friend that we talked about this morning. I want to ask you a question. What do you think God is concerned about primarily tonight? Do you think God is primarily concerned about a building we call Canaan? Do you think God is primarily concerned about several hundred in the choir, great orchestras, banners, love offerings, deacons, sermons, fellowship, church suppers, ordinations, and Sunday School attendance? There are some people who think, “Well, you know, God ought to really be pleased with what we’re doing for Him. Look at the way we’re running His farm.” But I wonder, have we really entered into the great heart of God?

You see, dear friend, here was a man who was serving God without ever really knowing the heart of God. It was simply legalistic service. Do you know what he was thinking? He was saying, “God …”—actually to his father, but the father here takes the place of God; He was saying, “Father, I have served you, and you haven’t rewarded me correspondingly.” It’s very obvious here that here was a man who was serving for a reward. His service was legalistic service, and he missed his father’s heart.

You see, the Bible says, for example, about giving, in 2 Corinthians 9:7, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7) I told you then what I’ll tell you again: What is not cheerfully, willingly, given, God neither needs nor wants. We’re to give out of a heart motivated with love. You may measure your service to the Father by your fellowship with the Father. If, my dear friend, you serve for reward, it’s not going to be long before you’re going to be complaining that you’re not being blessed sufficiently. And if somebody else is blessed more than you’re blessed, you’re really going to be complaining. But if you serve the Lord out of a love for God, not out of reward, you’re going to be blessed indeed. Listen. This young man did not know what made his father’s heart beat. He could have known. He should have known. But he didn’t.

III.       You May Measure Your Joy with the Father by Your Sharing of the Father’s Burden

I’m going to mention one other thing, dear friend. Not only are you going to measure your love for the Father by your relationship to your brother; not only are you going to measure your service for the Father by, dear friend, your fellowship with the Father; but you’re going to measure also that third thing that I mentioned: your joy with the Father by your sharing of the Father’s burden. Notice again in verse 29. Listen to this man: “And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid …”—do you see his finger in the face of his father?—“yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends.” That is, “I’m not merry; I’m not happy.” “But as soon as this thy son was come …”—do you hear that? Not “this my brother,” but “this thy son”—“But as soon as this thy son was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again; and was lost, and is found.” (Luke 15:29–32)

But the elder brother didn’t make merry. The elder brother was not glad. He had no joy, because, dear friend, he’s wrapped up in himself. He doesn’t have the father’s burden. Look in verse 29. He’s not concerned about his father. In verse 29 he says “I,” “me,” five times. He is full of self-righteousness. He is full of self-centeredness. He is full of self-pity. And he is perfectly miserable. And so will you be if you don’t know the Father’s burden.

My dear friend, listen to me tonight. If you do not share the Father’s burden, you’ll never know the Father’s joy. Now, pay attention. If you do not love your brother, you don’t love the Father. If you don’t have fellowship with the Father, your service amounts to nothing. And if you don’t have the Father’s burden, you’ll never know the Father’s joy.

Now he had it all, but he had nothing. Look, if you will, as the father reasons with him. Look in verse 31—the father said unto him, “Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine.” Now, look at it. He has everything, and yet the one thing he wants the most, he doesn’t have—and that’s joy. He had position, because he was a son. Look at it. He calls him a son. He has privilege, because he’s with the father. He has possessions, because the father says, “All that I have is yours.” Now, in Bible times, the elder son got two-thirds of the inheritance, the birthright. The younger son got only one-third. Everything that was left really belonged to the elder son. The father said, “Son, listen. You have position. You’re my son. You have privilege. You’re with me. You have possessions. All that I have is yours.” And yet, he had no joy. And I’ll tell you why. The same reason that some in this building tonight say, “I just don’t understand why it is that I’m not getting joy in my faith.” Well, I’ll tell you why. You don’t share the Father’s burden. You don’t see things from God’s point of view. You feel that somehow somebody else’s blessing is your demise.

Now, what this young man needed to understand was that in the father’s house there is always a surplus. The prodigal son knew that. He said, “Even my father’s servants have bread enough and to spare.” (Luke 15:17) My dear friend, there’s enough of God’s grace for all five billion people on Planet Earth. You can have all you want, and they can have all they want. What brings the Father joy? What makes joy in heaven? Again, what burdens the Father’s heart? A son away from Him. What gladdens the Father’s heart? Listen—Jesus said, “There is joy in the presence of the angels over one sinner that repenteth more than over ninety and nine just persons that need no repentance.” (Luke 15:7, 10)

I used to think that meant that the angels rejoiced—and I suppose they do—but that’s not what that verse means. It doesn’t say there’s joy among the angels. It says there’s joy in the presence of the angels. It’s the Lord who rejoices when a sinner comes home. There’s joy in the presence of the angels, just as there was joy when this prodigal son came home. What gives the Father joy? For sinners to come home. What will give you joy? “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” (Psalm 126:6)

My friend, do you want joy? If you want the Father’s joy, you’ve got to share the Father’s concern. You’ve got to share the Father’s burden. This elder brother could have been concerned with a surplus in the house and an empty place at the table, and yet there was no twinge in his heart. Have you ever thought about why he didn’t share his father’s concern? Why was he so stubborn, so recalcitrant, so mulish? Why didn’t he know how the father felt? I’ll tell you why. He spent no time with his father. Do you know what he should have done? He should have said, “Dad, I want to talk with you. Dad, you’ve got a faraway look in your eye. Dad, I can tell you’re burdened. Dad, even though the crops are doing well, and even though the servants are obedient, and even though the barns are well built, and even though the cattle are sleek and healthy, and everything good, father, I can tell you’re burdened. Level with me, Dad. Why do you look so burdened?” And the dad would say, “Son, it’s your brother. You know, son, he wanted his inheritance early, and I gave it to him. And your brother’s left home. I believe he’s in a faraway country. I believe he may be in trouble. I hear there’s a depression in that land where he went. I’m concerned about your brother. Let’s pray for him. Perhaps, son, you could go and see where he is, see if he has any needs. Perhaps, son, you could go to your brother and my son and tell him that mother and I love him, and that you love him, and that you want him to come home, and that we want him to come home. Welcome him home.” He never spent any time with his father. He didn’t know his father’s heart.

Do you know why people don’t have a love for the lost? Because they don’t have a quiet time with God. Did you know it’s not primarily a love for lost souls that we need; it’s primarily a love for God that we need. Jesus didn’t say, “Do you love sheep?” or, “Do you love to feed sheep?” He said to Peter, “Loveth thou me? Feed my sheep.” But here was a son who spent no real time, no quality time. What he did, he shut out the concern of his father while pretending to serve his father. He was self-centered and he was miserable. He came home and he said, “What’s all this noise about?” They said, “Well, your brother’s come home, and there’s rejoicing.”

Did you know in churches across America today there are people who don’t want to be a member of an evangelistic church? Do you know why? It bothers them. They wish the preacher would just preach and let them go home. They don’t like a man to stand in the pulpit and say, “Come to Jesus. Sing another stanza. Sing another stanza. Sing another stanza.” They get antsy. They look at their watch. They say, “It’s time to go. What’s all this noise about? It disturbs me. Everything is fine just like it is. We don’t need a new church. There’s plenty of room for me. I always get a seat. What’s all this noise about? What’s all this concern about? What’s all this pleading and praying about?”

Frankly, I’m glad that the elder brother didn’t meet the prodigal coming home. I’m glad it was the father who met him. Sometimes I wonder about some of the unsaved who come and sit in our church by some of our people. Do you know what can happen in Bellevue Baptist Church—and it has happened? I have gotten letters from unsaved people who came to our church and were not able to sit down, because somebody said, “That is my seat. Didn’t you see that Bible there? That’s mine. Move out.” May God have mercy upon your wretched soul! Your seat? My dear friend, there’s plenty of room in our Father’s house. May God give you a concern for these poor people!

You say, “Well, I don’t want to sit near that person: they don’t smell right,” or, “they don’t look right.” I’m so glad the elder brother, that self-righteous little prig, didn’t meet the prodigal on his way home. My dear friend, you want joy, real joy? You spend some time with the Father. You find out what burdens the Father and let that burden you. There was joy. There was singing. There was gladness. That self-righteous Pharisee was on the outside and wouldn’t come in.

Conclusion

Before we take the Lord’s Supper tonight, I want you to learn three things and learn them good. The Christian life is summed up in love for the Father, service to the Father, and joy with the Father. Your love for the Father is going to be measured by your love for your brother. Your service to the Father is going to be measured by your fellowship with the Father. And your joy with the Father is measured by the degree that you share the Father’s burden. “He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” (Psalm 126:6)

Heads are bowed. Eyes are closed. I want you tonight to tune your heart and ask the Lord, “Lord, have I been serving you legalistically? Lord, has my so-called service for you been a substitute for my fellowship with you? Have I been pretending to love you when I haven’t loved those that you love? Is the lack of joy in my life, Lord, the fact that I’ve not entered into your burden?” Friend, when we learn to weep with Him, we’ll learn to rejoice with Him. Spend a few moments, then I’ll lead us in prayer and we’ll prepare our hearts for this Lord’s Supper.^[2]

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^[1] MacArthur, J. (2013). Luke 11–17 (pp. 291–329). Moody Publishers.

^[2] Rogers, A. (2017). Is There a Little Pharisee in Me? In Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive (Lk 15:1–32). Rogers Family Trust.

Seeking Revival – Reverend Romesh Prakashpalan Sermon

Seeking Revival – Reverend Romesh Prakashpalan Sermon

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Seeking Revival – Reverend Romesh Prakashpalan Sermon

Rom is married to Maegan and they have four children. Rom was raised as a Hindu and became an atheist early in life. The Lord called him to faith through hearing the gospel in 2009 (Romans 10:17). Soon after, he felt a call to gospel ministry. He graduated from the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary (RPTS) in 2020 with an MDiv. He was first ordained and installed as a ruling elder at DRPC in March 2015 and then a teaching elder in July 2020 by the Midwest Presbytery of the RPCNA. In addition to homiletics, counseling, and theology; Rom enjoys cooking, especially smoking meat, computer science (his first vocation), and roadtrips with his family.

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GTY Blog Post – The Priority of Purity

One of the earliest mentions of “the church” in the New Testament comes from the lips of Christ in Matthew 18. There, His first message to the church is for dealing with sin in the assembly. Like His parting words to the churches in Revelation 2–3, Christ’s instructions to His church are wholly concerned with the holiness and spiritual health of the church herself. He did not issue a manifesto instructing His people to engage or redeem secular culture. He didn’t present a strategy for assessing and addressing the felt needs of the community, or ending cultural inequity, or lowering the poverty rate. He didn’t lay out a plan for maximizing the church’s political or moral clout. He didn’t stress the need for tolerance, validation, spiritual safe spaces, or any of the other currently fashionable evangelical talking points. Instead, His concern was for the purity of His church. He wanted His people to know how to confront and deal with sin.

If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. (Matthew 18:15–17)

This unambiguous command for confronting sin in the church is an entirely counterintuitive idea for the hip, cool, modern church. Many think, Who am I to tell someone else how to live? Why would we want to expose people’s sin or force anyone out of the church? Shouldn’t we just love them and let the Spirit do His work?

Incredibly, many churches today proudly ignore the sin in their midst in the name of tolerance, unity, and love—proving only that they have no true understanding of what the Bible means when it talks about unity and love. Amazingly, ignoring sin and practicing tolerance has become a staple strategy for church growth. This directly defies the Lord’s commands.

The apostle Paul harshly rebuked the Corinthians for that very attitude in 1 Corinthians 5. A man in their midst was openly indulging in an incestuous sin so egregious that even Gentiles in the community were shocked by it. “Someone has his father’s wife” (1 Corinthians 5:1). Instead of excommunicating the man, they boasted about their tolerance, as if it were a badge of honor to allow such a person to represent their fellowship in the community. Paul told them, “You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst. Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough?” (1 Corinthians 5:2, 6). Not only was the testimony of the entire church ruined by the open sin of this man; sin itself increases in the church like leaven. Such wickedness, when tolerated, will spread and poison the whole fellowship. The effects of that principle were already clearly evident in the Corinthian assembly.

The apostle’s instructions were straightforward and urgent: He commanded them “not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler—not even to eat with such a one. . . .  Remove the wicked man from among yourselves” (1 Corinthians 5:11, 13).

Though sin spreads like leaven, purity and holiness do not. They must be diligently cultivated and protected. Many in the church today seem to be laboring under the bizarre notion that an “acceptable” amount of sin in the church is an evangelistic strategy. They pretend that the Lord’s view of unrighteousness and corruption is as casual as theirs is. Believers must defend the purity of the church above all other concerns, regardless of how doing so might offend observing sinners.

In Ephesians 5:25–27, Paul describes the Lord’s love for His church and His abiding concern for her purity. He says Christ “loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.” Our priorities for the church need to reflect the Lord’s. We need to prize the purity of the church as He does.

Consider the ways that overlooked and ignored sin inhibits the work of God’s people. He has called the church to be heaven’s representative on earth. The church is the place where God is to be honored and glorified, where righteousness is exalted and holiness pursued. In fact, God’s people are called to reflect His holiness as a testimony to the unrepentant world (Matthew 5:16). We can’t do that if we’re tolerating sin in our midst.

Despite Scripture’s clear instructions, many churches that declare sound doctrine fail to declare and protect holiness. Christ’s letter to the church at Thyatira illustrates the deadly consequences of failing to guard the purity of God’s church.

Built for Destruction

Thyatira, the smallest of the cities mentioned in Revelation 2–3, was located approximately forty miles to the southeast of Pergamum, along the main road traveling north and south. Though it sat in a flat river valley that lacked any natural fortifications, it was originally founded as a military garrison on the main road to Pergamum. The plan was that any attackers headed toward Pergamum would be slowed by the soldiers at Thyatira, buying precious time for Pergamum to prepare its own defense. As the capital city of the region, Pergamum would surely be the destination for invading forces; Thyatira was merely a speed bump along the way. Therefore, Thyatira was frequently destroyed and rebuilt throughout its history. In the few instances the city is referenced in ancient literature, it is usually to relay the details of its conquest.

Things changed for Thyatira after it came under Roman control. The relative peace brought by the Roman Empire spared the city from constant attack and destruction. And its location along a major trade route connecting Pergamum with Laodicea and Smyrna turned Thyatira into a boomtown for commercial industry. The city specialized in dyed fabrics—particularly a purple dye developed from a combination of shellfish and root—but it was home to all sorts of ancient tradecrafts. History suggests the city was still ascending in prominence when John saw his vision of Christ on Patmos. Today, it is the Turkish city of Akhisar.

Scripture doesn’t tell us when the church at Thyatira was founded. It could have been during Paul’s ministry in Ephesus (Acts 19:10). It also could have blossomed out of his earlier ministry in Philippi. In the book of Acts, Luke tells us, “A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul” (Acts 16:14). Lydia and her family were the first believers in Europe and helped establish the Philippian church. It’s possible that she or some of her relatives returned to Thyatira and helped establish a gospel outpost there.

No matter how the church in Thyatira began, it’s instantly apparent from Christ’s letter that they had not remained faithful to the truth, or to His instructions to keep the church pure. In fact, the congregation was inviting God’s wrath and judgment through their corrupt behavior.

A Word from the Judge

The Lord’s letter to Thyatira marks a shift in the language and tone of His correspondence. In the first group—the letters to Ephesus, Smyrna, and Pergamum—the churches had stayed true to the faith and had not yielded to the assaults of sin. Ephesus was characterized by loyalty to Christ and sound teaching, but was lacking love. Smyrna’s loyalty to the Lord had been tested by fire, and they had faithfully persevered. Even to the compromising church of Pergamum, the Lord praises some of them for holding fast to His name.

Not so for the church in Thyatira, or for those to follow in Sardis and Laodicea. In these cities, the situations were far worse. It was no longer a small minority of the believers who were sinning. These churches were dominated by the satanic influences of false teaching and immorality, and the letters to them indicate the Lord’s wrath over their impurity.

That’s reflected right from the start in the letter to Thyatira, as the Lord identifies Himself as “the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze” (Revelation 2:18). In each letter, Christ borrows imagery from John’s initial vision that ties to the nature of His message to the church. To Ephesus, He emphasized His authority and care for the church (Revelation 2:1). For Smyrna, He reminded them of His eternal nature, His sacrifice on their behalf, and the glories that awaited them in heaven (v. 8). And in bringing a firm rebuke to Pergamum, He identified the power of His Word and the consequences to come if they failed to repent (v. 12).

His self-description to Thyatira similarly foreshadows His message to the church. Here He is characterized by His “eyes like a flame of fire,” which signify His perfect omniscience. There was nothing going on in the church at Thyatira that He did not know about, no secret sin that had escaped His notice (see Matthew 10:26). It was a reminder that “there is no creature hidden from His sight,” but that “all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13). Nothing can be hidden from the eyes of the Lord.

Along with His penetrating, laser-like gaze, Christ describes His feet “like burnished bronze”—a depiction of His authority and judgment over His church. That imagery will come up again later in Revelation, when John describes the Lord’s wrath poured out against the unrepentant world. He writes that Christ “treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty” (Revelation 19:15). Here, the Lord’s feet glow “like burnished bronze” as He tramples the impurity festering within His church.

There is one notable difference from the wording of John’s original vision. John writes that he “saw one like a son of man” (1:13), emphasizing not only Christ’s humanity but also His compassion and care for His people. It reflects His intercessory work on our behalf and His understanding of our weaknesses, failures, and struggles. In Revelation 2:18, Christ instead refers to Himself as “the Son of God.” This is an affirmation of His deity and, with it, His transcendence, holiness, and judgment. The Savior has become the Judge; the Intercessor becomes the executioner. Divine wrath is about to be unleashed against this idolatrous, immoral congregation. This is not comforting or sympathetic; this is threatening and fearful. This is a letter no church wants to receive.

(Adapted from Christ’s Call to Reform the Church.)

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He Lowers to Raise | VCY America

https://www.vcyamerica.org/charles-spurgeon/2023/07/03/he-lowers-to-raise/

The Lord maketh poor, and maketh rich: he bringeth low, and lifteth up. (1 Samuel 2:7)

All my changes come from Him who never changes. If I had grown rich, I should have seen His hand in it, and I should have praised Him; let me equally see His hand if I am made poor, and let me as heartily praise Him. When we go down in the world, it is of the Lord, and so we may take it patiently: when we rise in the world, it is of the Lord, and we may accept it thankfully. In any case, the Lord hath done it, and it is well.

It seems that Jehovah’s way is to lower those whom He means to raise and to strip those whom He intends to clothe. If it is His way, it is the wisest and best way. If I am now enduring the bringing low, I may well rejoice, because I see in it the preface to the lifting up. The more we are humbled by grace, the more we shall be exalted in glory. That impoverishment which will be overruled for our enrichment is to be welcomed.

O Lord, Thou has taken me down of late and made me feel my insignificance and sin. It is not a pleasant experience, but I pray Thee make it a profitable one to me. Oh, that Thou wouldst thus fit me to bear a greater weight of delight and of usefulness; and when I am ready for it, then grant it to me, for Christ’s sake! Amen.

May You Know the Love of God | Daily Devotionals by Thoughts about God

May You Know the Love of God

“Being rooted and grounded in love.” Ephesians 3:17

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May you know the love of God in its fullness, in its endlessness, in its loveliness, in its tenderness—

May you know the depths of love— reaching down and under girding you at the most painful level of your heartache, freeing you from the heaviest weight of your burden, restoring you in the deepest valley of your sorrow.

May you know the heights of His love—lifting you up from the miry clay, releasing you into the all-sufficiency of His conquering grace, opening wide your wings of faith to soar like the eagle.

May you know the breadth of His love—covering you in its all-embracing care, reassuring you in your trial, strengthening you in your weakness, drawing you close in times of uncertainty, holding you with all the mercies that come from the Father’s heart.

May you know the length of His love—bringing you release from the bondages of the past, walking with you in peace on your present pathway, going ahead of you and preparing the way for the rich treasures yet to come.

By Roy Lessin
Used by Permission

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Further Reading

•  How to Know God Personally

•  How To Be Sure You Are a Christian (video and longer explanation)

•   Going Deeper with God

What You Think about God | Daily Devotionals by Thoughts about God

What You Think about God

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One evening I asked a group of Pioneer Girls what was the first thing that came to their mind when they thought about God. One girl answered, “An old man with a long beard, sitting on a cloud.” That was how she perceived God.

I often wonder what older adults think about God. A.W. Tozer wrote, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” It is so important that we have the Biblical image of God and not someone else’s.

Dr. William R. Bright wrote the following about God.

1. Because God is spirit, I will seek intimate fellowship with Him.
2. Because God is all-powerful, He can help me with anything.
3. Because God is ever-present, He is always with me.
4. Because God knows everything, I will go to Him with all my questions and concerns.
5. Because God is sovereign, I will joyfully submit to His will.
6. Because God is holy, I will devote myself to Him in purity, worship and service.
7. Because God is absolute truth, I will believe what He says and live accordingly.
8. Because God is righteous, I will live by His standards.
9. Because God is just, He will treat me fairly.
10. Because God is love, He is unconditionally committed to my well-being.
11. Because God is merciful, He forgives me of my sins when I sincerely confess them.
12. Because God is faithful, I will trust Him to always keep His promises.
13. Because God never changes, my future is secure and eternal.

What comes to your mind when you think about God? Write it down. Is it Biblical? Do you need to rethink your view of God?

Heavenly Father, May You take the scales off our eyes to see clearly how wonderful and loving You are, Oh Lord! Amen.

By Katherine Kehler
Used by Permission

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Further Reading

•   God Is…

•  The Almighty

•   God, Our Source of Life

3 Jul 2023 News Briefing

Ukraine reports Russian attacks in east, progress in south
Ukrainian forces are resisting a Russian onslaught in eastern areas of the front and face difficulties in the northeast, but are making progress near the shattered city of Bakhmut and in the south, the deputy defence minister said on Sunday.

It’s Time for Russia’s Remaining Jews to Leave
“If necessary, just as we prevented the fall of Assad, we will prevent the fall of Putin.” This brazen claim was posted to a Telegram channel linked with the Iranian regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) last Saturday, as an amazed world watched a mutiny unfold in Russia that was quickly snuffed out before any significant violence unfolded. “pogroms” and violence could yet be the lot of Russia’s remaining Jews, urging them to get out as soon as possible.

Iran stores arsenal of ballistic missiles in dozens of bunkers in hidden valley
Iran uses a valley in Kermanshah, Iran to base its Qiam-1 ballistic missiles, according to a new report from the Alma Research and Education Center. The missiles are allegedly kept in dozens of bunkers in three underground sites. One of them is in Konesht Canyon. There are “dozens of missile bunkers” dug into this canyon, the research center says.

Home of French mayor ram-raided and torched by rioters.
Vincent Jeanbrun, mayor of the southern suburb of L’Hay-les-Roses, said his wife and one of their two children, aged five and seven, were injured as they fled the building in the early hours.

‘Shut up or declare war’ – Hezbollah won’t remove outpost in Israeli territory
A Lebanese Hezbollah MP told local media that the terror group refuses to dismantle an outpost it established in Israeli territory, and that Jerusalem could declare war should they want to clear the encampment.

Taliban praise Biden for pushing their propaganda –
When in doubt lie, then lie some more. Biden is pushing Taliban propaganda. Biden’s latest lie shows that the complicity with the Taliban during the botched retreat was no accident.

Israel to Purchase New Squadron of Stealth Fighters in $3 Billion Deal
Israel will move forward with purchasing a new squadron of US-made F-35 stealth fighter jets in a $3 billion deal, Israel’s Defense Ministry announced on Sunday. The purchase of 25 additional F-35s from the Maryland-based Lockheed Martin would bring Israel’s fleet of stealth jets to 75.. the planes were being financed through US military assistance.

Netanyahu Condemns ‘Waves Of Antisemitism’ by Rioters in France
“We support the French government in its fight against the scourge of antisemitism,” says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Putin and Abbas agree ‘mutual commitment’ to Russia-Palestine relations
“The Palestinian President expressed his full support for the Russian leadership’s actions to defend the constitutional order and the rule of law during the events of June 24,” the Kremlin’s website stated, referring to an attempted armed coup by the paramilitary Wagner Group led by Yevgeny Prigozhin. The rebellion failed, and Prigozhin went into exile. Abbas was the only world leader other than Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who expressed support for the Russian president in the wake of the attempted rebellion.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders claim plans to establish new West Bank terror cells
“The most important thing is that we strengthen the resistance,” PIJ head Ziad Nakhaleh told the Iranian Arabic-language paper Al-Vefagh on Saturday. “During our visit to Iran, during the meeting with His Eminence, the Leader, His Eminence reaffirmed [his desire] to advance arming the West Bank and resistance action in the West Bank,” Nakhaleh added.

Syrian anti-aircraft missile lands in Israel following IDF strike
Following an Israel Defense Forces airstrike near the central Syrian city of Homs early this morning, a Syrian air defense missile exploded over central Israel. The IDF Home Front acknowledged the explosion of the Syrian air defense missile explosion but did not comment on the Israel Air Force strike on Syria.

Tucker Carlson: ‘Pride’ is a ‘religious war’ that may bring same fate as Sodom and Gomorrah
‘This is not about liberation. It’s just the opposite. It’s just another religious war’ the former Fox News host said. ‘[It’s] the people who think they’re God versus everybody else.’

Strong M6.9 earthquake hits Tonga region 
A strong earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.9 hit the Tonga region at 10:27 UTC on July 2, 2023. The agency is reporting a depth of 225 km (139.8 miles). EMSC is reporting M6.7 at a depth of 224 km (139.1 miles).

‘Making Jesus in their own image’: Leftists use AI to rewrite Bible, talk to ‘God’
Activists are using artificial intelligence to make the Bible and religion fit their agenda.

China-owned car company may get boost from Biden tax credits meant for U.S. automakers
The automotive arm of a large Chinese corporation, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, is looking to gain a foothold in the U.S. market and may get a boost from President Joe Biden’s administration.

YouTube censors Ruth Institute interview clip about link between abortion, breast cancer
‘YouTube doesn’t want the public to know about the abortion-breast cancer link, so it shuts down any discussion of the matter, under the guise of protecting the public from ‘misinformation.’ How convenient,’ Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse said.

CofE proposal seeks to rent out poorly attended churches, wait for “future growth’
To combat dwindling congregations and a significant drop in regular worship, the Church of England has proposed a plan to rent out underused parish churches instead of selling them, allowing them to “lie fallow” with the potential for future reopening.

Israel Buys 25 More Lockheed F-35 Stealth Jets In $3 Billion Deal
In reality American taxpayers will purchase, as it will be financed through the defense aid package Israel receives from the US.

Chicago’s air quality worst in the world, global index shows
At Promontory Park in Hyde Park, normally a spot for picnickers and parkgoers to admire an impressive view of the city, a group of four wore masks and looked across Lake Michigan at a whitish and gray skyline.

Planned Parenthood Deems Virginity a ‘Social Construct’
Planned Parenthood is known for its progressive policies, and now they are seeking to redefine the concept of virginity. The abortion provider posted a Tweet Tuesday which said, “Virginity is a social construct.”

Dutch government declares a state of emergency to stop farmer protest 
The Hague, the seat of the Dutch government, declared a state of emergency to prevent farmers from driving their tractors into the city to protest the government’s mandatory fertilizer reduction targets.

French Police Unions: “Today the police are in combat because we are at war. Tomorrow we will be in resistance” 
Amid the ongoing violence in France, police unions which represent half of the French police tweeted a statement on Friday: “Today the police are in combat because we are at war. Tomorrow we will be in resistance and the government will have to become aware of it.”

All illusions must be abandoned; the time for heroes is knocking at the door, says former Moldovan MP 
Despite major conflicts between various countries, they are all submissively following the same globalist agenda – the Great Reset, Agenda 21 or Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development, adopted by the UN.

Hunter Biden’s Former Business Partner Was Willing To Testify Before Grand Jury; Delaware US Attorney Didn’t Answer His Calls
Weiss’ decision to ignore Bobulinski is the latest indication that prosecutors purposefully tanked the investigation to protect Hunter’s father, Joe Biden.

Covid Vaccines have caused a Dangerous & Deadly Alliance between Graphene, mRNA, and Nanotechnology
…following the roll-out of the Covid-19 injections, a chilling alliance between graphene nanobots, mRNA technology, and nanotechnology has emerged, casting a sinister shadow over our collective future.

Musk’s Tweet-Limiting Move Is To Prevent The Completion Of The “AI-Censorship-Death-Star”
“You are going to see the censorship industry howl over this… whether Musk knows it or not, he has stepped on a rattlesnake.”

Papal envoy says Moscow visit focused on humanitarian issues, not peace plan
Papal envoy Cardinal Matteo Zuppi said on Sunday his mission to Moscow on the Ukraine war was focused on humanitarian issues and had not involved any discussions of a peace plan. Pope Francis had in May asked Zuppi, head of the Italian bishops’ conference, to carry out a peace mission to try to help end the war in Ukraine.

Poland hopes to join NATO nuclear sharing agreement over Russian threat
Polish Prime Minister Morawiecki stated that Poland wants to join NATO’s nuclear weapons sharing program, in response to Russia’s deployment of nuclear warheads to Belarus.

3 Jul 2023

Headlines – 7/3/2023

US return to UNESCO leaves Israel in awkward spot

In U-turn, Netanyahu said to reassure ministers override clause has not been shelved

Pledging to carry on with overhaul, Levin says battle is over state’s character

Day of stepped-up anti-overhaul protests kicks off with hundreds blocking Haifa port

Overhaul critics seek show of force in afternoon protest at Ben Gurion Airport

Netanyahu convenes security meeting to discuss West Bank tensions

Demolition of illegal West Bank settler construction said to plummet under Smotrich

Israeli Ministers Advance Bill on Imprisoning Children Under 14 for Terror-related Manslaughter

IDF strikes in Jenin as it launches ‘widescale effort against terror’ in West Bank city

Over 1,100 Palestinians said held by Israel without trial, highest figure since 2003

IDF fires at Lebanese protesters amid work on Lebanese border – report

Hezbollah vows to maintain its military posts in Israeli territory, rejects UN diplomacy

Hezbollah said to evacuate one of the 2 tents it set up on Israeli side of Blue Line

IDF chose to let Syria missile through, determined it safe to do so – sources

Iran stores arsenal of ballistic missiles in dozens of bunkers in hidden valley – report

Major ‘Free Iran’ Summit Sees World Leaders Gather to Support Iranian Uprising: ‘Beginning of a Revolution for Freedom’

Iran calls on France to ‘to end violent treatment’ of protesters

Israel Police to study how France riots unfolded, pointing to worries of local unrest

Netanyahu condemns antisemitic attacks in France riots

Race rioters chant ‘Allahu Akbar’ as they torch France, 719 arrested

France Has Fallen: Right-wing Politician Marine Le Pen Addresses the French Nation as the Country Grapples in Anarchy

French Riots An Unwelcome, Perilous Crisis For Macron

Macron Cancels Trip to Germany as Race-Fuelled Riots Rage On

French Mayor Alleges Rioters Tried to Assassinate Him in 5th Night of Violence

Flaming Car ‘Assassination’ Attempt on French Mayor Sees Wife and Child Injured as They Fled From Violent Mob

France to Shut Down Internet in “Certain” Neighborhoods to Prevent Use of Social Media to Organize Violence

Papal envoy says Moscow visit focused on humanitarian issues, not peace plan

Zelensky Declares No Peace Talks with Putin Until Russia Leaves Crimea and Donbas, 1991 Borders Restored

Controversial Companies BlackRock and JPMorgan to Collaborate with Ukrainian Government Establish Reconstruction Bank for Massive Private Investment

Brazil Worries It Has Become a Haven for Russian Spies Infiltrating the West

Brazil Concerned About Russian Spies With Fraudulent Citizenship

Poland hopes to join NATO nuclear sharing agreement over Russian threat

Russian forces in ‘shock’ after Wagner mercenaries downed elite aircraft: expert

‘Earthquake’ In Russia Sends ‘Shockwaves’ To China: Why Wagner Mutiny Has Flustered Beijing To The Core

NPO pushes doomsday bunkers in Japan as security threats grow

America’s front line of missile defense is straining under the demand of global threats

AI helping remove Chinese goods made with Uyghur forced labor from corporate supply chains

Elon Musk under fire from Twitter users for limiting posts that can be read: ‘Picked a fight with America’

FAA Approves World’s First Electric Flying Car for Testing

5.4 magnitude earthquake hits near Papua, Indonesia

5.2 magnitude earthquake hits the Kermadec Islands region

5.2 magnitude earthquake hits near Teluk Dalam, Indonesia

Popocateptl volcano in Mexico erupts to 23,000ft

Sangay volcano in Ecuador erupts to 23,000ft

Sabancaya volcano in Peru erupts to 23,000ft

Ubinas volcano in Peru erupts to 21,000ft

Cotopaxi volcano in Ecuador erupts to 20,000ft

Fuego volcano in Guatemala erupts to 17,000ft

Reventador volcano in Ecuador erupts to 13,500ft

Sheveluch volcano on Kamchatka, Russia erupts to 12,000ft

A $30 Billion Disaster Is Just the Tip of a Deadly Climate Cycle – Pakistan’s record flooding last year displaced millions and left the country reeling

Heavy rains flood Chicago as 110M under extreme weather alerts

Chicago officials reverse flow of river into Lake Michigan to ease flooding from heavy rain

The US leads the world in weather catastrophes. Here’s why

‘Biblical Plague’: Swarm of Tiny, Winged Insects Invades New York City

Some US cities are replacing 4th of July fireworks with environmentally friendly drones

How ‘climate lockdowns’ became the new battleground for conspiracy-driven protest movement – Protesters radicalized by their opposition to Covid-19 lockdowns have a new target: anti-traffic measures

Woke Wars: Radical Climate Activists Disrupt London Pride Parade for Partnering with Polluters

2 people were killed and 28 wounded in a mass shooting at a Baltimore block party

DC businesses rocked by explosive devices, Molotov cocktail

Explosives detonated beside Safeway, Nike, and Truist Bank in DC, police and ATF are on the hunt

UN chief calls for a robust global force to help crisis-hit Haiti

Drug cartel violence flares in western Mexico after vigilante leader’s killing

CBP Busts Mexican With $2.5 Million Worth of Fentanyl

US Customs Officers Find Nearly 900,000 Fentanyl Pills Hidden in Shipment of Sinks, Authorities Say

Analysis: Biden’s ‘Got-Away Tsunami’ Imports Illegal Alien Population the Size of Philadelphia

Proud Boys to pay $1.03M to church for burning BLM sign during 2020 protests

Hunter Biden Photographed Himself Driving at 175mph and Smoking Crack with Prostitutes en Route to Vegas

Bishop named to Vatican office handling sex abuse complaints discounted some victims, US group says

Obamas complained about being black oppressed from luxury yacht in Greek islands after affirmative action overturned by Supreme Court

Ocasio-Cortez: Justice Thomas Rebuttal to Justice Jackson ‘Profoundly Disrespectful’

AOC Says Conservative Supreme Court Justices Need a “Check on Their Power” Or Else We Will Start Seeing a “Dangerous Authoritarian Expansion of Power”

Ocasio-Cortez: SCOTUS in ‘Dangerous Authoritarian Expansion of Power’ – ‘Impeachment on the Table’

Actor Michael Imperioli “Forbids Bigots and Homophobes” from Watching His Shows in Response to Supreme Court Ruling on Same-Sex Services

Buttigieg says Supreme Court gay wedding website case shows ‘a solution looking for a problem’

US Jewish group launches ‘TikTok therapy’ for LGBTQ Orthodox youth

Transgender Woman Challenges Societal Norms By Applying To Compete In Miss Venezuela Pageant

Girl Scouts Unveil ‘LGBTQ+ Pride’ Patches

Transgender Pride Activist Manhandled by Police While Waving Pride Flag at Philadelphia Moms for Liberty Event

Seoul Pride goes ahead despite rising anti-LGBTQ rhetoric, venue blocked by Christian group

Judges halt Tennessee ban on transgender surgery for minors, union dues law

Belarus may soon start castrating convicted pedophiles to ensure they don’t reoffend

After Fall of Roe, Emboldened Religious Conservatives Lobby to Restrict Abortion in Africa

Doctors Group Files Federal Lawsuit Against HHS and FDA Over Unlawful Attempt to Ban Ivermectin for COVID Treatment

Ice Cube Doubles Down: Rejects $9 Million Movie Role Over COVID-19 Vax Mandate, Asserts Health Over Wealth

New York Quietly Ends $250 Million Discriminatory Vaccine Passport Mobile App, Citing Reduced Demand

Commentary: The CDC Director Has the Nerve to Warn Americans About ‘Politicized Science’ in Exit Interview

Congress seeks NIH emails suggesting Fauci worked behind scenes to snuff COVID lab leak stories

http://trackingbibleprophecy.org/birthpangs.php

Cartoons and Memes · June 3, 2023

“From The Patriot Post (patriotpost.us)”.

Prettier Than Anything Made Today

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Telling Wife She’s Wrong

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Not Recommended

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Keep Calm and Don’t Quibble

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Jump Starting a Millennial

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Lyrics Updated for Modern Audiences

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King of the Jungle

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Putting the Fed in Detention

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Trust the Censored

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Mmm, Flying Pig Wings

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Quibbling Over Peanuts

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Buck Stops in Bidens Pockets

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Florida Nuked

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Skeeticus Giganticus

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Finance Tips

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XX Chromosomes

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Don’t Quibble Over Peanuts

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A 6.2 Billion Dollar Oops

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“From The Patriot Post (patriotpost.us)”.

Mid-Day Snapshot · July 3, 2023

“From The Patriot Post (patriotpost.us)”.

THE FOUNDATION

“The Declaration of Independence … [is the] declaratory charter of our rights, and the rights of man.” —Thomas Jefferson (1821)

Editor’s Note: In honor of Independence Day, our office will be closed on Tuesday, July 4. Regular editions will return on Wednesday.

IN TODAY’S DIGEST

• Independence Day Observations
• Down Goes Biden’s Student Loan Bribe
• Religious Liberty Wins Again and Again
• What’s the Future for Affirmative Action in the Workplace?
• Executive News Summary
• Americans Have Never Been Less Threatened by ‘Extreme Weather’
• DAILY FEATURES: Videos, Best of Right Opinion, Short Cuts, Memes, and Cartoons.

FEATURED ANALYSIS

Independence Day Observations

Where stands our great Republic on its 247th birthday?

Nate Jackson

Two hundred forty-seven years ago yesterday, more than one year after hostilities commenced on Patriots Day, the Second Continental Congress declared independence from Great Britain. Two days later, on July 4, 1776, Congress approved our Declaration of Independence, and 56 delegates began signing it — a process that wasn’t complete until August.

The war for independence wasn’t won until 1781, but July 4 has marked our Independence Day ever since 1776.

Soon after the Declaration’s signing, John Adams wrote to his wife, Abigail, of the necessity of celebration:

It ought to be commemorated as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more. You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Day’s Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not.

Adams and his chief political rival, Thomas Jefferson (also the lead author of the Declaration), both died on the 50th Independence Day in 1826. James Monroe, the fifth president, also died on the Fourth five years later.

In honor of America’s birthday, here are a few more numbers that we find intriguing for various reasons.

In 1776, the new nation consisted of 13 former colonies populated by roughly 2.5 million people. Today, more than 330 million people live in 50 states and 14 territories. What may be most striking about that growth is the shift from rural areas to urban ones. At the turn of the 19th century, 95% of Americans lived in rural homes, while today that number is just 17%. The buildup of and migration to urban areas brings immense convenience and wealth, but also a political bent decidedly further to the left.

On that note, perhaps the most important thing we can all do this Independence Day is to pass on to the next generation what it means to be an American.

In 1825, Jefferson called the Declaration “an expression of the American mind.” That mind sees and cherishes the truth of our God-given rights to “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” That mind throws off the shackles of oppressive government; it does not vote for more of it. Read the grievances laid out in the Declaration and marvel at the number that once again apply to our own national government.

As for love of our nation, George Washington, our first and greatest president, put it this way in his Farewell Address: “The name of American, which belongs to you in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism more than any appellation derived from local discriminations.”

In other words, we are Americans first. The divisive identity groups that today abound and dictate much government and corporate policy fundamentally contradict that vision for our nation.

Thanks to the sorry state of American public schools, civic knowledge has deteriorated over the decades. Ever fewer Americans seem to comprehend anything remotely approaching Jefferson’s “American mind” or Washington’s “pride of patriotism.”

Nevertheless, we join the Declaration’s signatories in pledging “our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor” to the cause of American Liberty.

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Almost There — We Need Your Help

Tomorrow is the deadline for our 2023 Independence Day Campaign. Thanks to the generosity of so many Patriot Post supporters, we are making strides toward meeting our goal. We are asking for your help to push us over the finish line. Celebrate Independence Day, in part, by helping us keep the timeless message of Liberty in front of conservatives around the nation. Please make your gift today. Any amount — large or small — makes a difference. From all of The Patriot Post staff, a big thank you to those who have already stepped up to the plate — we couldn’t do it without you! —Christy Chesterton, Director of Advancement

Down Goes Biden’s Student Loan Bribe

In a resounding 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court correctly checked the president’s attempt to do an end-run around Congress.

Douglas Andrews

“Disappointing and cruel” is how Senate Majority Leader Chuck-U Schumer characterized the Supreme Court’s 6-3 thumping of Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness scheme.

It could’ve been worse, though — a lot worse. After all, he could’ve called Friday’s much-anticipated decision a dagger to the heart of our democracy.

Constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley, responding to Dagger Chuck’s outrage, put it this way: “The court’s ‘cruelty’ was in supporting Congress’s core constitutional power of the purse. Schumer’s disappointment in having to address and vote on the forgiveness of hundreds of billions of dollars in loans speaks volumes about the collapse of our constitutional values.”

What’s remarkable is that this naked vote-buying scheme ever cluttered up the Supreme Court’s docket. As National Review’s editorial board noted: “When President Biden entered office, the fact that he didn’t have the authority to unilaterally cancel student loans was so uncontroversial that even Nancy Pelosi acknowledged it. ‘People think that the president of the United States has the power for debt forgiveness,’ the then–House speaker said at a press conference in July 2021. ‘He does not. He can postpone. He can delay. But he does not have that power. That has to be an act of Congress.’”

NR’s editorial board continued: “At stake in the cases challenging the student-loan-forgiveness program was not merely whether his action was unconstitutional, but whether the president could get away with a usurpation of congressional power by broadly doling out benefits without producing a legally injured party. Put more bluntly, the question was, could Biden hack the U.S. Constitution? In a 6–3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that he could not.”

The real marvel here is that three justices countenanced Biden’s lawless behavior.

In order to get to where we’d gotten before the Supreme Court put all this to rest, the government had argued, absurdly, that the 2003 HEROES Act (passed in the wake of 9/11 to help student borrowers who were serving in the military) provided broad authority to the administration to wipe away debt during all national emergencies.

As the Court ruled, a minor tweak to the HEROES ACT wasn’t remotely akin to Joe Biden’s wholesale attempt to remake our nation’s student loan compact. Try as he might, the president can’t nullify Congress, can’t usurp its constitutional authority to write the laws under Article I.

Nevertheless, Biden vowed, “I will stop at nothing to find other ways to deliver relief.”

What he meant was, I will stop at nothing to buy votes. Because that’s what he was trying to do. Here, we actually believe him. Because who now would vote for Joe Biden unless he was bribed to do so?

In his response to the Court’s beat-down, Biden declared that “the hypocrisy is stunning” and that the justices had “misinterpreted the Constitution.” (Yes, Joe Biden, the guy who graduated 76th out of 85 at Syracuse Law School, actually deigned to question the constitutional acumen of Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett.)

To illustrate just how pathetically weak was the state’s case for the constitutionality of loan forgiveness, we give you the normally intelligent Elena Kagan, who, in her dissent, was reduced to arguing that “the result here is that the Court substitutes itself for Congress and the Executive Branch in making national policy about student-loan forgiveness.”

Huh? While it’s true that Biden once claimed to have gotten student loan forgiveness “passed by a vote or two,” the truth is that Congress rejected his wildly unpopular vote-buying scheme.

The reality, as NR points out, is that Biden “unilaterally tried to create a nearly half-trillion-dollar federal program that did not have the votes to make it through Congress, and the Court stopped him from breaking the law.”

What we can expect between now and November 2024 is a repeated recitation of the Supreme Court’s radical right decisions — whether on student loan forgiveness, or affirmative action, or abortion, or freedom of speech, or religious liberty, or states’ rights, or anything else that doesn’t sit well with the Left.

“This decision was calculated by Biden as part of the Demos’ 2024 strategy,” argues our Mark Alexander. “Clearly it was going to be overturned, clearly he knew that, and clearly the ‘work around’ strategy he is now proposing is to keep the issue in front of voters through 2024. This is all a calculated political charade to buy votes of those with loans, and by extension the families of those with loans.”

Elections have consequences. And were it not for Donald Trump’s three Supreme Court picks during his single term in office, the Supreme Court decisions we’ve seen during the past week would’ve been radically different.

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Religious Liberty Wins Again and Again

The Supreme Court has two new decisions to add to its dossier of consistent victories for the First Amendment.

Emmy Griffin

The Supreme Court of the United States has made a number of momentous decisions since Joe Biden became president. The largest two are the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the overturning of affirmative action.

Though it’s not as publicized, the Supreme Court has also continued to uphold our religious liberty as outlined in the First Amendment of the Constitution.

Groff v. DeJoy was the case of Gerald Groff, a postal worker and a Christian. On Sundays, Christians observe the Sabbath (the day of rest) and most attend church. Groff and his lawyer argued that he should be allowed, as a religious person, to get an exemption from delivering on Sundays.

In a unanimous decision, the justices upheld Groff’s religious freedom. The nine justices also overturned a 50-year-old ruling that allows employers to overrule an employee’s religious exemption if it causes the business undue hardship. This was a big victory for religious Americans.

The other religious liberty decision that came down last week dealt with a graphic designer, Lorie Smith, who designs wedding websites. Smith, who is also a Christian, sued the state of Colorado for its anti-discrimination law that did not allow Smith the right or ability to refuse to use her gifts and talents as a graphic designer to endorse a same-sex couple. Christians believe that marriage is ordained by God between one man and one woman. Being forced to make a wedding website for any other type of “marriage” would violate not only the biblical teachings of the church but also Smith’s own conscience.

Justice Neil Gorsuch put it best in his writing of the majority opinion. He wrote: “In this case, Colorado seeks to force an individual to speak in ways that align with its views but defy her conscience about a matter of major significance. But, as this Court has long held, the opportunity to think for ourselves and to express those thoughts freely is among our most cherished liberties and part of what keeps our Republic strong.”

It was a 6-3 vote, with the justices sticking to party lines in their decision — originalists in favor of upholding Smith’s religious freedom, and constructionists in favor of denying it. Justice Gorsuch concluded: “Tolerance, not coercion, is our Nation’s answer. The First Amendment envisions the United States as a rich and complex place where all persons are free to think and speak as they wish, not as the government demands. Because Colorado seeks to deny that promise, the judgment is reversed.”

It is particularly satisfying that Gorsuch used the word “tolerance” in this defense of religious freedom because “tolerance” is a favorite cudgel of leftists to coerce Americans into submitting to their worldview. This is not the first time Gorsuch has employed the word in this way. In another 6-3 decision last summer in a case that dealt with a praying high school football coach, the justices ruled that coach Joe Kennedy’s First Amendment rights of free speech and religious freedom were violated by the school district that fired him for praying on the 50-yard line after each football game. Gorsuch also wrote the majority opinion in that case and said, “The Constitution and the best of our traditions counsel mutual respect and tolerance, not censorship and suppression, for religious and nonreligious views alike.”

In the United States, the new religions of gender ideology, critical race theory, environmentalism, new age/neopaganism, and even atheism are waging a war on the rest of the country. They want to enforce and direct their own views on all Americans in the name of “tolerance,” “equity,” and “secularism.” These practitioners use censorship, threats, and outright violence to get their way. But our country was a haven for those Pilgrims seeking religious freedom, and that legacy was written into the Constitution to ensure that right. It is very exciting to see consistent victories for the First Amendment’s promise of religious liberty.

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What’s the Future for Affirmative Action in the Workplace?

If race-based discrimination is unconstitutional for college admissions, how can we continue to allow it in the workplace?

Douglas Andrews

Now that race-based discrimination has been rightly ruled unconstitutional in college admissions, what are the odds that such discrimination will continue to be allowed in the American workplace?

Put another way: Is it time to red-line racial discrimination right out of the office?

It’s a great question, and it’s now top-of-mind among corporate lawyers — the folks whose job it is to keep their companies from getting sued for mega-millions. All of a sudden, “diversity” might not be a good enough defense for looking at certain people’s skin color and deeming them less desirable in the workplace.

As Fox Business reports: “Federal law prohibits the consideration of race and other protected characteristics like age, religion, sex — including sexual orientation, gender identity, or pregnancy — national origin, disability or genetic information in corporate hiring decisions.”

And yet, as Fox Business mealy-mouths it: “Many corporations have sought to diversify their workforce by trying to recruit qualified candidates from more diverse pools of applicants or through training programs that offer opportunities to members of groups that a company believes are underrepresented in their management teams. Such initiatives are often part of a company’s broader diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) program.”

Here’s a tip: Think of “diversity” and “DEI” as euphemisms for “discrimination.” Because that’s what they are.

One can imagine both the rage and the despair currently being felt among the activists in the New York Times’s newsroom. Not only is their president an international embarrassment and a source of near-constant ridicule, but the policies they’ve championed and used to divide Americans for more than a half-century are now, finally, being rejected as unconstitutional and repudiated by the American people.

And now, in the wake of last week’s landmark Supreme Court decision striking down raced-based discrimination in college admissions, the writing may be on the wall for the corporate diversicrats, those racial bean-counters who’ve made it their mission to ensure proper numerical representation of the races everywhere except in the NFL and the NBA and the hip-hop industry.

“The effects on business could be profound,” the Times reports. “Corporate America has embraced diversity, equity and inclusion policies, particularly in the wake of protests over George Floyd’s killing in 2020. But Thursday’s ruling opens the door for employees — and conservative activists — to bring legal challenges to those policies.” (Is it just us, or does anyone else find it weird that the Times is conflating the death of George Floyd with race-based discrimination in the workplace?)

Desperate to find a racially discriminatory silver lining in the dark cloud of color-blindness, the Times trots out the experts: “Corporate diversity efforts aren’t exactly analogous to university ones, some experts say. The equal protection clause doesn’t apply to private employers, Doug Brayley, a labor law specialist at Ropes & Gray, told DealBook.”

It’s an interesting argument to make — and it betrays the weakness of the diversitymongers’ hand — when they’re reduced to arguing that the Constitution doesn’t prohibit racial discrimination in the private sector.

DEI, though, is big business — really big business. As columnist Charles Gasparino writes, “It’s the acronym for the nearly $10 billion Diversity, Equity and Inclusion industry.”

As to the argument that the Supreme Court didn’t rule on DEI when it struck down racial preferences in college admissions, Gasparino begs to differ: “Sorry,” he says, “my sources who advise corporations on governance issues say the Supremes actually did rule on DEI since corporate DEI is based on some of the same noxious and now unconstitutional premises that colleges have used to justify race-based admissions.”

Let’s see if corporate America agrees. And if not, let the lawsuits begin.

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Executive News Summary

Former abortion doc tells of his conversion to pro-life, Hunter Biden denies his daughter his name, border is still wide open, and more.

Thomas Gallatin & Jordan Candler

Cross-Examination

• Good news: Former abortion doc tells of his conversion to pro-life: A former abortion doctor and his now-deceased wife co-wrote a recently released book telling of their conversation from pro-abortion to pro-life. The book is titled The Scalpel and the Soul: Our Radical Transformation as Husband and Wife Abortion Doctors. Dr. Haywood Robinson, whose wife Dr. Noreen Johnson died in 2021, explains how they both began work in the abortion industry: “We started out as girlfriend-boyfriend who were doing abortions moonlighting as residents.” The pair “used to work after hours and weekends in various abortion facilities,” he added. “It’s easy money. It’s really not fun to do. I think, in your heart, you know it is wrong. But the love of money is the root of all evil.” Dr. Robinson credits his transformation on abortion to his conversation to Christianity in 1986. “One of the first things that the Lord did for us was to make us aware of our past and abortion,” he explained. “Because what He wanted to do was to take us from darkness to light, from abortion providers to warriors in the pro-life movement.”
• Hunter Biden denies his daughter his name: Maybe in the long run she will be fortunate not to share the name of her deadbeat dad, as Hunter Biden’s efforts to deny his young daughter his last name have finally been successful. A deal was struck in the child support case between Hunter and the former exotic dancer he impregnated. He will pay child support up through his girl’s 18th birthday as well as contribute to a college stipend; in exchange, she will officially be denied the Biden last name. No doubt Joe and Jill will continue to disgracefully pretend they have only six grandchildren. Oh, and one more thing — Hunter’s daughter will get to select one of his paintings. It’ll be interesting to see if that “art” continues to fetch such extraordinary prices when the Bidens are no longer useful agents of foreign graft. Regarding the Biden name, Hunter’s attorney had argued, “The Biden name is now synonymous with being well-educated, successful, financially acute, and politically powerful.” He forgot to add lying, corruption, nepotism, and deadbeat dad.
• Biden’s border is still wide open: While Leftmedia outlets like The New York Times recently celebrated a significant “decline” in the number of illegal aliens crossing the border, the reporting is based on nothing more than smoke and mirrors. Back in January, the Biden administration created a new program known as CBP One, which effectively expands the number of migrants who can qualify for legal entry. This new program opens the door for upwards of 360,000 migrants annually who might not otherwise qualify for entry. Todd Bensman of the Center for Immigration Studies observed, “More than 99 percent of all inadmissible aliens processed under the CBP One app interview scheme are being allowed into the country.” In other words, CBP One is simply a legal workaround of our nation’s border security laws and a way for the Biden administration to claim it’s securing the border while in fact it’s keeping it wide open.
• House opens investigation into Biden’s Iran envoy: It appears that Joe Biden isn’t the only one in his administration who has a history of mishandling classified material. Indeed, Robert Malley, his envoy to Iran working to resurrect Barack Obama’s terrible Iran nuclear deal, has the same problem. Malley reportedly had his security clearance revoked over his mishandling of classified material, which prompted Republicans in the House Foreign Affairs Committee to launch an investigation into the matter. Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) blasted the State Department, stating that this “failure to inform Congress of this matter demonstrates at best a lack of candor, and at worst represents deliberate and potentially unlawful misinformation.” Republicans are suspicious that the Biden administration deliberately attempted to hide the allegations against Malley, who is currently on an extended leave of absence. As McCaul argued, “While the suspension of Special Envoy Malley’s clearance is independently troubling, our concern is compounded by the State Department’s failure to respond to the Committee’s efforts to conduct oversight of its negotiations with and policy toward Iran.” Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA) charged: “Rob Malley represents the worst of Biden’s foreign policy failures. He counseled concessions to Iran, weakness to the Mullahs, and put America’s interest last.”

Headlines

• Most Americans support Supreme Court decision on affirmative action (Daily Wire)
• Biden loses “ghost gun” case, ATF ban “unlawful” (Washington Examiner)
• Justices take up major Second Amendment dispute (SCOTUSblog)
• State Department failed to plan well enough for Afghanistan withdrawal, report finds (Politico)
• Migrant bus from Texas arrives in Los Angeles (National Review)
• U.S. inflation cools, spending stagnates as economy loses steam (Bloomberg)
• A record-high share of 40-year-olds in the U.S. have never been married (Pew Research Center)
• Israel launches major offensive in West Bank, largest military operation in years (National Review)
• Former Russian arms dealer traded for Brittney Griner runs for office (Fox News)
• Policy: Affirmative action is another nonsense leftist position we’ve been conditioned to take seriously (The Federalist)
• Satire: Elizabeth Warren says without affirmative action, a Native American girl like herself would never have been accepted to Rutgers (Babylon Bee)
• Humor: With Pride Month over, Gatorade switches back to Straightorade (Babylon Bee)

For more editors’ choice headlines, click here.

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Americans Have Never Been Less Threatened by ‘Extreme Weather’

All extreme weather accounts for only about 0.1 death for every 100,000 people in the United States each year.

David Harsanyi

“Extreme heat kills more people in the United States than any other weather hazard,” is the first claim in this Washington Post piece warning about the deadly summer heat — and it is almost certainly false. Similar warnings about the deadly weather appear in virtually every mainstream media outlet.

First off, the only reason “extreme” temperature kills more people than other weather hazards is that deaths from weather have plummeted over the century — even as doomsday climate warnings about heat, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods and droughts have spiked. All extreme weather accounts for only about 0.1 death for every 100,000 people in the United States each year. That is a massive drop from the time of your grandparents. The Post and others should be celebrating the fact that humans have never been less threatened by the climate in history.

The Post also warns that 62 million people in the U.S. may be “exposed” to dangerous heat “today.” That’s a lot of people, even considering nearly all of them live in the southernmost spots in the country and it’s summer. The Post counts anyone exposed to heat over 90 F as being in some level of danger. Fortunately, most Americans enjoy the luxury and health benefits of air conditioning, one of the great innovations of the past century.

Nowhere in the piece, however, do the authors tell us exactly how many Americans have perished from the oppressive heat. Anyway, it’s around 700 people a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — if you liberally count heat as both the “underlying” and/or “contributing” causes. It is about 400 people when heat is the underlying cause. And that’s terrible. But, also, it’s around 3,600 fewer people than those who drown every year.

Though there has been an uptick in recent years — as Bjorn Lomborg has pointed out, this is almost surely due to an increasingly aging population that is more susceptible to heat — both numbers are still near-historic lows.

And most of those deaths, despite the Post’s claim, are from the cold, which is far more lethal to humans today, as it has always been. I come to this information via another Washington Post piece that ran this very winter, which helpfully notes that for “every death linked to heat, nine are tied to cold.” That piece relies on a recent peer-reviewed Lancet study to make that claim. Another recent peer-reviewed study in The BMJ found that “cold weather is associated with nearly 20 times more deaths than hot weather.” Other studies have come to the same conclusion.

So where did the Post get the idea that heat was the leading cause of weather deaths? After following a few hyperlinks, I land on a National Weather Service chart from 2019 that lists heat as the leading cause of extreme weather deaths. Where it gets these numbers is a mystery to me. And though I’m sure they aren’t concocted by some bureaucrat, they certainly seem to be an outlier.

Not to worry. Even here we find promising news. Though the National Weather Service says the leading cause of weather deaths is heat, it also found that the average was only 103 deaths per year over the preceding decade. That’s hundreds of fewer deaths per year than the CDC reports — and hundreds fewer than die from, say, over-the-counter headache medicine overdoses.

Enjoy the summer.

COPYRIGHT 2023 CREATORS.COM

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On the Web

• Mark Alexander: The French Summer of Rage — Les Incompétents — The issue here is not the death of a young hoodlum. Instead, France has an “Islamist problem.”
• Roger Helle: What’s That Warning About Pride? — Our Heavenly Father takes a dim view of those who think too much of themselves.
• In Brief: Affirmative Action’s Demise and Higher Education — Fruits of a credibility collapse.

VIDEOS

• The Truth About France — Riots are rocking the country and the Leftmedia blames those “racist” police.
• Veep Thoughts With Kamala Harris (Vol. 10) — With profundities like these, her record-low popularity is well earned.
• Biden’s Senior Moment of the Week (Vol. 49) — Joe struggles with people, places, and dates.
• Humor: Pitch Meeting to Save Bud Light — Bud Light’s sales have been in the dumps lately. This is the pitch meeting to save Bud Light!

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BEST OF RIGHT OPINION

• GARY BAUERA Supreme Win for First Freedoms
• MATTHEW CONTINETTI’Bidenomics’ Won’t Save This Presidency
• JEFF JACOBYWhat Frederick Douglass Really Said in His Great Independence Day Speech
• SCOTT POWELLCelebrating July 4 Is Hollow Without Restoring Declaration and Bill of Rights

For more of today’s columns, visit Right Opinion.

SHORT CUTS

Non Compos Mentis

“For a company to hire a trans person and then not publicly stand by them is worse in my opinion than not hiring a trans person at all, because it gives customers permission to be as transphobic and hateful as they want.” —Dylan Mulvaney

“Let’s always take a moment to also see what we have achieved thus far while we clearly see the moment that we are presently in. So we have achieved a lot.” —Kamala Harris

The BIG Lies

“No!” —Joe Biden responding to the questions: “How involved were you in your son’s Chinese shakedown text message? Were you sitting there? Were you involved?”

“The U.S. has the highest economic growth rate, leading the world economy since the pandemic.” —Joe Biden

Leftmedia Lobs

“The complicated relationship between a presidential father and a struggling son” —Washington Post headline

Non Sequitur

“If SCOTUS was serious about their ludicrous ‘colorblindness’ claims, they would have abolished legacy admissions, aka affirmative action for the privileged. 70% of Harvard’s legacy applicants are white. SCOTUS didn’t touch that — which would have impacted them and their patrons.” —Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)

Double Standards

“An extremist Supreme Court has once again reversed decades of settled law, rolled back the march toward racial justice, and narrowed educational opportunity for all. I won’t stop fighting for young people with big dreams who deserve an equal chance to pursue their future.” —Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) (“Warren, a former Harvard professor sometimes referred to as ‘Pocahontas,’ repeatedly claimed to be of Native American ancestry throughout her career in academia. She is roughly 0.1 percent Native American, according to the results of a DNA test the senator released in 2018 ahead of her failed presidential run.” —The Washington Free Beacon)

For the Record

“In head-spinning logic, [Justice Ketanji Brown] Jackson asserts that ending discrimination in admissions ‘will delay the day that every American has an equal opportunity to thrive, regardless of race,’ and ‘ignoring race makes it matter more.’ Discrimination is anti-discrimination. Bias is fairness. 2+2=5.” —Rich Lowry

“Ultimately, America can either have ‘equity,’ as modern wokesters use the term, or it can have equality — real moral and legal equality under the rule of law. This is a zero-sum game — only one vision of the American regime can prevail in our roiling, cold civil war.” —Josh Hammer

Upright

“What you have is the justice who was chosen because she’s black and because she’s a woman. … The slaves did not die in the fields so we could be saying, in this century, that we are victims… They would say to us, ‘Is that what we died for? No. We died for you to have an opportunity. Take it! You have that!’ … Don’t let anyone tell you you’re a victim, because if you are a victim, that means you need a political savior. You don’t need them. Stay in school. Study. Burn the midnight oil.” —Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears responding to Ketanji Brown Jackson’s dissent after the Supreme Court’s 6-3 affirmation of the 14th Amendment by striking down the last vestige of “systemic racism” in academia and “affirmative discrimination” at Harvard

“Justice Sotomayor apparently believes that race-conscious admission programs can somehow increase the chances that members of certain races (blacks and Hispanics) are admitted without decreasing the chances of admission for members of other races (Asians). This simply defies mathematics.” —Justice Clarence Thomas

“While I am painfully aware of the social and economic ravages which have befallen my race and all who suffer discrimination, I hold out enduring hope that this country will live up to its principles so clearly enunciated in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States: that all men are created equal, are equal citizens, and must be treated equally before the law.” —Clarence Thomas

“While the dissent would certainly not permit university programs that discriminated against black and Latino applicants, it is perfectly willing to let the programs here continue. In its view, this Court is supposed to tell state actors when they have picked the right races to benefit.” —Chief Justice John Roberts

“Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it.” —John Roberts

“The words of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 are not like mood rings; they do not change their message from one moment to the next.” —Justice Neil Gorsuch

And Last…

“I just wanna thank Michelle Obama for having the courage to to tweet from one of her three mansions that black people can’t get ahead in this day and age.” —Jimmy Failla

“The university system is the most elaborate and expensive scam of all time. Most people come out of it dumber and less qualified than they were going in. It does not teach any useful skills. You do not need it to succeed in life. It bankrupts millions of young Americans and gives them nothing in return. Maybe we should focus on that problem instead of ‘loan forgiveness.’” —Matt Walsh

“You start messing with our kids — we’ve got problems. What we’ve seen across the country in the last few years has awakened the most powerful political force in ages — mama bears.” —Florida Governor Ron DeSantis addressing Moms for Liberty regarding children being targeted by gender cult predators

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TODAY’S MEME

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For more of today’s memes, visit the Memesters Union.

TODAY’S CARTOON

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For more of today’s cartoons, visit the Cartoons archive.

“From The Patriot Post (patriotpost.us)”.

Life in the Swamp | The Western Journal

Life in the Swamp

Marjorie Taylor Greene Warns Americans About French Riots

The GOP congresswoman said the unrest was the result of immigration policy, warning of similar protests at home if there isn’t more action on the border.

Source: Marjorie Taylor Greene Warns Americans About French Riots

Former Trump AG Says Weiss Knows Whistleblowers Are Telling The Truth – Conservative Review

‘He knows there were at least six witnesses’

https://www.conservativereview.com/former-trump-ag-says-weiss-knows-whistleblowers-are-telling-the-truth-2662221543.html

No One Wants To Join The ‘Bud-Light’ Military | Ron Paul Institute for Peace And Prosperity

A recent Wall Street Journal article outlined the serious recruiting crisis in the US military. It’s getting so bad that even among military families there is strong pressure for the next generation not to sign up. Why does no one want to serve anymore? Could it be the same “woke” virtue-signaling that is destroying major brands like Bud Light and Target? Also today: Ukraine under pressure to make failed counter-offensive work in advance of NATO summit. Watch today’s Liberty Report:

Source: No One Wants To Join The ‘Bud-Light’ Military

Biden aides told to reveal he has six, not seven grandchildren: Report

The Federalist D.C. columnist Eddie Scarry joined ‘Mornings with Maria’ to discuss the latest on the Hunter Biden investigation and DeSantis’ new ad taking aim at Trump’s support for the LGBTQ+ community. #foxbusiness

Source: Biden aides told to reveal he has six, not seven grandchildren: Report

Ukraine loses over 20,000 troops in Zaporozhye area, acting governor says

The Russian Defense Ministry reported earlier that the Ukrainian armed forces had been making unsuccessful attempts at a counteroffensive since June 4

Source: Ukraine loses over 20,000 troops in Zaporozhye area, acting governor says

Russia’s Medvedev: Ukraine Conflict ‘Permanent’

Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s former president, has warned that Moscow’s confrontation with the West will last decades and that its conflict with Ukraine could become permanent. Medvedev, once seen in the West as a liberal modernizer, has emerged as one of Russia’s most…

Source: Russia’s Medvedev: Ukraine Conflict ‘Permanent’

National Poll Says Biden is America’s Least Popular President in 70 Years

Mounting concern over incumbent U.S. President Joe Biden’s 2024 election bid is happening on both sides of the political fence.

Moreover, many left-wing voters have soured on Biden due to the country’s ongoing economic challenges, a visible decline in cognitive abilities, and an “inconsequential” first term.

Subsequently, a growing number of Democrat voters feel stuck and are dreading the 2024 election. And while Republican and Democrat voters differ considerably on most topics, many agree on one thing: They don’t want Biden to run for a second term.

This is reflected in a recent national poll, which shows Biden’s popularity has dipped below the past 13 American presidents, going back as far as Truman.

Source: National Poll Says Biden is America’s Least Popular President in 70 Years

What Is New Age Spirituality? | Ligonier Minstries’

What is New Age spirituality?

New Age spirituality is an umbrella term that describes a contemporary religious movement, not an organized religion. Proponents of the movement encourage striving to reach one’s full potential through an eclectic mixture of concepts and practices drawn from Eastern mysticism, Hinduism, Buddhism, metaphysics, naturalism, astrology, occultism, and science fiction. In its various forms, New Age spirituality is both *monistic *(believing that all reality is ultimately one) and *pantheistic *(believing that everything is divine). Unlike organized religions, New Age spirituality has no founding figure, structured leadership, official headquarters, or authoritative writings that are accepted by all proponents. New Age spirituality has held considerable social sway over Western culture over the past three decades. An estimated one in three Americans accepts various elements of New Age ideology.

When did it begin?

References to the “New Age” come from the world of astrology. Roughly every 2,100 years, proponents argue, we enter a new “astrological age” that corresponds to one of the twelve signs of the zodiac. The exact date of the transition is disputed, but most astrologers maintain that we transitioned from the Age of Pisces to the Age of Aquarius sometime in the twentieth century.

The contemporary New Age movement originated in the late 1960s and early 1970s, concurrent with the hippie counterculture movement. The Beatles popularized Eastern mysticism and monistic religion in mainstream America after returning in 1965 from a trip to India, where they practiced Transcendental Meditation with the Indian guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The 1967 musical Hair promoted the astrological elements of the New Age movement with its catchy opening number, which asserted, “This is the dawning of the Age of Aquarius.” In 1969, the promoters of the music festival Woodstock publicized it as “an Aquarian exposition: 3 Days of Peace and Love.”

Who are the key figures?

Academy Award–winning actress Shirley MacLaine promoted the New Age ideas of reincarnation and past life experiences in her 1984 book Out on a Limb. In 1989, Deepak Chopra published his book Quantum Healing, which claims to integrate modern scientific concepts into an Eastern mystical framework with the goal of healing the body. Eckhart Tolle, author of The Power of Now and A New Earth, is among the most well-known proponents of the New Age movement today. In a 2008 article, The New York Times called Tolle “the most popular spiritual author in [the United States].”¹ Prominent media personality Oprah Winfrey continues to be one of the most vocal proponents of New Age ideology.

What are the main beliefs?

It is nearly impossible to set out any systematic doctrine associated with the New Age movement, since it borrows from so many religious and esoteric traditions. However, New Age proponents hold in common several broad ideas:

1. Cosmological determination. According to astrologers, the movement of stars and other heavenly bodies determines cultural and societal—as well as individual—development. Accordingly, humanity has moved out of the Age of Pisces, in which we sought to discover our identity and existence, into the Age of Aquarius, in which we seek total peace and unity. Having collectively moved into a new era, we are to embrace the cultural changes that coincide with the current astrological age. This shift has already had an impact on every person and will continue to do so. All that we learned from our parents, and all that our parents learned from their parents, was a result of the influence of the Piscean age and must now be largely abandoned. In the Age of Aquarius, we must learn to accept ourselves as people who do not need to believe in anything that lies outside ourselves. All that is in us and all that is in the universe is God; therefore, to gain unity and balance with God, we must seek to embrace what is happening in this present Aquarian age as the divine expresses itself in us and in others. This form of pantheism attributes to the created order something that belongs exclusively to the eternal sovereignty of God.
2. Monistic energy. Proponents of the New Age movement believe that God and the universe are one in substance. The New Age movement rejects biblical monotheism in favor of monism or pantheism. Proponents of the New Age believe that there is divine energy inherent in every part of the universe. In order to regain energy or power from the universe, one must attain harmony with every aspect of the universe. In the New Age movement, the means of achieving harmony and regaining personal power are exceedingly diverse. To achieve this unity, practitioners encourage the use of ancient and modern forms of meditation, seances, divination, numerology, and incantation. Many New Age proponents believe that practicing yoga will enable them to advance in the New Age quest for balance and harmony.
3. Self-deification. The New Age movement teaches that we have everything in ourselves necessary to achieve fulfillment. The self is the highest good. We exist to guide ourselves, heal ourselves, and fulfill our own destinies. Many who embrace New Age practices believe in karma and reincarnation. As in Hinduism, the ultimate goal in the New Age movement is to achieve oneness with the divine. Adherents of New Age spirituality reject the biblical doctrines of the fall, the sinfulness and depravity of man, the need for an atoning sacrifice, and the need for a mediator between God and man.

Why do people believe this form of false teaching?

While the New Age movement rejects the idea that mankind is different from other parts of the created order, it is an excellent example of what happens when people consistently embrace the supremacy and autonomy of man. The idea that we have the power in ourselves to progress, achieve harmony with the universe, and guide our own destiny is supremely attractive to fallen men and women who want peace and freedom but not on God’s terms.

How does it hold up against biblical Christianity?

1. Divine sovereignty. Contrary to the New Age movement, Scripture teaches that the living God works out His eternal, sovereign decree in the works of creation and providence. The Creator maintains His sovereignty, and the creation maintains its dependence on Him. Herman Bavinck explained, “The theism of Scripture posits a connection between God and the world, simultaneously maintains the absolute sovereignty of God and the complete dependence of his creatures, thus avoiding both the error of pantheism and that of Deism.”² The triune God is sovereign over all His creatures and all their actions (Judg. 14:3–4; Ps. 115:3; Dan. 4:34–35). There is nothing that lies outside His eternal plan. God has not invested in creation the ultimate power to determine the course of social and cultural ideologies. Neither is He part of the created world. God lies outside time and space, dwelling in eternity (Isa. 57:15).
2. Divine power. Scripture teaches that God is infinite in power. The triune God upholds the world by the word of His power (Heb. 1:3). All creation is utterly dependent on God for all things (Acts 17:25). God has not invested an independent power into creation. Rather, He has made known His power through the preaching of the cross (1 Cor. 1:18, 24). In the message of Christ crucified, God exhibits and imparts His saving power to those who believe (Rom. 1:16). The unity that we desire with God and creation is achieved only through the saving work of Jesus. By His death on the cross, Jesus unites believers to God and to other believers (Eph. 2:14).
3. Divine purpose. The Bible reveals that God is the highest good. God created man to glorify Him by fulfilling His holy purpose in the world. When God created the world, He made every living thing “according to its kind” (Gen. 1:11, 12, 21, 25; 6:20). God created man after His own image—distinct from other living things in the universe (Gen. 1:26). He commissioned man to rule over the rest of creation (Gen. 1:26; Ps. 8:6–8). After the fall, God fulfilled this creational mandate through the death and resurrection of Christ (Heb. 2:5–9). By His atoning death on the cross, Jesus secured the new creation. He now sits at the right hand of God as the head of a redeemed humanity. On judgment day, those who have been redeemed by Christ will rule with Christ, judging the unbelieving nations (Rev. 2:26) and the fallen angels (1 Cor. 6:3). Redeemed humanity will never become divine. There will always be a distinction between the Creator and the creature.

How can I share the gospel with those who hold to this false teaching?

1. Focus on the being of God. Proponents of New Age spirituality need to understand the biblical teaching on the nature and attributes of God. God is the self-existent and self-sustaining source of all life. While many who are involved in New Age practices speak of God in general terms, they do not know Him as the infinite and eternal God of Scripture. Since New Age ideology is monistic and pantheistic at its core, it is vital that adherents have Christian theism explained to them from Scripture. The triune God is transcendent. Man is finite. Explain that the God of Scripture is spirit (John 4:24), infinite, eternal, and unchangeable in all His divine perfections (Ex. 34:6; Ps. 86:5, 15; Jonah 4:2).
2. Focus on the Creator-creature distinction. When witnessing to those who hold to New Age ideology, it is vital to explain the doctrine of creation (Gen. 1; Heb. 11:3). Seek opportunities to talk about the biblical teaching on God’s creation of man uniquely in His image (Gen 1:26; 2:7–9). Like all monistic religions, New Age spirituality removes the distinction between the Creator and the creature. Consider taking those to whom you are witnessing to Romans 1:18–32 in order to explain the moral responsibility that we have to God as our Creator.
3. Focus on the need for redemption. In all forms of New Age spirituality, individuals are seeking a peace, unity, and fulfillment that can be found only in Jesus Christ. To help rescue someone who is ensnared in New Age teaching, seek to use the law of God to reveal the sinfulness of man and our need for the atoning sacrifice of Jesus. Focus on the fall of man and the ultimate consequences of sin (Gen. 3; Rom. 6:23). Explain why we need a mediator between God and man who reconciles man to God by taking the sin and punishment man deserves because of his sin (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Tim. 2:5) and obtaining a righteousness for His people that they could never achieve (Rom. 5:19; Phil. 3:9).

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This article is part of the Field Guide on False Teaching collection.

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1. Jesse McKinley, “The Wisdom of the Ages, for Now Anyway,” The New York Times, March 23, 2008, accessed October 28, 2019, https://nyti.ms/2q6AV94.↩
2. Herman Bavinck, Reformed Dogmatics, vol. 2, God and Creation, ed. John Bolt, trans. John Vriend (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2004), 343.↩

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JB Hixson: What They Don’t Teach About American History, Religious Freedom – Stand Up For The Truth Podcast

TODAY’S GUEST: Dr. JB HIXSON – author, conference speaker, and pastor of Plum Creek Chapel and founder of Not By Works Ministries, his latest book is Spirit of the Antichrist – the Gathering Cloud of Deception. He and his wife, Wendy live in Sedalia, Colorado.

JB’s latest books, volumes 1 and 2, expose deeds of darkness on a global, historical level and feature extensive research. Today, we discuss the Luciferian agenda and timetable – according to their own words. JB shares a pastor’s perspective on how close we are to the predicted one-world system of government and religion.

JB Hixson and David Fiorazo discuss America’s independence and religious freedom as well as some Founders and history not taught in public schools. One topic is the so-called separation of church and state. Then, a big announcement at the end!

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Your Favorite Guests on Stand Up for the Truth! (List & Links)

It’s Official: We Have Forgotten God

Are We Burying the Lede in Bible Prophecy?

200 Resources You Can Trust!– Be Equipped and ‘Connect the Dots’

NEWSBYTES

https://www.standupforthetruth.com/2023/07/jb-hixson-what-they-dont-teach-about-american-history-religious-freedom/

In Defense of Donald Trump

District Attorney Fani Willis’ obsession to convict Donald Trump for some crime could be the turning point in the Left’s perpetual assault on the former President.

Source: In Defense of Donald Trump