Well, this morning, the title of the message, as
you can see on the screen, is The Parable of the Lost Coin. To begin with, salvation, the way God saves sinners, is
not by merit, not by merit on the sinner's part. not based
on what we do or are unable to do, but it's by God's mercy. God's grace receives sinners
and only receives sinners as sinners. Your sinfulness will
not keep you from Christ, but your perceived righteousness
and goodness will. Christ did not come here to save
the righteous. He came here to seek and to save
them that were lost. He came to save the unworthy
and the worthless. He came to save the ungodly. Romans 5 verse 6 tells us that,
for when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ
died for the ungodly. Now these three parables that
we're going to look at this morning teach just one great gospel truth,
and that is salvation is of the Lord. But it's a mistake in reading
these three parables and thinking that they are just repetition
of the same thing. The fact is that each one of
these parables show a different aspect of that one great truth
of God saving sinners. Each one shows us a distinct
aspect of God's grace and salvation and the salvation of his people.
And if you read them all together, it's like looking at a huge pyramid
from three sides, and each side giving us a different aspect
in order to complete the picture. Combined, they give us a complete
picture as the Holy Spirit tells us that they are. For he tells
us plainly in verse three that these three parables are a parable,
or one parable. Look at Luke 15 three. And he
spake this parable unto them saying, this morning I'm not
going to concentrate on the first and the last aspect of this one
parable, but we'll take a short look at all of them But to begin
with, I'm going to concentrate on the parable of the lost coin.
The first part of this parable that we'll look at briefly is
in these three verses here. And it shows us Christ, the good
shepherd, the shepherd of Israel seeking his sheep. And that's
Luke 15, three through seven. It says, what man of you having
a hundred sheep? Now this particular parable is
the parable of the lost sheep. If he lose one of them, does
not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness and go after
that which is lost until he find it. And when he 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. I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you that
likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth
more than over 99 just persons which need no repentance. In
Christ's incarnation, the Son of God came to save the lost
sheep. That's the reason he came. In
his life ministry, he sought and found his lost sheep. In
his sin-atoning death, he laid down his life for the sheep.
And in his resurrection and ascension, our all-glorious Christ completed
his great work of redemption of his sheep, his people. Now, the second part of the parable
is the one we're going to concentrate on this morning in Luke 8 through
10. This is called the parable of
the lost coin. This parable gives us a picture
of God, the Holy Spirit, and is represented in this woman
who sweeps her house in order to find the coin that she had
lost. This parable reveals to us that
the Holy Spirit's work in the new birth and finding his children
is the fruit and effect of what Christ accomplished there at
the cross. This shows us that grace is sure
to come to God's elect due to what Christ, our substitute and
surety, did on our behalf. The work of the Holy Spirit is
dependent on the work of Christ, the Good Shepherd. First in redemption,
the Good Shepherd seeks and saves his lost sheep. Then the Holy
Spirit seeks and restores the lost sheep in efficacious grace. As I said, each of these parables
need the other two in order to give us a complete picture. The
shepherd seeks his sheep, who have willingly gone astray. The
lost sheep portrays man's depravity, who willingly strays from God.
The lost coin doesn't give us that idea at all. The lost coin
portrays us as without consciousness, powerless, and without life,
and that's exactly our condition when God the Holy Spirit comes
in saving power. We're dead in trespasses and
sins. Look at Ephesians 2.1, and you
hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins. Now the
third part of the parable is the lost son here, and some people
call it the prodigal son, Verses 11 through 36. The lost sheep
portraying our salvation by God the Son, our good shepherd. The
lost coin portraying God the Holy Spirit in efficacious grace. And then the lost son portraying
God the Father, receiving his lost son, which shows us a picture
of the matchless love of our great God receiving his sons,
who are returning home to the Father Again, the order is important
because a third part of this parable might be misunderstood
without the first two. There are some in religion that
use this story of the prodigal son as a picture of man's imaginary
free will. They point to the fact that they
say there was no indication of any outside influence on this
man that would cause him to return to his father. There was no indication
that he received a call to return, but that he came to himself and
made a decision to return to the Father's house. They say,
so there it is. Man does have a part in his salvation. Of course, nothing could be further
from the truth. The first part of the parable
spoke of the redemption of the lost one. The second part spoke
of the efficacious grace of God the Holy Spirit to the lost one,
and the third part speaks of the results of redemption and
grace toward this lost one, and the return of this lost one to
his father. When we put all three together,
as the Holy Spirit has done in this passage, and read them as
one parable, we see one work of God's grace in saving an elect
multitude of lost sinners. We'll look at verses 8 through
10, the parable of the lost coin. Look at Luke 15, 8 through 10.
Either what woman having 10 pieces of silver, if she lose one piece,
does not light a candle and sweep the house and seek diligently
till she find it. And when she had found it, she
calls her friends and her neighbors together saying, Rejoice with
me. I have found the peace which
I had lost. Likewise, I say unto you, there
is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner
that repenteth. Now I'm gonna look this morning
at four different things. We'll look at this coin. First
is loss. Second is salt. And third is
found. And then I'll give you our Lord's
explanation of the parable at the end. First, this shows God's
elect sinners as lost sinners. Sinners that are the objects
of God's mercy and grace in Christ Jesus, but they're in a state
of lostness. And that is the way we are by
nature, and we're born into this world. See, our standing never
changes before God. He elected us in the beginning.
He gave us to Christ. And Christ came here and did
that work of salvation for us in our place. But our state does
change. As in this parable of lost sheep,
you will see all of mankind as belonging to the Lord. The 100
speak of all men. The 99, the self-righteous Pharisees
who need no repentance. and the one lost sheep which
represents all of God's elect. All of God's elect in this world
who were lost. Here in the parable of lost coin
which speaks of all humanity in 10 pieces of silver. All belonging
to God, our Lord says in Matthew 20, 15, is it not lawful for me to do
what I will when mine own? And indeed, all things are His,
and it also means you and I. That means it is totally up to
God. That means He can have mercy
on you, or He can pass you by and leave you in your sin. It
is His sovereign will to do what He will. You see, salvation is
of the Lord. It's His choice to do whatever
He will. Let's look at what Apostle Paul
says here, as he uses the example of the potter and the clay, which
is an inanimate object, just like that coin, that just sits
there to be formed and made by the potter. Romans nine, beginning
of verse 19. Thou wilt say unto me, why doth
he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
Nay, but, O man, who art thou that replies against God? Shall
the thing formed say to him that formed it, why hast thou made
me thus? Hath not the potter power over
the clay of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor and
another unto dishonor? You would think that all who
profess to believe the Bible would submit to what God says
in these verses. here concerning God being able
to do what he will in salvation. The 10 pieces of silver represents
all humanity, but the one lost piece here represents all of
God's elect, on whom God Almighty has focused his heart from all
eternity. God has his heart set only on
his people. his children and his sons. Listen
to what Christ says in John 6, 37. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will notice cast
out. Some folks say, well, don't you
believe in a sense that God loves all men? No. The scripture absolutely forbids
such thinking. God loves his lost ones. Christ
came to redeem. his lost ones, and the Spirit
of God is seeking out and saving his lost ones, which is represented
here in this parable of that lost corn. Now let me show you
how this corn was lost. It was lost in the dust of this
woman's house, which is a pretty good picture of God's elect.
The corn had fallen to the ground, We know that because the woman
took a broom and swept the house in order to find it. Apparently,
in these ancient times, there were only dirt floors in most
of the houses. And there it dropped on the dirt
floor, and there it was hid, and lost, and couldn't be seen
by this woman. Every one of God's elect born
of Adam, like this corn here, is lost. We have fallen in sin
and are all by nature in a dark place of sin and depravity."
How dark was this? Well, I know that it was very
dark because the woman, she lit a candle to find it. In John 8, 12, says, then spake Jesus again
saying unto them, saying, I am the light of the world. He that
followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the
light of life. This world in which we live is
a dark place. There is no light in it except
for him who is the light of this world, our Lord. The only light
in this world is the gospel of God's grace. There is no moral
light and there is no spiritual light unless and until God the
Spirit gives us the light of the gospel and brings us out
of this darkness that we're all in by nature. Isaiah, in Isaiah
59, beginning at verse 9, tells us something about this darkness.
Therefore is judgment far from us, neither does justice overtake
us. We wait for light, but behold
obscurity, for brightness, but we walk in darkness. We grope
for the wall like the blind, and we grope as if we had no
eyes. We stumble at noonday as in the
night, and we are in desolate places as dead men. Also Isaiah
53.6, all we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone
to his own way and the Lord have laid on him the iniquity of his
own. Also, look at how the apostle
describes us in 1 Corinthians 2.14. Says, but the natural man,
that is where we're born into this world, receiveth not the
things of the Spirit of God. For there are foolishness unto
him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned. This is clear, that the natural
man will not receive the things of the Spirit of God. He don't
have the ability or the desire. Well, don't you think that we
can teach him these things? Yes, you can teach him. all these
things, but here it says plainly that the natural man will not
receive the Spirit of God. We can declare the gospel and
teach them correct doctrine, but they will not receive it
or believe it savingly. They might for a short time give
a mental agreement to it, but they will eventually leave
it, revealing that they never did believe it from the heart.
This means that the natural man will not believe these things
from his heart. That is, his mind, his affections,
and his will. All of this is made clear in
the parable of the seed and the sower. Y'all get an opportunity,
Matthew 13. That pretty much tells us how
that gospel is sown out into the world, and then you have
these individuals that whether it's on good ground or stony
ground, different things. Well, why don't the natural man
receive the things of God? Well, Scripture says it's foolishness
to him. Neither can he know them, and
here's why. They're spiritually discerned.
Look at what our Lord said to Nicodemus, John 3, beginning
at verse 1. There was a man of the Pharisees,
named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. The same came to Jesus
by night and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher
come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest,
except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto
him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God. But when a man is born again
by the Spirit of God, he can see. He comes from darkness to
light, and not only see the truth of the gospel, but he believes
it from his heart. He sees God's glory in all of
this. He understands because at that time, he has the mind
of Christ, according to 1 Corinthians 2.16. For who hath known the
mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the
mind of Christ. So in the parable, the lost coin
is represented as being totally ignorant of its condition. And
that is where we all sit before and unless God the Spirit does
his great work in a new birth. We all were just as happy as
we could be in false religion. just as happy as we could be,
and on our happy and contented way to total destruction in that
false religion. The corn, unlike the sheep and
the sun, is an inanimate object, like that clay, that we spoke
about here in the illustration of the potter and the clay. This
corn was altogether without life. without consciousness, without
feelings, and without any awareness of being lost or sought. And
is perfectly content in just laying in that dirt, in that
darkness. And so it is with all who are
without Christ and who are happy to remain there. And unless God
the Spirit comes in power and gives life, in the new birth,
there's no way we can convince them of the danger that they're
in. We can tell them about that danger,
but you can't convince them of it. You can tell them about it,
but we can't convince them of that danger. Now, though this
coin here was lost in the darkness of the dirt, it wasn't forgotten. This woman knew that this was
her coin, And when she counted her coins, she found out that
one of them was missing. The son of God who redeemed us,
our savior, our advocate, and our high priest, and our surety,
he remembers his lost one and prays for them before the Father's
throne. He remembers the Father's love for him. He remembers his
own surety ship engagements for him. He remembers the Father's
promise to give them to him. And even though we had long forgotten
him, He didn't forget us, and he will not now or ever forget
us. Their names are in the palm of
his hand that even eternity can't erase. Although the coin was
lost, it was still valued and still claimed, and it didn't
belong to anybody else except this woman. This woman said,
it's my piece which was lost. And those that are chosen by
God and redeemed by Christ, they're His. They were given to Christ
in grace and mercy before the world began. And He owns them
as His own, and He will not leave them. Christ says in John 6,
37, all that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him
that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. Also, the woman's
corn was lost, but it was lost in the woman's house. It is such
a blessing and a privilege to be able to sit down in the house
of God where the true gospel is being preached. You that are
able to sit here week after week and hear of God's free grace
in Christ are truly in the house of God. If you're sitting here
and you're lost, you're still in the best place possible. You
that might be lost and sitting here this morning or out there
on the internet, you're not lost and sitting in some freewill
works religion. You're not lost and sitting in
some mosque of Islam or some temple of Judaism. You're lost
in the house of grace, lost in the place where God Almighty
comes. with his word, his gospel, and seeks and saves with them
which are lost. Now the second thing the picture
shows is a picture of God's elect that are sought out by the Holy
Spirit. In efficacious grace, or in other
words, through God's power in producing his desired result
and saving his elect, Luke 15, eight says, Either what woman,
having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, does not
light a candle and sweep the house, and seek diligently to
find it. Also look at Isaiah 62, 10 through
12. Isaiah says, go through, go through
the gates, prepare ye the way of the people. Cast up, cast
up the highway, gather out the stones, lift up a standard for
the people. Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed
unto the end of the world, say you to the daughter of Zion,
behold, thy salvation cometh. Behold, his reward is with him,
and his work before him. And they shall call them, the
holy people, the redeemed of the Lord. And thou shalt be called
sought out, a city not forsaken. Why are you sitting here this
morning as believers? Well, it's because you've been
sought out. Why are you sitting here rejoicing and believing
this gospel? Because you've been sought out.
This woman first lit a candle specifically for the purpose
of finding her lost coin. There's a lot of speculation
on what this here signifies. The obvious reference is to that
effectual work of the blessed Holy Spirit by which life, by
which faith is granted to those who are sought out by God, the
Holy Spirit. That work of grace wrought out
in the heart of one of God's elect through the preaching of
the gospel that identifies this God. Now thirdly, this parable
sets God's elect in a state of loss but found. Just like that
song, Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch
like me. I once was lost, but now I'm
found. Was blind, but now I see. The woman was diligent and determined
in her search. She was determined. She was not
giving up. Her ultimatum was, I'm going
to find that coin. So it is with God the Holy Spirit,
Luke 15, 9. And when she had found it, she
called her friends and her neighbors together saying, rejoice with
me. If I found the peach which I had lost, she found the lost
coin. Well, what did that coin do?
Nothing. The coin didn't just turn up.
She didn't stumble over it. She was searching specifically
for that one lost coin. And she found it. It wasn't discovered
by a neighbor or found by somebody else. You see, it's God the Holy
Spirit who seeks and finds sinners. When she found her coin, she
was ecstatic. She called her friends and neighbors
and said, rejoice with me, for I've found the peace that I've
lost. And fourthly here, later on,
This is our Lord's explanation of this parable. Christ said
in Luke 15, 10, likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the
presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
Our Lord says here, I say unto you, he speaks here as a faithful
witness and testifies to what he knows and has seen from heaven
where he came from. He's talking about the reception
of the sinner, a sinner like you and I, and all other sinners
who have been brought into the sheepfold. He's talking about
his elect, who are by nature ungodly sinners, who have been
brought to faith and repentance by the power of God the Spirit
through the preaching of God's gospel. He wants the Pharisees
and the publicans to know exactly how it is that God looks upon
sinners. More importantly, he wants us
sinners on this earth to know how it is that God in heaven
looks on sinners. He talks about repentance, that
work of grace by his spirit, which is called repentance, that
work where sinners are turned from worshiping a false god and
turned by faith to serve the true and living God. God Almighty
takes those who run just as fast as they can straight into eternal
torment. And God turns them toward himself. Just like that Ethiopian eunuch. The Apostle Paul tells us what
repentance is all about in Philippians 3.8. says, yea, doubtless, and
I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things and do count them but done that I may win Christ. I'm amazed that God would love
me and choose to save me. And I'm amazed that God Almighty
would send his dear son into this world to be slain by wretched sinners.
And because of God's love, I'm astounded that God the Holy Spirit
would condescend to seek me out, one that is by nature so content
in my lostness, in the dirt, and in the dust, and the darkness,
of this world's religion, and that's where I was. And then
lastly, that God would receive me as his own, an ungodly sinner
by nature. May God be glorified in all things
that we do and say. In Christ's name, amen.