The Lost Son

Q: What does the Bible say about the prodigal son?

The parable of the prodigal son illustrates God's grace towards sinners who repent and return to Him. The parable of the prodigal son, found in Luke 15:11-32, vividly portrays the themes of sin, repentance, and divine mercy. In the story, the younger son requests his inheritance, leaves home, and squanders his wealth in reckless living. He eventually finds himself in desperate need and decides to return to his father, acknowledging his sinfulness. This parable emphasizes the Father's compassion and readiness to forgive, symbolizing God's love for repentant sinners. It contrasts the self-righteousness of the elder brother, representing those who rely on their own works, with the grace extended to the wayward son, reminding us that mercy is for the guilty.

Q: How do we know God's grace is sufficient for sinners?

God's grace is sufficient for sinners as demonstrated in the story of the prodigal son and affirmed throughout Scripture. In the parable of the prodigal son, we see a powerful demonstration of God's grace. Upon his return, the father runs to embrace his lost son, offering forgiveness and restoration without delay. This act illustrates that no matter how far one may stray, God's grace is always available for restoration. The Biblical narrative emphasizes that all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23) yet His grace abounds much more than our sin (Romans 5:20). Furthermore, Jesus states in Luke 5:32 that He came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. This reveals His heart for the lost, affirming that God’s grace is not only sufficient but also abundant for those who turn to Him in faith.

Q: Why is repentance important for Christians?

Repentance is crucial for Christians as it leads to restoration and reconciliation with God. Repentance is a fundamental aspect of the Christian faith that signifies a heartfelt turning away from sin and returning to God. In the parable of the prodigal son, the younger son realizes his folly and decides to return to his father, saying, 'I have sinned against heaven and in your sight' (Luke 15:21). This acknowledgment of sin is the first step towards genuine repentance. For Christians, repentance is essential as it not only reflects a recognition of one's need for God's grace but also restores the relationship that sin has fractured. It aligns with the Biblical call to confession and turning away from sin (1 John 1:9), and it reinforces the transformative power of grace that enables believers to walk in newness of life. Repentance, therefore, is a continuous aspect of the believer's life as they grow in holiness and pursue intimacy with God.

Luke chapter 15 and we're going to read from verse 11. Luke chapter 15, verse 11 and there's a few more verses in this portion today. This is the word of the Lord. Lord Jesus Christ is speaking 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 music 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 entreated 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. Amen. May the Lord bless to us this reading from his word.

Here is a passage of scripture with which I imagine we all are familiar. the parable of the lost son, or as he is sometimes called, the prodigal son. It's not that prodigal is actually used in the passage, it is simply rather that that is a word which means reckless and wasteful, extravagant to the point of wastefulness.

And it probably well describes this young man. This account is a favoured Bible story for children and young people, and it's a regular sermon topic for preachers, so I'm sure we all, to a certain degree at least, are familiar with this story. But the genius of this parable is its full and, as it were, well-polished storyline. It's a beautiful story. It's a beautiful parable that the Lord simply delivers here. And it speaks of the character and the attitude of the father, of the two sons, and even the citizen of that far country. And they are all clearly portrayed in just a few words, And yet the story is so vivid and powerful that I doubt there is any one of us here today who simply upon the reading of this passage does not have in our mind's eye a very clear picture of what it is that's going on here.

There's no complexity about this. This is the simplicity of the parables. Now this is the third of the three parables about lost things. given by the Lord on the same day, in the same place, to the same people, and all it would appear with the same design, with the same purpose.

And that is to distinguish between the scribes and Pharisees on the one hand and the publicans and sinners on the other. And this contrast has the effect of highlighting the spiritual difference between works and grace, law and gospel, self-righteousness and man's works, and God's righteousness and his work in his people. Not every Pharisee, and it's perhaps just worth making this point, not every Pharisee was lost. And not every Republican was saved by any means. But these two groups are representative. They represent different categories of people. The proud and self-sufficient, and those who humbly acknowledge their need of a saviour.

And I think these parables also show something else, and perhaps I'm being a little bit imaginative here, but I don't think so. I think that each of the parables, as we reflect upon them now, coming to this third one, I think each of them show in some way the respective roles and offices of each person in the Godhead, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and how they engage together to uncover and recover poor, needy sinners and bring them to salvation and bring them to a knowledge of the truth in the Gospel. The Good Shepherd the Lord Jesus Christ, God the Son, the Good Shepherd came to seek and to save the lost sheep. The Holy Spirit lightens and sweeps the dark places of this world until the lost ones are revealed. and the father is full of love and pity and mercy and joy when the lost son returns. And I think there's a lovely blending here together of those various roles and offices of the Godhead, even in this chapter and these three parables. The first two parables, let me just mention were of course the parable of the lost sheep and the parable of the lost coin or the piece of silver. And they spoke of lost things as this one does. This is the lost sun.

However, as I've already mentioned, there is an additional explicit contrast made in this parable between those whose religion is built upon their own self-righteousness, and that is represented by the elder brother, and those whose righteousness is provided for them by God, and that is pictured in the younger brother. The elder brother was angry at the father's love and his forgiveness and his kindness and his provision for the prodigal, just as the scribes and Pharisees were angry and grumbled at the goodness of the Lord Jesus towards the publicans and sinners of his day, with whom he spoke and to whom he ministered. The scribes and Pharisees deemed them unworthy of the Lord's attention because of their sin. And this younger son is presented as, in the parable, he's presented to us by the Lord as one who is naive and reckless and wasteful.

As we've said, he's prodigal. And as soon as he is able He asks his father to divide the family fortune and give him his rightful part. A little bit presumptuous on his part, I think, but that's what he wants. He wants his inheritance and he wants it now. He can't wait until the old man is dead. He selfishly wants his portion now. And I think that this is a picture of spiritual ignorance in the life of a sinner. Such a man thinks he is wise when he is actually very ignorant.

And that was characteristic of this young man. He had this idea, he had this notion, he had these ambitions that he wanted to go and enjoy himself and fulfil himself. And that's what the men and women of this world think. They think they're wise, they think that they're knowledgeable, experienced, that they understand how things are.

But the reality is, that we are ignorant. I mention this from time to time. It always amazes me how presumptuous people are when they are telling us how things are. I'm particularly thinking about science right now. But they tell us how things are and how things have gotten to where they are today. And then you look at a newspaper or you read something in a magazine or see it on the internet and it says, this new discovery is going to change everything that we've known before. And I think to myself, how presumptuous those people are to tell us so adamantly how things are only to change it the next week because of a new theory or a new development.

And this is the nature of man's ignorance. We only know what we can sense, what we can see, what we can touch, what we can feel. And there is a whole dimension of a spiritual realm. that we know nothing of in our natural ignorance, in our physical constraints and with our fleshy nature.

And this young man is a picture of that kind of ignorance. He goes when he thinks he is wise and he is actually very ignorant and he presumes that he's wise. But he is, even in his natural wisdom, undeveloped. He takes his money and he goes off to enjoy life in the world. but he is quickly relieved of all his wealth and he is abandoned and he is alone. There is a problem arises, there is a great famine in the land where he is and that intensifies, exposes and reveals the true condition of this young man. And I think that the Lord draws some pictures here for us because he has given every man and woman a portion of wealth in the life that we have. We have been created in God's image. We have been created to love, honour and serve the Lord.

However, sin and the fall has corrupted all that we are and all that we do. We take all the good that God has given to us and we spoil it. We misuse it for our own self-satisfaction and we employ it against the giver, God. The picture painted by the Lord Jesus of this young man is very apt to describe every natural man and woman in their sinful state. Our sin is not only self-destructive, but it is a repudiation of all of God's holiness and his kindness and his goodness to us. Well might scripture paint that picture of us as rebels against God. We are opposed to all that is holy and true and good. And another feature of this young man that the Lord presents to us is his languishing in sin when this great famine comes on the land. When his money is spent and he is poor and he is wanting, he didn't return home.

What did he do? He joined himself to a citizen of that land. Now this is the land of the flesh. It is the kingdom of fallen nature. It is the world. And that is the land to which we are joined in our sin. There is a religion in this land, but it is not spiritual religion. There are preachers in this land, but they have no gospel. There is an offered way of salvation in this land that seems right to a man, but the end thereof is the way of death.

And the citizen of the far country may well be likened to a preacher of freewill works religion, who has no good news. He doesn't even have good advice for the prodigal. He is not told, the prodigal is not told, for example, to return to his father. What he is told is, go out into the fields and work.

It is how religion works. It is works religion and it is how religion itself works. The religion of this world gorges itself upon its blind followers. It enriches itself on their poverty. It keeps them poor. It keeps them ignorant. It keeps them working.

He is starving, but he will not be fed by such a preacher who has no bread. He is ragged, but he will not be clothed with that kind of righteousness that this man offers. He's poor and needy, but his soul will not be cared for under this ministry. We might say, sitting under the religion of the world, is likened by the Lord Jesus to sitting in a pigsty and being fed pig swill. Religion without the gospel of God's grace is filthy vanity. It is bloodless, it is graceless, and yet people in their ignorance imagine it is readying them for God's holy presence. The young man said he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat, and no man gave unto him. They gave him nothing because they had nothing to give.

However, this man, despite his sin, despite his depravity, was loved of his father. And in terms of the divine purpose, that is a blessed mercy for a prodigal son like you and like me. If we are a child of God for whom Christ died, we may be sure the Holy Spirit will discover us, even though we be in a far country, even in the pigsty of the world's religion. And such a redeemed soul, ultimately, will begin to hunger and thirst after true righteousness. After some time, an insight was granted, grace was given, and true wisdom shone upon the prodigal's mind. Until now, he had not been himself. Until now, he had been Satan's slave. He was the devil's plaything. And then God's mercy illuminated his mind and he came to himself. This is a picture of the new birth, spiritual life and heavenly wisdom.

He saw he had nothing and he saw that he must beg for mercy. He had nothing good in himself. He had no righteousness of his own, but he knew where he could get help. He needed a righteousness only God could give. He needed help only his father could supply. So he resolved to go home. But he could not stand in his father's presence as a son. Justice would not permit that. He would plead his need and he would ask to be a servant, a hired hand. And perhaps his father would show him mercy. What wonderful transformation of heart enables a prodigal son to say, I will arise and go to my father.

What a wonderful conversion takes place that gives a sinner hope to throw his needy soul upon the grace and mercy of the Holy Lord God. the gospel, the gospel that we preach, the gospel of free grace, of sovereign grace. The gospel of blood redemption, the gospel of perfect, imputed righteousness gives sinners hope. It gives them reason to hope that a way of deliverance has been found, that a way of salvation has been opened up. And they look to Jesus and his work on the cross, and they hear him say, the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.

They hear him say, the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. They hear him say, come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. And they respond, I will arise and go to my father, and I will say unto him, father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee. But before they get all the way home, the Father runs to meet them. Before they can deliver all their prepared confession, the Father embraces them, kisses them and clothes them with a robe, a ring and shoes for their feet.

A robe of righteousness, a ring of inheritance, shoes that speak of a firm and solid comfort in the gospel of free grace. I won't make you a servant, you are my son. It is a very happy, comforting and encouraging picture that is set before us here. A picture one would imagine to give hope to every needy sinner that maybe me, maybe I too would receive such a welcome if I went to the Lord. but there's a sting in the tail.

The older son was angry. He came in from the fields, from the labours of his own self-righteous exploits, and he told his father how good he had been. He tells his father, lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy commandment. You see, this was the Lord applying the lesson of his words to the scribes and the Pharisees. who grumbled at his reception of the publicans and sinners. And I think we can apply this lesson to our own day as well.

Salvation is all of grace. Mercy is for guilty souls. Forgiveness is for sinners. There is joy in a sinner's heart when they find salvation in Jesus Christ. There is joy in the church when a lost soul is brought to hear and believe the gospel. There is joy in heaven when a sinner repents. And there is joy with God, however you want to frame that.

I know that we cannot add to the Lord's pleasure and his self-contentment by what we do, but however you want to frame it, there is joy with God when he brings his wayward children to himself. There is nothing attractive in the gospel for those who are self-righteous. Mark 2 verse 17 says, they that are whole have no need of the physician. but they that are sick. The Lord says, I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And if you are a sinner today, there is peace and there is grace, there is mercy and forgiveness to be found in repenting of your sin and coming to the Father. May the Lord bless these words to us today. Amen. Thank you.

The Lost Son

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about the prodigal son?

How do we know God's grace is sufficient for sinners?

Why is repentance important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

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The Lost Son

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about the prodigal son?

How do we know God's grace is sufficient for sinners?

Why is repentance important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Peter L. Meney

Comments

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