Well, good morning again, everybody.
If you would, turn to Isaiah chapter 55. Isaiah chapter 55. Now, Jamie's told me in the past that
sometimes it's hard to hear me in the back. So if you can't hear
me, just wave your hand or something. I'll speak louder, OK? While
you're turning there to Isaiah chapter 55, I want to pose a
hypothetical situation to you, a scenario. So I want you to
pretend for a minute that you have a disease, a very, very
deadly disease. And if you are not immediately
treated and cured, you're going to die. That's certain. So you
go to a doctor, right? And you go to the doctor. You
tell him all about your disease. And here's how he responds. He says,
yeah, I've heard of your disease before. And I think I might know
a treatment. It's a surgery. But here's the
thing. I don't know whether it's going
to work or not. And we have to do the surgery before we know
it's going to work. So I'll have to do this surgery, and basically,
you're going to die there on the operating table, or you'll
live. But that's about what I can tell you. That's about as much
hope as I can give you. Now, walking away from that doctor,
how would you feel? Well, I would feel hopeless. I would feel despondent. I would have no confidence, because
that doctor didn't speak to me in any terms of certainty. So you get a second opinion.
You go to another doctor. And you tell him all about your
disease. And he says, yeah, I know all about that. In fact, my entire
career, I've been treating just that disease. And I know the
cure. It's just a surgery. It's a surgery.
And here's the thing. If I do that surgery, if I perform
that on you, I guarantee you 100% you'll live. How would you
feel walking out of that doctor's office? Hopeful? Ecstatic? Good confidence for
the future? Why? Because he spoke to you
in terms of certainty. He made your guarantee. Now I
heard a man say this a while back. He said this, he said,
there is nuance, nuance and subtlety to all things in this world except
one, the gospel. The gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ remains without nuance. It is black and white. There
is no subtlety to it. And every promise he makes in
this book It's certain, it's absolutely certain. This is what
it says in 2 Corinthians 1.20, it says, for all the promises
of God, don't miss this, in Him, in Christ, are yea and in Him,
amen, unto the glory of God by us. You see, all the promises
He makes, they're certain, absolutely certain. And none of those promises
are any more certain than the one we see down in verse seven.
And that's our text for this morning, Isaiah chapter 55, verse
seven, just one verse. says, let the wicked forsake
his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him
return unto the Lord, and listen to this, and he will have mercy
upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Did you catch the certainty there?
He will show mercy. He will abundantly pardon. That's a promise. Now, what does
this mean? How do we interpret this verse?
Does it mean this? If a man stops sinning outwardly,
stops committing immoral acts, the wicked way, and he stops
sinning inwardly, the unrighteous thoughts, if he ceases from all
that, then God will respond to him with mercy. Is that what
it's saying? Is it saying that cessation from
sin is the prerequisite for mercy? That's what it says every one
of us are going to hell. That's the truth. Now I want
you to turn to a scripture. Turn to 2 Samuel 23. 2 Samuel chapter 23. This is going
to be very familiar to you. This is the words of David, the
last words. He says these from his deathbed. Second Samuel 23, and look at
verse five. David says this, it's his last
words. Although my house be not so with
God, yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered
in all things and sure, for this is all my salvation and all my
desire. Now listen to these last seven
words. although he make it not to grow. I grappled with that
a long, long time. That puzzled me for a long, long
time, those last seven words. I know what he says in the beginning.
It's David's groan. He says this, although my house be not so with
God. He's talking about his heart.
He's talking about that old, wicked man that was inside him,
that stony heart, that cold heart, that heart that's full of envy
and strife and jealousy, with all the wicked imaginations that
flow through it, that heart that's so unfeeling, it's so unloving,
the heart of unbelief. That's what he's talking about.
He's saying, right now, on my deathbed, that house, it's not
so with God. Just as bad as it's ever been.
I also know David's hope. He says, but he hath made with
me. and everlasting covenant. That's
his hope, because that's our hope, isn't it? That the father
enter into a covenant with his son. And in that covenant, he
gave all of us, every member of the elect, to Jesus Christ
with these instructions. Here's what you do. I'm holding
you accountable. Everything I require of them,
everything that I require for satisfaction on their behalf,
I'm looking to you for. I'm going to hold you 100% responsible. Do you have to live for him?
You have to die for him. And you know what that means.
You know the extent of that punishment. No one's going to experience
pain and suffering like you're going to experience. And you're
going to bring them back to me without a scratch on. And the
son said, without any hesitation whatsoever, I will. Give them
to me. And our union is so real with the son that when the father
made the covenant with the son, he was making it with us. And
here's how that covenant works. Christ does all the work, he
gets all the glory, and we reap all the benefits, every single
one of them. I understand David's confidence. He says it's ordered
in all things, and sure, he's talking about the totality of
his salvation. He said it was ordered. It was
purposed by the sovereign will of God, and because he ordered
it, he provided all things to accomplish it. and because he
ordered it, and because he provided for the accomplishment of it,
it's sure, it must happen. I have, past tense, been saved. I understand David's peace and
his joy. He said, this is all my salvation and all my desire.
He's saying, all my salvation is this, it's this one man, it's
Christ and him crucified. This man, his merits, what he's
done, honoring his father in all things, that's my salvation.
That's all God requires, it's all I want, and it's all my desire.
just to be found in Christ, that's it. But these last seven words,
although he make it not to grow, what does that mean? It means
this, David's saying, you know how I was born? I was born a
sinful, wicked, evil man, prone to evil and sinful passions,
and I acted out on a whole lot of them, and those I didn't act
out on, it was simply by the grace of God. I recognize that
David is the man after God's own heart, but don't forget,
folks, he was a wicked, sinful man just like me and you. This
was the kind of guy that you had to watch your wife around,
because if he liked her, he might just murder you and try to take
her. That's the truth. And here's what David is saying
is, I was born that way, and you know what? I haven't gotten
any better. That old heart, that old man, he's still right here
and he hasn't changed a bit. There's something new there.
I'm the partaker of the divine nature. Although, although I
have the love of God, although Jesus Christ is my surety, although
I'm a partaker of this divine nature, this old man, I ain't
changed a bit. I ain't got any better. I'm still
the same old sinner. I always have been. That's what
he's saying. Now, I asked a question earlier. Our text, does it mean that mercy
is predicated on the cessation from sin. That if a man stops
sinning, the Lord will reward him with mercy. Is that what
it means? No, it does not. And thank the Lord it does not
mean that, because if that's what it meant, none of us would
be saved. Now, let me make a comment about
that real quick. And I want to temper this statement
by saying this. Right now I want to preach to me, And if you guys
want to listen, you can. But I'm speaking first to me
and secondarily to you. We should never use our wicked
nature, our total depravity, or the liberty we have in Christ
Jesus as an excuse for sin. Sin is a great evil. It was our
sin that nailed the Lord Jesus Christ to the cross. And there
is absolutely no excuse for it. Say why? If salvation's by grace,
why? Why should I be so concerned
about my conduct? For this reason, when you're
not, when I'm not, it brings shame upon our Lord. Now Paul
called each one of us, every believer, an ambassador for Christ.
An ambassador has absolutely no legitimacy if he makes a mockery
of his king while he's away. You think about an ambassador
that came to this country, representing his country, and he made a mockery
of his king. He just acted out the entire time. How much legitimacy
would he have with us? Absolutely none. We should be
conscious of our conduct, absolutely. But that's not what this means. That's not what our text means.
Let's read it again. Go back to Isaiah chapter 55. Verse seven again. Let the wicked
forsake his way. and the unrighteous man his thoughts,
and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." Now, what is this wicked
way? What are these thoughts of the
unrighteous? I'm gonna give you two scriptures,
hopefully we'll clear it up. Turn to Proverbs chapter 28. What does it mean, this way of
the wicked, and the thoughts of the unrighteous? What does
that mean? Now once you get there in Proverbs 28, I'm gonna read
this to you. This is Psalm 9, verse 16. It says, the Lord is
known by the judgment which he executeth. The wicked is snared
in the work of his own hands. This wicked way, what is that
all about? It has something to do with his
works, the works of his hands, all right? You get that? Now,
pick up in verse 13 of Proverbs 28. It says, he that covereth
his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh
shall have mercy. Now, do you notice the word I
left out there? Them. Notice it's in italics if you
have a King James Bible. It's because it's not in the original. It's
provided there by the translators trying to give us a better understanding,
but it does damage here. It does damage to the text. We
have to read it without it. Because this does not mean, but whoso
confesseth and forsaketh his sins, he stops, he shall have
mercy. That's not what this means. It
means this. But whoso confesseth and forsaketh
his works, He shall have mercy. Folks, this is talking about
salvation by works. The wicked way is the way of salvation by
works. The thoughts of the unrighteous
man are thoughts that there is something I can do to earn favor
with God. That's what he's talking about
here. This is all about salvation by works. Now, This wicked way,
salvation by works, I'm gonna give you six things about this.
Each one of these statements I wanna make, I'm gonna give
a verse of scripture to go with it. You can turn to it if you
want, but I'm gonna move swiftly and I'm gonna read it to you.
First one is this, this wicked way, this way of salvation by
works, it's a way that comes naturally to a man. Proverbs
14, 12 says this, there is a way which seemeth right unto a man. but the end thereof are the ways
of death. Now you think about this reality
right now, right, this world we live in. It is all based on
how hard you work. If you've got a family, you're
a man, you want to provide for your family, what are you going
to have to do? You have to work. You have to work hard. And you
know what? As a general rule, the harder and more intelligently
you work, the more you'll have. And you know what? If you fall
down, you find yourself in hard times, No one's coming to pick
you up. You gotta pull yourself up by the bootstraps. You have
to muster the strength, pull yourself up to get back where
you have to work harder to get back on top. That's the way this
world is built. It's all around working hard.
And you know what? The natural man carries that
over into salvation. He says, it seems right. I got
to work, right? I got to start keeping the law.
I got to stop sinning. I got to do all these things.
And if I do all those things, God will be pleased with me.
But you know what? That is the only way you exclude yourself
from mercy is by working and trying to earn it. This is Romans
4, 5. It says, but to him that worketh
not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith
is counted for righteousness, or rather his faith is the evidence
that God has made him righteous, to him that worketh not. The
only way you exclude yourself from the grace of God is by trying
to earn it, that's it. And it's only found not in working,
but in resting. Resting and trusting the Lord
Jesus Christ alone. Second thing about this way, it's a way that's
highly appealing to the flesh. It says Psalm 140 verse eight,
it says, grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked, Further
not his wicked device, they exalt themselves. Why is salvation
by works? Why is it so appealing to the
flesh? Because it opens the door for exalting the flesh. It gives
a man an opportunity to get some glory in his salvation. Listen,
if I'm saved and another man is not, and salvation is by works,
that means I did something that he did not, right? Which means
I get some glory out of this. And folks, we are all about our
own glory. That's what this flesh wants
more than anything else. Glory. And this is why the natural man,
the way you and I are born in this world, rejects the gospel
because it's all salvation by grace. Completely up to, completely
dependent on the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on the behalf
of a man. And if salvation is by grace, that means there is
no glory to be had for a man. He's simply a trophy that screams
out, this man, this man, Jesus Christ, save me. That's all I
got to say. This man saved me. The glory
and honor goes to him, and the natural man hates that. He wants
to be exalted. Third thing about this way. It's
real easy to follow. Matthew 7, verse 13. Enter ye
in at the straight gate, for wide is the gate, And broad is
the way that leads to destruction. And many there be which go in
there at. You see this way, this wicked
way, this way of salvation by works, it's broad and the gate
is real wide. Tons of different ways you can
get in there. All you have to have to follow this way is some
sort of spiritual self-confidence. And it can be whatever you want.
It might be the confidence in your will, that you've made the
appropriate decision, that you've allowed the fake Jesus to be
the Lord of your life, and you have allowed him to save you.
Get right on the Broadway there. You'll work just fine. Maybe
it's your works. Better by comparison, right?
I mean, I'm not the best, but I'm way better off than this
drunk over here, so I'm doing okay. God grades on the curb,
so good. You can walk the Broadway too.
That's fine. What about this? Really, I'm not that great, but
I at least have the potential to be better, right? If my circumstances
were changed, I have an intention. I'm going to get better, right?
You'll fit on the Broadway just fine. No problem. What about
this? Maybe your confidence is this, that there's no God. You
know what? I don't believe there's a God.
That means there's no accountability system. And that means that's
my confidence right there. Hop on the Broadway. All those
ways will take you right through that wide gate that leads directly
to hell. You can do that. That's absolutely fine. But you
know what? The way of salvation is a straight
gate. That means it's narrow, and narrow
is the way. You see, there's only one way.
I'll give you the scripture, John 14, 16. Jesus saith unto
him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto
the Father, but by me. Now, we know that verse. I bet
everybody in this room can probably recite that verse, right? We
say that a lot. Christ is the way, right? But folks, what in
the world does that mean? How do we articulate that? What
does that mean that He is the way? Because that's a huge statement.
What does that mean? I want to take a crack at it. Number one, it means this. It
means that outside of Christ, God the Father is completely
and utterly unapproachable. Now you remember the story of
King Uzziah? what he did? King Uzziah lifted up in pride
and he waltzed into the Temple. He bypassed the priest. He bypassed
the mediator. And he himself offered incense
to God. He bypassed the mediator. He
bypassed the preacher. And you know what the Lord struck
him with leprosy right there and he died shortly after. Because no man
can come into the presence of God and live. He is just and
he is holy. And when he sees sin there is
only one thing he does he pours down wrath on that man he sees
it on. That's it. That's the first part of it right
there. God himself, God the Father, is completely unapproachable
outside of Christ. Here's the second thing it means.
It means this. That it's not good enough to
simply plead Christ coming to the Father, although we do. And
coming to the Father, it's not good enough that we would simply
be represented by Christ, although we are. The only way a man can
come into the presence of God and live is in Christ. Now what does that mean? Number
one, this, if a man is in Christ, if he shares a union with the
Lord Jesus Christ, that means he's always been there and he
always will be there. He was put there by God himself,
by sovereign appointment, and that means he's never gonna leave.
This is an eternal union. He's always been there and he
always will be there. Secondarily it means this, if
a man is in union with Jesus Christ that means the very blood
of the Lord Jesus Christ has washed away that man's sins and
he is justified. That means the Lord Jesus Christ
bore not just that man's sins but that man in his body when
he went to the cross. And he suffered the punishment
associated with the sins of that man that became his. And he put
them away with his death. And that means that man in Christ
truly is justified. He has no sin. If a man shares
a union with Jesus Christ that means he has the very righteousness
of Jesus Christ. It means everything Christ has
done is his history. Christ's perfect law keeping
is the perfect law keeping of that man. He owns it. It's his
because he is in that union. But more than anything it means
this. It means when Jesus Christ comes into the presence of his
father, and the father with that scrutinizing eye looks him over,
and he says, I see no fault in him, I love him, I am completely
satisfied with him, that everyone that is in Christ, he looks them
the exact same way. And he says, I love him, I am
completely satisfied with him. That's what it means to be in
Christ, and that's what it means for him to be the way. Now, somebody
might say, great, how do I get in Christ? Wrong question. You can't get in Christ. You
have to have always been there. You are either there or you are
not. But here's what I can tell you.
I can tell you whether you're there or not. I'll give you a
marker. Everybody who's in Christ rejects this wicked way. They
want absolutely nothing to do with standing before God in their
own works based on something they think they've done and be
judged. They want absolutely nothing to do with that. And
all they want is to be brought into the presence of the Father
in Christ and to be found in Him and judged in Him. And I
tell you folks, if that's what you want, and that's what you're
all about, and that's who you've got your confidence in, Christ
and Him alone, you're there. And imagine that you've always
been there. before you even knew it, and
you always will be there. There's no getting out. Fourth thing about this way.
It's a way that's dangerous to follow, but even more dangerous
to condone. Now, I do want you to turn to
this scripture. Turn to Ezekiel chapter 3. Ezekiel chapter 3, I want you to look at verse 16,
pick up there. Ezekiel 3 verse 16, And it came to pass at the end
of seven days that the word of the Lord came unto me saying,
Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of
Israel. Therefore, hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning
from me." Now, let's stop there for a second. If a man claims
to be sent from God, he has a responsibility, and it's to warn. He's supposed
to issue a warning. What's he supposed to issue a
warning over? It's not going to surprise you at this point,
I don't think. Look at verse 18. When I say unto the wicked,
Thou shalt surely die, and thou givest him not warning, nor speakest
to warn the wicked from his wicked way, the way of salvation by
works, to save his life. The same wicked man shall die
in his iniquity, but his blood will I require in thine hand. Now I want you to understand
the gravity of this right here, folks. If you approach unto God
on the basis of something you've done, this is how you end. You
die in your iniquity. That's the only end state of
it. But you see what happens to this man who doesn't warn? A man who stands up and he claims
to speak for God, and yet he does not warn of this wicked
way, this way of salvation by works. He says, that man who
believed you, that you didn't warn, his blood's on your hands.
That means exactly what it says here. There's condemnation for
a man not issuing the warning against this thing of salvation
by works. Now, think of there as condemnation for a man failing
to issue the warning. How greater is the condemnation
if a man stands up and he condones it? And he says, that is the
way. And he actually endorses it.
He says, that broad way, that wide gate right there, that's
the direction you should go. If the condemnation is great
for the man who simply does not sound the warning, how much greater
it is for the man who endorses it and says, go that direction.
Folks, dangerous to believe, even more dangerous to condone. Fifth thing, and this is scary,
it's a way that the Lord will let you go if that's what you
really want. Psalm 146 verse nine says, the
Lord preserved the strangers, He relieveth the fatherless and
widow, but the way of the wicked he turneth upside down. That
statement, turneth upside down, you know what that means? It
literally means lead astray. If this is what you want, if
you are bound and determined to come into the presence of
God based on something you've done, the Lord will let you go
that way. He will let you lead yourself
astray. He'll let you go. If you want to go that direction,
go ahead, go the way of destruction, unless He loves you. Unless He loves you with that
everlasting love, that love of God, then He intervenes. He stops
you directly on your path, on that path, that broad way towards
that wide gate, and He plucks you out and He grabs you and
says, no, you don't get to go that way, and He moves you over
and He puts you in the way of Christ, in the straight gate,
on the narrow way. And if you want to put a label
on that, that's called the sovereignty of God and salvation. It is an
intervention for a sinner who is hell bound, he's walking down
that broad way, he's walking toward that gate of destruction
that's super wide, following the herd with everyone else,
and he says, nope, not you. You come over here, you go through
this gate. And it's all based on love. That's where it all began. And
finally this, it's a way that leads to you getting exactly
what you deserve. Isaiah 311 says, woe unto the
wicked. It shall be ill with him, for the reward of his hands
shall be given. If you come this way, you come
stating, you owe me. Here's what I've done, and because
I've done this, you owe me salvation. I deserve something. You're gonna
get exactly what you deserve. You're gonna be sent to hell. Now, folks, that's the warning
right here. Flee from this way, this way of salvation by works.
Whatever it may be, whatever man may tell you, if he says
salvation in some way dependent on something you do, you flee
from that because that's not the gospel and that's not the
way. Now, if I'm to forsake salvation by works in every way, shape,
and form, where do I turn? Go back to your text. Look at
verse 7 again. Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord. Now what does that mean? What
does it mean to return unto the Lord? It's actually very simple,
folks. It means to come to Christ. That's it. It means to believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ. When you come to someone, you
leave somewhere and you go somewhere else. Leave behind all hopes
of salvation by works. Leave behind all thoughts. If
there is something you can do to earn favor with God, leave
that all behind and you come and you believe and you trust
and you cling to Christ. That's what it means to return
to God. Now, a few things I want to give you about this return,
right? And they're both found in Hosea. Hosea has a lot to
say about this. So I want you to turn first to Hosea chapter
6. If you need help getting there, find Ezekiel, right? Daniel's
after Ezekiel. And then after that, you get
to Hosea. I had to write that down because it took me like
six minutes to find it the other day in my Bible. Hosea 6. Ezekiel, Daniel, and then Hosea. Now here's what I want to tell
you about this return. If you do return to Christ and
you cling to him, it's because God calls you to. Now look down
at Hosea 6 verse 1. Hosea says this, he says, come
and let us return unto the Lord. That's what we're talking about,
right? For he hath torn, and he will heal us. He hath smitten,
and he will bind us up. How does a man get to this place
where he has absolutely no spiritual self-confidence, that he is a
destitute sinner, completely in need of nothing but mercy?
Well, it's very simple. The Lord tears him. He tears
down all his false refuges. He gives that man a glimpse,
just a little one, of his sin, of how bad he is, right? And
folks, what we see of our sin, we're so flippant with the concept
of sin, we're so flippant about our own personal sin, we see
just the tip of the iceberg. The Lord gives him a glimpse
of that. And he gives him a glimpse of who God is in all his holiness,
in all his perfect justice. And that man stands condemned
before a holy and just God. And you know what? In the midst
of all that, he reveals Christ to him, be way. There's only
one way to the Father, Jesus Christ. That's it. And if you
ever do come, if you ever do return, if you ever find yourself
a sinner in need of mercy, a need, right? That need is not natural.
Having a need, it's for one reason. It's because the Lord came to
you and he tore you. That's it. When we say salvation
is by grace, folks, the whole thing is of grace, even the return. Now, turn to Hosea chapter 14. When I return to Christ, how
should I plead my case? Hosea is going to tell us. Look
at chapter 14, verse 1. Hosea says, O Israel, return
unto the Lord thy God, for that has fallen by thine iniquity.
Take with you words. See, you've got to plead your
case. Take with you words. And turn to the Lord and say
unto him, first, Take away all iniquity. Second, and receive
us graciously. And here's the end state. So
will we render the calves or the sacrifices of our lips. Now when I return to Christ,
how do I plead my case? What do I say? First off you
say this, take away all my iniquity. Something has to be done about
my sin and I can't do anything about it. It's my sin that separates
me from my God. It is my sin that has the Father's
anger kindled against me. It is my sin that separates me.
It's my sin that has gotten me in this mess, and there's absolutely
nothing I can do about it. I need you to do something about
it. Take away my sin. That's the first way you plead
your case. Here's the second way, and receive us graciously.
Don't look for a reason in me to do it. Don't look for a reason
to me for you to put away my iniquity. Don't look for any
goodness in me, because if you do, you won't find it. Do it
because you're a gracious Savior. And you said, come unto me, all
ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. You
carry this title. This man is the friend of sinners.
I'm coming to you. Don't look for a reason to me.
Do it simply because you're a gracious Savior. And you said you're the
friend of sinners. And this is the end state of
it, and here what will happen, we'll render the calves of our
lips. If you do this for me, you put away my sin, you do this
work of grace in my heart, I won't be able to help but praise your
name. The sacrifices of the words, he saved me. You're a God who
demands worship, and somebody's gotta worship you. You do this,
that's what'll happen, I'll worship you, right there. How do I plead
my case? Do something about my sin. Don't
look for a reason for me to do it. And Lord, if you do that,
you'll have a worshiper on your hands. Now, this return, in closing,
what does it look like? Turn over to Luke chapter 15. We're gonna look at a part of
a parable, and I think most of you are very familiar with this.
Familiar with the prodigal son? I'd say most of y'all are. I'll tell you about the first
half of this story. So this son goes to his father. His father's
a very wealthy man, probably owns a farm or something like
that. And he's kind of an entitled punk. And he says, give me my
inheritance. Now, he hadn't earned this. He
didn't deserve it. But his father was merciful, and he was gracious.
So his father gave him his inheritance early. That's what he did. And
so the son left, right? He left. And he spent it on what
the scriptures call riotous living. He had a big party. That's what
he did. And after a while, after the money wore out, he found
himself in want. He was in need. And so he joined
himself to a citizen of that country, and he got a job. And
he was feeding pigs, right? And he had to sustain himself
off of what those pigs ate, and they were husks of corn. And
he said he couldn't satisfy himself. He was never satisfied. He was
put in a wonderful place. What a blessing to be put in
a place like this, to where you can't provide for yourself, and
you're completely unsatisfied with yourself. That's God-given.
Now, where we're going to pick up on this story is where he
comes to himself. And this is what happens when
the Lord intervenes, when he does a work of grace in a man's
heart. He comes to himself. Now pick up in verse 17. And when he came to himself,
he said, how many hired servants my fathers have bred enough and
to spare, and I perish with hunger. I will rise and go to my father
and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven
and before thee, and I'm no more worthy to be called thy son.
Make me as one of thy hired servants." Where's that sense of entitlement
now? It's gone, isn't it? He knows he's going to go home
and he's going to plead his case. And if his father says, get off
my property, I've already given you your inheritance. Get out
of here. Can he say anything to his father? Is his father
wrong in doing it? If he just kicks him off and
he says, you brat, get out of here. No, his father's 100% right. Now, go on reading here, verse
17. Well, I'm sorry, verse 20. And
he arose and came to his father, listen to this reception, but
when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion
and ran and fell on his neck And he kissed him. Now, notice
some things here. His father makes absolutely no
mention of his son's transgressions whatsoever. His son's come home.
He sees him from afar off. You see, the father's been waiting
for him. He knows he's going to come home. He's been looking
for him. When he sees him, he takes off running after him.
He comes after him. And he falls down on his neck.
No mention of this boy's transgressions whatsoever. No mention of it
whatsoever. And he doesn't hold him off. He doesn't put him on
a trial plan where he says, listen, OK, I'm going to let you work
for me for a while. And if you keep on doing better, then maybe
you'll work your way back to sonship. Absolutely no mention
of this boy's misdeeds. He doesn't hold him off at all.
He falls on his neck, and he just starts kissing him. That's
it. Now, look at verse 21. And the son said unto the 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. This boy's been working
on a confession for how many miles he's been walking back
to his father's house. I've sinned against you, I've sinned against
heaven. He's trying to get this confession out, but he can't
get it all out because his father's hugging him and kissing him and
roughing him up. He can't get it out. His father just saying,
shut up. Stop talking. We are never going to mention
you leaving ever again. Goes to the servants, put the
best robe on. This is my son. Now, here's my
point. If there is anyone in this room
who had any reservations that if you return, you will not be
accepted, that the Lord Jesus Christ will not receive you,
I hope that story just dispelled it. Because this is what he does
when a sinner returns unto him. He says, that's my son, right
there. That's mine. Come to me. There's absolutely
no mention of past transgressions. Doesn't bring it up at all. Doesn't
hold a man off in the least. He just receives him just like
that. He receives him just as he is a wicked, naked sinner
coming from mercy. Just like that. He says, put
the best robe on him. You get clothed with the very
righteousness of Jesus Christ. He puts a ring on his finger.
You know what a ring is? It's a perfect circle. There's
no beginning, and there's no end. It's a sign of that everlasting
covenant. I've loved you. I've always loved you. He puts
it on his hand. He puts shoes on his feet. You see, he has
a new walk. He has new history. Everything Jesus Christ has done,
that man has done. Everything Jesus Christ has not
done, that man has not done. He's perfect in the eyes of God,
just like that. Completely and utterly received. This man receiveth
sinners. All right, I wanna read our text
one more time. Look at verse seven again. Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord,
and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly
pardon. I told you before the beauty
of all this is the certainty of the language. Every promise
he makes the Lord, it's yay and it's amen. He will now I want
to give you four certainties to close with. I'm not gonna
make much comment. I just let you stew on these. Number one,
here's the first one. If you protein under God. Based on something
you've done. Seeking salvation based on something
about you. you will certainly be damned.
I can guarantee you that. That's a certainty. Second one. If you return unto Christ, he
will certainly receive you. Just as you are, don't dress
yourself up at all. Don't try to get any better.
You come a filthy, wretched sinner. He's not gonna hold you off.
He's not gonna push you to the wayside. He will receive you
as a son. Just like that. Certainly. Third, if you return,
you will certainly be shown mercy. He said, I will show mercy and
I will abundantly pardon. You know what that word abundantly
means? Completely. It means you will be completely pardoned from
all your sins, every one of them, certainly. Here's the last one.
And if you do return, it's certainly by his grace and by his sovereign
appointment. He worked all this out, and the
simple fact that you've returned is the evidence that you were
chosen by Him before the foundation of the world were ever built.
Now, return unto the Lord. Let's stop there.