I enjoy reading good theology,
explanations, detailed explanations of the grace of our God. But
that which warms my heart, that which inspires my soul, that
which gives me joy along the way. is to read stories and see
pictures and illustrations of God's boundless grace. And tonight,
we come to the parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15. This
is, in my own heart's mind, the most delightful of all the pictures
given in the book of God about his grace. Because this is my
story, perhaps, that makes it a little special to me. This
is what I've experienced. It describes God's goodness and
mercy to this sinner. And it describes God's goodness
and mercy to every sinner saved by his grace. As we look at this
parable together, I want to call your attention to three or four
things here, and we won't come close to expanding it tonight. I will just draw some highlights,
and then we'll come back another time or two and draw some more
highlights from it. But here I want you to see something about
God's method of grace. I wouldn't lay down any hard,
fast rules and say that this is what you must experience,
this is what you must feel, this is what you must know in order
to know God and be saved by His grace. But as a general rule,
these are the things experienced by every sinner saved by God's
free grace. Not necessarily experienced in
exactly the same order and detail and so forth as is given here,
but wherever grace comes, these four things are experienced in
the soul. First, I want you to see that
this prodigal was a rebel. And you are too. You too. You too. That little girl you've been
bouncing on your knee, her too. The two I bounce on mine, them
too. Rebels. Rebels. So my child's not a rebel,
oh yes your child is. It just hasn't been seen yet.
But the rebellion is real. And in this opening of the parable,
we see this prodigal's proud, haughty, angry rebellion set
forth. Look at verse 11. And he said, A certain man had
two sons. 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 and riotous living. Now learn this, and learn
it well. Sooner or later, In one way or
another, the pride and rebellion of every sinner's heart will
display itself. Sooner or later, in one way or
another, with this particle, his pride and rebellion displayed
itself in propagacy and licentiousness, running far away from his father's
house and his father's eye, as far as he was concerned. His
elder brother was just as much the rebel. He retained a cover
for his rebellion a bit longer. He kept his rebellion covered
up and subdued a bit longer. He stayed always by his father's
side, always in his father's house, always serving his father,
at least he thought so. But the elder brother was just
as much the rebel. And his rebellion was revealed
in his haughty, arrogant pride and self-righteousness in the
latter part of this chapter. The father in this parable represents
God the Father, the source of all good, the source of all grace,
the source of all mercy. The elder son, he represents
the scribes and Pharisees. the self-righteous, moral, religious
men and women of this world, to all outward appearance, they
seem to be. They seem to be, above all others,
the children of God, and they profess loudly that they are,
and they are highly offended if you suggest in any way that
there's something wrong with them. But their profession is
a sham. Their morality, their righteousness,
their religion is all put on. There's nothing about them that's
real. It's all outward. There's nothing inward. The younger
son, he represents the publicans and sinners whom Christ came
to save. To all outward appearance, this
younger son, you'd look at him and say, well, his father Disinherit
him. His father disowned him. If ever
there was a boy who ought to be disowned, this is him. If
ever there was a child who ought to be disinherited, this is the
child. He's got to be the object of his father's contempt. This
other boy, he's the apple of his daddy's eye. He's his father's
delight. But that wasn't the case. This
younger son was a particle, yes. He was a thankless, ungrateful
wretch, yes. His conduct clearly represents
the pride and rebellion of our hearts by nature. But this prodigal
is the object of his father's love, the one for whom the father
does everything. Now here's a picture of our hearts
by nature. We are proud, proud rebels. I can't convince you of this
but I've got to keep trying. I've just got to keep trying.
Turn to Mark chapter 7. Mark chapter 7. Now listen carefully
and hear what I'm saying. At heart, at heart, in the core
of our being, There is absolutely no difference
in any of us. You think you're something. I wouldn't be, I wouldn't do,
I wouldn't think. Oh, yes, you are. Yes, you do. Yes, you have. And no difference. There's not
a woman here any different from any woman on the street. There's
not a man here any different from any man on the street. There's
not a child here any different from any damn sinner in hell
tonight by nature. None whatever. Our hearts are
exactly alike. Your heart and mine is a cesspool
of iniquity and we're proud. We're proud. Oh, if you could
open up your heart. We have a septic tank out here.
Last summer, in the middle of summer, I had to get the thing
opened. It's not pleasant. Let me tell
you something. Physically, naturally, it's a
heap sight more pleasant than what's in here or in there. Look
here, Mark 7. From within, verse 21, out of
the heart of men, out of the heart of men, your heart and
mine, That's not talking about men, male men, that's talking
about men in general, males and females. Proceed evil thoughts. Every evil thought that's ever
been manifest in the world came right out of your heart. Evil
thoughts, adulteries, fornications. Fess, covetousness, wickedness,
deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, witchcraft, blasphemy, pride,
foolishness. All these things come from within. Look at what this younger son
did back here in the parable. Following the natural inclination
of his own depraved heart, he rebelled against his father.
You see, his problem was that he hated the restraint of his
father's rule. He wanted his independence. He
wanted liberty. He wanted to be able to do his
own thing, to gratify his own desires, to take control of his
life. It is written, the carnal mind
is enmity against God. The carnal mind, every man's
mind is enmity against God. Every man's mind by nature hates
God Almighty. Hates Him. Hates Him. Oh, that's offensive. That doesn't
sound very good. That's no way to talk to people. All who are without faith hate
God. No question. No question. Hate
God. May be good little boys, but
they hate God. May be fine little girls, but they hate God. What
do you mean hate God? They hate the fact that God rules. hate the fact that God is God.
They hate the fact they can't be. That's our problem. That's the reason mommas and
daddies have trouble raising boys and girls. That's the reason
you have trouble getting them to do what they're supposed to do.
Because we all want to be God. The problem here is this young
man hated his father. And that's the problem that we
have. In irreverence and impudence,
haughtiness, he demanded his portion. I read this and I think, What gall? Give me the portion
of my goods. What made you think you had a
portion? Give me a portion of my goods. And his father gives
him a portion of his estate, divides it between his sons.
The prodigal's problem was pride. He was a proud, proud rebel. He wanted to rule his life. He
wanted to be God. That's been my problem all my
life. Yours too. We want to control ourselves.
We want to decide what's right for us. The whole world these
days wants to convince themselves, and most people want to convince
themselves, that really we're not answerable to anyone. I'm
an adult. I'm not answerable to anybody.
What do you mean answerable? You're answerable to God Almighty. Like it or not, you're answerable
to God Almighty, and you're going to answer to Him. That's just
the way it is. That's just the way it is. Not
me! Oh yeah, you too. As soon as
the prodigal got his father's money, he fled from his father's
house. He gathered all and took his journey. Oh, we like sheep
that go astray, we turned everyone to his own way. The wicked are
estranged from the womb. As soon as they are born, they
go astray, speaking lies. Now this is what that means.
As soon as a child has the exercise of reason, As soon as a child has the exercise
of reason, he exercises his reason in rebellion and self-will. Anybody raised a child who argues
with that? Any debate about that question?
As soon as a child has the exercise of reason, he exercises that
reason deliberately, maliciously, selfishly, hatefully, meanly,
in rebellion and self-will. Mine! I! Must! Know! Mine! Favorite words of
all men. And they start from there. Look
where this prodigal went. He took his journey into a far
country. He got just as far away from
his father, and his father's influence, and his father's rule,
and his father's eye, and his father's discipline got just
as far away as he possibly could. That's the way it's been with
man ever since the fall. When Adam sinned against God,
he and Eve sewed together some fig leaves and tried to hide
in the bushes from the all-seeing God. Wanted to hide from the
presence of the Lord. Jonah fled from the presence
of the Lord. It's an impossible task, but
we keep trying. Who's going to flee from God's
presence? Who's the omnipresent God? But we keep trying, fleeing
from His influence. Fleeing from the restraint of
His hand. Fleeing from Him, hoping to have our own way. This sinner,
this particle, was far off from his Father. You and I hide behind
everything imaginable. hiding from God's righteousness,
God's grace, God's mercy, God's word, God's influence, as far
as we can possibly determine, we will not be found of God. And then, look how this prodigal
conducted himself down here. There he wasted his substance
in riotous living. This poor, deluded soul spent
everything he had in his possession. Everything. Everything he had in his possession. In the gratification of his own
lust, in his wild pleasure to make himself happy. And that's just what we've done.
Man by nature uses up everything God gives him. Every thought of his mind, everything
put in his hands, every sense of reason, every ability, every
talent, uses it all. and wasted all upon nothing except
the whim of his pleasure. Now, look at verse 14. This proud rebel had to be brought
down. You too. Got to be brought down. 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 the swine. And he would fain have filled
his belly with the husk 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 to 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.
Now this is the second thing to learn. Before any sinner will
ever come to God, seeking mercy and grace in Christ the Lord,
trusting Christ's righteousness in his blood, He's got to be
brought down in the dust of humiliation. If ever God does a work of grace
in your heart, if ever he does, he's going to bring you down. It's a painful experience, but
it's as necessary as the giving of life. God Almighty will not
save a good person. There's never been a good person
saved. Never will be. God's going to bring you down
if he lifts you up. He's going to kill you if he
makes you alive. He's going to cause all your comeliness to
wither if He clothes you with the beauty of His righteousness.
He's going to make you know your defilement if He washes you in
the blood of His Son. There's no way up but down. There's
no way up but down. This work of God in bringing
the sinner down, He knows how to do it. Our Lord
came to Zacchaeus and he said, Zacchaeus, come down. And if
he comes to you, he's going to say to you, come down. And you're
going to come down. It involves everything to bring
a sinner down. The work of God's providence.
Sometimes in his providence, God takes the object of his love and lays the reins on his neck.
He says, go all, have your way. And lets him ruin himself. Brings
him down. Now, Providence itself won't
save a fella. That won't do. Just being brought
down to nothing won't save a fella. But sometimes it takes that to
bring you down inside. Some years ago, shortly after
I started preaching on national radio, got a telephone call. And this lady got to be friends
of ours, she and her husband. She was doing drugs, sneaking
them into folks in prison. It was a Jewish girl. And she
had been a wild rebel. Her husband probably will never
get out of prison. He's pulling his third term for
armed bank robbery. And God saved them both. We were talking one day, and
she said to me, I thank God for Folsom Prison. That's where I
heard the gospel. God knows how to bring sinners
down. But it takes more than just being brought down to nothing
outwardly. He takes His word and reveals
His Son in you. And when God reveals His Son
in you, Your comeliness will wither. You'll be like Isaiah.
You'll cry, oh, woe is me. I'm undone. I'm a man of unclean
lips. And it looks like everybody around
me is in the same shape. I'm here. I'm undone. God Almighty, if
He saves you by your grace, will bring you down from your self-sufficiency,
your self-righteousness, your haughty pride. Now mark the steps
how this prodigal was brought down. First we're told he spent
all. He spent everything he had. Spent everything he had. And
you know what he had as a result of it? Nothing. He spent all his money and didn't
have anything to show for it. He wasted his substance in righteous
living. Oh, what a marker pride and sin
is. Here's the work of man's imaginary
free will. It has brought him into a state
of misery, wretchedness, emptiness, and vanity. By an act of his
free will, man is poor, blind, bankrupt, naked, corrupt, desperately
needy before God. And every choice he makes, every decision he makes along
the way, everyone, no exception, just makes the situation worse.
Isn't that amazing? We never learn. We learn by our
mistakes. No, we don't learn much. We don't
learn much. We ruin everything. Everything. And the ruin of our lives. Don't
misunderstand me. I am responsible for the influence
I have on those who are under my influence. And I will bear
the responsibility. But you and I alone are responsible
for what we are. You alone. Alone. Nobody else. Nobody else. Nobody
else. Oh, he had such a bad upbringing.
Yeah, yep. But he ain't been brought up
anymore as a grown man. He's responsible. He's responsible. And every decision we make. just
makes things worse. Morally and spiritually. Have I described you? Preacher, I can identify what
you said. Then hear this word from God.
Oh, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. He that
hath no money, come ye buy and eat. Yea, come buy wine and milk
without money and without price. Here's the second step of his
downward course. When he had spent all, there
arose a mighty famine in that land. Here comes famine. Man, I'm busted. That means I
can't buy any bread. There's famine in the land, and
that means I can't raise any corn. There's famine in the land, that
means nobody's got anything. If they wanted to help me. There's
famine in the land, that means nothing can be produced. When
famine comes, people are hungry. They're dying, and there's nothing
they can do about it. There's nowhere they can go.
Famine's in the land. And blessed is that day when
God brings famine to the city of man's soul for you. And you're made to know your
guilt and know you can't do anything about it. Made to know that you
owe God righteousness, but you can't produce it. So that your
heart and soul cries out hungering for peace, but you can't find
it. And you have no strength to help yourself. And then third,
he began to be in want. I like to see a fellow who is
in need. Not physically. I hate to see
that. But all to see a man in need
in his soul. You see, the needy sinner will
seek mercy and grace in Christ. The needy sinner. As long as
you presume you can do something, you won't. As long as you imagine
that there is a little bit of change in your pocket with which
you can buy something, you won't seek mercy. But when God brings
you into need, you'll seek mercy. And then this poor, deluded soul
did what every man tries his best to do in utter vanity. He tried to save himself. Look
at verse 15. He went and joined himself to
a citizen of that country. Apparently there was somebody
in that land that had some money. Had a little stuff saved up. And he sent him into his fields
to feed the swine. And he would then have filled
his belly with the husk that the swine did eat. And no man
gave unto him. There was great famine in the
land, but the prodigal found this citizen and hired himself
out, got him a job. Got him a noble job it was. This fellow's a king's son. This
fellow had been noble and rich beyond imagination. But now he's
going to get him a job because he's got him straights. And he
got him a good job slopping hogs. Humbling experience for a fellow
who's never had to do it. Messy, smelly, dirty. But he found in this citizen,
and the citizen said, yes, sir, buddy, I can help you out. I've
got some hogs down here need to be taken care of every day.
If you'll take care of them, you can work your way back into
good standing. I love what John Gill suggests. He said, this
citizen, to which the particle joined himself as a pharisaic,
legalistic preacher, who sent him out to work his way back
into his father's favor. Now hard and humbling as the
work is, It still worked. Hard as he worked, his need only
got worse. Can you get the picture? The
very first thing that happens when a man is made to sense his
guilt before God, when a man comes to grips with the reality
that he needs mercy, When a man comes to grips with the reality
that he's going to face God in eternity, his first words, his
first thought, what shall I do? What shall I do? And the whole
religious world capitalizes on it. What do? Come down here and
make a decision. Do? Get in there and be baptized.
Do? He'll do anything. He'll do anything.
So how on earth could people be so foolish as to imagine that
making sacrifices on an altar will take away sin? How can they
imagine that going through penance and paying indulgences and going
through suffering will make them acceptable to God? How can they
imagine that taking vows of poverty will somehow improve their standing
before God? Man will willingly do anything if he can be convinced
by doing it. He takes away his sin, takes
away God's wrath, and gets righteous before God. If I could convince you, if I
could convince you that somehow if we sit out here, live coals
with broken glass in them, and you're caught up here on your
hands and knees on those live coals, but once you got to the
end of this thing, no matter how much it hurt, if you get
down here then your sins are all absolved. You get on your
knees and crawl down here. What shall I do? Go slop some
hogs. It won't do you any good. It
won't do you any good. This man went out to do what
he could, and he couldn't help himself. And he would fade. He
filled his belly with the husk that the swine ate. That is,
he tried his best Ease the hunger pains by eating
the husk he fed those swine. But there's not anything in the
husk, dried old husk, that will satisfy the needs that's inside
a man. And no man gave unto him. The husk wouldn't help, so I
can picture old Brother Particle. He goes and finds some of his
friends. He's had a bunch of them. Oh, he's had lots of friends.
He had money. When he first came to town, buddy,
his pockets were bulging with money. He could entertain folks
royally. So he goes and knocks on the
door of old Joe. And he says, Joe, well, hello, Particle Son. What
happened to you? I'm busted, and I need some help.
I'm sorry, buddy. I ain't got anything. And he
goes to another, and another, and another. And no man gave
him anything. The fact is, you cannot work
for yourself and gain for yourself any favor with God and you can't
get it from anybody else. It won't come. No matter who
speaks peace to you. No matter who speaks peace to
you. Preachers try. Religious leaders try. They try
their best to deceive your soul and they'll give you something
to gnaw on. But there's no satisfaction in the soul and you know it's
not real. Nothing there. Nothing there. And then we read, he came to
himself. Ah, now that's good. He came
to himself. I presume our Lord means for
us to understand that up until this time he'd been beside himself.
You see, self-righteousness is insanity. Rebellion against God
Almighty is insanity. Unbelief is insanity. Insanity! Insanity! But now, he came to
himself. And this is what he says, verse
17. When he came to himself, he said,
how many hired servants in my father's house have bread enough
to spare, and here I am starving to death. He said in verse 18,
I will arise and go to my father. I don't have one thing to do. I've got nowhere else to go.
I'll go to my father and I'll bow down and eat the dust before
him. And I'll say, Father, I've sinned against heaven and before
you. And I'm not worthy to be called your son. Make me as just
one of the hired hands. He counted a blessing, a great
mercy, if he could be numbered among his father's hired servants.
And he made up his mind, he would go find mercy if it could be
had. And then he starts home. Look
at verse 21, or 20 rather. 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 sinned against heaven and in thy sight, and no more worthy
to be called thy son. Now here is the third thing to
learn. If ever God brings you to yourself, if ever God awakens you by His
grace, you will come to Christ. Taking your place in the dust
before the throne of His grace, seeking mercy at the throne of
grace. This particle now comes to God. Comes to God. Coming to God is
a spiritual, inward act of the heart. described in many ways,
portrayed and illustrated in many ways in the scriptures,
sometimes touching Christ, laying hold of Christ, looking to Christ,
believing on Christ, leaning on Christ, running after Christ. Lots of ways it's described,
but it's an inward spiritual thing. Here's a sinner coming
to God, hopeful that he will have mercy on him. He really
doesn't have any idea what to expect when he got home. I don't know whether he'll kick
me out, tell me to go my way, or whether he'll receive me. But I can't be any worse off
if he refuses to have me. I'm going home. So the sinner
convicted of his sin ventures his soul on the mercy of God. And here is a God willing to
receive and forgive needy sinners. The Father arose when the prodigal
came. He saw him when he was yet a
great way off, had compassion on him, and ran, and fell on
his neck, and kissed him. What a picture. God Almighty
saw him. He had had his eye on him all
the time. Don't imagine that anything gets God by surprise.
This prodigal, I'll maybe talk more about it later, but there's
no question, this prodigal, everything was taken care of for him. This
father obviously sent one of his servants right after the
boy. And he said, now, let him go. Let him do whatever he will.
Just don't let anything happen to him. Whether it's fixing to
get in the hog trough, that'd be good for him. Let him get
over there. But he's eaten the husk! That'd be good for him.
He'll find that there's nothing in it. Let him go. Just don't
let anything happen to him. Just as God sent forth his angels
to be ministering spirits, ministering to those who shall be the heirs
of salvation. The Father had everything prepared
when he came home. And when he came home, looks
to me like the Father was looking for him. Yeah. What a joke. been expecting you. He saw it. And when he saw him,
his heart, oh, but God's a spirit. He doesn't have parts like we
do. I know, I'm sure glad he describes himself like a man
sometimes. He had compassion on him. That's co-passion. You mean, you mean God's heart beat and throbs with passion
toward this sinner coming home. Looks to me like that's what
he wants to convey, doesn't it, you? He had compassion on him. And he jumped up from his throne
and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. That word kissed. It's one of
those words that just can't be translated by one English word.
The verse might better be translated, his father fell on his neck and
kissed him. Kissed him tenderly. Kissed him
again and again and again. Smothered him, covering him up
with kisses. He kissed him. What does all
that mean? That means that God Almighty
is ready, willing, and anxious, eager to forgive sinners. Ready, willing, anxious, eager
to forgive every sinner who comes to Him by faith in Christ. Well,
how do I come to Him? Like this particle. The son said,
Father, I sinned against heaven and before and in thy sight,
and am no more worthy to be called thy son. If we confess our sin, he's faithful
and just to forgive us our sin, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Now, one more thing, very quickly. Look at the prodigal's reception
by his father. Verse 22. But the father said,
But the father said, isn't that interesting? Before he ever got
done confessing, the father stepped in. Before he ever could say,
make me as one of thy hired servants, the father interrupts him. Hush now, son. I'll take over.
Time for you to stop talking. You've said enough. I'm not worthy
of being. That's all I want to hear. I just wanted you to say it.
Now listen to me. Now listen to me. You see, before
ever we confess our sin and seek forgiveness. God Almighty has
dealt with our sin, put away our sin, and forgiven our sin
for Christ's sake. Done and accomplished from eternity,
done and accomplished at Calvary. And now he speaks peace consciously
to the sinner who believes him. The father said to his servants,
Bring forth the best robe. This was better than what Adam
had. This was better than what the angels had. This is the robe
of Christ's righteousness. Put it on him. And put the ring. Seal of covenants. Used to be
rich men had rings with a family crest on them. Put a ring on his finger. Tell
him he's my son. And tell him that that's never going to change. Because my love for him is without
beginning and without end, without cause, without condition. Put
a ring on his finger. And put shoes on his feet so
he can stand stable and firm as he walks through this world,
the preparation of the gospel of peace. And bring hither the
fatty calf and kill it. How could that be talking about
Christ? Because Christ Jesus is a sacrifice of perpetual,
infinite merit and efficacy for my soul right now. As much as if he had died this
morning. Bring him to the fatty camp and kill it! And now, FEAST! Feast, my son, on his blood and
righteousness. Let us eat and drink 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 hear me. One more lesson. Every sinner, no exceptions,
who comes to God by faith in Christ, every sinner who comes
to God confessing his sin is accepted, accepted, favored of
God, accepted. made righteous, accepted, saved,
accepted for Christ's sake at the throne of grace in every
city. I love the story. I've told it
to you many times. Ralph Barnett was preaching up
north and back in those days the preachers were expected to
go around holding what they called revival meetings. Go around and
visit and try to get folks to come to church and Rolfe wasn't
much at it. He told the story of this preacher
who got him out going to visit. And they visited and visited
and visited and visited. And they were walking by a house
and Rolfe just started to open the gate and walk in. That preacher
said, I wouldn't go there if I was you. He started saying sick of
him to a dog. He said, how come? He said, well,
I wouldn't. He said, we've been to every other house on this
street. Why not go to this one? And the preacher said, well,
that lady has a reputation. Oh. So Ralph just walked out
of the gate, knocked on the door. She said, well, what can I do
for you, big boy? And Ralph said, my name's Ralph
Barnett. I'm from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I'm up here holding
revival of that church right down there on the corner. And
I'd like to invite you to come hear me preach tonight. She said, you've got
to be kidding. He said, no, I'm serious as I can be. She said,
if I came down there, those folks would drop dead with a heart
attack. He said, do them good, come on down. His preacher was
waiting out at the gate, wouldn't dare go up there. That night,
just about the time Ralph got in the pulpit to preach, that
gal came in and sat down right in the very back. And God gave
her some liberty to preach. She got done preaching and singing
a hymn. And that lady came down in front
of the church building, motioned for off. He stepped down to meet
her. And he stopped the congregation. He said, this dear lady has come
here to confess that God has saved her by his grace. What
are you going to do? And they paused for a little
bit. And an old sister. Stepped up from second or third
pew back, walked up and grabbed her and hugged her around the
neck and said loud enough so everybody could hear her, welcome
home, sister. Oh, come on home and welcome. That's the parable of the prodigal
son. Amen.