Sermon Notes: The Father’s Prodigal Grace
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The Father’s Prodigal Grace
The Covenant Home #6: Common Sins of the Household
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INTRODUCTION:
In a message on “common sins” in the household, it would be easy to focus on those common sins which everyone knows and acknowledges to be sins—complaining, fighting, etc. But the point this morning is to take a step or two back, and address some of the problems which set up the temptations for the garden-variety sins. Sins that we know to be sins are not as dangerous as sins that we believe to be virtues.
THE TEXT:
“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord: And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, And the heart of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and smite the earth with a curse” (Mal. 4:5–6).
THE CONCERN:
The New Testament teaches us that this prophecy was fulfilled in Christ. John the Baptist came before the Lord came, and the point of his ministry (remember, a ministry of preparation) was to turn the hearts of fathers and children toward one another. Note also the alternative, which is a curse upon the earth. When fathers and mothers are honored, when things are spiritually healthy in the home, the result is blessing in the land. When fathers are harsh with their children, or when mothers are, the results are devastating. When the family breaks down, everything breaks down.
But simply having “traditional family values” in theory does not prevent such breakdowns. In recent years, some of the great moral failures have come from the traditionalist camp. The population of our church is such that thoughtful and biblical consideration of these sorts of temptations is an urgent necessity. How we educate and rear our children is a matter of central concern to us—we are dealing with hundreds of souls. This means that some plain dealing is pastorally necessary, whatever the issue— e.g. whether we are talking about homeschooling or about day schools like Logos, we have to think biblically.
COMMON ROOTS OF PARENTAL SINS:
We often deal with sins only when they bear fruit at the branch’s extremities. A lot of spiritual energy could be spared if we were willing to consider some of the root problems. Spiritual Neglect—those who do not know the condition of their own souls are in no position to shepherd the souls of others. “Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity” (Luke 8:14). Parents, take care that you do not neglect the state of your own soul. How is it with you and God? Busyness is not holiness.
Defensive Isolationism—“Wives, submit . . . Husbands, love . . . Children, obey . . . Fathers, do not provoke…” (Col. 3:18-21). The point here is not the content of Paul’s exhortations, but rather to note that they are given in the context of the church. We live in community; we are not a club of isolated individuals. This means that we are involved in one another’s lives, which in turn means that we are involved with one another’s children. We all takes vows at the baptisms here, which means something important. It is not a ceremonial ritual.
Many parents falsely assume that they know their children better than anyone else in the church. It would be more accurate to say that parents could know their children better if they studied the Word, and their children, with biblical wisdom. If they did, then they would know that “faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful” (Prov. 27:6 ). And the way it shakes out is that most parents know their children better in many areas, and complete strangers know them better in others.
Ignorant Isolationism—Just as sin seeks out the darkness (John 3:19), so sin, on the same principle, seeks lack of accountability. But Paul is blunt in his application of this principle. “For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise” (2 Cor. 10:12). This is sadly a common problem among those who homeschool. Consequently, when problems arise, they are not often identified until it is too late to do anything about it.
Presumption—far from neglecting community, this is a sin which relies entirely on “community.” “All we have to do,” it is thought, “is enroll our children in Logos, attend church, make sure that we hang around enough, and everything will turn out all right.” No, it won’t. When parents do not exercise a godly and wise oversight of their children, bad things regularly and routinely happen, regardless of the community in which the children live, and regardless of the school they attend. The best school in the world is no substitute for godly parents.
Chasing after fads—“that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ” (Eph. 4:14-15). These fads we may divide into two categories— those which fit this description from Ephesians exactly, and are necessarily destructive in their effects. All anti-biblical legalisms would fit into this category.
But we must also include those things which could be fruitful and constructive if approached with wisdom—courtship, homeschooling, and the rest of it. But stampedes never bring wisdom. Bad things implemented stupidly do a lot of damage. Good things implemented stupidly do even more damage. Reformation is never brought about by plugging some formula. This includes educational formulae. It includes childrearing
formulae.
When you imitate the wise, you grow from the inside. When you copy the wise, nothing much happens. You wind up copying the wrong things entirely. Instead of imitating a godly father’s patience, you wind up copying what kind of minivan he bought.
The Politics of Sodomy IV: Remember Lot’s Wife
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Introduction
How do we as individuals respond to the situation we find ourselves in? How can we be faithful in our generation? These very practical questions, and they require answers that are equally practical. What are we to do? How are we to live?
The Texts
“And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly” (Gen. 13:10-13)
“And there came two angels to Sodom at even; and Lot sat in the gate of Sodom: and Lot seeing them rose up to meet them; and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground; And he said, Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your servant’s house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways” (Gen. 19:1-2).
“Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt” (Gen. 19:24-26).
“Remember Lot’s wife” (Luke 17:32).
Overview
The outline of the story goes this way, and it is a story that the Lord Jesus commanded us toremember. When Abraham and Lot came into conflict through their herdsmen, Abraham gave Lot the first choice on which land he could have. Lot made that choice on carnal principles (seeing the main chance), and he took up residence near Sodom. The men there were already renowned for their wickedness. In our next passage, Lot is living in Sodom, and he knows what a foul place it is. He tries to get the angels to stay with him for the night, and be on their way first thing in the morning. When the judgment finally fell, even that was inadequate evidence for Lot’s wife, and she looked longingly back at all the malls and restaurants, and she was destroyed. Remember her, Jesus said.
Review
Cultures fall apart in the pattern described in the Scriptures, and they do so exactly. Because we have rejected God, He is rejecting us, and the latter is far more important than the former. The end of this process is sodomy in the public square. And in the conflict that surrounds this, neutrality is an impossibility. All of us must either gather or scatter, and we cannot evade the force of this by making Christ the Lord of an invisible “spiritual” world. Thinking rightly about this means that we will avoid carnality in our motives for the fight—but we can never avoid obedience (or disobedience) in the material realm. Moreover, all of the physical realm is involved. But with all this as a foundation, we do need direction.
Worship is Always Central
Every Lord’s Day, we have the privilege of entering into the heavenlies, and we there glorify the name of Jesus Christ (Heb. 12: 22, 28-29). We do this in Christ, in the heavenlies (Eph. 1: 18-21). We then ask God to glorify the name of Jesus Christ on earth as it has been glorified in heaven (Matt. 6:10). And what this means is that that corporate worship, offered in faith and biblically ordered, is a battering ram in the hands of the saints of God. Moreover, this is our only battering ram, and we must not put it down to throw our wadded up paper balls at the fortress turrets. There are many consequences to the overthrow of the unbelieving fortress—economic, political, cultural, artistic, and so on. But the spoils of battle are not our weapons of battle. That is what we are fighting over, not what we are fight with. But also remember that “faith” and “trust” don’t mean air guitar.
Small or Great
The 115th Psalm is full of glorious encouragement on this subject. Among other things is the assurance that God will bless us, He will bless us and our children, and He promises to do this whether we are “small or great.” “He will bless them that fear the LORD, both small and great” (Ps. 115: 13). This means that in the eyes of God there is no such thing as an “out of the way” place. Andthis means that in order to “do something” constructive you do not have to wait. You have an audience now with the Most High King. His eyes are on the sons of men. And what does He see?
Husbands and fathers living sacrificially? Unmarried Christians faithfully serving in their communities? Children learning the meaning of loyalty and obedience? Wives respecting and honoring their husbands? A community of Christians characterized by sharing meals in one another’s homes, because they love one another? God will bless this, whether small or great, and whether or not the Supreme Court ever heard of it.
Divided Loyalties
Precisely because we are not gnostic, we must have multiple loyalties, and no two of us can have exactly the same ones. But these must be hierarchical loyalties, biblically ordered and ranked. If they are lined up side-by-side, then the name for this is “divided loyalties” or “idolatry” for short.
The only loyalty that we all may hold in common absolutely is our loyalty to the triune God, and every other loyalty must self-consciously be subordinated to it. Currently, the open competitor to this is the State that would be God. Because things aren’t what they used to be, we need to deal with all our liturgical idols (including the civic ones). This means placing the Apostles’ Creed over the Pledge of Allegiance. Or altering the Pledge to say “the triune God” or the “Lord Jesus Christ” instead of the current generic “God.” This is just an example, but if we do not commit ourselves to our Trinitarian loyalties, we are not remembering Lot’s wife, and we are slowly being conformed to the world around us, just as she was (Rom. 12:1-2).
Surveying the Text: Luke
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Introduction
If Mark is the shortest and punchiest of the gospels, Luke is the most detailed and meticulous. Luke claims to have done very careful research (Luke 1:1-4), and everything about this book bears that claim out.
The Texts
“And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us. And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them” (Acts 16:9–10).
Some Background on Luke
It may seem odd, in a message summarizing the gospel of Luke, to have the text be from Acts. But when we consider that we are dealing with the collected works of Luke in two volumes, the picture changes somewhat. In this passage, the gospel has not yet come to Europe. Paul was in Troas, and had a dream. In that dream a Macedonian man appeared to him, and summoned him to come over into Macedonia. At that moment, the narrative of Acts suddenly adds the first person plural—we. Luke joins them there, and it is quite possible that he was the Macedonian man in the dream.
Luke was almost certainly a classically educated Gentile. His preface to the gospel of Luke followed the classical style, and his care shows up in many ways and in many details. An educated guess places the composition of Luke at around 60 A.D. and the book of Acts shortly after that. In Col. 4:14, Paul calls Luke the beloved physician, and says that Luke was with him when he wrote Philemon (Phile. v. 24). Paul wrote both those letters in his first imprisonment in Rome, and this agrees with the last two chapters of Acts. At the end of his life, Paul wrote “only Luke is with me” (2 Tim. 4:11). According to an early prologue to his gospel, Luke lived until he was 84, and died in Boeotia in Greece.
Unique Details
There are a number of details about Christ’s life that we would not know if it were not for Luke. These would include the annunciation (1:26-38), the angels appearing to the shepherds (2:1-20), the visit to Jerusalem when Jesus was twelve (2:41-52). These instances would indicate that one of Luke’s sources was Mary, the mother of the Lord. Other unique details would include the raising of the son of the widow of Nain (7:11-17), the parable of the Good Samaritan (10:30-37), the story of the ten lepers (17:11-19), the story of Zacchaeus (19:1-10), and Jesus before Herod (23:6-16).
Marked Emphases of Luke
Luke contains a number of emphases that we do not find in the other gospels. Note that these are not contradictions or disagreements. But they are emphasized and given to us for a reason.
Luke emphasizes the Lord’s ministry to the outcasts of pious society. Not only did Jesus come for the lepers and other losers (Luke 14:12-24), but also for the rich and compromised—tax collectors, soldiers and courtesans. Zacchaeus was not a homeless bum. Never forget that there is more than one way to be an outcast from pious society. One is to be a meth dealer, of course, but the other is to work for the IRS, or to be a Marine colonel in the Pentagon.
In Luke, we see the marked beginning of the very Christian impetus to elevate the status of women, bring them both privilege and respect. There were the women who financed the ministry (Luke 8:1-3). The women were the last at the cross (Luke 23:55) and the first at the tomb (Luke 24:1). And after His resurrection, the Lord appeared to the women first (Luke 24:5-8).
Luke balances, in a wonderful way, the corporate and the individual. He alternates between crowd scenes and individuals in quite a striking way. For example, right after the feeding of the five thousand, we are told of Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Christ (Luke 9:10-22). Another thing he does is “zoom in on” an individual in the midst of a huge crowd, as he does in the Zacchaeus story.
If you remember to include the book of Acts, it is easy to see that Luke has a particular emphasis on the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit empowers individuals to speak God’s words throughout both Luke and Acts. This emphasis on the Spirit is likely the reason that Luke’s two volumes are characterized by songs in a way that the other gospel are not.
The Great Quest
The gospel moves in a very straightforward way, left to right, and in literary form, it is a quest. Jesus has a mission to complete, and the importance of the mission is apparent from His infancy on. The word must be fulfilled, the mission must be completed.
There is a long middle section in Luke that the other gospels do not have (Luke 9:51-19:27). “And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem,” (Luke 9:51). Of course, in the subsequent chapters, He teaches and He heals as He goes, but He is resolutely determined to make it to Jerusalem. The reason for this is that His death and resurrection are the whole point. He goes there in order to fulfill the will of His Father, the will of the Jews, the will of Judas, the will of Herod, the will of the mob, and, of course, His own will. He does this because He is the appointed one, He is the anointed one.
As an aside, note that in the book of Acts we have the same kind of quest—Paul sets his face to go to the same city, Jerusalem, with the full expectation that bad things will happen to him there.
Back to the gospel—the Lord explains all of this after the fact to the disciples He met on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:27), and then again in His appearance at Bethany (Luke 24:44-47). The story is set in motion as the shining angels sing to the shepherds (Luke 2:9), and the story is completed with shining angels in the tomb (Luke 24:4).
That same story is continued as the Lord’s disciples fan out across the map in order to tell the story. And as the book of Acts is completed, we are heartened to realize that there is no place in the story where the Spirit is taken up into Heaven. That does not happen, and cannot happen. Everywhere the words of this story are spoken, the Spirit rests upon them. Everywhere we tell people that the Lord fulfilled His mission, we are fulfilling ours.
What Mary Knew
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Introduction
Last week we considered what Joseph knew, and obviously Mary knew all the same things, and for the same reason. But she had more direct experience with the marvels that came to earth through her. For example, the angelic communication with Joseph came through dreams, but came to her directly.
The Text
“And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women” (Luke 1:28).
Summary of the Text
At the Annunciation, the angel Gabriel was sent to Nazareth in order to deliver a message from God to a virgin named Mary (Luke 1:26). Mary is the English form of her name—to those who knew her at the time, she was Miriam. This is of course the verse from which the famous Hail, Mary prayer is derived, and so we must note a few things about that. The word hail here is simply a respectful greeting by the angel, not a prayer of supplication. He implies the name of Mary without saying it, and notes that she is “greatly blessed,” which the source of the phrase “full of grace.” The distinction is that Gabriel is saying that she is a recipient of grace here, not that she is a reservoir of it for others. And of course, the Latin form of Hail, Mary is Ave, Maria.
Provided we understand these words in their original context, there is nothing wrong with Protestants saying or singing these words—they are in the Bible. To refuse to do so is the display the very kind of superstition we think we are objecting to.
Sorting Some Things Out
Because a cult of Mary grew up in the history of the Church, and certain problematic doctrines came out of that, we have to take a moment to define our terms. As Protestants, we affirm the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. That is to say, we affirm that at the time of Christ’s birth, Mary was still a virgin, never having known a man. This is a distinct doctrine from the perpetual virginity of Mary, which we do not affirm. (This is why we have a comma in our use of the Apostles Creed—“born of a virgin, Mary”). The title the Virgin Mary refers to a permanent status. That is the doctrine that Mary was a virgin throughout the course of her entire life, along with the doctrine that the birth of Jesus was a distinct miracle, not violating Mary’s virginity. Some early Reformers (Luther, Latimer, and Cranmer) held to the doctrine of Mary’s perpetual virginity, but it was rightly abandoned by Protestants fairly early. As we noted last week, Jesus had at least six siblings, and Matthew tells us that Joseph refrained from having relations with Mary until after the birth of Jesus (Matt. 1:25).
Another phrase we should be familiar with is the immaculate conception. This is commonly (and wrongly) assumed to refer to the conception of Jesus in Mary’s womb, when it is actually referring to the conception of Mary in the womb of her mother— who, according to tradition, was named Anne. The concern was to make Mary sinless by a miracle, in order to be a fit receptacle for the sinless Messiah. As long as we are here, we should mention another common confusion—the Ascension of Jesus should not be confused with the Roman doctrine of the Assumption of Mary.
And then, of course, Americans have complicated things by dragging these terms into discussions of football— the Hail Mary pass, and the famous Immaculate Reception by Franco Harris of the Steelers.
Taking Care of Background Assumptions
When discussions of prayers to the saints (and to Mary) come up, as they do from time to time, many Protestants don’t know how to answer this argument. We ask one another to pray for each other all the time. We do it in this service. Why can’t we ask dead saints to pray for us in the same way that we ask living saints to pray for us? Why do you have to be alive on earth to pray? The answer is that you have to assume functional omniscience on the part of whatever deceased person you are talking do, and this shapes everything else you do. It becomes, of necessity, a prayer, and not a simple request to a fellow saint.
Now it is a shame we have to spend a lot of time removing clutter in order to develop a biblically high view of Mary. But that is why we should be doing it.
What Mary Knew
We do not know this from Scripture, but based on the customs of the time, Mary was probably between 14 and 16 years of age when Jesus was born. As we consider the remarkable faith of this remarkable young woman, we should meditate on the following things that we know Mary knew.
Mary knew her Bible: “My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour (1 Sam. 2:1; Hab. 3:18; Is. 61:10; Deut. 32:3). For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: For, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed (1 Sam. 1:11). For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name (Ps. 71:19; 1 Sam. 2:2). And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation (Ps. 103:17). He hath shewed strength with his arm; He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts (Ps. 89:13). He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree (1 Sam. 2:8; Job. 5:11). He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away (1 Sam. 2:5; Ps. 107:9). He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy (Is. 41:8-9; Ps. 98:2) as he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever (Gen. 15 & 17)” (Luke 1:46-55).
Mary knew her calling: After the angel had announced God’s intention for her, and explained it, and answered a basic question, Mary responded with a spirit of glorious submission (Luke 1:38). She did this, knowing that it would result in a very hard conversation with Joseph—and possibly others. This was not a “no cost” obedience. Mary knew her salvation: She knew that Jesus would have an everlasting throne (Luke 1:32). She knew her child would be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35). She knew God was her Savior (Luke 1:47). She knew Jesus was that Savior (Luke 2:11). She knew that He was the salvation of the entire world (Luke 2:32). She knew that a sword would pierce her own soul (Luke 2:35). And she was there when it all happened (John 19:25).