THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST
SPREADING THE SOUL-SAVING MESSAGE OF JESUs
(Chapter 15)
Introduction by narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. Spreading the soul-saving message of Jesus. And now, Kevin Pendergrass.
Welcome to our study of the Gospel account of Luke. This is the fourth lesson in our study of Luke. In this lesson we will be looking at Luke 15, and talking about the Christian’s responsibility to the erring. We also will look at God’s attitude toward the erring.
The first parable is on the lost sheep. It is about a sheep that wandered away from the flock “for greener pastures.” Luke 15:1-7 says,
“Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, ‘This Man receives sinners and eats with them.’ So He spoke this parable to them, saying, ‘What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!” I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.’”
The Bible puts emphasis on the importance of making sure that we go out to find the lost sheep. We must do everything we can to bring back the lost sheep, including such things as discipline or rebuke (2 Tim. 4:2; Heb. 12:11). Galatians 6:1-2 shows the responsibility that we have to one another as Christians.
“Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
The Bible teaches that we are to go to those who have fallen away, and we are to do everything we can to bring them back. When a sheep wanders from the flock, we have a responsibility to try to bring the sheep back. So many people today are simply selfish. They do not care if someone falls away from the truth. Perhaps a person is not faithful. But instead of going to talk to that person, others just say, “Well, that’s that person’s fault. It’s his choice, so I’m not going to do anything about it.” But the Bible teaches us that there is a pattern we are to follow. Matthew 18:15-17 talks about an occasion in which someone has sinned against us.
“if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.”
The Bible gives us a pattern to follow. If someone sins against us, if we know that someone is doing something wrong, and if we truly love that person, what are we to do? Are we to ignore it? Is that what the Bible says? No. The Bible says that we are to go to that person. The person against whom the sin was committed is first to go to the person who committed the sin and tell him his fault. When you sit down and discuss it, if he is wrong and truly is involved in something sinful, but is unwilling to change, does the Bible say that the person against whom the sin was committed has done all he needs to do? No. The Bible says that that person then should take with him two or three witnesses in order to talk to the sinner to try to rebuke him and help him realize the error of his way. Then what does the Bible say should be done? Does that action relieve a person of his responsibility? No. The Bible says that if the sinner does not repent, the matter is to be brought before the church, which means that the matter is to be made known publicly so that people can pray for the sinner, talk to him, or go to him to do whatever he can in the hope that he will repent and change so that he will not continue in sin, but “walk in the light as He is in the light” (1 Jn. 1:7-9).
In 2 Thessalonians 3:6 Paul speaks to those who do not obey the Word of God: “We command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he received from us.” This is not an option, but a command. We are to do everything we can to help a sinner repent. But once we realize that the sheep is not going to return to the fold, then we no longer can maintain fellowship with such a person. Matthew 18:15-17 tells us that they are to be to us as a heathen or tax collector. We cannot continue to condone and fellowship that person’s evil deeds. The Bible also says in 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15,
“If anyone does not obey our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may be ashamed. Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.”
I’ve heard people say, “We shouldn’t make people feel bad about their sins. We shouldn’t make them feel ashamed because of their sins.” Yes, we should. As Christians, we are to be lights that shine in a world of darkness. We shouldn’t shame a sinner simply for the sake of our own enjoyment. Rather, we should shame him so that he will realize what he has done in wrong and sinful. It is something of which God does not approve, and something of which we do not approve. Because of that sin, we cannot maintain fellowship with the sinner. Our hope is that the sinner will become ashamed, and will repent of his sin. The Bible also says that we are not to count such a sinner as an enemy, but that we are to “admonish him as a brother.” The sinner is not an enemy. We do not want him to go to Hell. He is someone whom we want to go to Heaven. That is why the church practices disfellowshipping him—so that the sinner will repent of his sin and return to a right relationship with God. We cannot maintain fellowship with a person who has fallen away and who refuses to repent. But we are to admonish such a person as a brother. We are to stress that he needs to return, and how much he needs God. I’ve heard people talk about how much the church needs a certain person, or how much God needs a certain person. But the truth is that God does not need anyone. It is mankind who needs God. We need God’s fellowship; God does not need ours. This is why we must understand the importance of returning to God and admonishing one another. People need to know that they are lost in sin. They need to be rebuked so that they will be ashamed of their sins. If we want to admonish them correctly, we will do what the Bible tells us to do in such instances.
Paul goes into further detail about those Christians who have wandered away and have not returned. In 1 Corinthians 5:1-13 (specifically verse 11) Paul said, “Do not even eat with such a person.” Here, Paul is talking about a person who has wandered away and who has not repented. When the church has done everything possible to bring the person to repentance, but the person refuses to change, then Christians are not even to eat with such a person. Someone might say, “Surely that doesn’t mean that we are literally not to eat with such a person.” If verse 11 does not mean “Do not literally eat with such a person,” then what does it mean? Paul was very specific. We are not to maintain fellowship with such a person. This goes back to the idea that the church is to make the person feel ashamed. In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul also discusses the fact that we not talking about just anyone in the world. If that were the case, we would have to leave the world. Rather, we are talking about Christians—people who in the past had obeyed the Gospel of Christ and who at one time were walking in the light, but who since have wandered away. Sometime might say, “This just seems so harsh.” It is. Proverbs 15:10 says, “Harsh discipline is for him who forsakes the way, and he who hates correction will die.” Do we discipline a person because we hate him? No. We discipline the person because we love him. It is still punishment. And the person should feel ashamed. But the reason we do it is so that the person will come back. This is our responsibility to those who are lost.
I also want to address the question, “Should we disfellowship those people who have ‘disfellowshipped themselves’?” Some have said, “Let’s talk about the assembly. Hebrews 10: 25 says, ‘Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves,’ which would include the first day of the week. If a person has stopped coming to worship services, and thus has severed fellowship with the church, then do we really have a responsibility to do anything since he hasn’t personally sinned against anyone?” That is not a correct attitude. Luke 15 is talking about a similar situation. A sheep has left—thereby removing his own fellowship. Should the rest of the flock simply ignore that? No. We are to go out and do what we can to bring back that sheep. When one forsakes the assembly, and continues to do that without repenting, that is a sin against God, as well as every person in the assembly—because according to Hebrews 10:24-25, the purpose of the church gathering together is not only to worship God, but also to encourage one another. When a Christian is not present, it is a discouragement to those in the assembly. It is sinful. And church discipline must be enacted on this issue—not just on other seemingly more important issues. One of our goals in using discipline must be to help the sinner realize that he is wrong. I’ve been in a congregation before where a person stopped going to church serves altogether. No one did anything. A few people tried, but the congregation as a whole did not—thereby taking the attitude, “That’s not our responsibility. That person left our fellowship, so if we disfellowship him, it will not do anything.” Yes, it will! Perhaps the person realized by the church’s lack of action that the church didn’t really care about him. No one tried to do very much to bring him back. Plus, if something is done by the church, it allows everyone to know—when they might not have known—that this person had fallen away. In larger congregations, various people might not even be aware that an individual is not living a faithful Christian life. People need to know so that they can pray about it, or perhaps even go talk to the person who is not attending services.
The practice of disfellowshipping a person is not merely for the person who has fallen away (the lost sheep), but also is for the benefit of the entire church. It can help keep the church whole and clean. It can help people realize that the church will not tolerate individuals being disobedient to God’s Word. The church will not allow Christians to just “do whatever they want to do.” Instead, the congregation will take a stand for Truth so that the congregation will remain pure and clean. In Ephesians 5:26-27 Paul said,
“that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.”
People might say, “Disfellowshipping is only for the erring member.” But that is not the case. It is just as much for the congregation as it is for an erring member. It is like evangelism. Not only is it carried out so that a sinner can hear the truth and obey it, but it also helps Christians because in carrying out evangelism, they are obeying God’s commands. In 1 Timothy 5:20 Paul writes about rebuking those publicly who continue in sin so that “the rest may also fear.” This sets a good example and pattern for the rest of the congregation. It lets everyone knows, “Here is the standard we use. We will not use anything more or anything less.” We as Christians have a great responsibility to those who are lost in sin. We must go out and find the lost sheep. We must write those lost sheep cards. We must pray for them. We must call them. We must pray for them. We must do everything we can in a scriptural fashion to ensure that the lost sheep come back, realize that they need God, and repent.
The next parable is found in Luke 15:8-10.
“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
This tells us that even women have a responsibility to help bring back the lost. Of course, 1 Timothy 2:11-14 limits what women can do, especially in regard to usurping authority. The Bible says that women cannot preach, teach, or lead in worship in front of a man. But we also need to understand that women in the Lord’s church have a responsibility to those who have fallen away. They, too, can go talk to those people. The whole church (elders, deacons, and every member), has a responsibility to help those who have fallen away. Imagine a congregation of 100 people. A member leaves that congregation because he did not like what the Bible had to say on a certain point. Or perhaps he was committing a sin, felt guilty, knew it was wrong, and therefore just decided to quit attending worship services. Can you imagine a congregation that would say, “Well, that’s what that person decided to do, so we’re not going to do anything about it”? Or, should the congregation instead say, “This is a person who has a soul, and who is lost right now. If the person does not repent, he will be lost in Hell for eternity. Let’s let it be known. Let’s talk to this person and do everything we can to help him.” Which congregation has the better chance of helping the sinner repent and return to fellowship with God? Obviously it is the one that does everything possible to help the sinner. It is not just the elders or deacons, or just males or females who reach out. Rather, it is everyone who goes out and puts forth an effort to bring this person back. Does this mean that the sinner will always come back? Absolutely not! There will be times when the person does not come back. But the church has a responsibility to that person. And we must realize how awesome that responsibility is (and how essential to the well being of the person and the church it is). When a sinner does come back, repent, and once more become a faithful member of the Lord’s church, there is joy in Heaven over such an event. In 2 Corinthians 2:6-8 we read about a person mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5.
“This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow. Therefore I urge you to reaffirm your love to him.”
This is speaking of a man in 1 Corinthians 5 who was disfellowshipped. Then what happened? The man came back. When that happens, we are to reaffirm our love for him. We must let the person know that the reason for the church’s act of discipline was because the church loved him and wanted him to come back. When such a person does return, he needs to be forgiven and brought back into fellowship. Of course, we must realize that not everyone whom we try to help will repent and come back. Not every sheep that wanders away will come back. Not every lost coin will be found. But we must remember that going after those Christians who have wandered away is a commandment from God. It is something that we must obey. We cannot base our success on the results we see. We must base success on our action, not on a person’s reaction. We need to ask, “Have we done what the Bible says? Have we acted scripturally?” If so, regardless of whether or not the sinner repents and comes back, what we have done is what God has commanded.
Let’s now look at the last parable in Luke 15, and change the direction of the way our discussion has been going. We now want to look not only at the Christian’s responsibility toward the erring, but also at God’s attitude toward the erring. How does God feel when a person falls away? Does the Lord want anyone to be lost? No, He does not. He wants everyone to be saved. How do we know that? In 2 Peter 3:9 we read, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” The Lord wants everyone to come to the truth and obey it. “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:3-4). The Lord wants everyone to be saved—including those who once were in a saved state, but since have fallen away and are lost. God wants them to return. And that is exactly what this parable says. In Luke 15:11-32 we find the parable.
“A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.”
The son took what his father gave him and left home. The father did not stop him from leaving. And what happened? He wasted his possessions in “prodigal living.” What does that mean? Prodigal living is wasteful living. He took what he had been given and wasted it. I think of someone who has a lot of money, and then goes to the casino. Then the person wastes it—and sin in doing so. The person just throws away his money. He might as well have taken a cigarette lighter and burned it because all the person is doing is throwing it away. This is what the son did with the possessions that the son’s father had given him.
“But when he had spent all, there arose a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he gladly would have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine ate, and no one gave him anything.”
Previously, the boy had been under the protection of his father. He would have had everything he needed. But he left of his own accord. He then realized his situation, and what happened next? The text says, “When he came to himself…” That is very important. We sometimes talk about people “coming to themselves.” What does it mean when it says that the young man “came to himself”? It simply means that he realized what he had done. When a person is living in sin, he sometimes has to hit rock bottom before he realizes that what he has been doing is wrong because his life has been filled with sin and he needs to change. The young man finally “came to himself.” He hit rock bottom. Notice what he did. He said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!” The young man realized that even his father’s servants had enough—while he, as the man’s son, had nothing. He realized that what he had been doing was wrong. A lot of people have too much pride—which is why they will not return to God. But the young man’s pride did not stop him. The text goes on to explain what the young man did next. He said,
“I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.”’
Here we see the boy truly repenting. He came back. A person can leave God. Once a person becomes a Christian, he can fall away. If a person is living faithfully, no one can snatch him out of God’s hand. But God will allow a person to leave. That person would not have freedom of choice if he could not do either right or wrong. The Lord will allow a person to leave. But the son decided to come back. He wanted to come back and say, “I have sinned. Father, forgive me. I’ve done wrong. Now, just make me as one of your hired servants.” The text continues when it says, “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.” Some people say, “God will go out to find the lost.” The point is that the boy had already changed at this point in the account. He had repented, and the father knew that. When the father say him returning, he embraced him—just as we should embrace those who fell away and were lost, but now have repented. We need to embrace those people and be happy that they are back, and are ready to do God’s will. Now look at verse 21:
“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here 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 older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’ But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.”
Here we see that even the young man’s brother was lost. He may not have physically left, but he was lost. Why? It was because he did not have the right attitude. He was selfish and jealous. His attitude was,
“Father, I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’”
The brother was angry instead of rejoicing (as the Bible says we must do). Then we read the father’s reply.
“Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.”
What is God’s attitude toward the erring? What is God’s mindset toward those who have fallen from His grace? He wants them to come back. But we must realize that we have to be the ones who repent if we are lost. We are the ones who must make a change. We are the ones who need to say, “I am willing to set aside my pride so I can do what the Bible says. I need to be humble so I can submit to God’s will.” Then and only then will God receive us back. Does God want everyone to be saved? Yes, He does. But we must do what He has commanded us.
Maybe you are an erring Christian. Perhaps you once were baptized for the forgiveness of your sins (Acts 2:38), but you fell away—and are now ready to come back. Those who are faithful Christians want you to come back. But before forgiveness can take place, you must repent of your sins. Or, perhaps you are not yet a Christian, but you realize the importance of becoming one so you can be a child of God. If you have yet to obey the truth, we pray today that you will obey the Gospel of Christ.
Narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
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1. What three parables did Christ tell in Luke 15?
2. In the first two parables in Luke 15, who or what do the lost sheep and the lost coin represent?
3. According to Galatians 6:1-2, what responsibility do Christians have to one another?
4. In Matthew 18:15-17 Jesus gave specific instructions regarding how one Christian was to deal with another Christian who had sinned against him. By way of summary, what did Jesus say in that passage?
5. What does 1 John 1:7 urge all Christians to continue to do every day of their lives?
6. In 2 Thessalonians 3:6, what did the apostle Paul have to say regarding those Christians who “walk disorderly”?
7. What instructions did Paul give in 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15 regarding an erring Christian?
8. What specific instructions did Paul give in 1 Corinthians 5:11 regarding how Christians are to react to other Christians who willingly continue in sin?
9. According to Proverbs 15:10, is there ever an occasion where harsh discipline is appropriate?
10. This lesson mentions two specific purposes for the church’s withdrawal of fellowship from a fellow Christian. What are they?
11. According to Ephesians 5:27, what does Christ desire for His church?
12. In 1 Timothy 5:20, what did Paul say about those Christians who are sinning?
13. According to 1 Timothy 5:20, what is one purpose for public rebuke of Christians who are in sin?
14. According to Luke 15:10, what happens when a Christian who has been living in sin repents?
15. In 2 Corinthians 2:6-8, Paul discussed a Christian man who first was mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5 as having been living in sin. In 2 Corinthians 2:6-8, how did the apostle tell the Christians in Corinth to treat the man after he had repented of his sin?
16. In the parable discussed in Luke 15:11-32, what had a man’s younger son done that was sinful?
17. In the parable discussed in Luke 15:11-32: (a) what was wrong with the older brother’s attitude; and (b) whom does the father represent?
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