https://esv.literalword.com/?q=jer+35%3B+luke+15
Observations from today’s readings and today’s S-WOD, Friday, 11 August 2023:
Jeremiah 35:18, 19 – Because you have obeyed the command of Jonadab your father and kept all his precepts and done all that he commanded you, thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall never lack a man to stand before me.
God honors obedience. The Recabites could trace their obedience back 250 years (2 Kings 10:15), never giving in to temptations to do what everyone else was doing. God lifted the Recabites up as an example to all and promised them a permanent relationship with Him. What has your family done faithfully from generation to generation to honor God? Today is a good day to commit or recommit to create generations of fidelity.
To Jonadab’s family God said, “You shall always stand before me.” In contrast, concerning the disobedient God said, “Behold, I am bringing… all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken to them and they have not listened, I have called to them and they have not answered.” The Church today takes sin very lightly, as if grace means that God no longer cares that much about our sins. However, today is another day where our readings should correct us.
In the first sentence of 1 John 2, John (the Apostle of Love) writes, “I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But IF anyone does sin…. He then goes on: “And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” This is not at all hard to understand, but somehow we manage to create theology which suggests that there is not a real expectation for us to “walk in the same way [Jesus] walked.” (1 John 2:6) Some of this casual attitude about obedience is a reaction to the pharisiacal approach to obedience which was based on prideful efforts to outwardly demonstrate righteousness through behavior modification without real heart change, without love. However, grace is not opposed to effort just earning. Obedience is not the path to salvation but rather the proof, the natural fruit of salvation and real love. The one who is complacent with obedience is complacent with love — “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” (1 Timothy 1:5)
Yes, John reminds us that IF we sin, “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.” However, we forget Hebrews 10:29: “How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of Grace?” While we know that, in mercy and grace, we don’t get the punishment we deserve but rather the forgiveness we don’t deserve, the fear of trampling Jesus under foot should be a far, far greater motivation than fear of punishment to spur us on to holiness. Love causes us to see our sin from God’s perspective and to respond accordingly. Lord, please help me see my sin the way you do and to have Jonadabian fidelity to you – Semper Fidelis Coram Deo.
– 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8 – It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lusts like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God who gives you the Holy Spirit.
Luke 15:1-3 – Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” So, he told them this parable…
Through parables in Luke 15, Jesus reveals the difference between the pharisaical attitude toward sinners and the Christian attitude. While the Pharisees in their self-righteous indignation despised sinners and looked forward to their punishment, Jesus, with love and compassion, greatly desired to save sinners and bring reconciliation to their broken relationship with the Father. In his parables, Jesus describes a heart for reconciliation that is as enthusiastic or desperate as one would be searching for a lost treasure or lost child. How desperate are you to bring people to Christ for their reconciliation?
From 2 Corinthians 5: “So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. Since, then, we know what it is to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is plain to God, and I hope it is also plain to your conscience. We are not trying to commend ourselves…. For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again…. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Luke 15:7 — I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.
The Pharisees, who saw themselves as the protectors of God’s standards, likely felt Jesus was condoning sin or making light of sin by reaching out to sinners. However, Jesus was doing neither. His message from the very beginning of His ministry was, “Repent,” and Jesus kept Himself holy and blameless amid sinners, always proclaiming the truth in love. Jesus was ‘about His Father’s business’ of bringing the lost back to Him, and Jesus makes to point that all of God’s Kingdom, His true subjects, rejoice greatly when the lost are found. In fact, Jesus repeats the point three times, which is an old way of demonstrating the highest degree of exclamation — “Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents…. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.” (Luke 15:10, 32)
Usually, the parable of the lost sheep is preached to extol the virtues of evangelism – reaching those who do not know about Jesus. Evangelism is certainly the call of the church, given by Jesus in the Great Commission (Matthew 28); however, the parable of the lost sheep refers to reconciling believers who have gone astray, sheep that are already part of the fold, not unbelievers who aren’t yet part of the fold. Jesus first calls us to bring repentance to the church that light might shine from the church to unbelievers. Unrepentant sinners are not fit for evangelism. You don’t have to be perfect for evangelism, none of are, but you must be repentant and humbly reliant on God’s grace in order to proclaim God’s grace; and those to whom to seek should see the evidence of your faith in your changed life. We need corporate repentance and revival in our church.
Luke 15:15, 16 – So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.
Too many Christians have sought to partner with the world for their prosperity, denying the birthright in Christ, only to discover that the world is heartless and has nothing for them.
Luke 15:18 – I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you.
Returning to the Father starts with genuine repentance.
Luke 15:19 — I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.
The truly repentant person is more than happy to be a servant.
Luke 15:20 – And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.
Reconciliation requires action by the offender and a willingness by the offended to receive the offender. God runs to those who are truly repentant.
Luke 15:29 — I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends.
Jesus’ parable about the prodigal son is as much about the older son as it is about the wayward son and the father. Although the older son faithfully stayed with the Father and served him, he did not share the Father’s heart of compassion and grace – he was not “one” with the father in spirit. The older son’s motivation was acknowledgement, status, and his future inheritance, and he was intent on earning his father’s favor for those purposes. While the father was overjoyed with the wayward son’s return, the ‘faithful’ son didn’t share his father’s joy. Instead, the older son had a heart of pride and resentment towards His brother, and in his pride, he judged both his brother and his father. The father loved the prodigal son, and the prodigal son was eager to receive that love. However, the older son stood bitterly outside that love, unable to understand or accept it. At the climax of the story, the prodigal son was closer to the father than the dutiful son because the prodigal son sought the father’s love and his fellowship while the older son sought recognition and reward.
The heart of the self-righteous is one of comparison, judgment, and resentment. The self-righteous arrogantly demand justice be administered against others, forgetting their own reliance on grace and the blessings they have received from God. The self-righteous display the traits of the flesh — anger, bitterness, jealousy, envy, etc. Sin is a loss of perspective of who God is, who we aren’t, and what God desires. Sin is a lack of love, separation from God and His love, and defiance to God and a rejection of His love. When we display sinful attitudes towards others it is because we have made ourselves more important than God and others in our own eyes. This is idolatry. “For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and presumption is as iniquity and idolatry.” (1 Samuel 15:23)
Consider what the older son in this story has in common with Martha, Mary’s sister – “But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.’” (Luke 10:40-42) Martha’s true motive behind her ‘good deeds’ was revealed by her attitude toward her sister who did less. Martha was “distracted”, felt unrecognized, and was “anxious and troubled.” She compared, judged, and complained while “serving.” She resented the unmerited favor (grace) her sister received. She revealed the difference between prideful service and sacrificial service from a heart of genuine love. While serving others who don’t deserve it, what does your attitude reveal about your love and your appreciation of God’s grace?
“It is possible to serve God year after year and yet have a heart that is far from Him. You might be one of the hardest workers in your church and yet be filled with bitterness because others do not share your load. You can become so preoccupied with your spiritual labors that when God works miracles in the lives of those around you, you cannot rejoice. If you serve the Lord out of pride, duty, or habit, but not out of love, joy, and gratitude, you will feel like a martyr. You will envy those who are experiencing joy in the Lord while you feel weighed down by the work you are doing. This is not the abundant life your Father has planned for you. Come to the celebration, spend time with the Father, and share in His joy!” [Henry T. Blackaby]
Luke 15:31, 32 – And he said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.”
Eternal life is knowing Jesus — relationship with Jesus is our reward, both on earth and in Heaven. We should not desire anything else in life or envy the wicked who pursue other things. Our earthly joy should be both in knowing Jesus but also in helping others know Him too; loving Him wholeheartedly and loving others as He has loved us; displaying the grace to others that God has displayed to us. We should not resent the sinner but hope that they would come to Jesus. Rejoice in the grace given to those who are or were once trapped in sin.
Luke 15:31, 32 – And he said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.”
Eternal life is knowing Jesus, relationship with Jesus is our reward, both on earth and in Heaven. We should not desire anything else in life or envy the wicked who pursue other things. Our earthly joy should be both in knowing Jesus but also in helping others know Him too. We should not resent the sinner but, from a hear of genuine love for God and for those He loves, hope that they would come to Jesus. Rejoice in the grace for God’s mercy and grace bestowed upon others, and celebrate with God for those who were once trapped in evil but have received forgiveness, reconciliation, renewalm and restoration. “Cross” Fit S-WOD (Spiritual Workout of the Day) – 11 August 2023: Luke 15 is all about God’s desire for His lost people to repent and return to Him through Jesus, reuniting with Him; and it is about God’s desire that His desire for the lost be our desire too. Today, make your total desire knowing Jesus more and more and helping others do the same.
Defenders Bible Reading Plan 