Sermon #117 Luke
Sermons
Title: “BUT THE FATHER…”
Text: Luke
15:22-23
Subject: The
Blessings of Grace
Date: Sunday
Evening—
Tape # X-100b
Introduction:
Turn with me to Luke
15:22-23 and let me try to talk to you for a few minutes about what sinners get
when they come to Christ. You will remember what leads up to this scene (vv.
17-21).
(Luke 15:17-21) "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! (18) I will arise and go to my father,
and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned
against heaven, and before thee, (19) And am no more worthy to be called
thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. (20) 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.
(21) And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and
in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son."
Now, watch what happened. This is what you get when you come to Christ…
(Luke 15:22-23) But the
father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put [it] on him;
and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on [his] feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill
[it]; and let us eat, and be merry.
Proposition: When poor sinners come home
to God, when we believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, not only does the Lord God
run to greet us, fall on our necks and kiss us, he freely gives every repenting
sinner all the fulness of his bounteous grace in Christ.
Divisions: Look at the
four things set before us in these two verses.
1. The Intervention Of Grace
2. The Father’s Servants
3. The Provisions Of The
Father’s House
4. The Work Of The Gospel
Ministry
I. THE INTERVENTION OF GRACE
Look first at the opening
words of verse 22. The prodigal son came in humiliation, broken, bent, bowing
to the ground, begging for life, just to live as one of his father’s hired hands.
But the father would hear nothing of it. Our text begins with these blessed
words – “But the father said…”
Here we see the intervention
of grace. Mark this down – No sinner will ever be saved unless God
almighty steps in his way, unless God intervenes in the affairs of his life.
Grace is not a divine offer. Grace is a divine intervention!
That little word – “But,” is expressive of much
grace. It is often used in this way.
(1 Corinthians 6:9-11) Know
ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the
(Ephesians 2:1-4) And you [hath he quickened], who were dead in
trespasses and sins; Wherein in time
past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of
disobedience: Among whom also we all
had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the
desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath,
even as others. But God,
who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us.
(1 Timothy 1:13) Paul says, I “was
before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained
mercy, because I did [it] ignorantly in unbelief.”
(Titus 3:3-6) For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient,
deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy,
hateful, [and] hating one another. But
after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man
appeared, Not
by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy
he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy
Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly
through Jesus Christ our Saviour.
The picture before us
displays most vividly the statement found in Romans 5 – “Where sin abounded, grace did much more
abound!”
All right, look at the next line – “But the father said to his servants.” Let me talk to you for a
minute about…
II.
THE FATHER’S SERVANTS.
Who are these
servants who are commanded by the father, and given the privilege of bringing
out the best robe and putting it on the prodigal’s back, fetching the family
ring and putting it on his hand, bringing out the shoes he needs for his feet,
and spreading the feast of the fatted calf slain for the prodigal? Who are
these servants?
Were the word
servant used in the singular, I would immediately tell you the servant must be
God the Holy Spirit, whose work it is to effectually apply to believing sinners
the finished work of Christ and all the blessings of grace in him.
But the word “servants” is plural. These servants are those men called
and sent of God to serve the interests of his kingdom and glory and to serve
the interests of immortal souls by the ministry of the Word, through the
preaching of the gospel.
God never by passes the use of his ordained means of
grace.
He never gets in a bind and has to do things in some way other than
his specifically ordained way. God never changes his mind about
how he will perform his work. The way, the means, the method by which God has
been pleased to confer his grace upon chosen sinners is the preaching of the
gospel.
(Romans 1:16-17) "For I am not ashamed of the gospel of
Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth;
to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. (17) For therein is the
righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith."
(Romans 10:17) "So then faith cometh
by hearing, and hearing by the word of God."
(1 Peter 1:23-25) "Being born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for
ever. (24) For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as
the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
(25) But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which
by the gospel is preached unto you."
The work
is God’s work; but the instruments by which he works are gospel preachers. Preachers are not priests.
We do not and cannot confer the grace of God upon anyone. But preachers are not
useless. The preaching of the gospel
is, by divine arrangement, indispensable to the salvation of God’s elect, and
indispensable for the edification of your soul.
Gospel preachers are the servants of the Most High
God. It
is the preacher’s business (every preacher’s business) to set forth, in the
ministry of the word, the righteousness of Christ, and the everlasting love of
God ― to direct believing sinners to a life and conversation becoming the
gospel of Christ ― and to set before them the rich provisions of the
gospel for the nourishment, joy, and comfort of their souls.
These servants are not
ordered
to take the poor prodigal away from the father’s presence, as a rejected
suppliant. They are not told to terrify and frighten him with the curse and
condemnation of the law. They are not commanded to fill his mind with wrath and
terror because of his past corruption and sin. They are not told to chastise
and correct the poor prodigal for his former course of life. They are not even
required to put guards around him, put a fence around him, or bind him with
chains, lest he run away again.
On the contrary, the father tells his servants
to confer upon his son all the honour, and high favors, and blessings that
could of his boundless mercy love and grace be given, every honor belonging to
sonship, every high honor which belongs to a favored, well-pleasing, perfectly
obedient son!
This is what gospel preachers are supposed to do. We cannot confer grace;
but we can proclaim it. We cannot give you peace, pardon, and righteousness;
but we can and must bring it out before you. And, as I will show you in a
moment, if God gives you these things, if God the Holy Spirit gives you faith
in Christ, we can and must put the blessings of grace upon believing sinners.
(Isaiah 40:1-2) Comfort ye, comfort ye my
people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to
Read the rest of verse 22, and I will show
you…
III.
THE PROVISIONS OF THE
FATHER’S HOUSE.
But the father said to his servants, Bring
forth the best robe, and put [it] on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes
on [his] feet: (Luke
Do you believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ? Are you now reconciled to God? Do you confess your sin before the
throne of grace? Has the Lord God brought you down in repentance? Has he
revealed Christ in you? Do you trust Christ alone for everlasting salvation,
for righteousness, for acceptance with God? If so, give me your attention. I
have been sent of God this day to do some things for you.
A.
The Lord God himself has sent me here with
this express command – “Bring forth the best robe
and put it on him.”
He did not send me here to put a good robe on you. There are many good robes, (good in the eyes of men), which men and women put on themselves or have put upon them by religion.
·
Morality and Religious Reformation
·
Self-denial and Philanthropy
·
Charity and Benevolence
The Lord God has sent me here, not with a good robe, but with the best robe.
·
A robe better than the robe of innocence Adam
wore in the garden!
· A robe better than the angels wear in heaven!
· A better robe than that worn by the scribes and Pharisees!
· A better robe than the garment of good works!
1.
This best robe is robe of
Christ’s perfect righteousness
(Isaiah 61:10) I will
greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath
clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of
righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh [himself] with ornaments, and as a bride
adorneth [herself] with her jewels.
(Zechariah 3:4) And he answered and spake unto those that
stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him
he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will
clothe thee with change of raiment.
(Revelation 19:8) And to her was granted that she should be
arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness
of saints.
a. The best robe is the first (as the word implies) robe,
the robe of righteousness woven in the eternal counsels of almighty God.
b. This robe covers our
naked souls.
c. This robe covers all
our sins from the eye of divine justice.
d. This robe protects us
from all injury.
e. This robe saves us
from the wrath to come.
f. This robe adorns and
beautifies all who wear it; and that makes us glad.
(Ezekiel 16:8-14) Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon
thee, behold, thy time [was] the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee,
and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant
with thee, saith the Lord GOD, and thou becamest mine. Then washed I thee with water; yea, I
throughly washed away thy blood from thee, and I anointed thee with oil. I clothed thee also with broidered work,
and shod thee with badgers' skin, and I girded thee about with fine linen, and
I covered thee with silk. I decked
thee also with ornaments, and I put bracelets upon thy hands, and a chain on
thy neck. And I put a jewel on thy
forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a beautiful crown upon thine
head. Thus wast thou decked with gold
and silver; and thy raiment [was of] fine linen, and silk, and broidered work;
thou didst eat fine flour, and honey, and oil: and thou wast exceeding
beautiful, and thou didst prosper into a kingdom. And thy renown went forth among the heathen
for thy beauty: for it [was] perfect through my comeliness, which I had put
upon thee, saith the Lord GOD.
(Psalms 45:8) All thy garments [smell] of myrrh, and aloes,
[and] cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad.
This splendid robe of Christ’s imputed righteousness exceeds all others. It is the best robe. This righteousness of Christ, which I hold before you is pure, perfect, spotless, immaculate, even in the eyes of God himself!
· The Righteousness of Perfect Obedience
· The Righteousness of Infinite Satisfaction
2. This is a robe that must be put upon
you.
·
By The Imputation Of
Grace.
·
By The Proclamation Of
Grace.
There is something special implied in the original language, which does not come out in our translation, which I must not fail to mention.
3.
The robe of Christ’s
righteousness is to be put upon the believing sinner quickly – without delay.
The text might be translated
– Hurry, put it on him quickly. Why? Because there is to be no doubt in our minds concerning the
immediacy of God’s grace and forgiveness.
·
He who looks to Christ is born of God.
·
He who repents is accepted.
·
He who confesses his sin is forgiven of all sin.
·
He who comes to Christ is accepted in Christ.
·
He who believes on the Son of God has everlasting life.
·
He who plunges into the fountain filled with blood, drawn from
Immanuel’s veins, is washed clean!
The grace of God does not
put sinners upon probation. Grace puts us in salvation! I have been to the closet
of heaven, in the wardrobe of the Father’s house, and have fetched from glory
the best robe. God has sent me here to put it upon you who come to him by faith
in Christ. But there is more…
B.
God has sent me here with a
ring to put on your hand, the hand of faith that receives Christ as Lord and
King, Husband and Master.
What does this
ring signify?
·
A Covenant Made – The Sure Mercies Of David!
·
A Love Bestowed – Everlasting Love!
·
A
·
A Property Owned.
·
A Possession Protected.
·
Acceptance Assured – “Accepted in
the Beloved!”
·
A Family Signet.
The ring of grace goes on every hand of faith. Stretch out your hand. I’ve got a ring for it.
C.
The Lord has sent me here
today to put shoes on your feet, too.
The Holy Spirit tells us plainly
that these shoes are the preparation of the gospel of peace (Eph.
1.
Shoes To Beautify Our Feet – “How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O Prince’s daughter!” (Song 7:1)
2.
Shoes To Make Us Walk Upright.
3.
Shoes That Keep Us From
Slipping And Falling Into Eternal Ruin.
4.
Shoes To Protect Us From The
Heat Of The Earth and The Thorns Of The Ground.
5.
Shoes That Will Never Wear Out!
I cannot say much about it; but there is another part of the picture I want you to see in verse 23. Here we see that which portrays…
IV.
THE WORK
OF THE MINISTRY.
(Luke 15:23) And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill [it]; and let us eat, and be merry.
A. Gospel preachers are responsible to bring
forth the fatted calf and kill it.
This fatted calf, of course, represents the Lord Jesus Christ, our crucified Savior. The Lord Jesus here describes himself by making allusion to the calves offered in sacrifice, which were offered for sin offerings, and for peace offerings, and for burnt offerings; and were one of the sacrifices on the day of atonement.
· Christ offered up himself, freely and voluntarily, in the room and stead of his people.
· He gave himself and made himself to be an offering and sacrifice to God, of a sweet smelling savor.
· He is the sacrifice that is well pleasing to God, because he is an effectual sacrifice.
· He accomplished the purposes for which he came.
· Because he is an effectual sacrifice for sin, his sacrifice will never be repeated.
This one sacrifice for sin has forever satisfied and silenced the law and justice of God, procured peace and reconciliation for his people, and made full atonement and expiation for all our iniquities, transgressions, and sins.
· Remember, the sacrifices were the priests’ food. ― And we who believe are God’s priests. Christ crucified is our food!
No doubt, there is also an allusion here to the feasts and lavish celebrations so often spoken of among the Jews of friends, celebrations in which the fatted calf was the central part of the feast (Gen 18:7,8; 1 Sa 28:24,25; Am 6:4; Mal 4:2).
Christ is the best provision that can be set before eternity bound sinners, the best for you who are lost and the best for you who are saved. We must feed upon him, always upon him, and only upon him.
Christ is the best that God can give, and the best we can desire. He is the true Manna. He is real Bread, the Bread of Life for our souls, sweet, savory, and satisfying. This is Bread that gives life and preserves it; nourishes, strengthens, refreshes, delights, and fattens.
*** ― It is the business, privilege and responsibility, of the gospel preacher, every time he speaks in God’s name, every time he preaches to eternity bound souls to bring forth the fatted calf and kill it. ― To preach Christ and him crucified. – To open the Scriptures, showing in all the Scriptures things concerning Christ. ― To set him before all with clarity and simplicity, bidding all to feed upon him.
“Killing” the fatted calf is the setting forth of Christ crucified, preaching the cross, proclaiming the gospel.
(Romans 1:15-17) So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach
the gospel to you that are at
(1 Corinthians 1:21-24) For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
B. The preaching of the gospel is the
spreading of a feast, bidding and encouraging hungry souls to eat, to feast
upon Christ, to the saving and satisfying of their souls.
The Father himself says through his servants, “Let us eat and be merry!” John Gill wrote, ``there is no mirth without eating and drinking.'' If you are going to make merry, you have got to have a feast.
This is a wide, far reaching invitation and encouragement to eat of the
fatted calf. The people called upon to eat are the father, the servants, and
the returned son.
1.
The Father is set before us as one to whom the salvation of his people,
by the death of Christ, is a feast.
·
His heart was set upon this from
everlasting.
·
He is infinitely well pleased with
Christ, as the surety and sacrifice of his people, and has been from all
eternity.
·
His eye has been upon Christ as our
surety throughout the ages.
·
He sent him forth with great pleasure
in the fulness of time.
·
It pleased the Lord to bruise him for
us.
·
God the Father accepted Christ’s
sacrifice with delight.
·
He takes pleasure in seeing us feed
upon our crucified Savior.
·
This is where God meets men and
communes with them!
·
This feast of grace is the great
glory of the church, the greatest blessing there is on the earth, and a
foretaste of heaven.
2.
The
Servants – Gospel preachers are among the "us," who
are to eat. God’s servants also eat and live upon a crucified Christ.
3.
The Returned Son ― Saved sinners are those for
whom the Gospel feast is primarily and specifically spread. It is true, the feast is spread before all. But it is spread
specifically for you who are hungry, for you who long to feed upon Christ. –
Are you hungry? – “Come and dine!” – The feast is spread for you!
Let us eat with
joy – The joy of faith.
(Ecclesiastes 9:7) Go thy way, eat thy bread
with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy
works.
AMEN.