Forever forgiven in Christ

In Luke 15 we find the Parable of the Lost Son, aka The Parable of the Prodigal Son. Many of us think that it's a story about becoming born-again but it applies to us believers- the younger brother was a son of the Father who went astray. He did not know the Father's love and that all the Father had was his, much like many believers today who think that God demands righteousness and payment for blessing His children.

Growing up, many of us were taught that the prodigal son went home because he was sorry for what he did. But this is not so. He did not repent/return home to his Father because he was sorry or had an epiphany about how stupid and greedy he was to ask for his inheritance. He didn't remember his Father when he still had his inheritance. He decided to go back home because he was hungry and broke! See his thoughts in v.17-19:

"‘...At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! 18 I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19 and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’

He was going to work to earn his keep, much like many in the church today who see God as a boss that will only pay their salary when they do their job. I like to think that the son was dirty, hungry and smelling of the pigs he had been caring for (to the Jew, pigs are unclean, so no Jew would ever touch him in his state). Everyone would have done SMH at him. According to Jewish law in Deut. 21:18-21, he should have been stoned to death! Yet, his Father embraced and kissed him in his dirty and unclean "pigful" state, treating him to the finest robe and the fatted calf. He even ran to meet His wayward son when He spotted him from afar! His Father never condemned him or told him to do restitution before showing him love and restoring him. He accepted him just the way he was.

Believers in Christ, this is the treatment that we get when we come to our Heavenly Father just the way we are when we mess things up, which we all do at some point or the other. No effort. No trying on our part to pay our rent in His house. Our sins - past, present and future - are already forgiven in Christ once for all (Hebrews 10:12.) We can never stop bearing His name, just like your child can never stop being your child because he did wrong; (remember it's your job to teach your child to be well behaved too. Today, the Holy Spirit teaches us all things. What a Trainer we have in our Lord God.)

Our Heavenly Father loves us much more than we can ever love our kids. He is the Father in the story of The Lost Son. Just come to Him as you are and He will clean you up and set you up after you have gone astray and made a mess of everything. This is grace - God's undeserved, unmerited favour.

But His grace is not a license to continue in sin as many accused Paul of preaching in his day (see Romans 3:7-8.) God hates sin! Rather, His Grace is the Way to right living. In most countries, the law cannot prosecute a diplomat/ambassador for any crime that he commits, even murder. The diplomat's home country does the sanctioning. Yet you don't see diplomats/ambassadors going berserk and breaking laws in their host country because they have diplomatic immunity. They have no reason to because their home country makes sure that they are well taken care of, especially the rich countries. How much more us believers that are Christ's ambassadors here on earth. Heaven is our home and earth is where our Lord God loads us daily with benefits! His gift of no condemnation empowers us to go and sin no more!

You'll notice that it is the citizens of a country and foreigners who are not diplomats that break the laws of that country, not the foreign ambassadors, "For sin shall not have dominion over you for you are not under Law but under Grace." Romans 6:14. Sin has dominion over those who are under law. 

When we mess things up, our Abba Father's discipline is "for our profit" and that we might "live" (Hebrews 12:9-10;) not the type where a parent lets her child get crushed to death by a car because she had been warned not to run into the road! We would never do that to our kids. How much more our Father in heaven?

In Christ, the Holy Spirit transforms us to the image of His glory, from glory to glory (2 Corinthians 3:18.) When you depend on His righteousness and not your own ability to be good, you'll find that you used to pad budgets in order to afford that pricey school for your kids but now, you have so much (and legally, too) that you even pay for others' education. You'll find that the desire to indulge in those addictions that you are ashamed of right now has disappeared miraculously. You find that you talk about our Saviour more, give more, love more and do exploits, yet not us but Christ in us. This is Grace. We get to "live in triumph over sin and death through the One, Jesus Christ." Romans 5:17.

There's also a lesson from the older brother who was annoyed when the Father showed love to the younger brother instead of punishing him. The older brother even went as far as saying that the Father never gave him as much as a kid to celebrate with his friends despite his hard work! This is like a Christian that believes that you must give to get from God, not realising that in Christ, all the Father has is his. Unfortunately this is the message that is being preached in many churches today. Many believers even get angry and ask God why they have not received after all their fasting, evangelism, seed sowing and church planting. The response of the pastor in charge of dishing out these "terms and conditions for receiving from God" is usually to tell these beloved believers that it is because they don't have enough faith! (another sermon for another day!) Faith is simply coming to Christ expectantly and without the baggage of laws kept and works done. The law is not of faith; the letter kills: obeying the law in order to get right with God kills.

Believers, God isn't interested in your hard work if it is done to get right with Him. In fact, your doing good works and trying to keep the law in order to make up for your missteps or get right with God will only serve to cut you off from Christ (Galatians 5:4). No wonder many are not freely receiving or receiving at all. They do not believe that God gives us all things FREELY with Christ (Romans 8:32.) By His grace, let's not be found here.

Like Mary in Luke 10, let us choose the good portion which will not be taken away from us. Remember Martha was the one running around in order to provide for Jesus:) but Jesus was refreshed when the Samaritan woman took from Him at the well. With Christ, we don't give to get; we get to give. He loves it when we take from Him. Let's not put the cart before the horse. When we come to Him empty of all of our filthy rags righteousnesses and law-keeping, He fills us to overflowing so much that His blessings in our lives spill over into the lives of others. In Him, we can't help but live right and be a blessing to others even if we tried!

Believers, the law tells the completely lame man (aka sinner) "Walk, or die!" and offers no help. It will punish to the uttermost. It cannot redeem. 

You can replace the "walk" here with stop smoking, stop lying that you're almost at work when you're not, stop drinking, stop fornicating, stop disrespecting your elders, stop insulting your husband, stop sinning, stop watching porn, keep the Ten Commandments. Like Peter boasted that He would not deny Jesus, thinking that you can do it yourself is to deceive yourself. No one can ever cast the first stone or any stone for that matter. And all it takes to be guilty of the whole law is to fail in one area (see James 2:10.)

But Grace (our Lord Jesus) tells the lame man (aka sinner) "Receive the ability to walk and start running faster than Usain Bolt! I am running with you. I will never leave you nor forsake you! I will help you when you stumble! I will never do SMH at you. I am your strength! I will save you from your sins!"

See Matthew 1:21 "And she will have a Son, and you are to name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Those very sins that we struggle with and try to stop doing so that we can be "good Christians," Christ came to save us from them all. Notice "...He will save His people from their sins." His people are those who require saving from their sins. Those who can save themselves from their sins are not His people:)

Believers in Christ, thank God that we are not under Law but under Grace! Move away from believing like the prodigal son's older brother who thought he had to earn the Father's benefits. Receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness and reign in life through our Saviour Jesus Christ.

Our Abba Father loves us so much!

Believe Right and you will Live Right.