Be Imitators of God the Father Toward – Luke 15:24 and Ephesians 5:1

Ephesians 5:1 commands us to "Be imitators of God [the Father] as beloved children." The parable of the prodigal son gives us a wonderful view of God the Father and reveals how we should be toward others as we imitate Him. https://youtu.be/wgTCm9CmuxA Ephesians 5:1 commands us to, "Be imitators of God [the Father]." The father of the prodigal son reveals how we should be toward others. Table of contentsFamily Worship GuideSermon NotesLesson One: The prodigal son represents repentant sinners passing from death to life.Lesson Two: Forgiveness doesn’t mean no consequences.Lesson Three: Be imitators of God the Father toward (Part One) repentant children.Lesson Three: Be imitators of God the Father toward (Part Two) prodigal childrenLesson Three: Be imitators of God the Father toward (Part Three) repentant sinners. Family Worship Guide Directions: Read the verses and then answer the questions: Day 1: Luke 15:22-24, Ephesians 2:5, John 5:24, John 14:6 cf. Luke 15:17, 24—In what ways does the parable present the prodigal son as a repentant sinner passing from death to life? What is required to pass from death to life? Can you think of other examples in Scripture of individuals passing from death to life? Day 2: Ephesians 5:1, Luke 15:20, Proverbs 22:6—Why might the parable encourage us to think if we are forgiven it means there are no consequences? Is this true, why or why not? Can you think of examples of individuals in Scripture who were forgiven but still suffered consequences from their sins? Can you think of examples in your life of being forgiven but still suffering the consequences of your sin? Day 3: 2 Corinthians 2:5-10, Matthew 18:15-18, 2 Thessalonians 3:15—In what ways can the father in the parable serve as a good example for us toward repentant children? What about toward prodigal children? What about toward repentant sinners? Why should repentant sinners be comforted? What does it mean to warn as a brother but not regard as an enemy? Sermon Notes The title of this morning’s sermon is, “Be Imitators of God the Father Toward….” On Sunday mornings we’re working our way through Luke’s gospel verse by verse and we find ourselves in the middle of the parable of the prodigal son. Please stand with me for the reading of God’s Word. We will start at verse 22… Luke 15:22 But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. In our last sermon we finished verse 23, and this morning we will look at verse 24. Let me begin by sharing something with you that I could have shared with you last week… I was wrong about my earlier understanding of the prodigal son’s condition. I said the first two parables were about unbelievers, but the prodigal son represents a backslidden believer. But now I’m convinced the prodigal son is as much a picture of a repentant sinner being saved as the lost sheep and lost coin that are found. And I wanted to have a lesson that makes this clear… Lesson One: The prodigal son represents repentant sinners passing from death to life. Part of the reason I came to this interpretation is because of last week’s sermon and everything the father gave to the son. You might remember I said… What the father did with the prodigal son pictures what God the Father does with repentant sinners: He makes us sons and heirs. Everything the prodigal son receives symbolizes what we receive when we become God’s children. The other reason I am convinced the prodigal son is a picture of conversion is verse 24… Luke 15:24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. The father called him my son, even though he said he was no longer worthy to be called a son and requested to be nothing more than a hired servant. Notice the father’s description of his son’s experience: He was dead and then alive He was lost and then found He was never physically dead or physically lost. He was physically away, but we know where he was – Gentile territory – so he wasn’t lost. So, it is clear we have moved beyond the physical to the spiritual: He was spiritually dead and is now spiritually alive He was spiritually lost and is now spiritually found Up to this point we have repeatedly seen the imagery of being lost and then found: The lost sheep was found The lost coin was found But this is the first time we have seen the imagery of being dead and then alive, which is frequently found elsewhere in Scripture… Ephesians 2:5 even when WE WERE DEAD in our trespasses, [God] MADE US ALIVE together with Christ by grace you have been saved. John 5:24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but HAS PASSED FROM DEATH TO LIFE. The prodigal son passed from death to life. It wasn’t just finding a lost son or lost sheep; it was getting a son back from the dead. Consider this familiar verse… John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” There are beautiful parallels between the prodigal son coming to his earthly father and us coming to our Heavenly Father as Jesus described in this verse: Verse 24 says the prodigal was lost and Jesus says I am the way In verse 17 he looks ignorant – he had to come to his senses – and Jesus says I am the truth Verse 24 says he was dead and Jesus says I am the life Now over the last few weeks I have committed sermons to God’s compassion, forgiveness, and grace. I hope this parable has given you a better, more affectionate view of our Heavenly Father. But with that said something has been nagging me and I want to make sure we address it before moving on. And this brings us to lesson two… Lesson Two: Forgiveness doesn’t mean no consequences. The father received his son back so readily with no probationary period or consequences that it could lead us to think there are no consequences for our sins as long as we repent. Or worse, because the prodigal son was lavished with gifts, we might even think we will be rewarded after we repent. Imagine someone reads this account and concludes… “If I confess my sin then God will treat me like the prodigal son’s father treated him. He will lavish me with gifts. I will be given the best robe, a ring, shoes on my feet and there will be a big celebration for me.” Then the person repents but doesn’t experience any rewards, and instead ends up suffering consequences for their sin…even though they are forgiven. So let me be clear about what this parable is and is not intended to communicate… The parable is intended to communicate that when sinners repent, God the Father has compassion on them and wants to forgive them and receive them as readily, lovingly, and graciously as the father in the parable received the prodigal son. But the parable is not intended to communicate that: There are no consequences for our sins, even when we are forgiven Or that we would be given gifts – like a robe, ring, or shoes – when we are forgiven A couple months ago I told you that the Christian life is largely a pursuit of avoiding ditches. We tend to find ourselves in one ditch or the other. Then if we are fortunate enough to climb out of one ditch, instead of heading to the middle of the road we overcorrect and put ourselves in the other ditch. Regarding forgiveness and the consequences for our sins, there are two ditches we can fall into, and I want to make sure we avoid both of them… One ditch is we can think that because we are forgiven there are no consequences. This is false and there are multiple examples in Scripture of God forgiving people, but then those people suffering because of their sin. David is a great example. Nathan told him that God had taken away his sin, but then he also told him that the sword would never depart from his house. The other ditch is we can experience consequences from our sins and think we are NOT forgiven. How many people have been forgiven, but still suffered because of the decisions they made and then thought that meant God hadn’t forgiven them? That is an understandable, but tragic, belief that I want all of us to avoid. So, over the years as you reread this parable: Be encouraged by how joyfully God the Father wants to receive our repentance But don’t believe that when we sin and are forgiven that there will be no consequences…or worse that we will be rewarded like the prodigal son was. And when we do experience the consequences of our sins it does not mean we have not been forgiven in the first place. Now let me go in a different direction for a moment that will end up relating to the parable… If even a few of you have never heard this before it’s worth me sharing just to help you avoid the false teaching of the cults. The cults do not hold to a Trinitarian view of God largely because the New Testament mentions God and Jesus separately. So they see them distinctly from each other and deny that Jesus is God. But when the New Testament mentions God, most of the time it is referring to God the Father, and when it mentions Jesus it is referring to God the Son. So don’t ever read the New Testament and think that Jesus is not God. Instead, understand when it mentions God it usually means God the Father and when it mentions Jesus it means God the Son. Now as we have read this parable I have focused on God the Father, because the father of the prodigal son serves as a picture of Him, and I wanted us to learn what we could about Him. But listen to these verses… ...