Tag: prodigal-son

The Religious Son – Luke 15:25-28

In today’s passage, we are introduced to the elder son. At first glance, he appears upright and obedient, yet beneath the surface lies a spiritual condition more troubling than that of the prodigal son before his repentance. A modern illustration helps clarify this dynamic. In 2008, Rachel Lee, a teenager from Calabasas, California, seemed like any ordinary high-school student. Outwardly, she was a dutiful daughter, but privately she lived a double life. Lee became the ringleader of the “Bling Ring,” a group of seven teenagers who burglarized celebrity homes over the course of a year, stealing nearly $3 million in possessions. Her case illustrates the danger of appearances: she looked respectable, but her hidden life revealed something entirely different. Similarly, the elder son projected religious devotion while inwardly harboring sin, pride, and hypocrisy. His legalism exposed the fact that he was not a true son but merely religious, and his reaction to his brother’s return revealed his lack of relationship with the father.

A Callous Heart

The elder son’s initial response to his brother’s return was anger and hardness of heart. He could not grasp his father’s compassion because he did not share in his father’s love. Even when the father personally came and pleaded with him, the elder son refused to celebrate the forgiveness shown to his brother. His actions revealed the emptiness of outward religiosity without inward transformation. As John reminds us, “No one who denies the Son has the Father” (1 John 2:23–24). The elder son’s inability to rejoice exposed that he was not truly a child of God (1 John 3:1). Likewise, throughout history and even today, many reject the Father because they do not know or love the Son, Jesus Christ. Religion without Christ is deadly; it led people to hate and crucify Him. Yet for those who believe, Christ secures eternal fellowship with the Father, the Lord of heaven and earth.

Lack of Joy

One of the clearest marks of this emptiness is the absence of joy. Christian joy—rooted in salvation through Christ—naturally produces obedience and fellowship with Him. When the elder son approached the house and heard music and dancing, he should have recognized the joy of a household celebrating new life. Instead, he demanded an explanation from a servant, revealing his own lifelessness. In first-century Palestine, such celebrations signaled momentous occasions, but the elder son remained detached and unmoved. His blindness mirrors that of many who lack the Spirit; without true salvation, they cannot perceive the joy of heaven.

Christ, however, desires His church to be marked by joy. A joyless church risks rejection, as Christ warned the church in Ephesus in Revelation. Even as Jesus endured the cross, He did so “for the joy set before Him” (Heb. 12:2). Paul reminds us that “the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17). As Martyn Lloyd-Jones observed, Christian joy is not fickle or circumstantial but flows from the assurance that one’s sins are forgiven and that one has been adopted into God’s family. Without that joy, one has not yet grasped the heart of Christianity.

Selective Listening

The elder son also illustrates another danger: selective listening. The self-righteous resist any truth that exposes their sin or undermines their pride. He sought only to magnify his external righteousness and rejected his father’s grace. Likewise, the religious often rely on half-truths and head knowledge rather than repentance and faith. Yet the gospel calls for more than intellectual assent. Salvation requires hearing, believing, and receiving God’s grace through Christ, which alone leads to eternal life (Rom. 6:23).

Easily Agitated

Finally, the elder son embodies the agitation and anger that flow from self-righteousness. When he refused to enter the celebration, his bitterness revealed a heart untouched by grace. He resented the father’s mercy toward his brother and failed to see his own desperate need for it. This is the hallmark of the religious but unconverted: their lives remain marked by pride, anger, and lawlessness because they have never been transformed by the Spirit.

The story of the elder son compels us to self-examination. Are we living in pride, clinging to outward religion, yet devoid of joy? Do we respond with anger and resentment rather than grace and humility? Scripture warns that no one enters heaven by religious performance or outward acts. Salvation is the free gift of God’s grace through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, received by faith alone. Tomorrow is not promised; today is the day of salvation. Let us examine ourselves honestly to see whether we are merely religious—or truly saved.

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True Conversion According to Christ, Part 2 – Luke 15:20-24

We’ve been exploring the characteristics of true conversion as revealed in Luke 15:20-24, focusing on the prodigal son’s return. Regeneration is an act of God, renewing the mind and changing the heart of a man for repentance. After regeneration comes conversion. True conversion is not mere profession but a genuine possession of faith, evident through a changed life and character. It marks the beginning of a struggle against the world for every Christian. Conversion is the outward display of an inward regeneration, a new direction in life, where we are justified and undergoing sanctification, though not yet glorified.

True conversion is characterized by three key elements: Self-Denial, God’s Righteousness, and Joy.

Self-Denial
True conversion initiates a journey of self-denial, where we give up our sinful desires and ambitions to live for Christ, saying “no” to our will and “yes” to God’s will. The prodigal son’s words in Luke 15:21, expressing unworthiness and a desire to be a hired servant, starkly contrast with his earlier demanding attitude in Luke 15:12-13. This shows a profound shift from self-will to humility.

  • Humility as the Foundation: Humility is the soil from which self-denial grows. It involves genuinely admitting guilt, like David in 2 Samuel 12:13, and acknowledging our inability to be righteous (Romans 3:10). This is a denial of pride and self-righteousness.
  • Continual Repentance: Self-denial is an ongoing lifestyle, not a one-time event, flowing from continuous repentance.
  • Jesus, Our Example: Jesus perfectly exemplified self-denial and humility, being obedient to the point of death, stating, “Not my will, but yours be done” (Philippians 2:8, Luke 4:20-42).

In self-denial, a truly converted person will always welcome God, His nature, and His will first.

Righteousness of God True conversion means putting on God’s righteousness and becoming like Him. God declares, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” Before conversion, the sinner is spiritually bankrupt (Proverbs 14:12); however, God’s way is to renew and restore the sinner.

The Father’s immediate response to the prodigal son illustrates God’s swift and complete restoration:

  • No Rebuke, Quick Healing: The Father does not scold or delay; His primary concern is to heal and restore the son quickly. God is ready and quick to save, not requiring a long journey or process (Acts 8:37).
  • The Best Robe: This new garment signifies honor and covers every sin, representing the righteousness of Jesus Christ that believers put on, uniting them with Christ and covering all their sin.
  • A Ring on His Hand: The ring is a sign of an heir, power, and authority, signifying permanent belonging to God, sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13).
  • Sandals on His Feet: Sandals symbolize freedom and full access to God, unlike slaves who walked barefoot. We, through Christ, have complete access to God’s presence, not needing to remove our “sandals” (John 1:12, Hebrews 4:16).
  • The Fattened Calf: This special calf, reserved for momentous celebrations, represents God’s abundant, sweet, and limitless grace (Hosea 14:1,4). It demonstrates how God makes us righteous in His righteousness.

This righteousness is transferred to the sinner through saving faith. Saving faith is not just an intellectual belief but a life-transforming reliance on Jesus Christ. It acknowledges Jesus as the only way and is evidenced by obedience: “faith without works is dead”. True saving faith brings a quick and continuous change from the inside out, leading to a life lived on God’s terms, not our own.

Joy True conversion brings profound joy, both to God and to the converted.

  • Heaven’s Joy: There is immense joy in heaven over one sinner who repents (Luke 15:7, 10, 23-24). God rejoices over the lost being found and the dead coming to life, understanding that being spiritually dead and lost is the “worst of the worst” condition (Luke 15:23-24).
  • Jesus’ Joy: Jesus Himself, “for the joy set before Him, endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2), finding joy in the salvation of the lost and dead, even amidst His suffering.
  • Our Joy: If God is joyful, we should also be. Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, not something we conjure up ourselves, but something we must actively seek by spending time in God’s presence, His Word, and prayer.
  • Cultivating Joy: Lacking joy can stem from a lack of assurance of salvation, neglecting devotion, a lack of gratitude for God’s forgiveness, a lack of expectation for future glory, or misunderstanding trials and suffering. We can experience deeper joy by understanding God’s faithfulness through trials (James 1:2-4) and continually seeking His presence.

True conversion, therefore, encompasses self-denial rooted in humility, the imputation of God’s righteousness through saving faith, and an active, Spirit-given joy that reflects God’s own delight in salvation. May we reflect on our salvation and examine whether we have these characteristics. May we also remember that we are called to cultivate and develop these characteristics as we grow in Christ.

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True Conversion According to Christ – Luke 15:21

Before true conversion can take place, there must first be regeneration—the inward work of salvation that forms the foundation of genuine faith. Put simply, without regeneration, there is no authentic conversion. Salvation begins with this inner transformation and then becomes visible outwardly in the believer’s life. In today’s passage, particularly verse 21, Pastor Paul highlights what it means to be converted and what ultimately causes conversion.

True conversion is not a vague feeling but a concrete reality. Just as the Holy Spirit stirred the prodigal son to rise and return to his father (v. 20), so too does the Spirit initiate action in the sinner. Regeneration is monergistic—the Spirit works alone—while conversion is synergistic, as God’s grace moves the sinner to respond in repentance and faith. Like sheep that often wander, sinners repeatedly stray, yet are drawn back to Christ through salvation, turning from sin and redirecting their lives toward God (1 Peter 2:5).

C.H. Spurgeon captures this relationship between regeneration and conversion:

“Regeneration and conversion, the one the secret cause and the other the first overt effect, produce a great change in the character…. And as there is a change in character, so there is a change in feeling. The man had been an enemy to God before; but when this change takes place, he begins to love God…. Conversion is the beginning of a life-long conflict; it is the first blow in a warfare which will never end till we are in glory.”

Marks of genuine conversion include:

  • A deep hatred of sin and a sensitive conscience toward it, accompanied by the desire to please God through faith.
  • A transformation of mind and nature that loves Christ and seeks to live according to God’s will.
  • A childlike faith (Matthew 18:3).
  • A daily reliance on the resurrection of Jesus as the center of Christian life.

But how does a sinner come to be converted to Christ? Conversion is possible only by God’s grace. When grace is fully applied to the heart, it becomes God’s effectual call to repentance. This grace was already at work in the prodigal son’s heart long before he reached his father’s home. Even in the far country, God’s grace was preparing him to return. In the same way, God’s grace works in sinners before repentance takes root, shining its light into their hearts.

As the prodigal son repented and set out for home, his father saw him from afar. The father’s love had already chosen restoration; his heart was waiting in compassion to receive him. God’s love operates in the same way—grace and compassion make repentance possible. However heavy the sin, God’s grace abounds even more.

The father’s swift embrace and kiss symbolize this truth. God’s grace is never sluggish or hesitant; it comes quickly, covering guilt and sin with strength and love. Frederick Lehman beautifully expressed it:

“The love (grace) of God is greater far, than tongue or pen can ever tell. It goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell. The guilty pair, bowed down with care, God gave his Son to win. His erring child he reconciled and pardoned from his sin.”

This kiss signifies reconciliation—the forgiveness of sins, the restoration of a relationship, and the gift of a new beginning. As John MacArthur explains,

“Here in this father the Lord Jesus Christ presents Himself, the one who left the glory of heaven, came to earth and bore the shame and humility to embrace repentant sinners, who come to Him in faith, and give them complete forgiveness and reconciliation.”

It is vital to remember that repentance alone does not merit salvation. Repentance without grace has no power, and grace without repentance bears no fruit. Grace is the cause; repentance is its effect. The prodigal son illustrates this:

  • He knew his sin was ultimately against God the Father.
  • He understood that the fear of God outweighed all other fears.
  • He recognized that sin leads to eternal death.
  • He showed thanksgiving and humility, without which repentance cannot endure.

Thus, the story calls us to self-examination. Is our conversion genuine, grounded in God’s grace through the Spirit’s regenerating work? The truly converted continually turn their gaze toward God, just as a sunflower follows the sun. May we strive to bear fruit for His glory, relying wholly on His grace.

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