The ministry of the church is to model that of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Luke 15, we find two classes of people addressed in three parables—the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. The Pharisees, one class, criticized Jesus for receiving and eating with sinners, the other class. Jesus responded to them with the parables, contrasting His seeking out the valuable lost with the ugly elder brother (the religious crowd) who would rather sulk than celebrate the return of his lost sinning brother. We need to be seekers—seekers of the lost and sinful. We, however, often resemble the Pharisee-list keepers, pleased with our self-authenticated progress in God-pleasing. This makes us the ugly judgmental, rejecting the very ones the merciful Christ is seeking to rescue and redeem.
May God grant us the joy of seeing sinners—real sinners—prostitutes, thieves, cheaters, and druggies, the hurting and helpless—sitting on the front pews and soaking up the Word of God, rejoicing in the hope of salvation, and falling in love with our glorious Savior.
The message begins well into the reading of the text.
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