The Prodigal Son: Entry Point of the Kingdom

On March 12th 1928 a man was driving by the St. Francis dam in California and noticed a small crack had appeared, and sediment was moving through it. The dam watcher also noticed the leak, and reported it. Mulholland the general manager inspected the dam and decided it was no problem, as the dam was expected to leak from time to time. It was the biggest mistake of his life, and the dam failed, pouring an avalanche of water into the Santa Clarita River Valley. 431 people were killed.

Now consider the same principle morally. Think about the USA 50 years ago, divorce was unthinkable in most families. Now divorce is the norm. 70 years ago sex outside of marriage was unthinkable, now it’s the norm. Small decisions, small compromises, can very quickly lead to massive shifts in society.

One small thing, one crack in the gate, can lead to massive consequences.

It goes all the way back to the garden of Eden, a paradise, planted by God, for humans to live in harmony with God. That was God’s perfect design.

Imagine yourself standing in the garden of Eden. A perfect, pristine, bright sunny day.

Sometimes I’m out on a sunny day in a beautiful area and I think to myself, I’m seeing just a small piece of what Eden must’ve been like. So perfect, so beautiful.

God setup a garden, but he also had to make sure free will, choice was maintained, so he set up one tree in the middle of the garden that they were not allowed to eat from.

Many think well that’s the first one they’d go to. Not really actually. Adam and Eve were innocent they had no sin nature. So they would not be unnaturally tempted to go directly to the wrong tree like we might think today.

Yet we know that the fallen angel Lucifer tempted Adam and Eve in the garden, telling them that if they disobeyed God and ate from the tree, they would become gods themselves.

Adam and Eve disobeyed God and ate of the forbidden fruit. As a result, God cursed them, and they became fallen. And so because of that one choice, to choose sin, the entire human race began a downward path toward sin.

I want you to remember this: The choices you make today will impact in huge ways, your entire family line. They will affect your children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. That’s just how it works. Our decisions affect the future. More than we realize. Much more.

So we find ourselves in a desperate situation, lost in sin, and under the judgment of God. God will judge all sin, and send it to hell. Why? To remove sin from the universe forever. So we have two options, be quarantined with sin in hell, or be purged of sin and made ready for heaven.

The only reason there is a second option, to go to heaven is because of God’s kingdom system.

We are going to be looking at the way out. How does it work? How does God rescue us? How does the Kingdom of God function on the Earth to save sinners?

For that we turn to the parable which is really the entry point of the kingdom of God system, the parable of the prodigal son.

It begins like this…

Luke 15:11-32, “Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.”

There are two passage ways I’ve seen people take to enter God’s kingdom. It’s kind of like the two sons.

The older son is talked about later in the parable, but I’ll compare him to the child who is brought up in the faith.

Many, many people who are faithful Christians today were raised in it. You may have had a short prodigal season, but overall, you were taught the truths growing up, your parents took you to church, and at some point you made it your own. You decided like my parents, I’m really going to follow Jesus and believe in Jesus.

That is a beautiful thing. It’s the design. Train your children in the way they should go and when they grow older they will not depart from it (Proverb 22:6).

The second way is the prodigal way. You may have been raised in it, maybe you weren’t, but, you decided to reject the faith, or you never encountered it, and you went your own way.

And you ended up much like the prodigal son, who received his share of the estate and went off in search of adventure.

Next, in verses 13-16, “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.”

How does God’s kingdom system facilitate our return? That’s the main purpose of God’s kingdom, to bring us home safely. But how?

God allows things to play out in your life. Notice a famine develops. It’s similar for us, as the years go by of life without God.. a famine develops in my heart. I get more and more thirsty for God. I need Him. Just like the prodigal who is in need.

The consequences of our bad choices begin to convince us that we need God. Notice even then the prodigal doesn’t come home. He hires himself out. He tries to serve in the kingdom of the world. But the wages aren’t so good.

The sin life is fun for a while, parties, drinking, drugs, power, entertainment, pleasure, but eventually the money runs out. The fun disappears. God will often bring a famine into that life, to bring us back to Himself.

He had become so in need, he longed to eat the pods, the Greek word there is keration (ker-ah-tee-on) which is a bug like fruit of a tree. But he doesn’t even get this.

Next, the prodigal realizes he should go back.

Verses 17-20, “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father.”

He came to his senses. The KJV says he came to himself. All this suffering prior to our return to God brings us back to our senses. We go from excited, pleasure-seeking, and selfish, and slowly in sorrows and pain, we begin to ask hard questions, “Why am I here? What is my purpose? Who made me?”

Eventually we realize, “I need God.” It starts out as an idea. Something similar happened for me. God formed the idea in my heart, to come home to Him, and admit my sins. As the idea forms in the heart, eventually, we follow it. It goes from an idea to an action.

Similarly, the prodigal son goes from thinking about it, to actually going home. And he heads off.

In verses 20-21, “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

The Father embraces the son before he repents. Before he has said anything. He embraces him.

This is wild for ancient culture. Dads were not nice like this back then. You would be getting a whooping if he saw you after squandering the inheritance. But God is not like that. He wants to forgive us. He wants to welcome us home.

The Kingdom system has worked. It’s brought the son back home into the arms of the Father.

Then the son repents. He admits he has sinned. He claims he is unworthy to be his son any longer. There is an intense humility here.

The prodigal son before had been very prideful, rebellious, out of control. But all the pain and sorrow of the world has humbled him, and brought him to a point of surrender, to return home.

The father’s generosity to the son is out of this world.

Look what it says next, verses 22-24, “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.”

This is God’s heart toward you. This is His heart toward every single human being on planet Earth right at this moment. He wants every single one of them, like the prodigal son, to return home, and be welcomed by Him. And God will celebrate. All of heaven will celebrate.

It reminds me of the scripture which says, “there will be rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents…” (Luke 15:7)

I kid you not, when I called out to Jesus Christ, at rock bottom in 2012, I swear to you I could hear the cheers of millions of angels in heaven at that moment, as that cry echoed up into the highest heavens. It’s a moment I’ll never forget.

The gifts of the Father are symbolic of the gifts God gives us when we enter His kingdom through His son Jesus.

We received a robe of righteousness which covers us.

We receive a ring, which symbolizes the covenant arrangement we enter into through Jesus Christ. That his blood covers our sins, and our part is to repent of our sins and keep ourselves clean and in the love of God.

We receive sandals on our feet, two-fold meaning, it symbolizes our inheritance that we’re now a son with the right of inheritance. It also symbolizes service, that we’re expected to work in the Father’s fields now.

And we celebrate a great feast together with God. The first of many, leading up to the ultimate feast at the marriage supper of the lamb in heaven.

And this is how God’s kingdom works. The Kingdom System which Jesus taught about in the parables instructs us how God’s kingdom is designed to bring people home safely to God.

But the parable isn’t over. It continues, in verses 25-30: “Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’”

Here is another principle of the kingdom. We who have come home, and have been home with God for a while now may be tempted to be jealous or angry with God’s grace and mercy to sinners.

We have to guard against that. If someone kills someone, harms a child, if someone does terrible things, they can still be completely forgiven by God. I know that’s hard to accept. Particularly when we’ve been hurt ourselves. But God is willing to forgive anyone, of anything, as long as they are willing to come to Him, repent, and seek forgiveness.

Notice that the older son refuses to go in. He won’t accept it. Be cautious that your own desire to judge doesn’t become a stumbling block to you. It’s God’s right to forgive someone who comes to Him through Jesus. We must accept it. Even if they come in last minute, right before they pass away, they are still welcome.

Lastly, verses 31-32, “My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

Last key for the kingdom of God: God takes dead people, people dead in our sins, completely lost, and brings us back to life again. We go from lost, to found. And it’s a miracle of God. It’s not something we achieve or attain. It’s something God does in us. And it would otherwise be impossible. But God does an impossible miracle when we call on the name of Jesus Christ, and repent of our sins.

To Review, the parable of the prodigal son helps us first understand our situation before the Creator of the universe. We find ourselves having gone astray. Along with the rest of the human race, we’ve squandered our inheritance.

The entire Bible’s chief end and goal is to bring us home safely to God. This brings God glory. Our part is to respond to the conviction of our sins, repent, and return home to our Heavenly Father. Or not. Free will still applies. If we refuse to return home, then we will not return home.

In the end we will either face paradise or God’s judgment. Either way, God is glorified. But the Father’s heart and desire is that all would be saved.

If we choose to return home, our Father runs out to meet us, and covers us in a garment of righteousness, and celebrates our return with a great celebration. Notice that the son returns, and admits his wrong doing. He repents. And the Father responds with great love to welcome him home.

Applications:
A. Living the parable of the prodigal son is seeing the sorrows and sins of the world as opportunities for lost people to see their need for God

B. Living the parable of the prodigal son is seeing your own life journey as a process of bringing you home to God.

C. Living the parable of the prodigal son is seeing the lives of others as a journey to bring them home to God

D. Living the parable of the prodigal son is seeing someone who is completely broken , sinful, and guilty of terrible things as a prodigal who God is fully able to bring home if they are willing to return.

Discussion Questions:
1. Describe your life prior to knowing Jesus Christ as savior.

2. Describe how it felt when you experienced God’s grace in your life.

3. What is your life like now, after being welcomed home by God?

4. What might cause someone to refuse to return home to God? 

5. Is there anything in you that resists the concept of amazing grace for the prodigal? Does the older brother’s response make sense to you?

How Jesus Ministered to a Divided Society

There were many divides in society during the time that Jesus walked the Earth. Jews held a disdain for gentiles, thought of them as dogs, unworthy of God's kingdom. Israelites despised Samaritans, and Samaritans were opposed to Israel. Samaria had sided against Israel, their own people in warfare. Gentiles had trampled the temple. Gentile Romans had conquered and now occupied Israel itself. They enforced heavy taxes. The people of Israel were controlled and influenced by the Pharisees, a religious sect of the time. The Pharisees fought with another group the Sadducees. The zealots fought the Romans. The Romans attempted to keep order. 

Yet Jesus seemed to walk across these lines effortlessly. He ministered to the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:1-26). He ministered to the Roman centurion whose child was sick (John 4:49). The Samaritan woman was oppressed and excluded by society. The Roman centurion was an oppressor of the Jewish people. It didn't matter to Jesus, both were welcomed into the kingdom of God. A rich young ruler was ministered to. A prostitute was ministered to. An affluent Pharisee was taught about being born again. A poor woman with a bleeding issue was healed.

I think when considering how to have a heart of compassion toward those we've placed outside our "we" circle, we have to look to the example of Jesus. Jesus kept breaking social norms and cutting across lines that others didn't want to cross. He didn't do this to show how tolerant he was, or to embrace diverse lifestyles, or to party with sinners, Jesus did this to bring the whosoever to a place of repentance and faith. And this was accomplished through love, kindness, miracles, acts of service, and relationship. The outcast and the affluent both found an open door with Jesus. The conditions were always the same: repent and believe the good news (Mark 1:15).

It definitely takes seeing beyond our own socio-economic grouping. I remember experiencing this. I had been raised lower-middle class, Wisconsin style. Cheeseheads, beer, Packer parties, roller rinks, snowmobiling, fishing, going up north, and everything else included in that. But my dad worked at The Salvation Army in town. He was a GED teacher for those who had dropped out of high school before getting their degree. And I was always surprised when I went there, because I just didn't know such a group of people existed. I saw the people eating the free meals. I saw the people who came over from the homeless shelter. And it was such a different group than I was used to. But I will always remember how my dad treated them. They didn't wear the same clothes we did, they didn't talk like dad did, but dad always treated them as equals. And I realized that's because they are equals.

I tried to always embrace that attitude of dad, to treat everyone I meet as my equal. Now my dad wasn't perfect, I recall a time he talked down to one of my uncles because he wasn't college educated. But he treated his students well.

And at my current appointment in Michigan, my ministry is to a similar group of people. But they are my friends. They are my "we." Now sometimes, I have a harder time remembering that when I see someone who is wealthy and affluent, they also needed the gospel I carry! That's the challenge, to continue to see all humanity as my "we."

I think the best way to do that is to go do it. I'll give an example. There was a young man who comes to our daily meals at the corps, we'll call him Bob. I nearly had to ban Bob for a while, because he puts his hands around the neck of my one of my volunteers in a rage. In the end I decided not to. But I saw him yesterday, and one of my volunteers Larry was sitting with him by the bathrooms. And something inside tugged at me, saying, go minister to him. To my shame I must admit that I'd begun to write off Bob. Bob couldn't be helped. Bob was headed in the wrong direction, and nothing could stop it. That may be the case, but I can never assume that. It's just not the right approach to take. It's like the Calvinist who says that person must not be pre-destined to salvation, and if they are, it'll happen anyway. So then should I bother to do anything?

So I obeyed the leading of the Holy Spirit. I went and I talked with Bob. He listened quietly as I told him about the love that Jesus has for him, and that there was still hope, he had expressed being very depressed and hopeless. Apparently when I left Bob threw something at the wall, and left. I figured well, I tried, but just as I expected, it had not yielded fruit.

Then something happened later. I was sitting downstairs as I often do at our daily meals looking for opportunities to chat with people, and after everyone else had left Bob started talking with me. He slowed down, Bob's very fast, and he opened up. He shared about things that had happened to him growing up. He shared his struggle toward faith in God. He talked about losing his mom. And I saw a side of Bob that I'd never seen. I saw someone who was wrestling with God, and faith and Jesus, and the Bible, and church, and trying to find his way through deep hurts, post-traumatic stress, addictions, and even gang violence. I was astonished. I was touched.

And it helped me to see, Bob is a "we." He's one of my people. I think it comes down to "Do it!" Go walk across that room and dialogue. Talk with people, hear their stories, and we can learn to empathize with those we perceive as the "other."

As we empathize with those outside of our circle, everyone becomes part of our circle. The purpose of all of this is to help bring human beings to the valley of decision. 

You are no longer other, you are no longer outside the circle. You are loved and the doorway is open. But now you must walk through it. See the love of God. Let it convince you to repent of your sins, to turn away from past lifestyles that were destructive, and put all your faith, hope, and future in Jesus Christ. Then, everything will change. 

If not, we fade back into divisions. We fade back into sin. We fade back into darkness. But, light is offered through Jesus. 

Jesus ministered to a divided society by crossing all the lines that had been setup by others. Yet at the same time Jesus setup a new line. As much as Jesus crossed the boundary lines, he made it very clear, either you are with me, or you are against me (Matthew 12:30). Enter into the kingdom of God, or face destruction (Luke 13:3-5). Jesus didn't come to bring peace, but a sword (Matthew 10:34). Jesus said, his message would divide families against each other (Matthew 10:35-36).  So while at the same time Jesus brought together many disparate groups, he also brought division, as some would accept the message of salvation, and some would reject it. He knew this would be the case. 

So in our approach to ministering to a divided society, we must remember to cross all lines to minister to the whosoever. At the same time, we should not expect to find total unity at the end of the journey. We should expect to see a different kind of division, the division between the born again, and the rebellious lost. 

Many of us have a strong instinct for complete unity, as we should. This concept is built into western civilization from the Greek school of thought. We constantly in the west seek to build syncretism. We attempt to sync different systems and ideas and religions and philosophies together all under one banner. But this is not the Christian pathway. Nor it is feasible. One could argue that western civilization is in collapse now, because we've taken our egalitarian equalization so far that we've attempted to sync and harmonize such diametrically opposed philosophies that our society has gone schizophrenic and no longer knows what it believes. Some in the body of Christ seek to bring this Greek philosophical construct in the church, harmonize all ideologies and viewpoints under the banner of equality and acceptance. This is not biblical however. 

The balance Jesus struck was this: The message of the gospel crossed every line imaginable in society, while at the same time a new line formed, between those who would accept the message and those who would reject it. 

Hebrews Road of Salvation

“Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. –Hebrews 1:1-2

Only through God’s Son Jesus can we know the Eternal Creator


“So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak?” -Hebrews 2:3

Only through God’s Son Jesus can we escape the wrath to come

"God’s promise of entering His rest still stands… only we who believe can enter His rest." -Hebrews 4:1,3

Only through belief in God’s Son Jesus can we find rest

"Jesus died once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the people’s sins." -Hebrews 7:27

Only through the death of God’s Son Jesus can sins be forgiven

"He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him." -Hebrews 9:28

Only through the return of God’s Son Jesus will all things be made right

The Pathway of Adam vs. the Pathway of Christ

There was a pathway I was on for many years. It was a pathway with many bright lights and beautiful things. So much technology and media, so many songs, and movies and events, giant arenas and commercials and billions of dollars in industry.

I walked that path day by day, it was at times beautiful, at times vicious and vulgar. I was swept along by that path. I was controlled by it and consumed by it.

Every once in a while there would be a slight twinkle of something else. An old church building that I walked by. Some random mention of God or the Bible. A little card in my Halloween candy.

But, it was hard to notice. South Park, Beavis and butthead, Michael Jackson, Nickelodeon, Backstreet boys, Puff Daddy, Dave Chapelle, new age mysticism, SNL, weed, pills, Foo Fighter concert, Jay Leno, Korn music video, Star Wars, I built my life around these exciting things in media.

I mocked the old faith I was brought up in, the Catholic mass, the old dry religion, the old myths of the past.



I was on the pathway of destruction. I didn’t know it at the time, but I was.

Yet something inside me that was once so entertained with this whole world, began to feel increasingly empty. As I sat for hours playing videogames and watching videos, I felt sad. I longed for meaning. I longed for something more.

And step by step, my life began to fall apart. The debauchery made me feel gross. The drugs and drink made me feel trapped. The sin life was so very cold. And I felt dissatisfied and angry. Oddly angry. I felt I had been tricked. Deceived.

Little did I know, I was living out a scripture from the word of God, from Romans chapter 5.

It says this, “12 When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.”

I was walking in the pathway of Adam, the pathway of rebellion against God. And it was leading toward disaster. Not only that, the entire world system was built around the pathway of Adam. So it naturally drew me in.

I live in Chicago, and I’ve been making the drive back and forth from Chicago, IL to Gary, IN. Every day I drive past a beautiful church called Progressive Baptist church, a powerful and effective ministry from what I can tell. Seated in a key position, biblical and bold.

Yet towering next to it is the 137 million dollar facility called Guaranteed Rate field where the White Sox play.

That I think exemplifies our situation in the world. The church, the body of Jesus Christ has a powerful voice in the world, yet compared to the thundering lights and billion dollar entities among us, from baseball teams to billionaires to mega corporations, the voice of the church is one voice among many competing voices.

Why is that? It’s because of the pathway of Adam. The pathway of Adam is sin, it’s the default setting for planet Earth.

Any change that is affected to that pathway comes at great effort and cost to many. Have you ever seen the movie The Matrix? In that movie, it took great effort to bring one person out of the matrix and into the real world. Similarly, the entire system is set to keep people lost until they die. When anything other than that happens, it's a miracle of God, and it takes great effort to manifest.

It takes dozens of Christians praying, evangelizing, teaching, and discipling, just for one person to be born again, saved, and sanctified. 

A person who desires to escape the pathway of Adam must be born again. They must leave behind their old life and embrace an entirely new life.

As it says in Romans 5:13-14: “Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come.”

There’s this great illustration of two pathways. It was making the rounds on social media I’d say about a year ago, you can see it above, but it always stuck with me. We get so swept up by this world. And it pulls us along. Little do we realize, we’re being manipulated and pushed down a pathway that is wrong.

As the scripture says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death” (Proverb 14:12).

That is so true. We are so sure our way is right, but it isn’t. It seems so right. The lights are so bright. The structures so refined. The tower so high. Yet, it’s pathway leads to destruction.

I think we start to realize that, as we see demons in music videos, mockeries of Christ in the Olympics, bizarre displays at the Gotthard tunnel opening ceremony, demonic imagery in movies, and we start to realize, something is wrong here. Modernism isn't just shiny skyscrapers, advanced medical tech, and convenient consumerism, simmering just beneath the surface is a malevolence that is supernatural in nature. 

A good friend of my dad, named Pauli, he had gotten deep into the death metal scene, and he was on a crew for a major musician. They were at a show in the sound booth, and he realized, they were worshipping Satan. And he turned to another guy there and said, "Hey, we can’t be worshipping Satan.” The guy replied, “Hey man, what’s wrong with worshipping Satan?”

At that moment he realized, he was on the wrong path. He began to seek after God. I randomly met him at a bible study, I knew him from my child hood, and he was there, uncertain, but asking questions, wanting to learn more about who God is. Later he got salvation, just before he died of cancer. God's timing is perfect. 

I saw things in the world, demonic things, that led me toward God. Do you know how I first began to realize that God was real? I had seen demons. So I thought well, if there are demons, there must be angels, and if there are angels, then there must be a God.

They try to hide the spiritual from life, make you think everything is material. But it’s not true. We’ve all had experiences of the supernatural. We know it’s real. And we know there are powerful forces behind the events that are happening in our world. We can sense it, we know it’s true. And again, this points us to God.

Adam’s sin led us down this pathway. And we’re caught on this path. Just like the graphic, it’s hard to see it, to see the pathway, and to see the road out, but it’s there.

We slowly discover that there is a savior out there who can deliver us from this evil pathway that leads to disaster. His name is Jesus Christ. They try so hard to smear that name. They try so hard to make us think there is nothing there. Unfortunately many false teachers have brought the way of truth into disrepute (2 Peter 2:2). And much dry dead religion leads us to think, there is nothing there. Many hypocrites who claim Christ make us think there is nothing there. But beyond all of that there is a pure, loving, living Jesus willing to completely save us. 

Adam's sin led to death. Yet what Jesus did for us is very different.

From Romans 5:15: “But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ.”

So, we want to leave the pathway of Adam, and jump onto the new pathway of Christ.

But how can this be done? It’s impossible to simply hop over onto the new path. Why? Because my entire old self is dedicated to the road of Adam.

So God desires that I stop. And turn. Simply turn toward Him. And let Him do something huge in my heart. 

God has an operation he wants to do on you. He wants you, in your sin, on the broken path of Adam, to stop, and turn, and cry out to Jesus, and ask Jesus to change you.

And then your old self dies, and a new self is born in Jesus Christ.

So how do you escape the pathway of Adam? Easy, you just have to die.

That’s how radical it is though. You surrender yourself to God, your old self dies, and a new self is born in Christ Jesus.

Verse 16 says, “And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins.”

Despite the fact that we are guilty of so many sins, there is hope. Though we’ve actively participated in the pathway of Adam, total forgiveness is available to us. That’s really amazing and wonderful. We would assume that theres no way we can be saved. We’ve sinned so terribly on the pathway of Adam.

Yet God’s grace, his favor, his forgiveness brings us onto the new pathway of Christ.

Wow!

What’s really shocking is that this stuff is real. It’s not a mythology, it’s not a abstract theology, it’s actual, it’s here right now. These truths affect us every day. Either you know about it, or you walk around wondering why you’re miserable, why you feel yucky, why nothing is going right in your life. Or you know the word of God and through that knowledge you build a victorious life on the foundation of Christ. And when something happens you can point to the word and say "Oh yeah, God's word talks about this."

It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe it, it’s still true. We have to make the right choice and decide we’re going to base our lives around what the Bible says. It’s not good enough to keep it on the side, or tag it along with the rest, God has to be first, above anything else.

That’s repentance. That’s a change of pathway. We all need to make sure we're on that right road. 

The scripture says, “17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.”

We leave the road of death, the road of destruction and move to the road of life. And if you walk that road, you will live in triumph over sin through Jesus.

How is all this possible? This is a miracle. This is huge. But how could it happen? Was it because we really sat down and figured it out? And we jumped over to the new path? No.

It’s because God sent Jesus and Jesus triumphed over sin and death.

As it says in the word, (18-19) “Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.”

Adam disobeyed God. I wasn’t there. But it affected me. Because I’m a descendant of Adam and Eve. Their sin affected my life. I can’t change that. It’s a simple reality of human history, if my dad and grandpa made a lot of money I inherit lots of nice things. If my dad or granddad was poor and an alcoholic, I inherit nothing. Is it fair? I don’t know, it just is what it is. Same with Adam. Does it seem fair that I inherit Adam’s sin nature? It doesn’t. But it simply is what it is. Is it fair that I was born in the United States and someone else was born in some area of India or China where millions starve to death? It isn’t fair. But in the end it’s the reality. Similarly, if the population of the United States decides to honor God, then things will go well for the country and I'll be blessed. But, if the population of the USA begin to choose evil, then I'll face the consequences right along with them. It's a group responsibility. We're part of the human race, all the way back to Adam. So we face the results of their choices, whether good or bad. We turn up our noses at it because we're so radically individualistic in the west that we think the actions of our ancestors should have no affect on our lives for good or ill, but that isn't how reality works. 

In any case, Jesus made the way for us to escape this broken reality. Jesus lived the holy life we couldn’t live. He setup a new pathway. He created this new road. And now we walk on it. If we want it. But we can also say no.

Here’s the thing too. We can say yes to God, be born again, join the new pathway, but twenty years from now maybe we start to say no to God. And eventually we slowly start to transfer ourselves back to the old road of destruction. I’ve seen it happen. We want to make sure we keep choosing Christ in the future. Through faith we will.

So to sum it all up Romans 5:20-21 says, “God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

We keep getting mention of “the law” in these scriptures from Romans 5. Many of you I’m sure were raised that way. Follow the ten commandments and try to be a good person and then you’ll go to heaven instead of hell.

But that is actually wrong. We’ve talked about wrong pathways. That’s just another wrong road that doesn’t lead to heaven. Trying to be a good person is not the answer. The entire purpose of the ten commandments was to draw us toward the cross, so we’d realize, I can’t follow these without Jesus inside my heart.



Admitting you’ve sinned against God is the answer. Admitting you can’t follow the law of yourself is the answer. And humbly accepting Jesus Christ as your savior is the answer. Because Jesus died for your sins. But you have to receive that sacrifice, and let Jesus change you into a new person. The old can’t inherit eternal life, only the new person can.

Let God change you into a new person. Invite Jesus into your heart today. Let go of trying to be good. Admit you can’t. Accept Jesus as your savior. Let Jesus reign in you, change you, and make you born again. Then, with Jesus as your savior, God as your Father, and the Holy Spirit in your heart, you will find new power within to obey the commands of God that once seemed impossible to follow. 

And you’ll come onto the new road. This new road is not like the old. The old was very flashy, very bright, exciting, mysterious. Yet as it went on, increasingly gray and empty. 

This new road with God is beautiful and mysterious yes, but it’s also challenging at times. It becomes more and more glorious as time goes, yet we also face all sort of trials and difficulties along the way.

And it will run contrary to the viewpoints of the world. It’s just so different to be part of God’s kingdom. We want to learn more and more how to walk on this new road because it is very different.

So to understand the new rules that we must live by, we must study God’s word carefully, and know His kingdom system, which is what Jesus taught in the parables. And we’re going to be getting into that more in the future.

We know how life worked on the path of Adam. It was all about pleasure, fun, excitement, money, power, parties, events, and getting more stuff. But it’s so different on the pathway of Christ.

The pathway of Christ is about love, service, humility, faith, prayer, fellowship with other believers, and ministering to the lost world around us.

So, what pathway will you choose? Many choose the pathway of Adam, and they go on into the gray tunnel, until they slowly die inside. Yet there is a great opportunity in that gray death, because out of it God can bring life. Oddly enough, in the deepest emptiness of the gray road of disaster, is paradoxically also the greatest opportunity for us to sense our need for Jesus Christ and a new pathway. 

God will bring you throughout your life around again and again to the open door of Jesus. One day, you can choose to walk through it, or you may choose to reject it. Yet the offer is open, as long as you're breathing. Choose Christ today, because our time is running out on this finite Earth. Soon Jesus will return, and make a new heavens and new Earth. 

Review of Main Points:

1. The pathway of this world seems right, yet it leads to disaster

2. The megaphone of the world is loud, yet the voice of God grows louder when we feel the emptiness of this life

3. Sometimes the best evidence for the reality of God is all the demonic activity in the world & our supernatural experiences

4. To escape the pathway of Adam we repent and die to our old selves

5. Adam’s sin brought condemnation to all, because all have sinned

6. The crucifixion of Jesus brings forgiveness to all who will receive it

7. Saying yes to Jesus starts today, but must continue into the future

8. The ten commandments remind us that we can’t be good without Jesus within us

9. Finding salvation means humbly admitting our sins, admitting we can’t do life with God, and inviting Jesus to be our savior

10. The new pathway of Christ is about love, service, humility, faith, prayer, fellowship with other believers, and ministering to the lost world around us.

The Power of Christian Community

I’ve been wrestling with God lately on some things, battling depression, anxiety, even questioning God, his will and purposes.

And I’m so grateful for my wife who has been there day in and day out challenging my poor thinking patterns. Reciting God’s word to me. She brings the truth up, and just keeps saying God loves you so much Justin.

So many people, members of the body of Christ, have encouraged me, Dennis and Barbara came over for Bible study last Thursday and that meant a lot to me. Yesterday my DC called and just talked with me and encouraged me. Not 15 minutes later the pastoral care officer for our area called to pray with me. My brother in law texted me some encouraging words. My friend Heston and I talked for about an hour on the phone.

I’ll tell you this, we need each other.

What if I didn’t have my wife, didn’t have my friend, didn’t have my fellow Christian leaders, my church members, what if? I would be in a much darker place.

We’ve talked about faith, healing, redemption, holiness, and service. Now we talk about community.

Too many Christians today operate as lonewolfs. They are an easy target for the enemy. But, when we surround ourselves with Christian community, we put ourselves in a position for success.

In Romans chapter 12 we see the apostle Paul telling us what it means to live in Christian community, and how to do it successfully.


The very first thing Paul does is give us a warning, he says this: “3 Because of the privilege and authority[c] God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.”

The very first thing to remember in Christian community is to live at a radical level of humility.

Why does Paul mention this first?

It’s easy to get proud. It’s easy to want to show off. Its too common in the church. Instead, let’s choose to be very humble, serving each other gently.

It says be honest in your evaluation of yourself. Don’t get puffed up. Evaluate yourself based on where you’re at in your faith.

Next Paul writes in verse 4-5 “Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, 5 so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.”

Secondly, we all have unique functions in the body of Christ. Your job isn’t the same as mine. You have skills I don’t.

You have a job to fulfill. You have an area where you can serve. And we need each other. We belong to each other it says.

What if we in this church really felt, we belong to each other? How would we serve each other differently?

Next in verses 6-8, “6 In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you. 7 If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. 8 If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.”

These are gifts. Wrapped up in beautiful paper with golden bows, and placed at your feet when you became a Christian. And God says, use this gift I’ve given you. Use it for each other. Isn’t that beautiful?

Is your gift prophesy? What an amazing gift. Use it to speak truth in love to each other.

Is your gift serving others? Then serve people earnestly.

Is your gift teaching? Then it’s time to take up your role as a teacher.

Is your gift encouraging others? I love the gift of encouragement. Use it generously.

Is your gift leadership? Be a godly humble yet strong leader.

Is your gift giving? Give generously.

Is your gift showing mercy? Show mercy to people that are hard to love.

Let’s Pray: Father, bring to mind and heart which of these gifts are for us. And keep it in our minds, prompt us again and again to use the gift you’ve given us. We are willing God, in Jesus name, amen.

How else do we go about living in community together?

We are the army of God! We’ve got to learn to march together as one. And we’re getting our instructions.

Verse 9, “Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them.”

It’s easy to pretend to be nice. It’s easy to pretend to love someone. Just smile, say some nice words, and say “I’ll pray for you.”

God had to do some work on me in this area. I like ideas, thoughts, philosophy, theology, apologetics, but God had to train me to love people deeply. Just love them. Stop, and let your heart feel for them. Slow down, and see people, engage with people, talk with people, and learn their stories.

Where are you at with this? Do you genuinely love people? Not just your family. But your Christian family. Love them dearly.

Pray about this. Say God, I need you to help me love more deeply. And he will.

But also notice the second part of verse 9, it says, “Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good.”

Hate what is evil. Hate what is wrong in the world. Don’t hate the person. But hate evil.

Recently during the opening ceremony of the Olympics there was a display mocking the last supper of Jesus. Do I hate the person that decided that was a good idea? No I don’t. I disagree with them, but I don’t hate them.

And it’s unfortunate, as soon as the world does something like that, you’ll have Christians who jump up and start attacking other Christians. How dare you notice that the world did that? How dare you hate evil? But we’re supposed to hate evil.

Many of these incidents very quickly become an excuse for Christians to attack other Christians. We have to stop shooting our own. Can’t we stand united when something like a mockery of the last supper happens? Unfortunately, many of us prefer to sling arrows at our own. It makes us feel superior, like we’re showing how merciful we are to the world. Yet we’re told by God, to hate evil, and love good.

Love the person, but hate the sinful attitude or action. Don’t be afraid to speak out against evil. But make it about the evil itself, not the person behind it. Jesus died for that person. But evil is still evil, and it’s ok to call a spade a spade.

So how do we prosper in Christian community? We love each other with genuine love. And we call out evil. We expose the deeds of darkness, and do not participate in them.

Many Christians will attack you if you speak out against evil in the world. But ignore them, they are wrong. They are mixing up mercy with truth. Mercy doesn’t erase truth. Mercy draws us toward the truth. But the truth needs to be in it’s place too. It can’t be hidden. And Christians can’t be silent in the face of evil. So if a Christian calls you judgmental, you tell them, I’m not judging anyone, I’m speaking up against evil. Why aren’t you doing the same?

Next, verse 10, “Love each other with genuine affection,[e] and take delight in honoring each other.”

Brotherly love, it says in the Greek, enjoy a sense of brotherhood, sisterhood in the church. I’m a salvationist, you’re a salvationist, let’s be excited about that. We’re the army of God, get excited! And enjoy honoring each other. That’s why we brag about each other, I saw so and so serving someone. I saw them volunteering at the food pantry. We honor each other, above ourselves.

Next verse 11, “Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.”

How do we live in community? Don’t get lazy. Keep serving. It’s easy to start saying well I served the last year I’m going to take a break for a while. No, keep serving. Don’t get lazy. Work hard for God’s kingdom.

I’ve been so tired lately, and stressed, and I have to remind myself, keep serving God Justin. Keep speaking up for Jesus. Keep standing firm for Him.

And be enthusiastic, I like the footnote in verse 11, it says the Greek could be rendered, “Or but serve the Lord with a zealous spirit; or but let the Spirit excite you as you serve the Lord.”

Let the Spirit within excite you as you serve the Lord.

I love that. Get excited about serving God. I think it’s exciting. Doing God’s will is exciting!

There are so many great concepts here, next verse 12: “Rejoice in our confident hope. Be patient in trouble, and keep on praying.”

Christian community, next keep looking back at the confident hope we have of eternal life that Jesus Christ has paid it all and made us new. Rejoice in that.

At the same time, be patient when troubles happen. I can relate to that. When we enter a problem, a struggle, a suffering, we instantly want it to be over fast. Can anyone relate? Be done now!

But God says be patient. And yes it’s on a clock. But wait patiently for God. These things take time to work out, by God’s action in the situation.

In those dark times, keep on praying, return to prayer over and over. I like to go sit outside on my back deck, or in Owosso it was on the front porch, and I just pray. Get alone with God for a while and talk to Him.

If you can train yourself to do that in difficulties you’re gonna rise up on eagles wings in those hard times. Get away from the phone or the tv or the computer, and sit with God in nature.

So many good instructions!

Verse 13, “When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.”

Just be willing to help someone in need. When you see a need, say, you know what, I think I could help. Get messy in their situation. Get into it and help.

I remember there was a situation, messy situation at the corps, and this lady who was volunteering in our food pantry, she liked to get into those situations and she brought this family into my office and there was all this drama and I thought I don’t want to get into all this. Talking to the police, talking to the family, trying to find the truth, dropping off paperwork, this and that. But later the daughter joined our church, and I thought thank you Lord that she brought them into my office. As messy as it was sometimes you have to get into the situation and try to help.

It also says practice hospitality. Invite someone over for dinner. Take someone out to lunch, guys with guys, women with women, thank you. But yes, let God prompt you to do that. Invite someone over. Take them out for coffee. Get to know their story. Learn more about them. Invite your pastor over for dinner, he might not be a very good cook. You never know.

Here's a tough one, “Bless those who persecute you. Don’t curse them; pray that God will bless them.” (v.14)

Street preacher Cliffe Knechtle was being interviewed by Jake Paul online, and he shares this story about when he was playing division 1 basketball, but he was the worst player on the team, and there was a guy who would always make fun of him, and he hated this guy. It was Cliff’s dream to be a basketball player and this guy would always mock him and his basketball skills. And Cliff felt he would always hate this guy. So he went to God in prayer and said Lord I don’t think I can ever forgive this guy, but he asked for God’s help and sure enough God did a miracle in his heart, and he was able to forgive that person.

Is there someone who hurt you very badly, and you need God to do a miracle? First of all, believe it’s possible. Second, ask God for help. Third, pray and say, Lord I forgive him or her. And watch the miracle begin to happen. But remember, forgiveness for others is a command, not an option, it’s so important God even says if you don’t forgive someone their sins against you, God will in turn not forgive some of your sins. And we know what happens when sins are not forgiven. They must be punished.

Pray for people who have hurt you, pray that God would bless them, and God will deal with them. I’ve seen that happen. I pray for God to bless them, and God does something huge to deal with them. He heaps burning coals on their head. Why? Because I gave up my hate. I forgave them. I even prayed they would be blessed. Now I’m off the judgment seat, and God gets in the judgment seat, and he takes action. It’s biblical, look it up, Romans 12:20.

Next, verse 15-16, “Be happy with those who are happy, and weep with those who weep. 16 Live in harmony with each other. Don’t be too proud to enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know it all!”

This concept is really interesting in scripture, it’s the concept of empathy, of literally “feeling with” someone.

If someone is mourning you literally enter into that emotion with them, and mourn with them.

If someone is celebrating you literally enter into that emotion with them, and celebrate with them.

It’s a profound truth of scripture, it says about someone in prison, Hebrews 13:3, “Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body.”

Join in with someone emotionally. Remember that one. Celebrate with a Christian who is celebrating, and mourn with a Christian who is sad.

Also it adds, live in harmony. Enjoy the company of ordinary people. And don’t think you know everything.

I’ve met a few know-it-all Christians. And it’s very off-putting. That’s why we return to verse 3 that says stay very humble. Don’t act like you know it all. Because no one does.

Verses 17-20 continue like this, “17 Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable. 18 Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

19 Dear friends, never take revenge. Leave that to the righteous anger of God. For the Scriptures say, “I will take revenge; I will pay them back,” says the Lord.

20 Instead, “If your enemies are hungry, feed them.
If they are thirsty, give them something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap
burning coals of shame on their heads.”

But I want to draw your attention to verse 21, “Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good.”

Yes, we want to call out evil. We want to call evil for what it is. And we want to love people even those caught in sins. But, at the same time, we can only overcome evil with good.

Sometimes we as Christians get so stuck on fighting and reacting to evil, we lose focus on building the good. As you build the good, the world becomes better.

I recall when the whole controversy with the Olympics took place, the television show the Chosen, they put out a picture from the show’s upcoming season of the last supper, a beautiful picture of purity and holiness. And that kind of beauty it a great response. Refocus on goodness. Overcome evil with good.

Main Points:

Remember the question was, how do we live in community?

1. Be radically humble toward each other

2. You have a unique role to fulfill in the body

3. Discover your spiritual gifts and use them

4. Genuinely love each other

5. Expose evil in the world, hate evil

6. Enjoy honoring each other

7. Don’t get lazy, keep serving enthusiastically

8. Be patient in dark times

9. Be quick to meet a need for someone & hospitality

10. Forgive one who hurts you, bless your persecutor

11. Join in with someone mourning or celebrating

12. Overcome evil by building good things