Let us then examine ourselves in light of this parable. Perhaps you recognize yourself in the younger brother. You have wandered far from God. You have squandered his gifts. The message of this parable is simple: Return. As the prophet Joel says, “Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful” (Joel 2:12).
Tag Archives: Depravity
When Everything Sad Comes Untrue
In his mercy and by his grace, God has dealt with our sin problem: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). Positionally, by God’s grace through faith in Christ we are perfectly righteous. Practically, through his Spirit we are enabled to live in obedience to him. And while in this life under the sun, we battle our sinful flesh, Christ is preparing a place for us where the inequities of this life are not true, where the righteous don’t die, where there is no folly nor sadness because sin no longer is. This is the Christian hope, that in the final consummation, we will hear from heaven “Behold, I am making all things new” (Rev. 21:5), and on that day everything sad comes untrue.
Evidence of a Depraved Mind
And while Herodias held what she perceived to be her trophy of triumph, the Word of God triumphs through the faithful preaching of the Word that by the work of the Holy Spirit the depraved mind be conquered and sanctified by the Word of truth.