"Grace That Is Greater Than All Our Sin"

Luke 15:11–32 (ESV)

And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything.

“But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.” ’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 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. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.

“Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.’ But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, ‘Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command, yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him!’ And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’ ”

Anecdotes and Illustrations (How to Reach a Son in a Distant Land), Charles Spurgeon

How to Reach a son in a Distant Land

AT the close of a meeting one day in Manchester, England, a prominent business man of that city came to me and asked me to pray for his son.

He said his son was a gifted young man, nearly forty years of age, a graduate of Cambridge University and a lawyer but that he was a wanderer, and had left his wife and child and was then wandering, he knew not where. I promised to pray for him.

The next summer at Keswick, this father came to me again and said, “I have got track of my son. He is in Vancouver. Do you know any minister in Vancouver? I want to cable him at once.”

I gave him the name of a friend in Vancouver and he cabled him. But the next day, he came and said, “I am too late. The bird has flown. Will you still pray for my son?” I promised him I would.

The following November, we began our second mission in the great Tournament Hall in Liverpool. The first Sunday afternoon I preached on “GOD IS LOVE.”

At the close of the service, a fine looking man thirty-eight years of age came up to me and told me that he had decided to accept Christ. When we inquired into the matter, we found that this man was the son that the Manchester man had asked me to pray for.

He had returned to England, had wandered into our first meeting on Sunday afternoon and accepted Christ. He at once gave himself to the work of winning others with great success and afterwards studied for Holy Orders under the Bishop of Liverpool.

I. Jesus utilizes a typical Jewish preaching technique

a. The drama of the Prodigal Son

b. The grace of the Father

c. The hate of the Older Brother

II. Jesus reveals the reality of the Kingdom of Heaven

a. The Prodigal Son is the Gentile Church

b. The Father is God

c. The Older Brother is the Pharisees

Three Takeaways

1) Like the Prodigal Son, there is nothing I can do that the grace of the Father cannot cover

2) What the Older Brother did not understand was that the same grace was there for him as well if he had only repented

3) No matter what we do, or how far we stray, the Father is waiting to greet us with open arms

“Grace That Is Greater Than Our Sin,” 1911 (Words by Julia Harriette Johnson, Music by Daniel Brink Towner)

Refrain: Grace, grace, God's grace, Grace that will pardon and cleanse within; Grace, grace, God's grace, Grace that is greater than all our sin!