The Legalist

Introduction

How many of us would admit to being rule-followers?

In our society we look around and we see lots of people not following rules for many different reasons. Some people, like kids in school, don’t like rules unless they make them. Others think that some rules are silly and unnecessary. Others think that there are rules that deserve to be broken. Others, still, think that rules have a purpose and should be obeyed within reason. We’re all a little bit different when it comes to obeying rules, though. Think about the speed limit, for a moment.

Some people obey the speed limit because they think it’s the right thing to do. Others obey the speed limit because they’re afraid of the consequence of getting a speeding ticket and having to pay more for their car insurance. Others obey the speed limit because they might be rewarded for doing so as some insurance companies offer rewards for safe driving. People obey rules because they think it’s right, because they don’t want to have a consequence, or because they think they’re going to be rewarded. This is pretty universal in our world for lots of things beyond the world of driving a car.

Why do some students not cheat on a test? Because they either think it’s wrong, they don’t want to get caught, or they want the reward of knowing that they did their best without help.

Even though we try really hard, though, we know that sometimes we do break rules. The Bible shares with us that we’ve all broken God’s law and we are all sinners. The result of our sin is that we deserve to be separated from God. What is the solution to this problem? We must believe in Jesus as Lord

John 3:18 CSB

18 Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.

There are some out there who think that there is another way to avoid condemnation altogether and it has nothing to do with Jesus and His grace. Rather it’s through ourselves. It’s through hard work. It’s through our good outweighing our bad. There are many people, even many sitting in church pews today, who believe that if you try really hard to just live a good life and be a good person that you’ll go to heaven because that’s what it takes to get there - just try really hard and do nice things. Thankfully, most Christians understand that this isn’t right. The Bible shares with us that there is no one righteous - meaning there is no one inherently good enough to deserve heaven on their own based on their good works and efforts. We need a Savior!

The real danger that many genuine churchgoers face isn’t just that we believe that our works can save us, but we wrongly can believe that the works of others make them unsaveable. We look at our lives and our obedience and our works and we look at someone else’s disobedience and we can be quick to offer condemnation towards them and say, “You’re not a Christian and you never will be because you’ve done _______.” This is the cancer of legalism. We compare ourselves with others rather than looking to God’s Word. Were there people preaching and practicing legalism in Jesus’ day? Absolutely - the Pharisees for one! Are there people practicing legalism in our world? Absolutely!

This morning, as we continue looking in Luke 15 at the parable of the Lost Sons, we come to son number 2 - the older brother. We don’t find a story about how he left his home and lived a very rebellious life, instead, we will see how this son lived a very obedient life. He did what he was told. He followed the rules. He was a hard worker - and he was just as lost as his younger brother. Why is this the case? Because the older brother might look like a true son on the outside, but on the inside he was just as disobedient and selfish. He was a legalist and there is no salvation in legalism.

Maybe you’re already up in arms because you more closely identify with the older brother than the younger brother - here’s the good news: The Father who welcomed home the younger brother also welcomes home the older brother. The Father’s arms are open wide! Will we come home and enter the feast, or will we continue to trust in our self-righteousness and good works? Let’s read what Jesus has to say to older brothers in Luke 15:25

Luke 15:25–32 CSB

25 “Now his older son was in the field; as he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he summoned one of the servants, questioning what these things meant. 27 ‘Your brother is here,’ he told him, ‘and your father has slaughtered the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ 28 “Then he became angry and didn’t want to go in. So his father came out and pleaded with him. 29 But he replied to his father, ‘Look, I have been slaving many years for you, and I have never disobeyed your orders, yet you never gave me a goat so that I could celebrate with my friends. 30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your assets with prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him.’ 31 “ ‘Son,’ he said to him, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32 But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ ”

The Legalist, like the Prodigal, Is Lost (25-27)

Can someone with lots of knowledge and information be lost? Last week we talked about how it can be easy to get lost whenever you’re driving in a place that you’re not very familiar. We recognize that the Prodigal Son was lost and he was trying to find purpose and happiness in all the wrong places. He didn’t know where to turn! Did you know, though, that the Legalist is every bit as lost as the Prodigal? The problem for the younger brother was his rebelliousness and self-centeredness. The problem for the older brother is similar but a little bit different. The problem is largely his pride and lack of understanding.

Charles Spurgeon in addition to being a dynamic pastor and prolific writer, also was a trainer of pastors for decades and some of his lessons can be found in his series, “Lectures to My Students.” These lectures are profound as Spurgeon poured into his students. One student came to Spurgeon deeply upset because his message the previous Sunday didn’t resonate and he was all over the place. He said that he went into the pulpit beaming with confidence and came down from it brokenhearted. Spurgeon told the student, “If you had gone up as you came down, you would have come down as you went up.” What was this student’s problem? He placed far too much confidence and pride in himself. Friends, we are all tempted to do this exact thing. We have lots of information and knowledge, but at the end of the day, that’s not what it’s about! It’s easy for us to have the right knowledge and to look back on our lives and point out to others that we’ve done the right things, but it’s not about knowledge. It’s not about our works. It’s about being adopted into the Kingdom. Even though the older brother doesn’t have the dramatic rebellious phase his younger brother had, both brothers are lost. James shares with us that even the demons know that God exists

James 2:19 CSB

19 You believe that God is one. Good! Even the demons believe—and they shudder.

What good does it do us if we know the right answer but we have the wrong attitude and actions? It doesn’t profit us one bit and it doesn’t reflect Christ to others either.

The older brother is working in the field whenever his younger brother returns. Good for him, right? He’s hard at work doing what he’s supposed to be doing. Yet, as he comes to the house he hears a celebration. As we will see in a few verses, he’s a little upset about this celebration and here he’s simply confused and asks a servant why this is going on. What is the answer he’s given by the servant? Because your brother has returned.

What should be his response at this moment? He should rejoice! He should be excited because the long lost brother has returned back to the family. This is a story of restoration and restoration leads naturally to celebration - yet we will see that the older brother doesn’t celebrate. Instead, he pouts.

James Edwards makes the observation that even though the older son never ran away from home like his brother did, in this moment he is the one who is separated from the Father even though he didn’t go through this rebellious phase. He was there, but he wasn’t at the feast. He was home, but he was lost. He was doing what he was supposed to be doing from the outside looking in, but as we will see, on the inside he was furious and outraged at the Father’s decision.

How many of you would honestly say that you’ve ever played the role of the older brother? You’ve done some nice things on the outside, some nice works and actions, but on the inside you simply feel hollow and empty? We go through seasons of this type of doubt at times, but are you currently living in this zone? Are you more interested in looking good in the eyes of others rather than actually surrendering your all to Christ? During Junior High, I had the opportunity to take part in a drama called Judgment House and the theme that year was “Are You Just Playing the Game?” The plot was as the title sounds. There was a high school athlete who seemed to have it all together. He was a good student, good athlete, good Christian from the outside looking in. But internally, it was a show. It was a mask. He was simply playing the game and he had learned to play it really well. If you’re an older brother, there is a temptation to play the game really well. To play the church game. To put on the mask. To act like we have it all together and to back that up with all of our awesome works and deeds whenever people question that. The reality of the situation, though, is that older brothers can be just as lost as younger brothers. They might look good on the outside, but they can fool people by just playing the game.

What saves us, church? Is it playing the game? Is it coming to church, memorizing our Bible, enjoying the right songs, doing the nice things, and looking good in the eyes of others? No. There will be people who did all of those things and they will go to hell because they are lost. What saves? Faith in Jesus Christ. It can be easy for us to want to point this passage out to others, but sometimes the people who need to know this passage the greatest are ourselves. We need to be reminded that just as the rebels are lost, Christian rule-followers are lost too.

The Legalist, unlike the Prodigal, is Upset at the Father (28-30)

As the older brother is told what is going on, he refuses to go in and celebrate. Again, he throws a fit. He’s upset. Being honest, how many of us have seen someone else receive grace and become a tiny bit jealous? If we’re being honest, this is easy to do - especially for an older brother Christian, for someone who has been the rule follower and the one in church their whole life. It can be easy to play the I’m better than ____ game and I deserve ______ game. What does the older brother do? He makes the Father leave the feast and come talk with him. Whenever you’re hosting a party, you usually have things to attend to. If you know someone with the gift of hospitality, you know this to be true as this person is always running around and making sure that everyone is having a good time at the party. In this setting, the Father is the master of the party. He is in charge. Rather than the older son coming in and talking with the Father, he refuses to go in and makes his Father leave and talk with him. Just as the younger son dishonored his father by asking for his inheritance, the older brother dishonors his father by not honoring and respecting him at this time.

Do you remember what happened whenever the Prodigal returned home? He was deeply sorry for what he had done. He repented of his sin and came home to the Father. He was lost but came to his senses and would have been overwhelmed by the Father’s response. The older brother, though, is upset. Why would he be upset? Honestly, for some justifiable reasons. Whenever the younger son left, he took with him his inheritance. We read in the Old Testament about inheritances and the Bible shares with us that the oldest son got a double portion of the inheritance. Therefore, the younger brother took roughly 1/3 of what the Father had. The remaining 2/3 would be the older brother’s whenever the Father passed away. The older brother, being the rule-follower that he is, knows this. Since the Father welcomes the younger brother back, though, it also means that the younger brother is restored to the position of being a son - making him eligible once against for an inheritance. Mathematically, the original 1/3 is gone so of the remaining 2/3, the younger brother will get 1/3 again. This means that the younger brother will actually end up with 55% of the inheritance and the older brother would get 45% rather than his original 66%. There was a cost to the younger son coming home.

Does this sound fair to you? The son who has stayed at home, who has worked with the Father, who hasn’t moved away and rebelled is now in line for less than half of the Father’s assets. In what world does this make sense? Do you understand the son’s frustration? All of us should to an extent. He vents as much as he says that he has worked for years and never disobeyed an order. He has slaved away yet the Father never threw him a party or gave him a goat. Yet, whenever the Prodigal returns, a party is in order? Do you sense his frustration? Do you see it with the words Jesus uses? What does the older brother say in verse 30?

Luke 15:30 CSB

30 But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your assets with prostitutes, you slaughtered the fattened calf for him.’

He doesn’t say, “When my brother came home.” He says, “When this son of yours came home.” He doesn’t even dignify the younger brother with the title brother. As we come to understand the story a little bit more, we’re almost on the older brothers side at times thinking, this isn’t fair!

Do you know who would have been yelling this very thing at this point to Jesus? The Pharisees. As you listen to the older brother respond, you can hear the Pharisees cheering him on and in full agreement. After all, the Pharisees were experts at confessing the sins of others rather than that of their own. The older son says that he’s never disobeyed the Father and the Pharisees genuinely felt the same way at times. They worked so hard to keep the law in its entirety and they believed that by doing that, by working really hard, that they would be favored by God. Tim Keller argues, “Elder brothers believe that if they live a good life, they should get a good life. That God owes them a smooth road if they try hard.” What Pharisees believe is that God helps those who help themselves. Have you heard a Christian ever make that argument? Many do. Why? Because we can be tempted, as older brothers, to believe that our works justify us and make us superior in some crazy way to the point that God has to do good by us. Friends, hear me, God doesn’t owe you or me a thing. If we’re being straight with each other today, the only thing that I deserve from God is His wrath against my unrighteousness. That’s what my works deserve in and of themselves. That’s what the older son’s works deserve, yet here he is arguing with his Father and throwing a fit because the Father never threw him a party.

Why has the Father not thrown him a party? Because he hasn’t come home, yet. The older brother is still blind, he is still lost, and he reveals his lostness as he says that he has slaved for his father for years. Leon Morris shares that the older son thought that he was the model son. He thought that he was the good boy and his younger brother was the bad one. Little did he know that they were both bad because he has no idea of what it means to be a son at all because he says that he’s slaved for his father. If you’re a Christian, though Paul calls himself a slave, we know that working for our Father isn’t equivalent to being a slave to Him. The older son works because he wants something from the father - he wants a reward/a party. We, as Christians, work because we have already been accepted, the celebration has been thrown, and we work for our Father because of what He has done for us. Not because we try to gain His approval.

The older son is upset at the Father like the Pharisees would have been upset at Jesus. After all, we read in Luke 15:2 that they said this of Him

Luke 15:2 CSB

2 And the Pharisees and scribes were complaining, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

The son’s complaint is essentially the same - you’re welcoming a sinner and eating with him? This is loaded with disrespect- but we can’t miss how the Father replies…

The Legalist, like the Prodigal, is Welcomed Home by the Father (31-32)

The Father replies with gentleness, compassion, and kindness. Before we focus on the reply, aren’t these attributes things that we can take to heart whenever we reply to someone who has wronged us or been rude to us? We don’t have to stoop down to a lower level - we like the Father can respond to meanness with gentleness. Like the Father, we can respond to rudeness with compassion. We like the Father can respond to animosity with kindness. In a season of division, we like the Father can be full of grace and serve as a bridge builder rather than a relationship destroyer.

The Father begins by addressing the older brother in a personal way. Though the older brother was not willing to dignify his brother, the Father responds and says, “My child” or “My son.” Not child. Not servant. He doesn’t demean his son - he welcomes him into the feast and encourages him - you are always with me! All that I have is yours! This is what is available to you now! Who is Jesus really telling this to in the context of this parable? To the Pharisees! Son, you’ve done a great job, all I have is yours! Come home! See, the Pharisee, the older brother in the story, and the older brother in churches around the globe today have a fundamental misunderstanding about the economy of grace. They believe that they earn their righteousness by obeying and doing good things. This makes sense in our world - you do good things and you deserve good things. You can earn your way into heaven by being a good person and doing good deeds. This is the definition of many religions. What is the Gospel, though? Tim Keller argues that it’s the exact opposite, “I am accepted by God through the work of Jesus - therefore I obey.” Not, I am accepted by God through my knowledge or church attendance. Not, I work really hard and then I’m accepted by God. That becomes a works based salvation. We are accepted by God through Jesus… And as a result, we obey His Word and live for Him as a new creation.

The older brother, though, is tempted to obey to get that pat on the back. To feel good inside whenever he compares himself to his brother. This is not what being a Christian looks like. Likewise, there are younger brothers who live a life of rebellion and think that all Christians are judgmental older brothers and they’d rather “be a Christian” outside of the church. That’s not what being a Christian looks like either. You need the church - even if the church has its warts. You can’t claim Christ and live a life of rebellion as that, in the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer is, “Cheap Grace.” Grace isn’t cheap, church. It cost Jesus His life! The Father welcomes us into His arms today not through our works or inherent goodness, but through the finished work of Jesus Christ! What is the only proper response to this? To repent, to come home, and to rejoice as we enter the feast.

Application

So much more could be said about this parable. I know of pastors who have spent months going in depth into these verses and digging deep into Scripture to mine it’s truths. At this point, after looking at the younger brother and the older brother, I want each of us to consider who we were before we were born again? Is your testimony that of the younger brother or the older brother? Were you the rebellious person living a self-centered life before you came to your senses? Were you the churchgoer who followed all of the rules before you came to your senses and entered the feast of the Father?

Maybe, you’re on the outside looking in this morning. Maybe you’re still the younger brother living for yourself. Maybe you’re still the older brother playing the game and thinking that your actions and works will save you. Wherever you fall on that spectrum, understand that there is salvation found exclusively through Christ and through His work of atonement on the cross of Calvary! Jesus paid it all - all to Him I owe.

Let’s look at several application points for us:

Repent of your sin and come Home!

The younger brother repented and came home. This should be our response as well! We must repent of our sin, turn from it, and live as a new creation.

Know that we are saved by Grace, not by works!

Many Christians believe a Gospel more in line with what the mormons teach than what we find in the New Testament. The Mormons teach this, “We know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do.” The first line sounds good because it’s Biblical, but many people throw in those last 5 words… After all I can do. I am saved by my works and through Jesus. I’m saved by grace and works! No! We’re saved as Ephesians 2:8-9 says

Ephesians 2:8–9 CSB

8 For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift— 9 not from works, so that no one can boast.

Extend forgiveness to others!

The Pharisees were unwilling to forgive others. Jesus taught His followers to forgive and we find this in Ephesians 4

Ephesians 4:32 CSB

32 And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you in Christ.

Rejoice at God’s wonderful plan of salvation!

Though we can’t always see the specific details, we know that God is at work in drawing people unto Himself. Maybe you’re wondering where you stand today. I’d encourage you to evaluate your life briefly. Do you sense that you are lost? We studied last week how Jesus Christ has come to seek and save the lost - we will never stumble randomly onto Christ, the Bible tells us that it is He who seeks us! Do you sense that you’re lost and that you want to be found and have hope? Friend, know that that desire is not normal. We desire to satisfy ourselves as humans - not to deny ourselves at follow someone else. If your heart is yearning to come home and enter the feast, know that that is the Holy Spirit convicting and drawing you as John 6:44 shares. Rejoice at His plan and come home.

Conclusion

The interesting thing about the parable of the Lost Sons is the response. We see the response of the younger son as he enters the Father’s feast and there is great celebration. We understand this to be whenever a sinner is dead and raised to life - we know that there is a celebration that takes place. Yet, we don’t know what the older brother does. Jesus stops in verse 32 rather abruptly in our eyes. A few verses could have been added to address this but Jesus is purposeful in stopping where He does. Who in His audience are the older brothers? The Pharisees. What is His point in leaving this open ended? The response is theirs. How will most of the Pharisees respond? We know many will reject Christ. They will not join the feast. They will continue to work and labor for their own righteousness rather than joining the Father’s mission. But we know of at least 1 individual who fits in this older brother category that comes home. He isn’t present for this teaching, but perhaps this parable has a very delayed ending in a different book authored by Luke. In Acts 9, we will encounter a Pharisee of Pharisees, an older brother of older brothers, who was blameless before the law who helps bring this Lukan story to its conclusion as Saul of Tarsus comes to his senses, joins the Father’s mission, and comes into the banquet.

If there is room in the banquet hall for a self-righteous older brother like Paul, there is room for an older brother like you or I. What must we do? We must humble ourselves, place our faith in Christ, and join in His mission of taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth. There is hope for the Runaway and for the Legalist through the cross of Christ. Have you come home today?