Discuss Luke 15 Page 2

Hi Melissa. 'sostanza' is not an English word. We can see it in the Italian language & it almost always refers to 'substance or matter'. In the Italian Bible we find examples in Daniel 7:1, Luke 8:43, Luke 15:13, Hebrews 10:34. The sense of 'evil' is not found there.

A very fundamental lesson

All flesh is appointed to die.

Every soul that sin shall die the 2nd death.

There's a new birth at conversion for those who trust in Christ. This is defined in baptism.

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: Hebrews 9:27.

There is in scripture what is called the 2nd death. This has been taken care of for those who trust Christ.

Without Christ you're already dead.

1 Timothy 5:6.

Ephesians 2:5.

Revelation 3:1.

Colossians 2:13.

Romans 8:10.

Mathew 8:22.

Luke 15:24.

And here's an important one for the brethren.

1 John 3:14.

John 11:25-26. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

AND WHOSOEVER LIVETH AND BELIEVETH IN ME SHALL NEVER DIE. Believest thou this?

One of many verses on the 2nd death.

Revelation 20:13-14. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

Eternal life.

If you truly trust in Christ, you have been baptized into Christ. You already have ETERNAL life. That's the only kind he's giving.

If you haven't truly trusted in Christ you're already dead while you liveth and it shows up in your living and it observed carefully you'll find it in their Doctrine.

Romans 8:9.

Romans 10:8-10. But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

God bless.

Many times when reading Paul's letters I imagine that His words not only apply to the immediate church, but to the world. Could it be said that Christ died for the whole world, and we could than assume the world is as a church, with smaller church's and nations within it? Our pastor still preaches the gospel, with the forgiveness of sin in and through the blood of Christ. Holy

(Holy communion).

The present condition of the world and its history, may once again determine the future of the church! Remembering how the church became silent during the Holocaust , seeing the priests standing with the Nazis.

Propaganda, perhaps? One thing is certain, propaganda is attacking the truth even now, dividing us one from another! The church is under attack, by those who wish to dispel Jesus Christ and His death on the cross.

The sequel for the movie is suppose to come out sometime this summer (the passion of the Christ). Could this be a prophecy fulfilled, when we here those say," He is here, or there?"

We may see Him, coming as He left, coming in the clouds, while once again man turns the plows into swords!

The real question than becomes how can the world or the church exist under these conditions?

You are absolutely right but once it is pointed out it should be dealt with from the written word. Thank you for sharing.

This question goes to the heart of the law and the gospel. Without identifying the sinner, there is no need for forgiveness. Thus born salvation by work righteousness. This is what the evangelist is so adamant about. A good study of the Corinthians

1st Cor 5.1-13 answered my question completely. I have read that scripture many times but had forgotten it. Thank you for your input.

Thank you so much for your response. I read the chapter and it helped.

Berder's

Hello Berder, Glad you are here.

You can read in 1 Corinthians 5:1-13, It addresses this some. Also, see Galatians 6:1-5.

Hi Berder.

No. It's not acceptable but it was prophesied, Mathews 13:24-30.

And leaven was prophesied to be in the church back in Leviticus 23:16-17. "Pentecost." (Shavuot)

The only 7 feasts baked with leaven bread!

God bless.

What does the Bible teach about hypocrisy in church and everyone is aware of the wrong doing yet they are allowed to be members in good standing. No repentance no remorse. Is that biblically acceptable.

Hi Lisa. You've probably read the whole of Matthew chapter 3, where the view there is of John the Baptist baptizing in the Jordan River & many folk coming to him in response to his message to repent. Amongst those coming to him, were some of the religious leaders (the Pharisees & Sadducees). Did they come with the same understanding as the others, stating that they were sinners in need of such declaration? But John looked at them sternly & stated those words of condemnation in Matthew 3:7-10 to them.

Those religious leaders came physically to be baptized but their hearts did not align with John's message of baptism with repentance. They came in pride of their heritage in Abraham, that their salvation lay in being God's elect & not because of a personal heart examination. They came with their own interpretation of the Scriptures & adding more rules & regulations that bound a heavy yoke on the people & so made themselves superior by giving those extra requirements. They came pretending to show piety whereas their hearts were full of themselves & not full of self examination. They should have been exercised in heart in how far they had strayed from God's pure Word & ought to be lovingly teaching & guiding the people by it.

So John was questioning the motives of these leaders, that they ought to bring forth fruits (evidences, demonstrations) that come with a penitent heart, & not dead decaying evidence to which God's Axe would one day come to that tree of death, to destroy it.

From your testimony of a backslidden life, the first step forward is recognition of your sad state, the weight of unforgiven sin you feel, & the grief that brings to a Holy God Who has given His all to secure you into His family. When you humbly come to Him, & not as those religious leaders, He will forgive you, accept you without reserve, fill you with His Spirit, & give you joy for this life & hope for the life to come. Luke 15:10; 1 John 1:9; John 1:11-13. Bring all this to God in prayer.

If you are a Christian and have strayed from God, He waits with open arms to restore you. Read the parable of the Prodigal Son Luke 15:11-32.

If you have not been saved according to the Bible, do so now...

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.- Romans 10:9-13

Dear Sean, if you have truly been born again--repented, ask Jesus to save you--your salvation is sealed. Ephesians 1:13 "In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,"

Of course, we believers sin and must ask God to forgive us.

We also stray, but like the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32 and the Exodus Israelites time and time again, we can repent and ask him to restore us, and determine never to commit that sin again.

Hi Adam. That's an interesting research. I had to cheat, forgive me, but found the following to add to your list:

U2's song "40" (based on Psalm 40:1-3)

Johnny Cash's "He turned water into wine" ( John 2:1-11)

Carole King, "Where you lead" ( Ruth 1:16)

Kelly Clarkson, "Be Still" ( Psalm 46:10)

Queen, "The prophet's song" (based on the Genesis Flood account)

Elvis Presley, "His Hand in mine" (inspired from Psalm 23)

Rolling Stones, "Prodigal Son" ( Luke 15:11-32)

The Killers & Elton John, "Joseph, better you than me" (based on Joseph, Jesus' 'guardian')

To Rick. Mentzer In my previous post l am not nor never would imply that Christ was deceitful in his prayers but was responding to some others post that suggested he did . My point is he had a earthly human body with real feelings the same as you and l and had every right to pray 3 times or as many as he needed while facing the torture before him for the sins of all mankind .

Bc Sir with all due respect Jesus Christ in all his actions and thought and heart always did the will of the Father so

where was the deceit in his prayer.

In reference to Jesus praying to the father three times and being deceitful in his prayer . One must recognize who Jesus was . First he is the only and non other purely the son of the most high God . He became man being born thru a woman thus him awakening into a flesh body called man , ln this body he laughed , cried , eat , drank , suffered , rejoiced the same as we do . You could pinch him or tickle him and he felt it same as we do . He could hit his finger with a hammer close a door on his fingers and shout out OUCH . My point is when he faced crucitfition he was the same as being in our bodies . He knew what was before him it was horrifying but he acknowledged the will of the father and faced it if it was no other way to save mankind . What pray would you have prayed ?

In previous Chapters we see Jesus is talking to many different people from different backgrounds, educations & walks in life:

Luke 14, Luke 15:1,2, Luke 16:1,14,

Luke 15:3 =3 parables prior have to do with GOD's goodness, amazing mercy & love for HIS lost children. Luke 15:4-32,

Luke 16, continues as Jesus is talking to the disciples, Luke 16:1, yet you see the others appear to still be there. Luke 16:14,

A steward is someone trusted with things, property, belongings (even teachings) that don't belong to them, they are trusted to maintain, keep, watch-over, protect, grow etc. In this parable Jesus seems to be pointing out the wrongs done.

Luke 16:8, notice Luke 16:9-13, if you go back to Luke 14, they appear to be at one of the Cheif Phariees house throughout these chapters. Luke 14:1, (Pharisee known for being very strict religious of GOD's written laws) therefore being a "steward" of GOD's written laws, including teaching, nextJesus speaks of the rich man, that showed no mercy. Luke 16:19-31, I believe Jesus is rebuking the "rich teachers, stewards" yet also teaching HIS disciples to be wiser to what is going on.

Hopefully this is helpful

Dear Ruben,

I do not know what you are going through, you did not give a lot of detail and that's ok, but may I just speak the plain truth. If you are truly being called back in the fold, the road back may not be short or easy. We cannot just say a prayer or two and everything will be hunky-dory again. Please do not compare what you are dealing with to Job, our words can come to be if you know what I mean.

We must all work out our path of salvation, Ezekiel 18:20 Romans 14:12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

Read Luke 15:11-32 Are you there yet? The word of God is our only defense against the principalities and powers of evil and believe me, they do not let go easily and they can be quite vicious. Spend every spare minute in His word and prayer, truly repenting, not holding on to anything, if it is any kind of obstacle let it go, even if you lose it all. Revelation 2:5

We must truly admit and understand what we have done. Jeremiah 2:19 We must know it may take time and not at all be easy. Hosea 5:15 When we truly have repented without any doubt, He will return Jeremiah 3:22 2 Hosea 14:4

Jonah was a great man of God, but he backslid from the will of God and went in his direction, not Gods. Look what God sent him to get his attention and change his direction. You can do it but do not get discouraged if things get worse and the temptations, not from God, but from the adversaries trying to hold you back. Turn adversity into strength, for what we lose in this life is nothing to what we will lose in the life to come. Mark 35:8 that's not just our physical life, it is the life we choose to live.

My prayer is for you to have the strength you will need.

RLW

I love the parables of the 99 and the prodigal son

Hi Pauline. This story is found in Luke 15:11-32 & here you will see the "exact wording" of this account. But if you are seeking the use of the word 'prodigal', then it is not found in the Bible. 'Prodigal' is just an English word (as Trinity or Rapture are not in the Bible) but 'Prodigal' is correctly used to illustrate the nature of the son who took his inheritance from his father early, went into a distant country & wasted all of it in "riotous living". Instead, of maybe buying or building up a business & properly investing his good fortune, he 'lived it up' & may have even gambled it away. That's the negative meaning of a 'prodigal', of which this story represents. There is also a positive meaning for that word, which is the opposite: being lavish or generous, as being liberal with praise of someone or of resources, but the son in that parable was certainly not one of these.

Context

Luke 15:1-7

Luke 15:11-32 this is the story referred to as 'prodigal son'

Hi MS Smith.

To get a better understanding on this verse we may have to take it from verse 18.

I will try to point out some important points in parentheses.

2 Peter 2:18-22. ( For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.)

While they promise them liberty, ( they themselves are the servants of corruption:) for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.

( For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome,) the latter end is worse with them than the beginning.

For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them.

But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.

I believe what we have here as shown in the parentheses we have those who have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, in verse 20. However the previous verses 18 and 19, they don't seem to have ever accepted Christ.

That's why they're identified as a Dog and a Sow instead of a Son. In Luke 15:11-32. You have a Son returning home, All 3 found their way home.

In away 2 Peter 2:18-22. reminds me of Mathew 12:43-45. When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.

Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, HE FINDS IT EMPTY, SWEPT, AND GARNISHED. (NO INDWELLING OF THE HG.)

Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.

God bless.

Luke 15:11-32 KJV

Story of the Prodigal Son.

We don't deserve anything. All have sinned

Our Father God, chooses to love us freely.

Let's not tempt the Lord with our backslid ways.

Too much is happening to indicate, time is ticking nearer to the end.

Choose Jesus and live forever. HE PAID IT ALL so we could receive salvation. It cost him his life. What are you willing to give up?

Martha This is a P.S. in the Gospels the disciples ask Jesus Christ how often to forgive he said until 70 Times 7 also in luke 15:11-32 is called the prodigal son, I like the forgiving father, God knows we all make mistakes its called sin.

A big thing to keep in mind learn from the error and change, that's why we have a saviour, your not alone nobody except Jesus Christ walked by the Spirit perfectly, also 1 John 3: 19-21 verse 20 For if our heart condemn us God is greater than our hearts and knows all things. Beloved if our heart condemn us not than we have confidence toward God.

Condemnation is a trick of the adversary if you know in your heart and actions you are doing the best you can according to His word don't beat yourself up. In His Service

Hi James.

Predestination is to the believer.

Here is what I believe a verse that gives the picture of Predestination.

Philippians 1:6. Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

And also here.

Luke 15:1-4. Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.

And the Pharisees and scribes murmured, saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.

And he spake this parable unto them, saying,

What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?

God bless.

Galatians 5:4 makes it very clear that we MUST continue to abide in Christ and relay on Him for salvation by faith in his blood and what he did on the cross for us! Those who start in the faith, being justified, but, walk away from Christ to trust in their own efforts are showing that they are not relying on Christ anymore, which is a very dangerous thing to do. think about it..... If Christ, who is the only way we will be saved ( Acts 4:12), becomes to no effect to us that can only mean we are in a state of condemnation..... We are fallen from grace. Paul is clearly talking to brothers and sisters in Christ, so this is a warning to saved Christians. Yes, while we can absolutely talk comfort in our salvation based on our faith in Christ, we must always remain steadfast and never turn away from the hope of the gospel ( Colossians 1:22-23). If we do, we will be cut off. However, just as the prodigal son was dead and made alive again ( Luke 15:11-32), so can the Christians who turn from Christ if they turn back to Him with a loving heart of faith in Him alone for salvation!

Hello Joan. I fully agree with what Jesse has shared with you. And thank you for your testimony of the Lord "giving you another chance", making you new again. Accordingly, your life has turned about completely & you want to glorify Him through it by living only for Him.

But you are in conflict & despair as to what would have happened if you died whilst in a comatose state & were living in sin. This is a question no one here can answer, as salvation is "of the Lord" & is personal between Him (His Spirit) & you. Each person's state is only known by God, & what He does to bring a sinning Christian back to Himself, cannot be known by us. What concerned me was what you said, "if in our past after receiving salvation we were a good Christian for a while, yet this changed to a sinful nature." Again, only the Lord & you would know what took place at the time of salvation. When you heard the Gospel, when you responded to it, how you were taught in the Word, how you responded to the Holy Spirit's Work in you, are some questions only you can answer. If your salvation wasn't real at that time (i.e. without conviction of sin & your estrangement from God) or maybe you heard the Gospel in an incorrect/incomplete way, then when looking back at the attractions of the world & to fulfil your desires would be easy to do, without any sense of guilt or wrongdoing.

But if you were saved at that time, the Holy Spirit wouldn't let you go - every thought, every act or desire of yours would bring about conviction because sin cannot be entertained in a holy vessel. Again, only you can discern what went on in you during that time of rejection of the Christ-centred life. And if you had struggles, indeed it was the Lord alerting you, calling & drawing you back to Himself. Maybe it was the coma itself that the Lord used to finally 'shake' you out of sin & complacency & you're now on the road to faithful godly living & real joy & peace in the spirit as you serve Him. Luke 15:10 & Hebrews 12:2.

The worlds referred to in Heb 1:2 means [ahee-ohn; a particular age or period or interval] so it may not mean other worlds besides our world since Adam and Eve, but having said that, Luke 15:4 speaks of a man having a hundred sheep and losing one, leaving the 99 to look for the one. This means what we all know it to mean; that Jesus will do anything to save all his children, this could also mean that God made other worlds/dispensations before Adam and Eve and we are the 1 lost sheep that needs saving. I haven't done much research into it but knowing God-with Him all things are possible, so its entirely conceivable.

Revelation 9 speaks of Abaddon which comes out of the bottomless pit. This Abaddon lived before Adam and ruled a prehistoric world made up of hybrid beasts. The locusts are a combination of man and beast. The creatures that sinned in the prehistoric age were banished to the bottomless pit.

Lucifer fell by looking on the sin of these prehistoric creatures. Apparently lucifer was tasked to cover the sin of these prehistoric creatures with his wings but he disobeyed God and looked and was filled with pride.

There's also mention in Is 34:14 which speaks of hybrid beasts like the Satyr which means [he-goat, faun, devil, hairy, kid, rough]

For the person who has never come to Christ for salvation, or the one who has drifted away from enjoying the Presence & Plan of God for them, the only place to be found is at the foot of the Cross.

If you sense that your faith is lukewarm, your life's path has gone off course or the ministry of God's Spirit is all but absent leaving you destitute of joy, assurance & hope, then you need to come back to the Lord. He ever calls - He ever waits for His children to realize how far they have strayed & how close He is to receive them back. Remember the prodigal son story? How the son's father longed for & waited for his son's return ( Luke 15:11-24). What joy the father had to receive his son back as one from the dead. Likewise, God (& all of Heaven) awaits & rejoices when a sinner or one who has strayed away comes back into the fold of Christ.

Talk freely, openly from your heart to God about where you have failed him. Confess to Him (through the Sacrifice of His Son Jesus) that you have come to a point of total hopelessness & grief for leaving God & you're so sorry to have done this & failed Him. He does hear & understands all you've been through & His Spirit has brought you to this point of realization & confession. "Him (or, her) that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out" is Jesus' Promise for you ( John 6:37). And also "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." ( 1 John 1:9). These are the sure promises from God's Word that He will receive all who come in humility & sincerity before Him.

After you confess all before God, His Spirit will minister to you, maybe at that instance or in the moments ahead. You will have the joy of sins forgiven & being accepted. You will want to spend more time talking with your Heavenly Father & reading from His Word to learn more of Him & of what He wants from your life. Feed on that "Living Bread" Jesus Christ - give Him first place in everything you do.