We’re just days away from Christmas and the end of 2024. We are winding down the year, and I am winding down this year’s devotional theme—the gospel of Jesus Christ. I’ll have to admit that it’s been a rather trying year, a year of new experiences, and many were difficult, but they have led to greater maturity in my faith. I hope the same can be said for you. I think about exercising my dog first thing in the morning; he is excited about the first half of our one-mile walk. But he winds down as we continue, which is very good—then he can walk without trying to run ahead of me at a more steady pace. As we walk with Christ, our walk also becomes steadier, staying in step more consistently with God. Today, I’ll review how the gospel saves and goes on to sustain us in our Christian life in this world. Jesus’s gospel compels believers to both bring the lost to him through the Holy Spirit’s indwelling power and to grow in our maturity with a stronger testimony of faith. As we approach the celebration of His birth, let’s share the gospel and our blessedness in Christ to assist those God is going to give to Jesus. And let’s be ready to disciple them as we are discipled by Christ.
Parables about the Lost
In Luke 15, Jesus uses parables to describe God’s viewpoint and work on behalf of the lost who had never heard or never believed the gospel. Here’s one. “What woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? When she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I lost.’ Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:8-10) “[The] story…about silver coins…is about people. How far do we have to look in order to find people who are lost? They are all around us. There are millions of people in this world who know nothing of Jesus Christ. And yet the Lord of the church has commanded us to go into all the world. Some have yet to go into all of their communities, because they have fallen for the lie that evangelism is no longer necessary. …[And] some adopt the viewpoint that no one has the right to seek to proselytize other people to their religious viewpoint. If that is true, then Jesus Christ was the chief violator of human rights because he made that kind of activity the central business of his life and he commanded his people to do the same. When God commands us to preach the gospel and we refuse to do it, or demean the vocation, we are being arrogant to the extreme. To deny the validity of evangelism, as some within the Christian church do, is treason. It is the mandate of Christ and it is the example of Christ to seek and to save the lost. For when even one is redeemed, the angels rejoice.” (1) Having the Holy Spirit’s indwelling power compels us to bring the lost to him through Him when Christ calls them to be his possessions. Then there is much joy in heaven, in them, and in us.
The Joy of Salvation for Prodigals
In the parable of the prodigal son, “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…It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead, and is alive; he was lost, and is found.’” (Luke 15:22-24, 32) “Imagine the anxiety of that father as he went to work every day in the fields…There had been no messages, no news, of how his boy was faring…He was always on the lookout for him, which is why he saw him when he was still a long way off…as soon as he saw his son, he felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him…The boy had planned his confession speech, but before he even had a chance to open his mouth, his father had already fallen upon his neck and kissed him. He was forgiven before he uttered a word. The father didn’t need to hear the words; he could see the brokenness of his son, and his heart was moved to compassion, and he showed that compassion with a kiss…The young man confessed that not only had he disgraced himself, but he had brought shame on his father’s house, and didn’t deserve to be called his son any more. The father doesn’t answer the son immediately, but instead issues some commands to his servants…In the ancient Near East the ceremonial robe, the best robe, was a mark of honour…So the father’s command carried this implication: Treat this son of mine as the guest of honour in my house. Then there is the ring, obviously a signet ring. When it was given from father to son, or from king to prime minister, it signified the granting, or the transfer, of authority…the father, by calling for a ring to be placed on his finger, is restoring to him the authority of sonship in his father’s house. And then the third command to put sandals on his feet. Shoes or sandals were a luxury. They were worn by free men, never worn by slaves. The young son had appeared at his father’s house in bare feet, looking like a slave, but the father ordered that shoes be put on his feet. After these instructions…the father then gives the command: ‘Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate’…the fatted calf was a sign that this was an extremely special occasion, a time of feasting for the family and the servants, in honour of the return of the lost son to the family table…Every Christian has lived this wonderful story of the prodigal son in one way or another. The essence of conversion is the experience of forgiveness, the experience of the grace of God.” (2) Those who are saved, those who participate in their salvation, God, and all the hosts of heaven rejoice in the work of the gospel (Matthew 18:10-14)!
Joy in Our Good Shepherd’s Care
“So Jesus again said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” (John 10:7-9) “First, Jesus says that anyone who enters in will be saved…Salvation is partially future…But it is also past and present. It affects who we are and what happens to us from beginning to end. A better way of talking about it is in terms of sin’s penalty, power, and presence. By entering in through Christ, we immediately escape sin’s penalty, so we need not fear that our sins will ever rise up against us. This is justification. Then, too, we also enter into a life in which we are increasingly delivered from sin’s power. The Bible calls this sanctification. Finally, we look forward to a day marked by the return of Christ or else our passing into his presence through death, in which even the presence of sin will be gone and our salvation will be perfected. The Bible calls this glorification. Second, Jesus promises that anyone who enters in will be safe. This is the point of his reference to going ‘in and out’…To be able to go in and out means security, for in Christ’s day when a man could go in or out without fear it meant that his country was at peace and that the ruler had the affairs of the nation under control…Third, he also promised that they would be satisfied—saved, safe, and satisfied—for he said that they would be able to go in and out and ‘find pasture.’ Palestine is a barren land for the most part, and good pasture was not easy to find. Consequently, to be assured of good pasture was a wonderful thing. It spoke of prosperity and contentment, of health and happiness…It was this that Paul wrote of when he told the Philippians, ‘And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus’ (4:19). This last verse does not speak of all our desires, of course. We often desire that which is wrong or is not good for us. It speaks only of our needs, but even in that form it is a great promise. It is the promise that the one who enters in by Christ will not lack any good thing.” (3)
Our Good Shepherd
“Many images in the Bible convey the protecting care of God for his people, but probably no image is more greatly loved than that of the shepherd and his sheep. What Christian can consider God as a shepherd without thinking of the Twenty-third Psalm: ‘The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want’? Or the tenth chapter of John, where Jesus applies the image to himself: ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep’ (v. 11)? Yet it is not only in these well-known passages that the image occurs. A psalmist wrote, ‘We are his people, the sheep of his pasture’ (Ps. 100:3). Isaiah said about God, ‘He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young’ (Isaiah 40:11).” (4) “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23) All fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Praise be to God, our Savior!
Related Scripture: Deuteronomy 28:6; 1 Kings 3:7-10; Psalm 19:7-8; 121:8; Proverbs 25:13; Isaiah 40:10-11; Jeremiah 23:1-10; Zechariah 3:3-10; Matthew 10:5-7; 18:10-14; John 10:7-9, 14-15, 28-30; Ephesians 2; Colossians 2:13; 1 Peter 2:25.
Notes:
1. Sproul, R. C., A Walk with God: An Exposition of Luke’s Gospel, Luke 15:8-10, Electronic Book, 2016.
2. Sproul, Luke 15:20-32, Ibid.
3. Boice, James, Boice Expositional Commentary Series, John 10:7-9, Baker Books, Software version, 1998.
4. Boice, Matthew 18:10-14, Ibid.
December 12, 2024
Divine Wisdom for Daily Living by Joanne Colvin 