Speaker: Pastor Brian Brunsell

We live in a rapidly changing world.

The faster things change the more likely you are to become off balance in response to those changes.

"In a fast-changing culture that seems alien to many Christians (just as Christians seem alien to many in the culture!), it is easy for Christians to throw up their hands in despair and adopt a purely defensive mode."

- D.A. Carson

Two crucial lenses for maintaining balance:

1. How you approach God

2. How you view culture

Jesus’ audience:

“tax collectors & sinners” -- irreligious

“Pharisees & teachers of the law” -- religious

Jesus

Jesus’ audience:

“tax collectors & sinners”

“Pharisees & teachers of the law”

Jesus

Parable characters:

“a father”

“an older brother”

“a younger brother”

“The Parable of the Prodigal Sons"

Two ways to reject God:

1. Act like the Younger Brother

2. Act like to Older Brother

“The best rob in the house would have been the father’s own rob, the unmistakable sign of restored standing in the family. The father is saying, ‘I’m not going to wait until you’ve paid off your debt; I’m not going to wait until you’ve duly groveled. You are not going to earn your way back into the family, I am going to simply take you back. I will cover your nakedness, poverty, and rages with the robes of my office and honor.”

- Tim Keller, The Prodigal God

The only way to get a restored relationship with God is to accept the gift he is offering to you at no cost.

Two ways to reject God:

1. Reject God by rejecting his law and living any way you see fit. (Relativism)

2. Reject God by obeying his law in order to earn your salvation. (Legalism)

Which of the 2 ways to reject God is more dangerous than the other?
Or, which one do you tend to fear less?

“Traditional religion teaches that if we do good deeds and follow the moral rules in our external behavior. God will come into our hearts, bless us, and give us salvation. In other words, if I obey, God will love and respect me. But the gospel is the reverse of this: If I know in my heart that God has accepted me and loves me freely by grace, then I can begin to obey, out of inner joy and gratitude. However, “Christians often believe in their heads that ‘Jesus accepts me; therefore I will live a good life,’ but their hearts and actions are functioning practically on the principle ‘I live a good life; therefore Jesus accepts me.” Therefore, “If you seek to be right with God through your morality and religion, you are not seeking God for your salvation; you are using God as a means to achieve your own salvation.”

- Tim Keller, Center Church

If our churches are not attracting “Younger Brother” people, then it is likely that our churches are full of Older Brothers.

NEXT STEPS

-- honestly evaluate how I have been approaching God over the past few months (or years).

-- do some personal study on the Parable of the Prodigal “Sons” by reading through “The Prodigal God: Recovering the Heart of the Christian Faith,” by Tim Keller.

-- spend some time meditating on how the gospel continues to impact my relationship with God after becoming a Christian (read through “A Gospel Primer for Christians” by Milton Vincent).

-- attend a Home Group so I can be part of a small group seeking to find balance when it comes to approaching a rapidly changing world.

-- Other