1 Thessalonians 5:12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25
Luke 15:1,2 Prodigal means wasteful of resources. Jesus was talking to multiple audiences: publicans, sinners, and Pharisees.
Families and parents must navigate the value of a virtuous life, growing in grace, and the development of spiritual maturity and how all of this fits in with the choice to accept personal salvation and true Christianity.
Luke 15:15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24 The Pharisees valued obedience to the Law. This was salvation to them.
Some Christians use this three-part logic:
- A Christian cannot be a sinner as long as they walk in all the light they are given.
- A sinner cannot be a Christian if they refuse to walk in all the light they have been given.
- Therefore a sinner must be the opposite of every virtue that is present in a Christian.
IS THIS TRUE? The first two don’t logically lead to the third statement. This is a false argument.
A virtuous life includes kindness, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, humility, love, etc. A sinner is not destined to live a non-virtuous life. This would take virtue out of the world. The two choices are not you can be saved and be fully virtuous or lost and have access to no virtue. This is a disservice to teach to our children.
It is an essential to be saved and be a child of God, but a child sometimes doesn’t understand God. This depends a lot on family system and whether or not there is emotional attachment. They may need time for God to help them understand who He is.
The prodigal son may have hurt his mind and developed harmful habits, but he had enough virtue in him to understand what was good. His father, in turn, accepted him in his damaged state.
People who display virtue are admired by others. Maybe they don’t know or want to serve God, but this is an admired attribute. It’s okay to be virtuous, even if you’re not saved! It’s okay to nurture these traits in our children. It’s cool to be kind or smart or successful in school.
The prodigal was a sinner and ended up without safety and virtue. Virtue doesn’t mean salvation.
Mark 12:28,29,30,31,32,33,34 The perspective of the Law through verse 29 is the elder son’s world. Verse 31 takes the existing Law and translates it.
Luke 15:25,26,27,28,29,30,31,32 “Safety is obedience to moral code” is the Pharisees' teaching. We can be living a virtuous life, but we still need repentance.
The elder son never left (he was still “in church”) and his salvation was obedience to the moral code. But he gained no happiness in obedience to his father’s law. His unhappiness at the celebration revealed he didn't understand the essence of his father’s law: love and forgiveness.
Salvation is based on love for the Father. This draws us to His moral code.
Being fully persuaded means I can bear weight - I can carry a load. This is maturing in grace. The elder son was stuck. If I am not growing in grace, Satan marks me as a target for bitterness and unhappiness.
I want to have victory! I want to help my neighbor and family! This all comes from deep love, not strict obedience to the Law.
