THE ZONE

The Prodigal Son

2010-04-28T00:41:00.000-07:00

Here is the story of the prodigal son. The father represents God. The younger son represents sinful people who rebel against God. The older son represents those who think they are perfect and get mad when God forgives "bad" people. The story is found in Luke 15.

Jesus told them this story: “A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons.

“A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything.

“When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.”’

“So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’

“But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.

“Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, and he asked one of the servants what was going on. ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’

“The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’

“His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

Renee's Lesson on Sin

2010-04-26T11:08:00.001-07:00

Questions about God- Sin

When we are born, are we born with sin?

The answer is an unfortunate YES. According to the Bible, we are all born with sin because of our human ancestors, Adam and Eve. The creation story is found in Genesis 1-3, and shows how “inherited sin” came into the world. That is the fancy word for “born with sin”. Adam and Eve pulled an epic fail move when they chose to stop believing that God had given them the very best in the Garden of Eden. It’s important that we know the definition of sin. Sin is just a word that describes ANYTHING that falls short of perfect. Basically, sin is not doing the thing we SHOULD do, and doing the things we SHOULD NOT do.

Why can no one be perfect?

Pretty much because of answer number 1- we are born sinners. This is not a “3 strikes and you’re out” kind of game. The very FIRST sin puts a barrier between us and God, and we can never be close to him again. (Until we accept Jesus in our hearts- but that’s a FANTASTIC truth for another post.) Romans 3:23 says clearly that “ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” So unfortunately, no one can ever even hope to be perfect. You are either guilty because of “inherited sin” or you are guilty because of “personal sin”. Personal sins are the wrong things that you do yourself, or the right things that you don’t do. But don’t be discouraged! John gives us a great word from God to remind us that “if we confess our sins, (GOD) is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and (clean) us from ALL unrighteousness”. (Unrighteousness just means all the F’s we get in life)

Why do we sin if we know it is wrong?

Excellent question. James says it pretty clearly: “But your own evil longings tempt you. They lead you on and drag you away. When they are allowed to grow, they give birth to sin. When sin has grown up, it gives birth to death.” Yuck, right? The truth is- we sin even when we know it’s wrong because of DESIRE. Do you know what “desire” means? Dictionaries are a beautiful thing- but I will give it to you in a nutshell. Desire = to wish or want, to crave for. Cravings are usually not a good thing because they make us do stupid stuff. Like how much I love chocolate. Anyways, the Bible shows in the above verses that you are tempted by your desires, then you let those desires overwhelm you and they dray you away. Once allowed to grow, those desires give birth to sin- like a mutant alien spawn baby. And that sin, when it grows up- gives birth to DEATH. I know, sad day. Pretty much, desiring the wrong things can kill you. Bummer. We choose sinful things because they hold some false promise of happiness. They look like things that will make us happy in the beginning, but in the end- they just make us miserable and keep us away from the True Giver of Happiness. Jesus Christ.

There is one other note on this question about why we sin. Jesus said it in Matthew 26:41: "Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak." Sometimes we sin, simply because we are weak. We are too tired, too lazy, whatever- but we let that temptation, that DESIRE, in- and then we follow it right into sin.

Hope that is clear, ultimately- sin will take you down if you let it. But I am praying for you that you don’t. That you would grab a hold of Jesus, and trust Him to save you, to forgive you, and to teach you a new way to live. Hold on to this hope, friends- “Brothers and sisters, I don't consider that I have taken hold of “perfect” yet. But…I forget what is behind me. I push hard toward what is ahead of me. I move on toward the goal to win the prize.” You can fight, you CAN win against sin. I love you guys, and God loves you so much more!

Did Everyone Before Jesus Go To Hell?

2010-04-14T13:17:00.000-07:00

The short answer is, no. In fact, people before Jesus’ time were also saved by Jesus, just in a different way. Modern-day Christians are saved from their sin by confessing Jesus Christ as Lord, God, Savior, and King. He is the Messiah who came to rescue mankind. He is God put into human form and offered as a sacrifice for the sins of humanity to present them holy and blameless before God. Today, a person is saved by looking backwards to the cross and putting their faith in Jesus Christ.

How did this happen before people had ever heard the name of Jesus? What about all the people in the Old Testament? The people before Jesus’ time were saved by looking ahead to the coming Messiah and putting their hope in him, hundreds and thousands of years before Jesus came. The way this worked was by the sacrificing of animals. God had given clear instruction through Moses that the Israelites (God’s people) were to sacrifice bulls and goats, and they had to be pure, without any defect. In this way, the people’s sins were forgiven.

At this point, some may ask “Why did God make people do that? He seems bloodthirsty and violent, and that doesn’t sound like Jesus.” The Bible teaches that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Sin requires death. Because God is just and fair, when someone sins, death must occur. In fact, God shows mercy by giving the people a way where they themselves don’t have to die for their sins.

Also, we learn in Hebrews chapter 10 that these sacrifices served as a reminder of the people’s sin. When you have to slaughter an animal for something wrong you did, it makes you feel guilty; which is appropriate because you are. The continual sacrifice was a reminder to the people that they were sinful and needed God.

Lastly, the sacrificial system was foreshadowing the ultimate sacrifice Jesus would make. When people sacrificed animals on the altar in the Old Testament, they were hoping in a savior that was to come. By looking ahead and putting their faith in God, who would one day permanently forgive their sins with a once-for-all sacrifice, the people of the Old Testament were redeemed.