What kind of people ought What kind of people ought you to be?
Luke 15:20-24
Praise the Lord!
May God richly bless you as we worship Him today.
Today’s title is “What kind of people ought you to be?” So I ask you: What sort of person ought you to be? Should it not be a kind person? A person who helps others? A person with a big heart?
Everyone thinks that they ought to be certain person.
But what does the Bible tell us?
Thankfully, the Bible does tell us specifically what sort of person that we are to be, and Apostle Peter is the one who tells us this very saying.
2 Peter 3:10 speaks of the ‘End times’. We often speak of what kind of person we ought to be now, but in the end times, we certainly need to be this type of person.
In 2 Peter 3:10, it says: “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.”
And it continues in verse 11: “Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be?”
And now, Peter speaks of what type of persons we must be. Listen carefully.
“You ought to live holy and godly lives.”
The type of person that we ought to be, according to the Bible, is a person who believes that the day of the Lord is coming, expects it, and earnestly looks after it.
And I am sure that everyone here is living that life now.
Last Sunday, Rev. Song’s message was titled ‘One you must do now’. He told us that the Lord commands His angels to blow the trumpet, and along with the sound, the day of the Lord approaches; thus we must hurry and more fervently live in God’s grace.
But here, Apostle Peter tells us of the attitude and lifestyle of one who eagerly awaits for the day of the Lord.
It is to live holy and godly lives.
Beloved Christians, as the day approaches, we as Christians must live holy and godly lives. This is what the Bible calls, the life that we ought to live.
So I ask you, what is ‘holiness’? What about ‘godliness’?
We often use these terms.
But we do not really know what they mean. We just think that they mean we must live good lives, without sin, reading the Bible, praying, going to church, etc.
That is correct.
But, does holy living end there?
Isn’t there more in godly living?
Through the Parable of the Prodigal son from Luke 15, I would like to discourse on what ‘life we ought to live’ means. And I pray that the Holy Spirit will guide us to greater grace at this time.
Now, we are all familiar with the Parable of the Prodigal son. There are two sons presented in Luke 15. The focus of this parable is on the second son. He takes the inheritance prematurely, travels to a distant country, and squanders all his wealth in wild living. He was without food so that he longed to fill his stomach with the pods that pigs were eating. But even that, others would not provide. At the end of his rope, he returns to his father. The father graciously accepts him back, and holds a great feast for his returned son. The son begged for the father to take him back as a servant, but the father exclaimed, ‘my son who was dead is now alive,’ and put him back in his right place as the son he loved.
Now, is this second son a person who lived a life ‘ought to be lived?’ Certainly, this son who abandoned the will of his father is not a person who lived a life ‘ought to be lived’. Even if he was to have successfully multiplied his wealth through industrious entrepreneurship, he is not a person who lived a life ‘ought to be lived’.
But there is one thing that we can learn from this man: That he returned home to his father.
Now, is the focus of this parable on how much inheritance this young man received?
The world is focused on how much one can get, or how prepared one is for the future financially, or how one can take to ensure his success.
But to live a life ‘ought to be lived’ does not consist of dreaming a worldly purpose.
To receive millions of dollars in inheritance is not a life ‘ought to be lived’.
To drive luxurious cars, and to eat and drink and enjoy the pleasures of this life; that is not what it is about.
But what this son showed, is that he returned home to his father.
A failure, a beggar, one who is so haggard that he is unrecognizable, steeped in the stench of sin, yet staggeringly he returns to his father. And this step that he took toward his father’s home, is the life ‘ought to be lived’.
To turn one’s back toward the world, and to face the father; that is godliness.
Hebrews 12:2
fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and praise.
In the parable in Luke 15, there is another son, the older son. Now, this son is very diligent and a responsible man. Faithfully he managed all the tasks assigned to him by the father. He never complained. With a grateful heart, he went about his responsibilities. He safeguarded his father’s wealth, and ensured that it increased. He heeded his father’s instructions and stayed near his father always. But his heart changed once the second son returned.
Will father accept this wayward brother without once disciplining him?
Has father ever held such great feast for me? Ever?
The older son had a hard time accepting his brother. His heart was filled with disappointment at how his father treated his brother.
Now, is there any good in this brother that we can emulate? Something that shows the essence of ‘life ought to be lived’? Or does he have none?
Is this first son the one who added worries to his father? What do you think?
One thing is certain: should he have accepted his brother with open arms, this story could have had a beautiful ending.
“Father, our long lost brother has returned alive!”
“Father, your earnest prayers are answered!”
“Father, your prayers were not in vain!”
“Father, let us hold a great feast for him! I will go and prepare a fattened calf!”
If the first son had said these things, certainly, he would be a man that we ought to emulate.
But the first son is a man, not a saint.
Now, does God expect all of us to be a saint?
Was Peter a saint? Now, people often call Peter, St. Peter. Just because he is called a Saint, did Peter never hold complaint, worry, or hatred in his heart? Peter was once reproached by Paul for his hypocrisy.
What about Paul? We also call him St. Paul. But do you know what his confession was? That he was the chief of sinners. That in his heart was evil right there with him. That he longed to be rescued from this body of death.
He was also a man.
He might be called a Saint to other men, but in God’s sight, he is a sinner just like us.
Because the fist son complained to his father, can we also call him a prodigal son? Or that there is nothing that we can learn from him?
The fist son never left his father’s home. While in words, he was complaining, physically he never left his father’s side.
Is this not something that we can learn from?
Even though he complained, he faithfully tended to the responsibilities that his father entrusted him with. He managed his servants well. He safeguarded his father’s wealth. The Bible does not continue with the story, but I am sure that later on, he probably accepted his brother, and returned to his way of life.
Did you know that anti-Christians in Korea call Christianity with a derogatory term related to a dog. But the sad reality is, the reason for this is not because of the congregation, but rather because of the leaders of the church. Their love for money, power, and even sensual sins is so great that the entire church is being mocked at.
So there are many who leave the church because of this.
“How can a church be like this?” “How can a pastor live such lives?” and they leave the church altogether.
What do you think about this?
The lesson that we must learn from the first son is this: that he never left the father’s home.
Even though the returned brother was a sore sight, he did not leave the father.
Even though he could not possibly understand what the father was doing, he did not leave the father.
Now, if he left the father’s side for whatever reason, he would have become another Prodigal son.
How hard would it have been for the servants of the first son to one day have to serve the second son?
But the first son never left the father’s side. He stayed where he can listen to the voice of the father. He stayed where he can be always at the father’s beckon call.
Now, we are no saints. I am not, and neither are you all.
We all are prone to acting according to the emotions and the movements of our hearts. We are all weak and lacking.
Often, we may be disappointed.
Often, we may become angry.
Often, we may ask, “What sort of person am I?” and be discouraged.
We are all like that.
But the most important thing is that we are physically close to the father. No matter the circumstance, that we never leave the father’s side.
This is what we must learn from the first son.
He was used to being close to the father. He never thought of leaving the father’s side, even though the father may hurt his feelings.
He had unshakeable faith that one day he will get his inheritance.
And he took comfort in the words of his father that, ‘everything I have is yours.’
He had hope. And so he silenced the complaining voice in his heart.
Beloved Christians, take to your heart the words of the father to the first son: “You are always with me, and everything I have is yours.”
“You are always with me…”
Even though you may be disheartened, stay with God.
Even though you may have had fights with your spouse, stay with God.
Even though you may have been betrayed by your trusted friend, stay with God.
Hold onto the promise of the Father.
“Everything I have is yours…”
God promised to us the inheritance of the Kingdom of God.
If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. – Galatians 3:29
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. –Colossians 3:23-24
Beloved Christians, no matter the difficulties and discouragement you may face in this world, hold onto the promise of the Father, and always abide in His presence. This is what we ought to do.
Now, I want to tell you of the third person who shows us what we ought to do.
It is the father.
Now, in this passage, this father is our God the Father. Not a human father.
And now, pay close attention.
The Bible requires of us a very lofty and holy life here.
Jesus told this to His disciples. He asked of them a very difficult command. They were shocked that Jesus would request this of them.
Now, we will look at the passage where our Lord told us of how we ought to live. It is a rather short verse: Matthew 5:48
“Be perfect therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Does it tell us our earthly fathers? No.
He tells us to be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.
Could there be more unreasonable request than this?
This request to His disciples, He is also requesting of us.
“My beloved Christians, as your heavenly Father is perfect, you too be perfect!”
Now, certainly our Lord does not require of us something that cannot be done.
When Jesus spoke of this, He spoke relating to loving our enemies and those who persecute us. And that God rains on the righteous and the unrighteous the same. Is this something that cannot be done?
It can be done.
Look at today’s passage.
Now, the central character of this parable seems to be the returned Prodigal son; yet if you see closely, the main character is actually the father.
What sort of person ought we to be? Like the father.
If the father did not welcome back the son, this story would have been a tragedy.
Beloved Christians, be like this father.
There is nothing that is more beautiful than love. Faith, hope, love, now these remain, but the greatest is love. Love covers over multitude of sins. Love melts an icy frozen heart.
And this father was full of love.
He was waiting for the second son to return. There is a hymnal related to this parable: it is hymnal 317.
He keeps the door open at night, and constantly waits for the return of the son.
He waits until the son returns.
There is a famous painting by the great Rembrandt called the Prodigal Son. It is currently being displayed in a museum in Russia. In the painting, the father is touching the son with two hands, and it is said that the father is losing his sight. Many people see this painting and are inspired.
It is a portrait of a father, who is longing to see his son day and night, who focuses his dying sight to see if his son returns, who sheds tears worrying for his son, who waits for his son to the point of losing his eye sight.
You see, true love is to wait with hope.
But do we not easily give up? Our Lord waits until the end, but do we not give up after waiting just a little bit?
Whose soul do you pray for? Has it been a year? 10 years? Do they still not return? What sort of person ought you to be?
We ought to be a person who never give sup.
With the Lord’s heart, let us wait for our children, husband, friend, parents, whoever, until they return to the arms of the Father.
Oh God, give me the heart of Jesus.
Let us be ones who wait with the heart of Jesus until they return to the arms of the Father.
And let us be forgiving Christians. That is what we ought to be.
In today’s passage, the father saw the second son, took great pity, and ran to him. Hugged him and kissed him.
Even before the son was on his knees, the father had already forgiven him.
Even before the son opened his mouth to say, “Father I have sinned against heaven and against you,” the father had already forgiven him.
Even before the son can say, “I cannot bear to be your son…” the father’s heart was already filled with forgiveness and joy.
The father called for the servants to bring the best clothes, and ring on his finger, and sandals on his feet. To slaughter fattened calf and to hold a great feast for this lost son who is alive again.
It was true forgiveness.
Do you believe that through the death of Jesus Christ on the cross, our sins are forgiven? Do you believe that you received the great gift of forgiveness of sins? Then we must give thanks. Then we must be forgiving. It is what we ought to do.
Apostle Peter said that we ought to live holy and godly lives.
To live holy lives means to forgive others.
To love our enemies and to pray for them is true holiness.
Peter once asked Jesus how many times we should forgive our brother’s sins. To this, Jesus said, “Not seven times, but seventy times seven.”
And the very first words out of Jesus’ mouth on the cross were words of forgiveness: “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”
And when Stephen was being stoned to death, his last prayer was that of forgiveness: “Lord do not hold this sin against them.”
What we must strive for his to forgive others. If we forgive others, God will bless us. He will give us peace in our hearts. When we enter into His Kingdom, I hope that there is nothing that we have not forgiven about.
Now in conclusion, what sort of person ought we to be?
As the last days are approaching, we must live holy and godly lives.
Holiness is to abandon worldly pleasures, face the Father and to return back to Him. We ought to realize our sins and return back to the Father.
Godliness is to always abide in the Father’s presence, to live in assurance of the promise of His inheritance, and to continually and faithfully manage our purpose.
What sort of person ought we to be?
To be perfect, as our heavenly Father is perfect. This is what we ought to be.
The Father waits with loving heart, shedding tears. It is an active love, one that stays until the end. If we can love like this, then we are living a life that we ought to live, and are becoming perfect, as our heavenly Father is perfect.
Forgiveness: This is what we ought to do.
The whole world is full of hatred and is bent on revenge out of anger; yet our Lord constantly tells us: Forgive, even up to seventy times seven.
And we believe in Jesus, who showed us what true forgiveness is. We cannot be like the world. We must be people of forgiveness. And this is how we can live holy and godly lives.
What sort of people ought we to be?
I pray that we are gladly led by the Holy Spirit.