Unlimited Grace

Bryan Chapell: We want the gospel to reach the people who do not deserve it, like us. Our orientation is always to understand that God is not waiting for people to measure up or to qualify. The church is the fatherliness of God moving forward for the sake of his people. As long as they're on the horizon, we're moving towards them.

Host (Male): So glad you joined us for today's Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Bryan Chapell. In today's lesson, Pastor Bryan shares the second half of a lesson from Luke chapter 15. As we look to the parable of the prodigal son, Dr. Chapell reminds us that the grace of God is for those who do not deserve it, not for those who do.

You can find this lesson and many others when you visit unlimitedgrace.com. While you're there, look for this wonderful resource from Dr. Chapell, Holiness by Grace. In this book, Pastor Bryan will guide you through reassuring scripture passages to discover how works and obedience are not a means of establishing or maintaining salvation, but a grateful response to God's mercy. Let's hear now from Dr. Bryan Chapell as he shares the second half of the lesson, I Don't Deserve This.

Bryan Chapell: I'm going to ask that you look in your Bibles at Luke chapter 15. Here is one of the most loved parables of Jesus in the Bible, where a young man asks for his father's estate too soon and spends it too fast, yet still receives the love of his father. Let's stand and we'll remind ourselves of these words from Jesus. I'm going to pick up right at verse 20, where the young man has come to his senses and he's returning to his father's house.

Luke 15:20, speaking of the young man, says, "And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I'm no longer worthy to be called your son.' But 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. Bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let's eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found.' And they began to celebrate."

"Now his older son was in the field, and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. He called to one of the servants and asked what these things meant. And the servant said to him, 'Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has received him back safe and sound.' But the older brother was angry and refused to go in. His father came out and entreated him, but he answered his father, 'Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command. Yet you never gave me a young goat that I might celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your property with prostitutes, you killed the fattened calf for him.' And the father said to him, 'Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to celebrate and be glad, for this your brother was dead and is alive. He was lost and is found.'"

What does that look like in our families? I think of some friends of Kathy and mine. As a couple, the wife once described to us the experience of her father, who went to a train station to pick up a son who'd been in a distant country, not just by geography, but by lifestyle. As that father went to the train station, he was standing on the platform waiting for his son to get off the train.

By happenstance, one of his business associates came to meet another child and was standing there on the platform. The two fathers were waiting for their children to get off the train and they were watching. Suddenly, this one particular individual got off the train. You couldn't help but notice him: large, overweight, flushed face, dark clothes, cape on his shoulders.

The business associate leaned over to the father and pointed to say, "Aren't you glad you're not welcoming that?" At which case, of course, the father ran to his son and put his arms around him, kissed him, and welcomed that. If we're in the church, we're always keeping our eyes on the horizon. There's my child coming. There's a child of God coming.

Bad choices and bad decisions are their responsibility, yes, but the grace of God is for those who do not deserve it, not for those who do. When that is expressed in us, it changes things in our families, as hard as it may be on us because we see children, those that we love, hurting themselves. Still, we are called to express the grace of God as best we know it to them.

What would it look like not in families, but in communities? Some of you may be aware that Chick-fil-A is an organization known for Christian ownership. The way they demonstrate that is they're not open on Sundays. But there was a Sunday a few weeks ago at which Chick-fil-A did stay open.

Chick-fil-A in Orlando, after the massacre in the gay nightclub. Those who were Christian in Chick-fil-A, owners and coworkers, stayed open on Sunday to prepare food for those who were waiting in the lines to donate blood for those who'd been hurt in the massacre. Now, some of you may read enough news to know that the gay community scorned and spurned that action by Chick-fil-A.

Should it have not been done? While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and ran to him, and put his arms around him and kissed him. Our heart is not for those who deserve it. We do not say as God's people we show mercy because people deserve it. We recognize they don't deserve it, but neither did we.

The cross of Jesus Christ is for a purpose. It is for providing for those who could not provide for themselves. The message of the gospel is always to be expressed in the church of Jesus Christ with the profound understanding that we are not waiting for people to measure up. We are not waiting for people to get their lives all straight, not get it all fixed.

While they are still a long way off, we have the obligation and the privilege of saying, "Here is the fountain of grace from this place for you because it's the fountain of grace from which we drank when we did not deserve it either." What does it look like in our church to keep our eyes on the horizon?

To always be looking for those who are in the far country and to minister, not because they deserve it, not because they've said our words, not because they've qualified, but simply because the mercy of God is intended for those who do not deserve it. We've listened almost 20 years now to the words of Winn Arn, who said those who come into the church, if you're even here today, you can almost always say why it has happened.

Ninety percent of the people who are in the church today are here because a friend or family member invited them. It's not the great preaching, the wonderful evangelism campaign, or the tract. A friend or family member invited us and got us involved. Now, because of the cross-currents in our culture, we as Christians are often more and more unwilling to do that because we think people will get angry, mad, or turn their back on us for talking about our faith.

One of the more recent surveys that was done by Ed Stetzer of Lifeway surprised almost everyone. He said most Americans are willing to talk about their faith in a friendship relationship. If your faith is important to you, your friends are willing, even wanting to talk about it. That was a surprise.

He's honest enough to say that doesn't mean they necessarily want to go to church with you. But if they're your friend and you're their friend, they want to know what makes you tick. What's going on in you? He began to ask people the question, what would you go with with a Christian friend if it wasn't to a worship service?

Forty-seven percent of those who were surveyed said they would go to a church activity that was about improving neighborhoods. I think about the Adams Street Foundation here. Why would we do that? There are people who have been incarcerated. There are people who do not deserve our care. Why would we do that?

Because we are seeking to gain a hearing for the gospel. We minister to other people. Forty-three percent in the American public said that they would be willing to go to a church activity that involved community service. I think about our MOPS program, in which we have mothers of preschoolers coming into this church in great numbers, and half of them are not part of this church.

When I think about Vacation Bible School, you and I know that lots of parents in this community use Vacation Bible School as summer daycare. I know that, you know that. We're not offering Vacation Bible School because people deserve it. We know it costs us. We are recognizing we are giving the gospel to those who do not deserve it because we were like they.

We extend the gospel through heartbeat ministries and adoption ministries, not because people deserve it, but because we recognize this is an expression of the nature of grace. That's what we're doing. We're trying to win this hearing, get this understanding of the gospel.

Interestingly, 36% of the people in the American public said they would come if you invited them to an athletic or exercise program sponsored by the church. I think of how the Christian center was begun a generation ago with somebody who understood that. If we ever built sports fields on this expansive land that the Lord has given us, why would we spend so much for people who are not already part of us? It doesn't benefit us.

We want the gospel to reach the people who do not deserve it, like us. Our orientation is always to understand that God is not waiting for people to measure up, to qualify, that the church is the fatherliness of God moving forward for the sake of his people. As long as they're on the horizon, we're moving towards them. If God puts them in our eyesight, we move towards them.

Host (Male): You're listening to Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Bryan Chapell.

Guest (Male): God instructs us in his word to be holy as he is holy. How can God expect us to be as holy as he is? Such a standard seems either to ignore our frailty or to impose certain failure. That is, until we understand how God views us.

In this challenging yet heartwarming book, Holiness by Grace, Dr. Bryan Chapell illustrates the principles of grace, the practices of faith, and the motives of love in living a life of holiness.

Guest (Female): Pastor Bryan will guide you through reassuring scripture passages to discover how works and obedience are not a means of establishing or maintaining salvation, but a grateful response to God's mercy. Holiness by Grace draws straight from the heart of God, as Pastor Bryan's encouraging words will help you understand that your holiness is not so much a matter of what you achieve as it is the grace that God provides, a grace so rich as to make the pursuit of his holiness your soul's deepest delight.

Guest (Male): You can request your copy of Holiness by Grace when you go online to unlimitedgrace.com or by calling 844-41-GRACE. That's 844-414-7223. And now, more from Bryan Chapell on today's Unlimited Grace.

Bryan Chapell: There's another brother in the account. Do you remember him? The older brother? He's objecting to the party that's being thrown for the lost brother who's being found. We automatically think, "I am glad I'm not like him." I think Jesus actually tells the parable to convict us that we're a lot like the older brother.

We don't even recognize it, and so there are hints here to make us recognize ourselves. Whenever we say "they don't deserve the gospel," we've implied "we do." Therefore, we seem to be saying the blood of Jesus isn't really necessary for us. Nobody would actually say that. Nobody would actually be so bold as to say, "I don't really need the work of Jesus Christ."

What are the signs that something deep down in there is actually echoing that attitude? The older brother, of course, begrudges the grace toward his undeserving younger brother. The grudge, that's verse 28. The older brother simply gets angry that there is a party. The complaint is that grace is not fair.

What do you mean that my brother is getting a party? He's spent all the money on prostitutes. He's wasted his life. He's wasted your money, and now he's back. By the way, Dad, I've been good and you never threw a party for me. I went to Sunday school, I followed your instruction, and you never threw a party for me.

He recognizes that he is diminished by showing grace to those who do not deserve it. I've done all this stuff and you're saying it apparently does not matter so much to you that I'm better than he is. Beyond that, it costs the brother. We're not in ancient Jewish culture, so we don't recognize all that it means for the father to throw this feast with the fattened calf for his son.

It means that son is now back in the family. It doesn't just mean that there's been a cost for this calf to be sacrificed now for the party. If that other brother is now back in the family, the property's got to be subdivided again. The old brother is counting the cost. If we actually extend grace to those who do not deserve it, that's going to cost me something.

He doesn't like that, so he begrudges the grace. In essence, it's far worse than that. What the older brother does not understand is by objecting to the party for those who do not deserve it, he's actually done everything the prodigal son did as well. Do you recognize it? If he's really saying, "Dad, what are you doing dividing the estate again?"

He's actually saying to his father, "I want your stuff. I want all your stuff that's remaining." It's the same cry as the younger brother. As he waits outside, not joining the party so this dad ultimately has to come out to speak to him with everybody watching, he's also saying, "I don't care if it hurts you that I don't go to the party."

If we think of there being some sort of distant immorality going on at the same time, think what this older brother's actually saying. My dad's heart and values are to care for my brother and to welcome him back into the family. But I'm rejecting my father's heart. I'm rejecting my father's values.

It's the same thing the younger brother did, and it's meant to draw us up short and say, "If you don't think that you're a younger brother, you probably are an older brother." If you are an older brother, you are automatically a prodigal because you are not celebrating what God has given his son to allow to happen.

The great grace that claims those who do not deserve it. What God is ultimately doing is going out even to this son. Do you recognize that? Verse 28 says the son is angry, he refuses to go in, but his father came out and entreated him. It's the same movement of the father. As the father ran to the prodigal, he's now coming out to the one who thinks he qualifies for the grace.

In both cases, the father is saying, "I have to provide for you what you cannot provide for yourself." That's the message of the gospel I want us to hear over and over again. What this older brother is ultimately having to see is I don't deserve this either. I turned away from my father. I didn't feel that he had to provide all that I had.

I'm objecting to the party. I don't want these people around me. Anytime that happens, we become the very ones who are objecting to the values of our Father in heaven. Still, he keeps coming to us week after week with the message of the gospel. How great and gracious is our Father.

How do we hear that? I recognize it's hard at times, and I've thought how do I just tell you as a church what it means to be filled up with grace so that we actually begin to fountain it? I don't know how to do that better than to tell you my own progress in the gospel from a hard place.

I think as I look back on my own life as a younger pastor, having come from a troubled and very difficult home, that one of the reasons I went into the church even as a pastor was finding some respite from my own family's struggles and tensions. What I did not recognize was how much of my early ministry was just saying to people, "You need to fix broken behavior to fix broken lives."

So much of my message and my language was "straighten up, fly right, do better, and that's what will fix your broken lives." I'm not saying there's nothing to that message, but it ultimately crushed me as a pastor to say I simply want you to do better. How much does a holy God actually require before he's satisfied?

I want you to straighten up, particularly about taking the gospel to other people. I know if I'm supposed to witness, that means I'm supposed to find people who don't know the Lord, and I always feel guilty that I haven't done enough of that. And I feel a little bit angry that they are out there requiring me to do that.

The broken, disaffected, don't-deserve-it people that I've got to witness to. Don't you sometimes feel that way? What changes us? I think when I was broken by that message, recognizing I've never done enough to satisfy God in my work, and then began to recognize but the father kept coming out to me, kept ministering to me, it began to fill up my heart with grace in a way that I never perceived.

For the first time in my life, lost people were not the way that I gained credit with God by witnessing to them. I truly, profoundly, in ways I cannot fully express to you, began to love lost people. They're just like me. They don't deserve it, I don't deserve it, and we are brothers and sisters needing a savior.

When that began to change Kathy and me, it changed things that we didn't even know were in our hearts. I recognize we began to delight to see our children reach out to troubled children, not just the popular kids, but the troubled kids. It scared us sometimes, but we delighted.

We shouted for joy. This is a party. Our kids are reaching out to those who don't deserve it. They understand the gospel, our kids. We began to delight to move into a neighborhood where there were lots of gay business and shop owners so that they became our friends. For the sake of Christ, we just felt like, isn't this great?

We can begin to minister to people out of love for Christ. It's not somehow making us more acceptable to God. This is just what we love to do, tell people about the Lord and how he helps them. This is the gospel at work. This is not somehow doing something weird or strange or putting people in awkward circumstances.

It is saying I didn't deserve the grace of God, and he showered it upon me. He gave me this wonderful message of his love in Christ Jesus, and now I want that to fountain upon you. What we do in these next several weeks is just going to be to fill up our tank with the grace of God because I know that when we are filled with that grace, it will fountain from us to our delight for the party that God is throwing for lost people in our homes, in our families, in our neighborhoods, in our workplaces that God is calling us to reach for Jesus' sake.

Host (Male): That's Pastor Bryan Chapell, and you've been listening to Unlimited Grace. If you've missed anything that you'd like to hear once again, just visit unlimitedgrace.com. When you do so, you can sign up for Pastor Bryan's daily devotional sent right to your inbox.

Also, be sure to request a copy of Dr. Chapell's book, Holiness by Grace. We'll send you this book right away as our way of saying thank you for your most generous financial support. Once again, go to unlimitedgrace.com or you can give by calling 844-41-GRACE. That's 844-414-7223. Please be sure to join us next time as once again we endeavor to put Christ at the center of our efforts so that lives might be transformed by his unlimited grace. This ministry is brought to you by Unlimited Grace Media and continues to be made possible with your generous financial support.