For the Outcasts | Theocast

Maybe you're out there and you're feeling weary, feeling burdened, you're feeling beat up, left behind, or even in your experience as a Christian in the church, you feel like you've been run over, like you don't fit, you know that Jesus is legit, but maybe the problem is with you and you've felt that over and over, been made to feel that over and over and you just can't shake it.

If that's where you are, this podcast is for you today. John and I are gonna have a pretty tender, honest conversation about the things that matter most to us as pastors and even in some senses, why Theocast exists at all.

And that is to hold out Jesus Christ for us. He came to save people like you and like me and like John. So we're gonna rejoice over him today and we're gonna talk about him and we hope you're encouraged by it.

Pietism, Confessionalism, and Rest in Christ

Stay tuned. If you're new to Theocast, you may not have heard of this word. It's called pietism. You ever felt like the Christian life is a heavy burden versus rest and joy, that you wake up worrying about how well you're gonna perform instead of thinking about what Christ has done for you?

It's dread versus joy, really. That's pietism. Pietism causes Christians to look in on themselves and find their hope, not in what Christ has done, but what they're doing. And we have a little book for you.

It's free. We want you to download it and we're gonna explain the difference between pietism and what we call confessionalism. Reform theology, really. How it is that we walk by faith, seeing the joy of Christ, and when Jesus says, come to me and I will give you rest, what does that look like?

You can download it on our website. Just go to theocast .org. Welcome to Theocast. Encouraging weary pilgrims to rest in Christ. Conversations about the Christian life from a confessional reform and pastoral perspective.

Here at Theocast, we are aiming to take the clutter off of the gospel. We don't want Christ to be week over week on the show. And in doing that, we aim to reclaim the purpose of the kingdom of Christ and the fact that we get to live in peace and joy and freedom in it.

May the Lord do those things today and help us all as we seek to trust Christ in this life. Your hosts today are the usual suspects. John Moffitt, who is pastor of Grace Reform Church in Spring Hill, Tennessee.

And I'm Justin Perdue, pastor of Covenant Baptist Church in Asheville, North Carolina. John, this is our second episode today. We've been taking a little bit of a break from recording. The listener may not realize that just because we kind of stockpile episodes and record in advance.

But man, it's been good to be with you. I've been encouraged. We've laughed a good bit between the two episodes. That was fun. I am trying to not break character right now. You know, you're like. You're doing a great job.

You're doing a great job. I don't want to labor things too much. Just a couple of things to put on the radar of the listener. Of course, you know, there's something called the Theocast community. You can find information about that on our website.

It's like social media, but without all the nonsense. And it's an encouraging place to go where you can interact with people who are thinking through the same things you are. And are learning and growing and have legitimate questions.

And you can ask each other those questions. And hopefully you're not going to get, you know, run out of town on a rail or whatever. But then the other thing, and more specific information, I'm sure is going to be forthcoming.

But we do, by the time you're listening to this, there are firm plans for a Theocast conference next April in Asheville, North Carolina, that will include not only me and John Moffitt, but also our friend Chad Byrd and our friend Ken Jones.

That's right. And we're going to be considering the law and the gospel and things related to that. And so. And you can register today. It's available. Go to theocast .org. Look forward to that. This could be good.

Really? Wow. Yeah, registration's up, man. Registration's already live. I didn't know that. Oh, yeah. Been live for weeks. Okay. See, sometimes you get in a bike wreck and you don't know, like, what's going on.

Well, it's not technically live as of right now, but when this airs, it will be. Oh, okay. See, nevermind. You can just disregard everything I just said, guys. There you go. All right, so on the reel, we want to have what I hope is a very tender and encouraging conversation.

Yeah. And I'm gonna let John tee that up for us before I waste any more of our time, basically. Man, good friend and guy I appreciated a lot used to say, let's not take ourselves serious, but let's take the gospel serious, right?

Amen, dude. And Justin and I had just an amazing good belly laugh right before this thing got started. I mean, to the point where I was in tears and laughing just about the silliness of life and things that make us, you know, remind us that the world is dark and at times there are things to laugh about in a dark world.

And I feel like in Christianity, we forget our posture, we forget who we are, and we take ourselves way too serious. And there are times that I find it hard to be around certain kinds of Christians because I'm like, dude, are you being serious right now?

There's no one who can live up to your level of expectation and there's no one who can live up to your level of like what you think a Christian should be capable of or what even you think you're capable of, you know, and they get offended when you even question them in that way.

And what it does is it causes the rest of us to find ourselves isolated and ostracized and we don't fit. And we're wondering, man, maybe I'm the only one who can't live up to these expectations in Christianity.

And so we go silent and Justin, so many times, man, we've had this in your church, we've had this in mine, people show up and they're like, man, I feel like for the first time in my life, I can be real.

Like I can actually admit that I don't belong in whatever this Christian sphere that has been created. Not that they're abandoning Christianity, but the obligations put upon them. They're like, man, I don't know if I can ever live up to that.

Well, and in part, I think what people feel is that there's something wrong with me. There's something illegitimate about me. Like I am, maybe I'm a faker or something. That's absolutely right. And so they, excuse me, they wander around and we hide our sins.

I know I did for years when I was in high school and college I pretended I was something more than I was. I couldn't tell people my real struggles because I was afraid of what they would think of me. And people's opinion was more powerful to me than what God really thought of me.

And we didn't talk about what God thought of me. We really only talked about my obligations. And so Justin, over the years, people have been starting to listen to Theocast because we're willing to kind of put a streak in the paint.

We're willing to pull back the cover and say, this is not what is being presented. And the Christian life is messy. There's a reason why Paul and Peter and the New Testament writers have to write so much corrective letters because it's just so messy.

The Outcasts, the Weak, and the Sufficiency of Christ

So what we wanted to talk about today is a phrase that we hear in emails and comments all the time, you guys are putting into words what I've been thinking and feeling for a long time. You're putting words to my experience.

That's right. In that they're not looking for an excuse to sin. They're not looking for an excuse to kind of like stay out of Christianity, but they have been abused, beat up and pushed out because they haven't met whatever weird obligation that's been put upon them.

That is really outside of scripture or it's skewed. And so this podcast really is designed for those of you who feel like you're one of the misfits. You're one of the, and I don't mean misfits because you want to sin and you're tired of Christianity telling you can't sin.

You're a misfit because you don't believe that anyone really ever could live up to the expectations that are being put upon people. Like it's outrageous. And you're wondering if there's a different and better way.

So there is, and that's what this episode is about today. And we want to reach out and love and encourage you and help you understand. And I'll kind of just throw it over to you, Justin. The one thing I do find a lot of hope in, in that I feel confident that Theocast is doing something that matters and that is right, is if I were to define what we're doing, and I think why a lot of people are attracted to this and our churches, more importantly our churches than the podcast, whatever, is that Justin, we truly believe the posture that we're supposed to have is speaking the truth in love.

And there's a lot of people speaking the truth or portions of the truth, but they'll leave out the love, compassionate and merciful side of it. So today is for those of you who want to hear the truth, but kind of want to hear it in a way that draws you closer to the love of God and not afraid of him.

That's what we want to talk to you about. Yeah. A lot of people, you know, you could describe it a number of different ways, but many of you out there that have found Theocast helpful, maybe you're weary, you know, we talk about that a lot.

You're burdened, you're weighed down. Sometimes you've been beat up, you've been hurt. You know, we've been accused in the past of being like a podcast for people that have made shipwreck of their lives.

We did an episode on that. Sort of responded to that idea, that paradigm. And in one sense, we were like, well, we actually see that as a good thing, not as an insult. Thanks for the compliment. Yeah, exactly.

Received, you know, or, you know, it's the experience you've had where, you know, the whole mentality of like, you either get on the bus or you're going to get run over by the bus and many of you feel run over.

Or like you said, John, you find yourself in a context where like who in the world could live up to these standards? I can't. So maybe the problem, if this is Christianity, I know Jesus is legitimate, but if this is Christianity, something is wrong with me.

And you feel that deeply or, you feel like you can't be honest, like you said, because if I was, they'd run me out of here. That's a way that many people feel. People feel abandoned or left behind or any number of different things.

And I think my short response to that is, Jesus came for such as us, right? He came to seek and save the lost. It's like with Zacchaeus, you know, it's like he pursues us and he's like, I'm going to eat with you today.

And then he says that salvation has come to this household for he too is a child of Abraham. And that I came to save people like this. And that's where I find comfort is like Christ, Christ looks at me, looks at you.

He looks at you, dear listener, and says, I want to be with you. And I've come to save you. And that's what we're holding out. And I know as a preacher, John, you're aiming to do that week over week in your local church.

I know that's true for me too. Like, what do I want to accomplish as a pastor and as a preacher of God's word? I want to hold Jesus out. And then in holding him out, in being united to him by faith, we receive all of his benefits, but more than anything, we get him.

And we get him forever and he is ours and we are his. And that's the greatest comfort that we could ever be given this side of the resurrection. And then one day we're going to see him as he is and we're going to eat with him and he's going to wipe our tears away.

And man, so that's, for me, that's what's underneath. Like, why Theocast? Why are you a pastor? It's like, well, I mean, this is the only hope that a sinner could ever have, you know? Well, yeah, it's, you know, that whole phrase, God can draw a straight line with a crooked stick.

It's like, you know, we're not crooked, man. We're fractured and all kinds of broken, falling apart. We're a bruised reed over here. But Justin, as you were talking, man, one of the things I had that came to mind that, to be honest with you, at times, you know, we get shot at a lot in our own ministries.

From every direction. Yeah, from like our own churches and then people around the world that, you know, whatever. And at times, man, it can get into your psyche, you know? Maybe they're right. Maybe there's something wrong with me.

Maybe I'm wrong, you know, and all this kind of stuff. And I find so much comfort in God's word. I mean, when you read, so like you're in the Old Testament, when you read the Old Testament, dude, every single person God chose to use, they were just flat out broken, man.

They did just dumb, stupid stuff constantly, you know? And, but what was their, you know, when you go to Hebrews, how were they defined? Well, they were defined not by necessarily what they did. I mean, and there were some heroic, crazy good things that they did, too.

I mean, Daniel's pretty impressive, some of the stuff he's done. But in the end, it was the faith in the God to whom they served, right? Yeah, it was the object of their faith. That's right. And then I think about the 12 men, 13 men, technically, that turned the world upside down.

Every single one of them had a history written and documented for all of eternity of absolute failure. Hello, they all abandoned Jesus. And then 40 days later, they're in the pulpit. Let me tell you who I serve.

So the foundation of the church was built upon men who were cowards. Let's just be frank. It was, you know what I mean? And then you look at the Apostle Paul and it's finally like, you know, he finally gets stopped and it's like, dude, you are hardheaded, man.

Why are you kicking against the bricks? And I find a lot of comfort in that, for those of you who feel like, man, I just, I'm not this like powerfully strong person and I'm being told I should be questioning my salvation.

It's like, I gain a lot of comfort, a lot of comfort from Paul when he says, stand in the strength of the Lord and in the power of his might. Like there's never a moment where you're supposed to find the confidence in your own flesh and in your own self.

So if you're constantly feeling weak and shy and you're not sufficient and you don't have enough, that's it. What does Paul say? When I am weak, then I am strong. And so there's, I want to comfort the person who just feels like they're a nothing, that they're a failure, that there's no way God could ever use their life.

I mean, I find so much comfort from a guy like Chad Byrd, to be honest with you. The guy is super humble and you know, we are criticized for even being friends with him. I have no shame of being a friend of Chad Byrd.

So much so he's going to come speak at our conference. No, I know. I mean, we had him here recently. But the man experienced pride and humility, right? He experienced a rise and a fall. And he's experienced mercy and forgiveness and grace and renewal.

That's right. And he regrets. The Lord uses that. That's right, he regrets all that he has done. But the reason I mention all of this is that even you who may have put a wreck of your life and you think, man, there's no way God would ever use me again.

You know, that's all God has ever used. There's people who are wrecks because at that moment, they have no self-righteousness. So no self-worth and no power in themselves. And so I find a lot of, not Justin, I don't want to wreck my life.

And I know you don't want to wreck your life. We don't need to wreck our lives in order to be sufficient in Christ. We are insufficient as it is. No, may the Lord protect us. That's right. But I do feel very weak and foolish often in life.

So I got a number of things in my brain and I hope we can pull this together into a cohesive whole. We're doing fine. In some way. We're going here, there, and everywhere. I love it. Dear listener, we hope you're encouraged.

The ramblings of John and Justin. Yeah. You know how you just said that the Lord has used so many weak people, broken people, imperfect people, you know, crooked sticks, all the things, bruised reeds.

You and I are of that number. You know, obviously I'm in Exodus and Moses. I mean, it's astonishing how, you know, Moses is held up in, understandably, I mean, in terms of redemptive history and the scriptures.

I mean, he is a significant figure. And his initial response to God's calling him and is really something to see. And then of course, there are going to be other ways that he fails, even once he kind of takes up the mantle of ministry.

I mean, he basically says to the Lord, like, please, please send someone else. You know, he just continues to object to everything that the Lord is revealing himself to him. There's the whole episode of the burning bush.

And I mean, all of these things. And he just continues saying, yeah, I just, please no. Like, I can't, I can't, I can't. And the Lord continues to reason with him and reason with him and reason with him.

And anyway, it's interesting, you know, how the Lord has always used very fallen, flawed people to accomplish his remarkable purposes of salvation. You know, I think about Paul, like the entire letter of 2 Corinthians, you know.

I mean, he's dealing with the whole controversy of these supposed super apostles who are in some obvious way strong and powerful and doing signs and wonders and are effectively saying that the problem with Paul is that he's weak.

Like, this isn't of God, you know. And we are so prone to thinking the same ways in our contemporary day, I mean, in our church, right? Like, in the contemporary church. I mean, well, if it's bigger, if it's obviously powerful, if it's put together, if it's strong, if it's polished, it must be from the Lord.

And again, this is not, do not hear me saying that we should celebrate doing things poorly or that we should celebrate mess or celebrate brokenness. Like, that's an equally, equally devastating error.

But we do acknowledge that in the Christian life there will be weakness and that there is room for that because in our weakness, the Lord shows his strength. And he is with us and he walks with us and he is faithful to us every single moment.

And so that's the great comfort. I'm gonna pivot slightly here. This isn't the point of today's podcast, but I'm happy to say it. If you've been listening to us for the last five years, then you know how much John and I care about doctrine.

You and I both, John and our churches too, subscribe to the Second London Baptist Confession of Faith. So that's a reformed confession. I'm just stating it that way. You and I are unashamedly, now some people want to dispute whether we're really reformed or not because we're Baptists.

I don't care about that right now. But we subscribe to the confession. We care about confessionalism. We care about doctrine. We care about precision. All of those things matter a great deal to us. And at the same time, like you said, we aim to take theology and doctrine seriously and not take ourselves too seriously.

And the kicker for me is that underneath our concern for doctrine, underneath our confessionalism are things like what we've been saying. That what we see in the scriptures and what we understand through the history of confessionalism in the reformed tradition is an unashamed commitment to the sufficiency of Jesus Christ to save the worst of sinners.

And the love and the mercy and the compassion of God and the grace of God that covers a multitude of sins. Like that we can look at sinful people and say that you are the Lord's favored ones. And that he has been faithful.

He has planned to do this. He's the same yesterday, today and forever. He will finish what he started in you. That's what we're able to say. And I know I talk often about the Mero controversy and I'm not apologetic for that because I see in those individuals in the 18th century church in Scotland, thoroughly reformed brethren as they were, I see from them an unapologetic, unashamed emphasis of the offer of Christ to everyone, a commitment to preach all of Jesus for the salvation of the whole sinner.

Jesus for justification and sanctification and glorification, Christ for us and with us is what these guys were being ridiculed for. And that resonates in my soul in ways that are difficult for me to put into words and are a tremendous source of motivation and strength for me in the midst of times when there are trials and tribulations from within, from without, and assaults of the evil one.

We keep doing this because it's so worth it. If you're weary and heavy laden, come to Jesus. If you're thirsty, come to the waters, man. Like, that's the posture. Well, it's compassion for two things that you're saying just as you're thinking about this.

It's compassion for the weak and compassion for the sinner, right? So it's like, I'm gonna say this now, the theonomist Christian nationalist movement has so burnt me out. The way, when you hear them talk, it's like compassion for the sinner is gone.

All we do is talk about what they've done wrong and how the country is going the wrong way and we've got the leaders in the wrong, and it's like, do you understand that they act according to the course of the power?

They're going according to the course of the world because they're of the world and there is a supernatural nature that has to be changed and it only comes if a Christian proclaims the gospel and we do so because we're compassionate towards them, right?

Jesus loved sinners. Let's just be frank about it. And sometimes I get just exhausted about how angry people are towards sinners. And then those who are struggling, those who are weak, those who have made a wreck of their life, man, they're who we judge.

They're who we compare our life to and we don't have any time or patience or compassion for them. Hey guys, real quick, some of you are listening to this and it's encouraging to you, but you have questions.

So where do you go? How do you interact with other people who have the same questions and share resources? We have started something called the Theocast Community and we're excited because not only is it a place for you to connect with other like-minded believers, all of our resources there, past podcasts, education materials, articles, all of it's there and you can share it and ask questions.

You can go check it out. The link is in the description below. Those, like, let's just say it this way, man. Those who have sinned spectacularly, right? Or who, yeah, let's put it that way. Our posture generally is to look at them and say, you probably were never a Christian.

It's insane. That's what our instinct is. Like, we've been conditioned to think that way. Now again, please don't misunderstand me. Sin, we just talked about it last episode. Sin is slavery. Sin is bondage.

It's a horrible use of freedom. And may the Lord protect us from the evil one and from the deceitfulness of sin. I pray these things for myself every day throughout the day. I know you do too. And so I am not in any way making light of sin or acting like it's a good thing that Christians would just do whatever they feel like doing.

I mean. Well, and I think there's a, it's. May it never be. Well, Justin. But. Yeah. Go ahead. No, no, no, go ahead. But this instinct to, like, when somebody sins spectacularly or if somebody is straying even for a period of time, like the fact that we feel the need to immediately say, well, they were just probably always a faker, a false professor.

They were probably just never a Christian. And then that's our default. Something's off there. Rather than, you know, and of course we call people to repentance. We practice church discipline so that people might be restored.

All those things are true. But I do think, like, to your point, we lose sight of how to deal with other believers with compassion. And we certainly lose sight of how to deal compassionately with our neighbor in the world.

Yeah. And in realizing that what they need actually is they need Christ explained to them. They need Christ held out to them. And we can do all kinds of things at a civic level and a societal level. That's fine.

And I'm not saying don't be used of God to aid in human flourishing. That's not what we're saying either. We've talked about that before too. But yeah, compassion and mercy and grace and these kinds of things should ooze out of Christians.

That's right. It should. Well, and I mean, Justin, just from a logical standpoint, right? Let's just be logical for a moment. Why would the New Testament writers warn us about sin if we weren't going to sin?

Sure. Why would they warn us a lot about sin? Like a lot. We get warned quite a bit. Like, hey, don't fall back into your old selves. Here are the things that you could possibly fall back into. Be wary of that.

Be warned of that. Temptation's gonna come. And it's like we then, when Christians do it, we're like, oh my word, I can't believe that happened. I'm like, you said this on the way into the office this morning when we were talking.

People were like, oh, I just wanna go back to the early church. And both of us were like, no way. Oh no. People say that. Yeah, it's funny. Yeah, that's another maybe conversation for another time. The reason I'm super quick.

Yeah, go ahead. People will say, we need to go back to the golden age, like the first century church. And I'm thinking to myself, have you read the epistles? Because there's a lot going on in those churches, clearly, where Paul or the other apostles are having to tell them not to do things that seem pretty obvious.

Like, you know, there's all kinds of sexual debauchery and just all kinds of things going on there. And, you know, drunkenness and this and that, and orgies and all these things. It's like, you shouldn't participate in these things.

And then it's like, you're dragging each other to court in front of the, you know, basically using, in the midst of a pagan society, you're dragging one another to court and suing each other. You shouldn't do that.

And I mean, it's just like, we're having to say this. He had to write this into the context, but apparently that was the golden age. I just think, well, the church has always been comprised of sinners and the Lord has been faithful and merciful and gracious, has he not?

And I always want people to say, well, that's cheap grace. By the way, that, I don't know who came up with that phrase, but just from a linguistic standpoint, hello, do you know what grace means? Unmerited favor.

Hello. I have problems with radical grace. No, but just for a moment, cheap grace. I'm like, it's free. You cannot get any cheaper than free, y 'all. I'm just saying. And of course, you know, it's free, but it's not cheap.

I agree. It's just a, or, you know, the radical grace phrase, it's like, well, how do you get more radical than the grace of an all-powerful, entirely holy, all good God toward people who do not deserve?

That's right. I mean, how do you get more radical? I don't know. The God of the universe determined from before the foundations of the world that God the Son would take on flesh and become a human and keep the law and die and rise again to save us all.

I mean, are you kidding me? Like, it doesn't get more radical than that. Anyway. Well, let me just add to that. Or hyper grace. You guys are hyper grace. It's like, well, I mean, how do you emphasize grace too much?

Because last I checked, I mean, grace does it all, right? Yeah. All right, so. It's all grace, right? I love this phrase. Walk by the Spirit and you will what? Not fulfilled. Right. Justin, is it very possible for Christians to not walk by the Spirit?

Yes. Sure. That's why Paul has to say it. He's like, you're fulfilling the lust of the flesh because you're not walking by the Spirit. And then we look at people who are fulfilling the lust of the flesh and we're like, you're not a Christian.

It's like, no, they're not walking by the Spirit. There's a difference. They're not walking in the sufficiency of God's grace for them. Or they find themselves in a Roman seven situation. Right. Or a Galatians 5 .17 situation where they're not doing what they wanna do in their inner being, right?

I am convinced, because I've lived in these churches, you've experienced it and heard and seen these things too, Justin, where people remain in their sin and they hide it and it festers to the moment where it turns into a disaster.

If they would have lived in a church where the admission is you can and possibly will fall into sin, we need to constantly be providing a means of repentance and grace so that you don't remain in your sin, like come back to him.

Well, confess your sin. That's right. Acknowledge your sin. Agree with God about your sin. Side with God against it. Talk openly about these things. Find help to fight it. Walk, yeah, exactly. Find help to fight it.

Walk in honesty with these people, right? Come Sunday over Sunday where we confess our sins together, like before the Lord and before each other. That's what we need, for sure. And it's often what is difficult to find.

The Father’s Joy in the Lost Sheep, Lost Coin, and Prodigal Son

I have one more little piece that I was saving for the end of this episode. So last week I tried to exercise some restraint and self-control and not talk about Luke 15, even though you brought it up.

I think it's very pertinent, though, for this conversation, at least from my vantage point. If this is a podcast for those who feel weak and maybe left out or like they don't fit in the church or certainly are wrestling within, in terms of as they think about themselves and God, you're convinced that maybe he saved me, maybe, because I question my legitimacy, but there's no way that he could be happy or joyful about this.

I'm a disappointment to myself. I've got to be a disappointment to him, kind of thing. If that's how you feel, and I've been there, and battled that often, even still. Luke 15 is helpful. Those three parables that are in that chapter, they go together.

I mean, Jesus told them together and they kind of build on each other. The first one is the parable of the lost sheep and where the shepherd has 100 sheep and loses one and he leaves the 99 to go get the one and lays the lost sheep on his shoulder and brings the lost sheep safely home.

And what does he do? He calls all of his friends and he says, I've found the lost sheep. Let's have a party, let's celebrate, joy. Jesus says, I tell you, there's joy in heaven when a sinner repents. Then there's the parable of the lost coin where a woman has lost one of her coins.

She turns the house inside out and upside down trying to find it. When she finally finds it, she calls her friends and says, come over, let's celebrate. And Jesus, again, reiterates, there's rejoicing in heaven, right?

Like, this is pretty epic. Then comes the parable of the prodigal son. And we're familiar with it. I don't know that it's often been preached in my life, John. I don't know if you've heard it preached many times the way that you or I might preach it.

And that's all right, but let's talk about it for just a second. You know, the prodigal son, of course, he shames his father, insults his father, rebels, heads off into a foreign land to do what is good in his own eyes, all that.

And then he comes to his senses. And I don't think that that is a moment of like true repentance for him, other than it's just that he sees some things more clearly than he did. But think about how the son, the prodigal, rehearses this in his mind.

He's like, even the slaves in my father's house are doing well. Here I am not doing well at all. So here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna go back and I'm gonna say, father, I've sinned against heaven and before you, I'm no longer worthy to be called your son.

Let me work for you. Treat me as one of your hired hands. That's his pitch. I mean, hear that, let me work. Let me earn this. Don't treat me as your son. Just treat me as a slave and let me work for you.

So then he makes his way back. And of course we know that the father is eagerly waiting for the return of his son and sees him and runs to him. And the son begins his rehearsed pitch. Father, I've sinned against heaven and before you, I'm no longer worthy to be called your son.

And before he can even get to, let me work for you. The father shuts him up, stops the whole thing and says, bring the robe and the ring and put it on him. And let's kill the fattened calf and let's celebrate because my son has come home.

My son that was lost is found. My son who's dead is now alive. I mean, that's the thrust of the parable is that there is rejoicing. This is the posture of the father toward us is that he rejoices to save us.

And he won't hear this nonsense that we often think we need to bring to him. Let me do this for you. Let me be good enough. Let me earn it. Let me work. He says, no, mercy. Look, let me clothe you with robes of righteousness.

Let me put a ring on your hand and shoes on your feet. And we're gonna celebrate because you've come home and I love you. And it's really, really moving and gripping. And if the more that we can behold the face of God in the Lord Jesus Christ, like the whole God in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ, even if we wanna put it that way, and we see the mercy and grace and steadfast love of the father toward us.