by Carl M. Johnson
Have you ever lost something that was really valuable? A diamond ring? Your briefcase? A billfold full of money and credit cards? A pair of glasses? What were your feelings about that which was lost? How did you feel when you found it? The parables of the lost sheep, coin, and son (Matthew 18:11-14; Luke 15) are about lost souls.
he primary lesson in the first two parables is the seeking the love of God; while the main purpose of the parable of the Prodigal Son is to show the cycle of falling away and complete restoration. Other lessons that we can learn from these parables include: the true meaning of “wayward;” the causes of waywardness among Christians; methods of reclaiming the wayward; and the difference between true repentance and just “coming back to the church.”
First of all, when we refer to the wayward, we are referring to those who have “quit the church” (Hebrews 10:25). These are Christians who no longer attend the assemblies of the church and have disassociated themselves from the church.
The other type of wayward disciple, while not forsaking the assembly, is one whose life is characterized by deliberate and persistent sin. In John’s first Epistle, he makes a distinction between a Christian who sins infrequently through weakness or ignorance, and the Christian who sins deliberately and habitually, as a way of life. The former is admonished to confess his sin and is promised that God is faithful to forgive (1 John 1:9), while the latter cannot be considered a faithful child of God (1 John 3:9). The fornicator in the Corinthian church (1 Corinthians 5) is an example of this type. That brother did not want to leave the church or stop his sins. He and those who sided with him were arrogant, apparently justifying the fornication by arguing that they had greater knowledge of God. Paul ordered the man disciplined in order to humble him, sober him, and give him incentive to clean up his life. Fortunately, the discipline worked and the man was restored (2 Corinthians 2:6-8).
The lost sheep went “astray.” The word “astray” implies that the sheep are deceived and led astray by another agent. This happens to some members of the church. We are repeatedly warned about false teachers who attempt to lead Christians astray from the fold.
“But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction” (2 Peter 2:1, NKJV).
“Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them” (Acts 20:30).
The apostles warned that there would be false teachers that would arise from without and from within the church who would lead some members astray. History has demonstrated the accuracy of the apostles’ predictions. The false teachers from without would include the proponents of atheism, the age-o1d enemy of God’s people. In recent times it has reared its ugly head and worn different names, such as modernism or secular humanism, but it is still the same old denial of God that has plagued God’s people from the beginning. This category of false teachers would also include those who propagate various forms of immorality. We are virtually inundated with enticements toward immoral behavior in our society today.
The false teachers from within would include the Judaizers in the days of the apostles, who attempted to bind Jewish traditions such as circumcision, on Gentile Christians. It would also include the original falling-away in the Lord’s church, which gave rise to the papal form of world religion. It would include the many forms of digression that have ravaged the Lord’s church. Paul said these false teachers were wolves in sheep’s clothing. Some had no limit to which they would go to tear down and destroy. Dividing the churches and alienating brethren would mark their trail.
In addition to being deceived and led astray, sheep can wander astray by becoming absorbed in other matters. A lamb often at the rear of the flock may see a little stretch of green grass, and becoming absorbed with that delicious morsel, he loses consciousness of the fact that the shepherd and the flock move on and he will soon be lost.
Likewise, there are so many who are carelessly absorbed in the treasures and pleasures of this life (cf. Luke 8:14; 12:16-21). They become so absorbed in these things that they lose their focus on the Lord and the church, and unconsciously wander away from the fold.
When someone has been deceived, and led astray, we must make every effort to reclaim them. Our attitude must be one of love and concern. Having found his sheep, the shepherd does not punish it, nor even harshly drive it back into the fold, but he lays it upon his own shoulders and carefully carries it home.
If one has been deceived and truly does not know that he has sinned, as is frequently the case with new converts, what is needed is instruction in love. Fifty percent of the time the way-ward needs to be reconverted or reminded of basic teachings that brought them into a covenant relationship with Christ. Rebuke, before conviction of sin, is discouraging. Instruction is more than just telling one his behavior is wrong. One must be “fully persuaded in his own mind” (Romans 14:5), a process that usually takes some time.
The coin symbolizes the wayward Christian, while the woman represents the church. The coin was lost through carelessness of the woman, which implies that souls can be lost through the carelessness of the church. Our ultimate goal is not to get people into the baptistry, but into heaven. Failure on the part of the church to provide the proper support for members can result in their dropping out. We are repeatedly admonished to establish one another, ground one another, bear one another’s burdens, support the weak, etc. Paul gave these responsibilities to the Thessalonian church:
- “Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men”
(1 Thessalonians 5:14)
When Paul said, “warn them that are unruly,” he bound on the church the responsibility of discipline. Discipline is a tool that is to be used to reclaim certain wayward members (1 Corinthians 5). Discipline is not for the purpose of crushing nor destroying the wayward, but it is designed to sober and humble them; to cause them to change their mind about their sinful behavior and straighten up their lives. Discipline is also for the assurance the faithful members, that blatant sinful behavior is not going to be allowed to continue unchecked. A failure on the part of the church to practice scriptural discipline can cause members to become discouraged and drop out.
It is amazing how much the Bible, and especially the New Testament, deals with discipline. Some fear it because they think it will “run people off.” It is interesting how brethren know this since they have not seen it practiced much. It is more probable that the “absence of discipline” is what “runs people off.” Many areas report there are more wayward members than faithful members in a congregation. Is this evidence that it pays to not practice church discipline? Does it pay to practice church discipline? Congregations do not know because they have seen so little practiced or they have done it incorrectly.
God has never prospered His people or let His face smile upon them while sin was allowed to remain in the camp. If Roman 15:4 and 1 Corinthians 10:11 be true, then God’s people of today need to learn valuable lessons in Israel’s defeat at Ai (Joshua 7).
• Although the presence of sin within the camp was unknown to the leaders of Israel, 36 innocent men lay dead in battle because of it. Sin touches the lives of the innocent as well as the guilty. Ignorance of its presence does not immunize the innocent.
• When the presence of sin is discovered, it is time to quit talking and begin disciplining in the spirit of God’s Word.
• Proof of the sin of Achan was established in the presence all the people before they were asked to execute God’s discipline upon him. This same principle was admonished in 1 Timothy 5:20 — “Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.”
• If we wish to bring the wayward back into the fold to cover a multitude of sins, then we need to correct that person so he may once again enjoy the blessing of the Lord as well as not hinder other Christians.
It is true that we cannot correct in the lives of others those sins which are found in our lives. Nor can the church correct the things in the world if they can also be found in the church. We must always keep in mind that people come into Christ and His church to get away from the sinful things of the world. Consequently, if they find the very same sinful things tolerated in the church, it is discouraging to them. There is no greater way to restore the fear of God than to exercise His discipline, and there is no surer way to foster disrespect for His authority than to allow disobedience to go unchastened. So, discipline is a tool to be implemented to restore certain kinds of wayward Christians, and to encourage the faithful, by showing them that sinful behavior is not going to be allowed to remain in the camp unchallenged.
Next, Paul said, “comfort the feebleminded.” The word “feeble-minded” refers to the “faint-hearted or timid.” These were not intellectually feeble, but they were discouraged and dispirited. They were to be comforted, not rebuked or admonished for their sins, but exhorted lovingly in the truth. It is the Lord’s way “to raise them that are bowed down” and to “comfort them which be in any trouble” (2 Corinthians 1:4).
The trials of life can have a devastating effect on our faith. For example, it is important to all people to be identified with certain primary groups, such as family and friends. Major changes in a person’s life situation: the death of a spouse, a divorce, the loss of a job, a relocation of residence; all tend to break down previous patterns of identification with family and friends. The more change a person has recently experienced in his life situation, the more he is likely to look for some new group with which to identify. This is a very critical time. It can be a propitious time for a non-Christian, because it is during this time that he is most receptive to being converted (disassociating himself with past groups and re-identifying himself with a new group). But, if a person is already a Christian, it is during this time that he is most susceptible to dropping out.
Allen Bailey and Brian Burns conducted a project in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex area which involved visiting wayward Christians. They found that there was a high incidence of dropouts among church members that had relocated to the Metroplex from other parts of the state of Texas or from other states. The reasons for their relocation to the Dallas-Ft. Worth area included changes in jobs, schools, marital status, or some combination of all the above. The findings of the Bailey/Burns project corroborate the earlier statement that the more upheaval, or change that a person experiences in his life situation, the more likely he is to change the groups with which he identifies. Which means that if he is already a member of the church, it is during that time that he is most susceptible to dropping out.
We need to be aware of these facts, and when members of the church are assaulted by great upheavals and trials of life, we need to fulfill our responsibility to care for them.
Next, Paul instructed us to “support the weak.” The word “support” is from antechesthe and means “to exercise a zealous care for” (Analytical Greek Lexicon 32). Paul quotes Jesus in Acts 20:35:
“I have showed you all things, how that so laboring you ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive’.”
The more types of influence used to support the weak, the less likely they are to drop out.
Form friendships, especially with new members. If a person becomes a member of the church, but all of his friends and family are nonmembers, it is unlikely that he will remain faithful. So, it is imperative that we make them our friends and include them in our social activities.
Get the members actively involved. Find a role each member can fulfill, a job they can do, and then encourage them to actively do it. A number of studies have been done which shows that the more actively involved a person is, the less likely that person is to drop out. Expose members to as many kinds of positive influence as possible:
- • Sermons in regular services
• Gospel meetings
• Informal Bible study
• Religious radio programs
• Religious TV
• Bible correspondence courses
• Religious books, tracts, and other printed material
Again, the more types of influence used to support the weak, the less likely they are to drop out of the church.
In the parable of the lost coin, the coin was lost through the carelessness of the woman. In view of the responsibilities incumbent on the church to “warn the unruly, care for the feebleminded, and support the weak,” we can be responsible for some of the wayward, if we are careless toward these responsibilities.
The ideal time to keep animals in the barnyard is before they get out. Too often, the barnyard gate is closed when cattle have left the barnyard. The same is true of the church. The ideal time to keep Christians from going astray is before they go astray. It is a well-known fact that Christians reveal their need for attention long before they go astray. While attendance at worship seems to receive the most attention relating to the wayward Christian, other signals of impending wandering should also be heard and dealt with immediately. In addition to missing services, not participating in activities previously involved in (such as leading prayers, waiting on the table, attending business meetings), expressing feelings of spiritual pain, and questions indicating displeasure, where these were not heard before, are signals to which one should be alert.
When Christians go astray, it is wise to seek them before they are very far from the fold. The longer a sheep/Christian is away from the fold, the more difficult it is to find him and to bring him back. When a Christian begins to show signs of becoming wayward, it is time for action. The action should not come one day later;
It is significant that in this parable the father did not go after this son. In the previous two parables, the lost sheep and the lost coin, the lost were immediately sought after. The sheep was lost because it was deceived and led astray. The implication is that when Christians are deceived and led astray, we are to strive to reclaim them immediately. With a spirit of love and concern for their souls, we are to reconvert them, or remind them of the basic truths that initially put them into a covenant relationship with God. The teaching of the second parable, the lost coin, is that when we have contributed to the lost through our own carelessness, we again, immediately put forth a diligent effort to reclaim them. But in the parable of the wayward son, the father did not go out in pursuit of his son, because the son willfully left his father’s house. If the father had followed him into the far country, the son may have viewed his father’s efforts as badgering or nagging, which could have driven him even farther away. The reason for the father’s action is explained in Hebrews 6:4-6:
“For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.”
I have visited with wayward Christians that had been members of the church for twenty or thirty years before dropping out. They knew as much about the Lord’s church and understood the gospel as well as I. Consequently, there was nothing I could say to “renew them to repentance.” They already knew it all. There were no new truths with which I could enlighten them. Their repentance would have to come from within their own heart. In cases like that, about all you can do is what the father of the prodigal son did. You never quit loving, hoping, watching, and praying that circumstances will be brought to bear upon them that will cause them to have a change of mind. But, you do not badger nor nag them, which could very well drive them further away.
- (1) A change of mind about sin,
(2) sorrow for sins, and
(3) hearty amendment of one’s ways (405-406).
Repentance is also emotional (sorrow for one’s sins). The kind of sorrow involved in repentance is “Godly sorrow” (2 Corinthians 7:10). if the prodigal son had only felt sorry for himself because he was down and out financially, he would not have been ready to return home. It was only when he realized the hurt that he had caused his good father that he was ready to return. Similarly, if a drunken driver kills an innocent child in a car accident, he is not ready to progress if he is worried only about himself and the charges that will be brought against him. It is only when he is able to understand something of the pain that his actions have caused the grieving mother and father of the child that he is ready to make genuine changes. “Godly sorrow” then, is not just feeling sorry for ourselves because we are suffering consequences for our sins, but it is sorrow for the pain and disappointment our sins have caused God (cf. Psalms 95:10; Hebrews 3:10, 17).
Finally, repentance is also behavioral (a change in the way one lives his life). Thus, repentance is a turn around of the total person. Of the three ingredients of repentance, behavioral change is the most difficult. After all, to know right is not always to do right.
Those who deal with alcoholics know that an addict’s conviction that drinking is harmful will not necessarily keep his hand from reaching for a bottle. It is time we begin thinking about sin as an addiction, which it is (cf. John 8:34). I have had people make confessions of sinful behavior during the early part of a gospel meeting, only to learn that they were engaged in that same sinful activity again before the meeting was over. I am convinced that at the time of their confession, they were sincerely sorry over their sin and resolved not to do it again. In view of this, when someone makes a confession for some sinful behavior with which they have a real problem, instead of just sending them right back out in the same environment that they could not control previously, we should sit down with them and discuss what kind of support they are going to need in order to remain faithful.
“For the task of elders (and other mature Christians) is to save that which is lost. How think ye? If a congregation has one hundred members and one individual goes astray, do the elders leave the ninety and nine Christians and go to his home to seek his soul which has gone astray? And when the elders find him, verily I say unto you, the congregation rejoices more over the returned wayward member than over the ninety and nine members who are faithful. Even so, it is not the will of the elders that one individual Christian should perish.”
Is this the picture of concern and action in your congregation? Is the individual wayward Christian a top priority? If so, rejoice. If not, weep and plead for repentance. How obvious is the task to seek and save the lost, which includes lost members!
1400 Northcrest Drive, Ada, OK 74820.
Allen Bailey and Brian Burns, Metroplex Project. Irving, Texas: a.d.
Orten, Dr. James, “Teaching Wayward Christians,” Christian’s Expositor, VII (September, 1993), 149-156.
Stewart, Ivan, “Winning The Wayward,” 64th Annual Harding University Bible Lectureship, October 4-7, 1987. Delight, Arkansas: Gospel Light Publishing Company, 1987.
Thayer, Joseph Henry., D.D. Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon, Grand Rapids, Michigan: AP & A, n.d.
Trench, Richard Chenevix, Notes On The Parables Of Our Lord, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1948.
Yeakley, Flavil R., Ph.D, “A Plan For Church Growth,” Freed-Harde-man College 1981 Lectures. Nashville, Tennessee: Williams Printing Company, 1981.
Yeakley, Flavil R., Ph.D. Why Churches Grow. Broken Arrow, Oklahoma: Christian Communications, Inc., 1979.
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