That is NOT the gospel. Not of works lest any man should boast. It doesn’t stop after your first repentance. I’m not advocating sin here folks. I’m not saying God doesn’t answer prayer or doesn’t delight in good fruit in our lives or doesn’t reward hard work. I’m saying there IS no works righteousness. There can’t be. It’s a sham. Stop living like it’s real.<\/p>\n
Travis Prinzi<\/a> on the Boar’s Head Tavern<\/a> illustrated this very well today with a quick rewrite of the parable of the prodigal son:<\/p>\n I\u2019m going to get in trouble for this:<\/p>\n <\/span>\u201cThe son said to him, \u2018Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.\u2019<\/p>\n <\/span>\u201cBut the father said to his servants, \u2018Quick! Bring the best copy of the Scriptures and the prayer mat and send him into the chapel. I can\u2019t hear him, and I refuse to pay attention to him, because he\u2019s been sinning too much, and I\u2019m not going to answer prayers of someone who has not been doing his duty.\u2019 …<\/p>\n \u201cMeanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard the sound of his brother turning the pages of the family Bible. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. \u2019Your brother has come,\u2019 he replied, \u2018and your father has commanded him to go pray and study the Scriptures.\u2019 And the older brother said, \u2018Good. I\u2019ve been saying for years that father shouldn\u2019t listen to sinners until they start doing their duty like me.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n That entire mentality is built on the idea that we are received back to God by grace, but after that, we need to start behaving like the older brother in order to get God to listen to us. We become better than the prodigal, and God begins listening to us and answering our prayers. Sorry. Every single time I come to the Father, I\u2019m the prodigal.<\/strong><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n![](\"\/coffee_images\/prodigal-son.jpg\")
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