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![The elder brother didn’t care about
the lost brother coming home; he only
cared about himself. He wanted
prosperity so he could celebrate the
good life, not so he could work toward
the salvation of his brother or even of
his friends. And because he didn’t care
about the lost, it wasn’t possible for him
to enter into joyous celebration with his
father when his younger brother
returned home.
It isn’t that his father didn’t try to
get him to come into the house where
the great celebration was going on.
Luke 15:28 says, And he [the elder
brother] was angry, and would not go
in: therefore came his father out, and
intreated him.
In the same way, God tries to
convince us to join Him in the great
celebration that is always going on in
HIS house. In this celebration, He is
killing the fatted calf for the great feast.
He is putting rings on the fingers and
shoes on the feet of the lost. He is
clothing them in royal robes of
righteousness, calling the dead alive
and the lost found.
Second Corinthians 5:21 tells us
why: For he [God] hath made him
[Jesus] to be sin for us, who knew no
sin; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him.
The elder brother was the type of
person who belongs to the local church,
attends every service, and gives each
week in the offering. He might even be
on the board of administration for the
various church programs. These are all
good things, but remember the source of
the elder brother’s problem: He based
his relationship with God on his good
works rather than on God’s grace. So
when the father came to entreat him,
trying to convince him to enter into the
great celebration for the lost son who
had come home, the elder brother
refused.
Many of us don’t enter into
celebration with God for the same
reason: We have been deceived by
works. Like the elder brother, we
haven’t learned to fellowship with our
Heavenly Father; therefore, we don’t
understand that God’s biggest
celebrations take place when the lost
are received into His Kingdom.
The elder brother’s heart wasn’t in
the celebration held in his brother’s
honor. He was only interested in his own
prosperity. He wanted his father to
prosper him so he could celebrate with
his own friends. In this, the elder
brother failed to obey Proverbs 4:23,
which says, Keep thy heart with all
diligence; for out of it are the issues of
life.
Notice the way the prodigal son
humbled himself before his father when
he returned home:
I will arise and go to my
father, and will say unto him,
Father, I have sinned against
heaven, and before thee,
And am no more worthy to
be called thy son: make me as
one of thy hired servants.
Luke 15:18,19
But the father wouldn’t listen to
such a plea because he wanted to
fellowship with his son. He wanted to
9](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/graceillustrated-170509144938/85/Grace-illustrated-9-320.jpg)
![The elder brother didn’t care about
the lost brother coming home; he only
cared about himself. He wanted
prosperity so he could celebrate the
good life, not so he could work toward
the salvation of his brother or even of
his friends. And because he didn’t care
about the lost, it wasn’t possible for him
to enter into joyous celebration with his
father when his younger brother
returned home.
It isn’t that his father didn’t try to
get him to come into the house where
the great celebration was going on.
Luke 15:28 says, And he [the elder
brother] was angry, and would not go
in: therefore came his father out, and
intreated him.
In the same way, God tries to
convince us to join Him in the great
celebration that is always going on in
HIS house. In this celebration, He is
killing the fatted calf for the great feast.
He is putting rings on the fingers and
shoes on the feet of the lost. He is
clothing them in royal robes of
righteousness, calling the dead alive
and the lost found.
Second Corinthians 5:21 tells us
why: For he [God] hath made him
[Jesus] to be sin for us, who knew no
sin; that we might be made the
righteousness of God in him.
The elder brother was the type of
person who belongs to the local church,
attends every service, and gives each
week in the offering. He might even be
on the board of administration for the
various church programs. These are all
good things, but remember the source of
the elder brother’s problem: He based
his relationship with God on his good
works rather than on God’s grace. So
when the father came to entreat him,
trying to convince him to enter into the
great celebration for the lost son who
had come home, the elder brother
refused.
Many of us don’t enter into
celebration with God for the same
reason: We have been deceived by
works. Like the elder brother, we
haven’t learned to fellowship with our
Heavenly Father; therefore, we don’t
understand that God’s biggest
celebrations take place when the lost
are received into His Kingdom.
The elder brother’s heart wasn’t in
the celebration held in his brother’s
honor. He was only interested in his own
prosperity. He wanted his father to
prosper him so he could celebrate with
his own friends. In this, the elder
brother failed to obey Proverbs 4:23,
which says, Keep thy heart with all
diligence; for out of it are the issues of
life.
Notice the way the prodigal son
humbled himself before his father when
he returned home:
I will arise and go to my
father, and will say unto him,
Father, I have sinned against
heaven, and before thee,
And am no more worthy to
be called thy son: make me as
one of thy hired servants.
Luke 15:18,19
But the father wouldn’t listen to
such a plea because he wanted to
fellowship with his son. He wanted to
9](/p?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimage.slidesharecdn.com%2Fgraceillustrated-170509144938%2F85%2FGrace-illustrated-9-320.jpg&__src=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.slideshare.net%2Fslideshow%2Fgrace-illustrated%2F75818637&__type=image)
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Uploaded byDario Rodrigues Lima
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Grace illustrated
This document summarizes Dave Roberson's book "Grace Illustrated" which uses the parable of the prodigal son to illustrate the difference between relationship and fellowship with God. The elder brother in the parable based his relationship with his father on works rather than grace, failing to understand that his inheritance and ability to fellowship were given freely. Many Christians today make the same mistake, focusing on religious works over developing fellowship with God. True fellowship comes through understanding that salvation and all blessings are received by God's grace alone.
