No Other Gospel - Galatians 1:6-10

[BTK59]

6 hours ago, George88 said:

Did the lost son sin against his fellow Christians or the community he was not entrusted to serve or care for? This was the compassion the father felt for a son who had lost his way in life. His sin was what he had done to himself, not others.
What then is the purpose of Jesus in the parable of the prodigal son? It is to communicate the profound message that anyone, without exception, can find a place in the Kingdom of God, as long as they sincerely undergo a genuine metamorphosis and transformation of their life.

The parable of the prodigal son serves as a powerful reminder of a simple truth: the importance of granting pardon when it is necessary and knowing when to leave the unjust to their own devices. The complementary text to Luke 15 is found in Isaiah 57.

The figurative expression of Jesus' parable encapsulates what we can discern in Paul's words to the Ephesian congregation in Ephesians 2:1. It does not mean that the father literally thought his child was dead to him.

Ephesians 2:1-2 New International Version
Made Alive in Christ
2 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.

Once again, the central theme of obedience and disobedience takes the spotlight. Paul emphasized this idea when he penned his letter to the Romans in Romans 6:2.

Romans 6 New International Version
Dead to Sin, Alive in Christ
6 What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2 By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3 Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

Should a follower of Christ keep sinning in order to be forgiven repeatedly? Other passages in the Bible make it clear that this is not the case. How can we understand this with spiritual maturity? Once again, the Apostle Paul established the basis for Christ's teachings in his letter in Hebrews 6:1.

Hebrews 6 New International Version
6 Therefore let us move beyond the elementary teachings about Christ and be taken forward to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death,[a] and of faith in God, 2 instruction about cleansing rites,[b] the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. 3 And God permitting, we will do so.

"Dead works," Apostle Paul's powerful message is truly impactful. This concept is further illuminated in James 2:26.

NAS  James 2:26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead. (Jas. 2:26 NAS)

No true worship or service without an obedient heart

2. Without a sincere and humble spirit of subjection, without a holy and obedient heart, all our prayers and all our services are nothing in the sight of God; are founded in hypocrisy; are no better than a mockery of his name. Submission to the authority and will of God must ever be essential to true religion under every dispensation; and few persons there are, who doubt this as a speculative truth. But there is a vast difference between the outward submission of an unrepentant and ungodly heart, and the inward submission of the penitent and the pious! It is the subjection of mind, the surrender of the affections to the will and law of God, which constitutes an acceptable service. Pardon is graciously promised to all who truly repent, and the word of God assures us, that it will be extended to none besides: upon what ground then can the unrepentent sinner presume to ask forgiveness? And how can that man dare to implore of God the grace to repent, who has no intention and no real desire of repenting? He is but adding insult to his sin. How can the wilful sinner who lives, and is yet determined to live, in any course of guilt, really pray for deliverance from the bondage of sin?
(from The Biblical Illustrator)

[JW Insider]

3 hours ago, BTK59 said:

The parable of the prodigal son serves as a powerful reminder of a simple truth: the importance of granting pardon when it is necessary and knowing when to leave the unjust to their own devices. The complementary text to Luke 15 is found in Isaiah 57.

I found this last post of yours to be a good and useful commentary on some of the lessons from the Prodigal Son parable. In Isaiah 57 we see: 

(Isaiah 57:16-19) . . .For I will not oppose them forever Or always remain indignant; For a man’s spirit would grow feeble because of me, Even the breathing creatures that I have made.  I was indignant at his sinful pursuit of dishonest gain, So I struck him, I hid my face, and I was indignant. But he kept walking as a renegade, following the way of his heart. I have seen his ways, But I will heal him and lead him And restore comfort to him and to his mourning ones.” “I am creating the fruit of the lips. Continuous peace will be given to the one who is far away and the one who is near,” says Jehovah, “And I will heal him.”

3 hours ago, BTK59 said:

It does not mean that the father literally thought his child was dead to him.

That's correct. It was as if the son was "dead" in the sense of being lost to the family, and never coming back. Of course, there was the distinct possibility that he was also literally dead, too, but likely with no sure way for the father to have known if this was also true or not.

(Ephesians 2:1, 2) 2 Furthermore, God made you alive, though you were dead in your trespasses and sins,  in which you at one time walked according to the system of things of this world, . . .

Excellent point when we think about how Jehovah views those who repent and no longer walk according to the world. The son could have been thought of as spiritually dead, but made alive when he humbled himself and began walking in a course of true repentance.

The context of that verse in Ephesians 2 fits the forgiveness and mercy shown in the Luke 15 parable:

(Ephesians 2:4, 5) . . .But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us,  made us alive together with the Christ, even when we were dead in trespasses—by undeserved kindness you have been saved.

I guess we can't say that the father thought he had been "dead" in the sense that the son was "dead to sin" because being dead to sin is a good thing, but I agree that there are points in the context of Romans 6 that fit very well. 

(Romans 6:2) . . .Seeing that we died with reference to sin. . .

And I thought those were also good points about "dead works" that you tied to "faith without works" and a good summary about true repentance from "The Biblical Illustrator."