This poor fellow, this poor fellow has a father and he treats him like a master.

He has a father and he's insisting on building his relationship in his life upon commands

and dutiful obedience upon master and slave working.

That's the fundamental issue in this second half of the paramed.

Have you ever caught yourself relating to God more like a boss than a father?

If we're not careful, it's really easy to do.

I'm Dan Kroover.

In this episode of Light and Truth, John Piper talks us through the older brother's

interaction with his father

in Luke 15 to show how easy it is to turn the Christian life into a transaction and miss the joy

of sonship. This message was originally delivered at Bethlehem Baptist Church on September 3rd, 1995.

Until now, until this last part of the chapter, Jesus has been answering the accusation of the scribes and the Pharisees

when they said in verse 2,

this man receives sinners and eats with them, as though just to make the observation

were a manifest indictment that would bring him crashing down.

And he answers it, number one,

when I receive sinners and eat with them,

it is like a shepherd finding, after a long search,

a sheep and bringing him home and celebrating.

Answer number two.

When I receive tax collectors and sinners and eat with them, it is like a woman who finds one of her lost coins and invites her friends and celebrates.

Answer number three, when I eat with tax collectors and sinners, it is like a father running down a road with his arms wide and hugging a penitent, broken, returning son and kissing him and putting a robe on his back and a ring on his finger

...