The Worst Kind of Religion
J. Gerald Harris
Luke 15:25-32
In our text we have the parable of the elder brother. You might ask, ''Whose elder brother was he?''
And I'd say, ''He was the elder brother of the prodigal son'' - but in my opinion he was more prodigal than the prodigal.
And maybe you think it is strange that I should say that because this elder brother, so far as we know, wasted not a penny of his money. The younger brother squandered his entire inheritance. It is not recorded that this elder brother ever spent one night in riotous living. Yet, this younger brother's life, for a long period of time, consisted of nothing but booze and bordellos.
It is not recorded that the elder brother ever did anything to disgrace the family name. Yet, this younger brother's life degenerated to where he was a gutter bum - a derelict.
I think of two verses of scripture that describe the young prodigal. One is Proverbs 23:21 which says, ''For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.''
The other verse, Proverbs 29:3, which says, ''Whoever loves wisdom makes his father rejoice, but a companion of harlots wastes his wealth.''
The marks against the prodigal son are obvious and devastating, and yet I contend that the elder brother is more of a prodigal than the younger brother.
You say, ''Well, why would you say that?'' All right - here's why! Both the younger brother and the elder brother were sinners. The sins of the younger brother were sins of the flesh. The sins of the elder brother were sins of the spirit. Both were sinners, but the elder brother sinned under the pretense of being religious. He was a hypocrite, and his religion was so typical of the religion of the Pharisees of his day.
I would not be surprised to discover that it was the self-righteous arrogance of the elder brother that drove the younger brother away from home in the first place. And we read that it was the unforgiving ...
J. Gerald Harris
Luke 15:25-32
In our text we have the parable of the elder brother. You might ask, ''Whose elder brother was he?''
And I'd say, ''He was the elder brother of the prodigal son'' - but in my opinion he was more prodigal than the prodigal.
And maybe you think it is strange that I should say that because this elder brother, so far as we know, wasted not a penny of his money. The younger brother squandered his entire inheritance. It is not recorded that this elder brother ever spent one night in riotous living. Yet, this younger brother's life, for a long period of time, consisted of nothing but booze and bordellos.
It is not recorded that the elder brother ever did anything to disgrace the family name. Yet, this younger brother's life degenerated to where he was a gutter bum - a derelict.
I think of two verses of scripture that describe the young prodigal. One is Proverbs 23:21 which says, ''For the drunkard and the glutton will come to poverty, and drowsiness will clothe a man with rags.''
The other verse, Proverbs 29:3, which says, ''Whoever loves wisdom makes his father rejoice, but a companion of harlots wastes his wealth.''
The marks against the prodigal son are obvious and devastating, and yet I contend that the elder brother is more of a prodigal than the younger brother.
You say, ''Well, why would you say that?'' All right - here's why! Both the younger brother and the elder brother were sinners. The sins of the younger brother were sins of the flesh. The sins of the elder brother were sins of the spirit. Both were sinners, but the elder brother sinned under the pretense of being religious. He was a hypocrite, and his religion was so typical of the religion of the Pharisees of his day.
I would not be surprised to discover that it was the self-righteous arrogance of the elder brother that drove the younger brother away from home in the first place. And we read that it was the unforgiving ...
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