An excerpt from the text:

The Prodigal Son leaves home and squanders his inheritance in riotous living. His elder brother stays home and works hard. When the prodigal returns and is restored to his father, the elder brother becomes petty, jealous, bitter, and resentful. Despite their different paths into carnality, their sins cannot remove them from the circumstances of their birth. Once a son, always a son!

As a “born again” believer, whether you sin like the prodigal or like the elder brother, you remain a permanent member of the family of God, but you lose your temporal fellowship with God. To remedy this rift, God has provided a simple, grace procedure–rebound–so that your postsalvation sins are forgiven and you can recover fellowship and move on in the Christian life.

Jesus taught the parable of the prodigal son to an audience of self-righteous legalists who reviled the profligate prodigal and praised the holier-than-thou, elder brother. Yet, they entirely missed the message! Everyone who believes in Christ by faith alone is a permanent son of God. Once a family member, any believer can reclaim his Christian life from carnality and be restored to fellowship with God.

本文摘錄:

浪子離開家庭、過著放蕩的生活、并且揮霍了他的遺產。而他的長兄留在家里辛勤工作。 當浪子回頭與父親重建關系的時候、長兄變得小氣、妒忌、痛苦、和憤恨。不管他們以不同的路徑進入屬肉體的狀態、他們的罪過不能夠從他們出生的環境去除他們、一旦是兒子、永遠是兒子!

身為一個「再生」 的信徒、不管你犯的罪與浪子或長兄的相似、你保持為神家庭中永久的成員、但是你失去了與神暫時的關系。要矯正這個裂縫、神已經供應了一個簡單、仁慈的步驟–反彈–以便在你得救之後所犯的罪得到赦免、而且你可以與神回復相交、在基督徒的生命里繼續前進。

耶穌向自以為是、墨守法規的聽眾教導浪子的寓言 ; 他們斥責放蕩的浪子而稱讚自以為人格至上的長兄。然而、他們完全錯過了那個訊息 ! 每個獨自藉著信心相信基督的人都是神永久的兒子。一旦是家庭的一份子、任何的信徒都能從屬肉體的狀態中糾正他基督徒的生命、與神恢復相交。