Three Found Treasures

 

Three Found 

When I was six, I traveled with my parents to Houston, where we visited Neiman Marcus, a fancy department store. I remember being entranced by so many beautiful shiny things! Sparkling crystal, baubles encrusted with glass jewels, golden plates, and gowns shimmering in sequins and beads all caught my eye.

Before I knew it, I had wandered off from my parents, and they were nowhere to be found! I ran around frantically, calling out for them, but there was no answer. Devastated, I broke into uncontrollable sobbing. A kindly woman approached me and asked what was wrong.

“I’ve lost my parents!” I exclaimed.

“What do they look like?” she asked.

“Don’t worry,” I reassured her. “I’ll know them when I see them.”

All is well that ends well, and my parents were just around the corner, apparently caught up in some treasure hunting of their own. But that was long before the days of children being kidnapped in malls or the need to be paranoid every moment they are out of sight.

Remembering this story made me realize that to be found, three things must happen. We must first realize that we are lost; we must want to be found; and we must recognize the person who will find us.

God is a Triune Being: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that nature is reflected in patterns of threes found throughout His Word. Salvation is the central theme of Scripture, so it is not surprising that Jesus spoke three parables about salvation in which a lost animal, object or person is found (Luke 15).

The chapter opens with Jesus teaching the publicans and sinners, namely those thought by society to be wicked beyond help. But many of them realized their own sorry state, and therefore came near Jesus to hear His words of wisdom, comfort, and healing (v. 1).

This ministry grouping of three is diametrically opposed by a judgmental grouping of three: the Pharisees and scribes criticize Jesus for associating with the baser element of society. The religious leaders of that day, who should have been most receptive to Jesus as the Son of God, instead were gossiping about Him, accusing Him of receiving sinners and of defiling Himself by eating with them (v. 2).

Jesus then teaches three parables aimed at the repentant sinners, the religious leaders trusting in their own self-righteousness, and all readers of the Gospel thereafter. Each of these parables has three elements: the lost treasure; those not considered lost; and the One Who finds the lost.

Jesus later describes Himself as the Son of man Who came to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10). In three verses He states that He came to call not the righteous, but sinners, to repentance (Matthew 9:13; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:32). Until we know that we are lost in our sins to the point of death (Ephesians 2:1,5; Colossians 2:13); that we have no righteousness of our own (Isaiah 64:6), and that we  need to repent (Acts 3:19; 5:31), we cannot be saved.

The first parable tells of a shepherd whose priorities seem somewhat unusual by worldly standards. He leaves the bulk of his flock – 99 of 100 sheep – to fend for themselves in the wilderness, while he goes looking for one lost sheep until he finds it (Luke 15:3-4). An earthly shepherd who did this would be considered somewhat daft, as he would leave most of his livelihood vulnerable to being eaten by predators, falling down a cliff, or wandering away from the flock.

But thankfully, our Lord Jesus Christ is the Good, Great and Chief Shepherd (John 10:11-18; Hebrews 13:20; 1 Peter 5:4) Who is everywhere to save His flock from danger, and Who will never leave nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). 

Like sheep, people are also vulnerable to three types of danger. In spiritual terms, these are being devoured by the devil (1 Peter 5:8), falling into temptation because of our sinful flesh (1 Corinthians 10:12), and wandering away when we are lured by worldly pleasures (James 1:14-15; 2 Timothy 4:10), namely the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16).

Sadly, we are unaware of our exposure to these dangers until we are saved, and we can’t be saved until we know we are lost. In the parable, therefore, the Shepherd, Who is Christ Himself (Psalm 23) makes the lost sheep His highest priority, not resting until He can safely place it across His shoulders Luke 15:5).

Praise God that He goes to such great lengths to seek us out once we want to be found (James 4:8; Ezekiel 34:11), to work on our heart, and to save us through His grace! (Ephesians 2 8-9) But He does this only if we come to the end of ourselves (Psalm 40:2), know we can’t make it to Heaven on our own (Habakkuk 3:19), and realize we need the Saviour! (1 Timothy 1:15) Then He saves us by our faith in His death, burial and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) as the only Way (John 14:6) to Heaven.

Once the lost sheep in the parable is found, there is great rejoicing by the Shepherd, His friends and neighbors (Luke 15:5-6).Jesus explains the parallel to the joy in heaven over one sinner that repents of his sin and knows that he needs the righteousness of Christ (1 Corinthians 1:30; Philippians 1:11; 3:9). Those who rely on their own good deeds to get to Heaven far outnumber (in the parable, 99 to 1) those who trust only in the Saviour (Matthew 7:13).

But these “good” people bring little joy to heaven even if they appear to lead moral and just lives on earth (Luke 15:7). Anyone who relies on keeping the law to get to heaven is doomed to failure, because all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23), and whoever has broken the smallest part of the law is considered guilty of transgressing all of it (James 2:10). Any joy over their “good” deeds is short-lived, for their destiny is eternal separation from God in hell (John 3:18) unless they realize they are lost so they can be born again (John 3:3-8).

In the second parable, Jesus tells of a woman who drops everything she is doing to find one silver coin she has lost from her stash of ten. She lights a candle, sweeps the house, and seeks diligently until she finds the missing treasure (Luke 15:8). I believe this parable gives further clues to God’s loving and thorough process in saving the lost sinner.

God gave us His Word as a light for our path (Psalm 119:105), for saving faith can only come by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Often, part of the process of our realizing how lost, helpless, and needy we are involves God sweeping away the clutter that hinders our dependence on Him. These weights (Hebrews 12:1) may be idols of money, power, health, relationships, and even family, for if these give us too much satisfaction, we may not realize we need God (Matthew 19:24).

Which brings me back to my childhood anecdote – I knew I was lost, I wanted to be found, and I knew whom I was seeking. I had no worries that I would fail to recognize my parents. But when I grew up, I spent much of life feeling miserably lost and wanting to find truth, peace and joy, yet not knowing the only One Who could save me. Like so many, I was a “seeker,” looking for truth in all the wrong idols, philosophies and false teachings (2 Peter 2) until the only Way found me (Acts 17:26-27).

In the parable, there was great rejoicing by the woman who found her lost coin, and by her friends and neighbors, just as there is by the angels in heaven (Luke 15:9-10) every time a lost soul is found! We shall also see this next week in the third parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32).

 © 2015 Laurie Collett

Reposted from the archives

Our Shepherd Securely Saves Us

Of all the metaphors Jesus could have used to describe His followers, calling us sheep is not very flattering (Matthew 15:24; Psalm 119:176). Yet deservedly so, for compared to Him, we lack wisdom (James 1:5), strength (Psalm 6:2) and even common sense (Psalm 69:5). We tend to wander away from the path (Psalm 107:40) straight into danger (Psalm 141:9), and to follow a herd mentality that collectively as well as individually often gets us into trouble (Job 14:1).

Without His guidance (Psalm 119:105), mercy (Romans 9:16) and protection (2 Samuel 22:2) we are helpless, vulnerable to predators, and doomed to death (1 Peter 5:8). But His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9), and He alone can save us (Acts 4:12) and keep us (Romans 8:39; 1 Peter 1:5). Sheep are simple creatures, and thankfully, so is the path to salvation – all we must do is believe (Acts 16:31).

Jesus criticized the Pharisees for not believing in Him, and therefore not being part of His flock (John 10:26). They were trying to confuse the simplicity of His message by adding to, omitting, and changing God’s Word (Revelation 22:18-19). Unlike the Pharisees, believers in Christ hear His voice; for He knows us and we follow Him (John 10:27).

Once we believe that He died to pay for our sins and reconcile us to Holy God (Romans 3:25; 1 John 2:2); that He was buried; and that He rose again (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) so that all who trust Him will live forever with Him (John 3:16), we have a relationship with Him in which He knows, guides and protects us and we trust , follow and obey Him (Psalm 23). This is so simple that a child can be saved (Matthew 18:3-4), just as a child soon grows to know, love and obey the parents who nurture, care for, and teach him (Proverbs 22:6; Ephesians 6:4)

In contrast, the Pharisees preached a doctrine of their own legalistic tradition (Matthew 15:3-6), in which salvation was based on following the law (Matthew 19:17-20), respecting religious rituals, and painstakingly counting out the tithe even from the seeds they gathered from their herbs (Matthew 23:23). But in this self-righteous system of salvation by good works (Galatians 1:8-9), they ignored the greatest commandment, which is to love God and to love one another (Matthew 22:36-40).

Although a good shepherd will guard his flock even to the point of jeopardizing his own life (John 10:15), earthly sheep eventually die from natural causes. But the Good (John 10:11,14), Great (Hebrews 13:20), and Chief Shepherd (1 Peter 5:4) promises His sheep eternal life! (John 10:28)

Once we hear His voice, believe in, and follow Jesus Christ, we are His forever, for no man can remove us from His secure grip (John 10:28). He loves us infinitely (1 John 4:8), is omnipotent (Genesis 18:14) and all-knowing (Psalm 139:6), so it is His desire (2 Peter 3:9) and completely within His power and wisdom not only to save us (Hebrews 7:25), but to keep us and to give us eternal life (John 3:16).

Just in case we had any doubts about this, Jesus goes on to assure us that His Father is completely on board with this plan, being the ultimate backup defense. God the Father, Who is greater than all, gave all believers to God the Son for safekeeping, which is a fail-safe plan because Jesus the Son and God the Father are One (John 10:29).

To make it absolutely clear that once we are saved, we cannot lose our salvation, Jesus reassures us that we are in the double grip of His hand, surrounded by the Father’s hand (John 10:29-30). No one, nothing, no power could pluck us from the hand of God the Father, which surrounds the hand of God the Son, where we are securely kept from all evil, harm and danger.

The three Persons of the Trinity – God the Father, Jesus Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit always act together, in one accord, for they are united in will (Luke 3:22). Therefore, the Holy Spirit must also participate in ensuring the eternal security of the believer.

Not only are we held securely in the impenetrable grip of Christ, and further protected by the omnipotent hand of the Father, but this fortress is also sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise (2 Corinthians 1:22; Ephesians 1:13; 4:30). No question that in this sealed double grip we are eternally safe!

In contrast, the Pharisees’ grip is weak and their religiosity completely impotent to save (Matthew 23:15). When they attempted to capture Jesus for alleged blasphemy, He escaped out of their hand (John 10:33-39).

As our pastor likes to say, religion is dangerous, deadly, and will lead you straight to hell. We are saved not by baptism, attending church, or tithing, but by His grace through our faith in His death, burial and resurrection, not by works (1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Ephesians 2:8-9). Those who are “good Baptists” or those of any denomination, but who have never believed in Him, heard His voice and followed His lead are doomed to hell (Mark 16:16).

They may protest that they did many good works in the name of Jesus. But He will counter that He never knew them, command that they leave His presence, and call them “workers of inquity” (Luke 13:23-28; Matthew 7:22-23). Saved or unsaved, we are all sinners (Romans 3:23), but those who have trusted Christ are forgiven (1 John 1:9); our sins are paid for in full by His shed blood (Galatians 3:13), and removed from us as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).

He robes believers in His righteousness (Revelation 19:8), which is our wedding garment at the marriage feast, whereas those who have not trusted Him will be ashamed at their lack of this garment and be cast out into utter darkness (Matthew 22:2-14).

The parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15:1-7) illustrates that we can only be found when we know we are lost. Notice that the ninety nine sheep are not in the safety of the sheepfold, as the hymn states, but in the wilderness, which is a type of sin. The Shepherd leaves the ninety nine sheep who are unaware of their plight and finds the single lost sheep, laying it across his shoulders all the way home, and rejoicing with his friends and neighbors.

Jesus explains the parable by saying that all heaven will rejoice over a sinner who repents, rather than over ninety nine self-righteous people who think they are holy, have no reason to repent, and have no need of the Shepherd.

To drive the point home, He then tells the parable of the lost (prodigal) son, who was lost but was found when he came to the end of himself, realized he was unworthy, and returned to His Father (Luke 15:11-32).

Some reading this may protest that the backslidden Christian is no longer part of Jesus’ flock. But to argue this would be to contradict the doctrine of eternal security. If we did nothing to earn our salvation, there is nothing we can do to lose it, even if were foolish enough so to desire.

The Great Shepherd made an eternal promise with His sheep, wrote it in His shed blood, and He alone can make us perfect (mature or complete) in every good work, according to His will, for His pleasure. His “everlasting covenant” means that it can never be broken by our own actions, omissions, or evil thoughts, nor by anyone, anything, or any power (Hebrews 13:20-21).

Praise God that through Christ, our pastors, deacons and teachers can be undershepherds, feeding His flock with pure motives, not for financial gain, and being good examples for believers to follow. Praise God that when Jesus Christ, the chief Shepherd, appears, He will reward these undershepherds with a crown of glory that will never fade! (1 Peter 5:1-4)

© 2017 Laurie Collett