Looking for a fantastic exposition of Luke 15? I knew it. I've got just the book for you - The Prodigal God by Tim Keller.
It was recommended to me by a friend a couple of weeks ago and I got my hands on it. It tells the story of the parable of the prodigal son, the one who squanders his inheritance and life and comes back home to beg for forgiveness. It tells the story of an older son who never left, never squandered his money, never dishonored his dad, but was equally guilty of wrongdoing.
Dr. Keller does a masterful job of exposing sin for what it really is - it's not just lawbreaking, but lawmaking. It's putting yourself in the place of God and demanding to be rewarded for your morality. It's an unwillingness to submit to the Lordship and authority of Christ. Both the prodigal younger son and the moral older son were guilty of sin.
Only Christ was the true elder brother - the one who was both moral and submitted. He was chaste and compassionate to sinners. He is our example and our substitute for sin, so that we can repent of selfish younger brother sins and self-righteous elder brother sins. Only then will we experience the true hope that the gospel provides for us.
Go get your copy and let me know what you think!
