Last time we were reminded that salvation is the work of God (if you did not read it, search the archives at kevinivy.com and read it). Salvation is not our work. It is His. We are saved by grace, through faith. Not only is salvation the work of God, but it is also the very heart of God. Listen to the message of the parable in verses 8 and 9 of Luke 15. “Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it? 9 And when she has found it, she calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, Rejoice with me, for I have found the coin that I had lost.”
Salvation is the Heart of God. This woman so desired the lost silver that she thoroughly, consistently, and with great perseverance sought it until she found it. This woman searches carefully until she finds it. This woman lights a lamp. She sweeps the whole house. She leaves nothing unturned. When she comes to the end of her search, she can say, I have searched everywhere. She seeks it until she finds it.
Salvation is God’s Heart. We read in 1 Tim 2:3-4, “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” God so desires that people be saved, that he has given us every opportunity and reason to respond. God has thoroughly revealed Himself to us!
He has given us the witness of the heavens. Just look up at the moon. The moon’s orbit creates the necessary tides upon the oceans. The moon orbits the earth from about 240,000 miles out. If the moon were to move in just one-fifth of this distance, the continents would be plunged under water twice a day. Just look up at the stars. There are only 4000 stars that can be seen without a telescope. Modern telescopes have verified that there are 10 million, billion, billion stars. Just look up at the uniqueness of the planets and at the power of the sun. 90% of all astronomers believe in God because they have looked up. The Psalmist in Ps 19:1 said, “The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. “
He has given us the witness of our conscious. There is a moral law in each of us that tells us that regardless of our beliefs it is wrong to rape, steal, and kill. If there were no such moral law or conscious within us, the world would be in chaos. Who set these universal rules in the heart of mankind? According to Romans, it was God. Rom 2:14-15 says, “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them.”
He has given us the witness of creation. Just look around at the grass and trees and the animal kingdom. Look out at the ocean and the diversity of ocean life. The archerfish can shoot water into the air 15 feet and strike a small insect that it has chosen for a meal. Just look around period! That eye that you are looking around with comes with automatic aiming, automatic focusing, and automatic maintenance during one’s sleep. When stuck in the dark the eye can increase its ability to see 100,000 times. No one has to think about that, or give their eye instructions, or teach their eye to perform. It just happens. Did it just happen by accident or chance?
He has given us the witness of His Word. The Word of God was written over a period of 1500 years on 3 separate continents by more than 40 different authors in 3 different languages. Yet, despite its diversity, it comes together to present one story of God's plan to redeem mankind from sin, iniquity, and transgression.
Ultimately, He has given us the witness of Himself. God came to earth in the flesh. Every religion on earth tries to give its followers direction on how to climb the mountain to God. Most would claim that all the roads up the mountain are leading to God. Most would claim, that it doesn’t matter how you climb, or which side of the mountain you scale, because we are all striving to reach the same God. Christianity is not about climbing a mountain to find God. It is about God coming down off of the mountain to find us, pick us up, and carry us home. He came to seek and to save the lost.
Salvation is God’s Heart. He has turned on the light, He has swept the room, and He is seeking you out. God’s heart is salvation and we know it because of how clearly He has revealed Himself to us.
Finally, we need to be reminded that salvation is the Joy of God. Notice the reason he told the 2 parables in verses 1 and 2, “Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, "This man receives sinners and eats with them." The Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling. They were grumbling because tax collectors and sinners (less important folks) were coming to Christ. And not only that, Jesus is enjoying and rejoicing in the fact that they are coming to him. This upset the religious crowd, so he told these parables.
Listen to verse 7 and verse 10. Verse seven states, “Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance." Verse 10 says, “Just so, I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” This is a description of the pleasure of God Himself. Notice that Jesus doesn't speak of the joy of the angels, but the joy in the presence of the angels and joy in heaven. It is the joy of God Himself. Salvation is God’s Joy.
The only feature of those 2 stories that seems exaggerated is the celebration. Most people who find a lost coin or a lost animal wouldn't actually go to the trouble of calling friends and neighbors together and having a public party to rejoice. This is a picture of heaven's joy over sinners repenting. Heaven's joy over the redemption of sinners is an ecstatic joy, almost exaggerated. That the Sovereign, Holy, Omnipresent, Omniscient, Omnipotent, Immutable, Eternal, All Powerful, Creator God would rejoice at the repentance of a totally depraved, ungodly, iniquity filled, sin filled, rebellious wicked sinners is OUTRAGEOUS. And we so often seem to take it for granted. Let us praise God that salvation is His joy.
These two parables are all about God seeking us, taking the initiative, and doing the work of salvation. These parables are not about the sinner’s response to God, but about God’s response to the sinner. So what kind of response is required of us? Simply put, we must repent and believe the Gospel. We must turn away from our sin and believe and embrace the Gospel of Christ (1 Cor 15). We must Seek the Lord while he may be found and call upon him while he is near. In the words of Jeremiah the prophet, “You will seek me and find me. When you seek me with all your heart.” Are you seeking God? If so, that is a reliable indication that He is seeking you. Don’t give up. Continue pursuing Him. Repent, believe and embrace the Gospel. Throw yourself upon the mercy and grace of Christ and he will carry you and rejoice in your redemption. Keep seeking Him until He finds you.
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