Ministry of Restoration

With this sermon, we have come to the end of the epistle of James. Unlike the epistles of Paul, Peter, and John, the epistle of James has no greeting or benediction. Pastor James ends his letter with a call to action. He is calling us to a ministry of restoring prodigals, if possible.

Beginning in James 5:13, James began a series of exhortations: “If anyone is in trouble, let him pray. If anyone is happy, let him sing. If anyone is sick, let him call the elders of his church for prayer.” Now he says, “If anyone among you has wandered away from the truth, try to restore him.” We are to love prodigals and try to restore them to Christ’s church, in the will of God.

The Church Is the Family of God

It is a blessing to belong to a human family. But the greatest blessing is to belong to God’s family, the church of the living God. Jesus said, “But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matt. 7:14). He also said, “Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” (Matt. 10:37–39). He declared, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple. . . . In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26–27, 33).

Do you belong to God’s holy family, to God’s church? If so, you can rejoice. You are the most blessed people on the face of the earth.

James addresses his audience who are “believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ” (2:1) as “my brothers” (5:12). He previously called them “my dear brothers” (1:16). God’s people belong to God’s family by adoption in Christ. So we are brothers and sisters if we persevere to the end.

In Philemon, Paul calls the slave Onesimus “my son” (v. 10) and “my very heart” (v. 12). This is what happens when God saves us and brings us into his holy church. We are brothers and sisters, and we are to love one another. God is our heavenly Father, and we are his heirs. So we love one another. If you don’t love God’s holy church, the Lord has not added you into his church.

Prodigals in the Family of God

James says, “If any one among you wanders away from the truth” (v. 19). He is speaking about a person being deceived. A true church is where the truth of the Bible is preached; a prodigal is one who wanders away from that truth.

A true church will receive into membership those who repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and are baptized in the name of the triune God. The Lord himself adds to his church such as should be saved. Jesus told his disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt. 28:18–20). Paul writes, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Rom. 10:9).

As a church, we want to hear a credible confession from those who seek membership. But being human, we cannot tell whether people are truly being added by Jesus Christ to the church and whether they are born from above, or not. So every church on earth is a mixture of true and false believers—those who are born of God and those who are only temporary believers. The latter are like the seed that fell on the stony ground and the seed that fell among thorns (Matt. 13). In due time, their foot shall surely slip (Deut. 32:35), and they will fall into eternal hell. They will wander away from the truth preached in God’s holy church and follow after the lies of the devil to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a little season. Such people will not persevere to the end. They are not those whom the Lord adds to the church. They are merely those the pastor or others added, based on their credible confession.

Those who wander from Jesus and his holy church where truth is preached are forsaking the narrow way that leads to eternal life. They are leaving the highway of holiness because they hate the discipline of the Bible and the government of the kingdom of God, which is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14:17). They hate God’s authority. Yet they delight in wickedness and in being slaves of sin. They hate the church of the living God, which is the pillar and foundation of the truth (1 Tim. 3:15).

Prodigals belong to two categories: those who are elect true believers temporarily living a sinful life of misery, like King David; and those who are non-elect, not regenerated. The repentance and faith of those in the second category is false. Like Esau, Korah, Achan, King Saul, Judas, Ananias and Sapphira, and Demas, they can never be restored to the truth and to God’s church family. But those in the first category are like King David, who was restored by the ministry of prophet Nathan. Nathan confronted David, saying, “You are the man,” and David agreed and confessed his sin. They are like the prodigal son, whom God himself brought back. They are like Peter, who was restored by Jesus himself.

It is the duty of the church to seek after apostates. But it is God who must give them repentance in his own sovereign will. In Lamentations we read, “Restore us to yourself, O LORD, that we may return; renew our days as of old unless you have utterly rejected us and are angry with us beyond measure” (Lam. 5:21–22). In the King James, it reads, “Turn thou us unto thee, O Lord, and we shall be turned.” The psalmist prays, “Restore us, O God; make your face shine upon us, that we may be saved” (Ps. 80:3).

A few may repent and return to the father’s house. But the vast majority of those who leave the truth, who wander away from the truth, will not. By serving the devil 24/7, they deny Christ every moment. Thus, they perish, sinking deeper into the sinkhole of hell.

The Hebrews writer speaks of such prodigals:

It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned. (Heb. 6:4–8)

If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Heb. 10:26–31)

Who may go after these apostates to restore them? Anyone who has a relationship and a burden for their souls may do so. So, for example, believing parents should go after their apostate children.

The materialist Judas was not converted. He was a thief (John 12:4–6), although he was an apostle, commissioned by Jesus himself to preach the gospel. So he sold Jesus for thirty pieces of silver. He was with Jesus and ate the Last Supper, yet we are told that he was possessed by the devil. In the end, Judas found no place for true repentance. This son of perdition threw away the silver, hanged himself, and went to hell.

The apostates Esau and Ananias were the same; they could not repent. About Esau we read, “See that no one is sexually immoral, or is godless like Esau, who for a single meal sold his inheritance rights as the oldest son. Afterward, as you know, when he wanted to inherit this blessing, he was rejected. He could bring about no change of mind, though he sought the blessing with tears” (Heb. 12:16–17). And look at Ananias: “Then Peter said, ‘Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?’ . . . When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened” (Acts 5: 3, 5).

The devil comes to lure people away from the church, away from Jesus, away from the truth, and away from the light. He comes only to steal, kill, and destroy those who hate truth and the lordship of Jesus Christ as exercised in God’s holy church. Consider these scriptures, so that you may fear God.

1. Matthew 7:21–23: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”
2. 1 John 2:19: “They went out from us, but they did not really belong to us. For if they had belonged to us, they would have remained with us; but their going showed that none of them belonged to us.”
3. 1 Timothy 1:6, 19–20: “Some have wandered away from [a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith] and turned to meaningless talk. . . . Some have rejected [faith and a good conscience] and so have shipwrecked their faith. Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.”
4. 1 Timothy 5:15: “Some have in fact already turned away to follow Satan.”
5. 1 Tim. 6:10, 21: “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. . . . which some have professed and in so doing have wandered from the faith.”
6. 2 Timothy 4:3–4: “For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.”
7. 2 Peter 2:15, 22: “They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. . . . Of them the proverbs are true: ‘A dog returns to its vomit,’ and, ‘A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.’”
8. Matthew 24:10: “At that time many will turn away from the faith and will hate each other.”

The Blessed Ministry of Restoration

Anyone who is led by the Spirit can minister to prodigals who have left the church to go to a far country to revel in all sorts of sin. Those who leave God’s holy church always leave to sin. And the restorer—whether father or mother or anyone else—should tell the truth to the prodigal, that he or she must truly repent and return to God and his holy church. So we read, “He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy” (Prov. 28:13). We also read, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (2 Chron. 7:14).

The prodigal son hated his father’s rule but he loved his father’s money (Luke 15). He went to a far Gentile country to enjoy the pleasures of sin. Eventually, God granted him repentance. First, though, God brought about a great famine in that land. The son had no money, no friends, no job, no food, no house, no clothes, and no medicine—only a heap of misery. We must pay for our sins, and he did.

Then he became very sober. He came to himself, the Bible says, meaning that he saw reality. He saw his father’s house as it truly was, a place of good things, including the rule and provision of his father. He came to himself, and he went back to his father.

Lying keeps us in the far country. Truth brings us back to God and his holy church, where all our needs are met. The prodigal son returned to his father. He confessed his sins, he was forgiven, and the father greeted him with hugs and kisses. He was not received as a slave but as a son. Then his father gave a party for him. What a joyous celebration! Listen to what the father told the older brother: “We had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found” (Luke 15:32).

Parents, pastors, brothers and sisters, children, and close friends, go after the prodigals! Go after them with the love of Jesus, who came to seek and save that which is lost. Jesus is a friend of publicans, prodigals, and sinners. Go after them, not to excuse their sins, but to expose the miseries of a life of sin. Go after them to give them hope that they may return to Jesus for a joyous reception. Give them an opportunity to repent and return.

Unlike what Cain had said about his brother, we are our brother’s keepers. So go after those who have been excommunicated from the true church. Go after those who, without warrant, unilaterally and in violation of church covenant wandered away from the truth to follow doctrinal errors that permit them to live sinful lives. Exhort, admonish, rebuke, correct, and beseech them, as James exhorts us to do in this final call to action.

Peter denied Jesus three times, yet Jesus prayed for him. He said, “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Luke 22:31–32). After he fell, Peter was restored by Jesus himself (John 21:15–19).

We all have a responsibility to seek after prodigals and, if possible, to bring them back. Paul says, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted” (Gal. 6:1). He also says, “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (1 Cor. 10:11–12).

John says, “If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death” (1 John 5:16–17). What is the sin that leads to death? If it has been committed, we cannot help the prodigal. We read about it in 1 John 4:2–3: “This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.” In other words, the sin is unbelief in the person and work of Jesus Christ. John also writes, “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son” (1 John 5:11). Without faith in Jesus Christ, no one can have eternal life. John also says, “We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life” (1 John 5:20). Unbelief in Christ is the sin that leads to eternal death.

Saving the Sinner

In James 5:20, James exhorts us to realize how blessed is the ministry of the one who restores a prodigal. First, James says, he saves a sinner from eternal death. We need to understand the ministry of a pastor or a parent or a brother or sister in Christ to a prodigal. These people come to the prodigal to save him from eternal death.

Then James says that these people also cover a multitude of the prodigal’s sins, which he committed while wandering from God’s holy church and living as a companion of evildoers. Prodigals will leave a Bible-believing church to find a place where evil people get together to sin. Psalm 1 says, “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.” This is what prodigal children do; they gather together to sin.

God uses not angels but true believers to turn prodigals from the darkness of sin to the light of the gospel. No true church should receive the excommunicated members of another Bible-believing church. It is the duty of that church to exhort the prodigals to repent and go back to their own church. If a church accepts such apostates, it is proving itself to be a false church, a synagogue of Satan, which is preaching a different Jesus, a different Spirit, and a different gospel (2 Cor. 11:3–4). Paul describes the ministers of such churches: “For such [ministers] are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve” (2 Cor. 11:13–15).

Professor Jay Adams writes about this in his book More Than Redemption: “Discipline, when exercised, must be supported by other pastors and churches. Typically, in the rare cases in which a church does exercise discipline, it is undermined by other congregations. . . . The disciplined person simply runs down the street to the next evangelical church, where he is received—no questions asked—with open arms. That practice is wrong, self-defeating, a disgrace to Christ, and must be remedied.”¹ And Paul says, “But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned! As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let him be eternally condemned!” (Gal. 1:8–9).

Most wandering sheep refuse to repent and be restored. Instead, they justify their false doctrine and wicked life. To them, evil is good and good is evil. (PGM) They think this way because God has given them over to a depraved mind. If such people refuse to listen to our gospel appeal for repentance, we should shake the dust off our feet and move on, as Jesus taught: “If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town” (Matt. 10:14). Paul also spoke about this: “When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. But when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, ‘Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles’” (Acts 18:5–6).

Of such people Paul says, “They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness” (2 Thess. 2:11–12).

The gospel either saves or condemns. Paul writes, “For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?” (2 Cor. 2:15–16).

So James is speaking about “whoever turns the sinner who wandered away from the truth,” that is, from the truth-preaching church. The church is where truth is preached, not the world. “Whoever turns the sinner who wandered away from the[truth-preaching church] from the error of his way shall save his soul from eternal death” (v. 20).

Such a person becomes a savior to the prodigal. We know that God alone saves. Yet he uses us, God’s people, to proclaim the gospel so that sinners may repent and believe. Paul says, “We are God’s fellow workers [sunergoi]” (1 Cor. 3:9a). God saves, and we save. Paul also explains, “I have become all things to all men that by all possible means I might save some” (1 Cor. 9:22). He said that he ministered to the Gentiles “in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them” (Rom. 11:14). The Bible says, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise” (Prov. 11:30).

Every prodigal and unbeliever will experience eternal death in hell if they do not repent. There is a paradise for the followers of Jesus, but hell for everyone else. The broad way of unbelief leads to destruction. The unbelieving rich man died and went to hell where he was in fire, in torment, and in agony with no exit.

In Ezekiel 3:18-19 we read, “When I say to a wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood.” We have a responsibility to seek and save those who are lost. “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23). We must therefore do our utmost to save apostates from eternal death.

The ministry of restoration not only saves the sinner from death, but it also covers a multitude of sins. This tells us clearly that those who walk away from Christ’s holy church and teaching do so to commit a mountain of sins of various kinds, beginning with sexual immorality. At the same time, they blame others: God, church, and especially pastors. Adam told God that he was responsible for his sin. In Genesis 3:12 we read, “The man said, ‘The woman you put here with me gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it.’” In other words, he was saying that God was responsible first and then the woman. Such blame-shifting is the art of the prodigals.

How does the restorer cover the sins of the prodigal? For one thing, he loves the sinner and prays for him. He seeks after him so that, if it is God’s will, he will turn him back to God—his truth and his holy church, where the word is preached and the two sacraments are administered according to God’s regulative principle, and where biblical discipline is strictly administered. This is a ministry of love. Proverbs 10:12 tells us, “Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs.” Peter admonishes, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins” (1 Pet. 4:8).

Our love to sinners points to the love of God in Christ for sinners. So Paul speaks of God as the One “who has saved us and called us to a holy life not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” (2 Tim. 1:9-10). He also exhorts, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Eph. 5:1–2).

The cross reveals God’s great love for us elect sinners in his Son. It is the blood of Jesus that will cover our mountain of sins. The publican prayed in faith and repentance, “Lord, have mercy upon me, a sinner!” He was thinking of the golden mercy seat that covered the ark that was in the Holy of Holies behind the veil. The ark contained the two tables of the Ten Commandments, which the publican continually transgressed. He had a mountain of guilt.

Each year on Yom ha Kippurim, the day of atonement, the day of covering, the high priest would go into the Holy of Holies and sprinkle the blood of the sin offering for the people upon the mercy seat. The teaching is very clear. The publican is a sinner and because of his sin, he must be killed. But in his place a prescribed animal substitute was killed and its blood sprinkled on the mercy seat. When God, who is above the ark, looks down, he would see the blood of the substitute. Then, his justice for the violation of his law having been satisfied, he would forgive the enormous guilt of the publican.

When Jesus died on the cross for the sins of God’s elect, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. This made a way to God for all his people who approach the throne of grace in the name of his Son. So we read in Hebrews 10: “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins” (v. 4); “by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy” (v. 14); “Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water” (vv. 19–22).

The curtain has been torn, and a new way has been opened up for us sinners. Now we can approach the throne of grace with confidence because our sins have been forgiven. We are justified. So we read, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with [parrêsia] confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Heb. 4:16). We are not killed; rather, we are given mercy and grace. How often may we come? We may always come in the name of Jesus Christ and find mercy and receive grace.

The blood of bulls and goats was pointing sacramentally to the blood of the Messiah Jesus, our true substitute. Christ died for our sins. John writes, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1:7). Paul says, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace” (Eph. 1:7).

The love of Christ covers the mountain of our sins. When our heavenly Father sees the blood of his Son, the believing sinner receives full forgiveness. He goes home justified and joyful.

The truth is, Jesus Christ is our mercy seat, our covering, our propitiation. So we read, “‘In those days, at that time,’ declares the LORD, ‘search will be made for Israel’s guilt, but there will be none, and for the sins of Judah, but none will be found, for I will forgive the remnant I spare’” (Jer. 50:20). And David says in Psalm 32, “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered” (v. 1). Our sins are covered by the blood of Jesus.

There is no other Savior. Mohammed cannot save us. Krishna cannot save us. Vishnu cannot save us. Idolatry cannot save us. Jesus Christ is the only Savior of the whole world. He alone is the mercy seat, covered with his own blood. See him on the cross, naked yet covered with his own blood.

We know the Father accepted Christ’s atoning death because he raised Jesus from the dead. He alone has destroyed death and brought life and immortality to light for us through the gospel. He gives us eternal life.

By his death, Jesus destroyed our eternal death, so that no death can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. We are eternally secure. He has covered the multitude of our sins and he will cover the mountain of sins of all who repent and turn to him.

James tells us, “Don’t be deceived, my beloved brothers” (Jas. 1:16). The devil is the arch deceiver. Peter warns, “Be self-controlled and alert [sober]. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith” in the truth of the gospel (1 Pet. 5:8–9a).

Study the truth of the Scriptures; be informed by the word of God. Some members of the visible church, having been deceived by demons, leave the right way of the gospel to follow the evil way of Balaam (2 Pet. 2:15). They are described by Peter this way: “Of them the proverbs are true: ‘A dog returns to its vomit,’ and, ‘A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud’” (2 Pet. 2:22). These people like the mud. They are in the church, but they are dogs, sows, and pagans. Those who leave God’s holy church go out into the night to sin. Judas went out, and it was night. They like night. They leave the way of Jesus to enjoy the pleasures of sin and to be destroyed by the devil.

Conclusion

Understand this truth: most prodigals and rebels will not be restored. With such people, we must follow Paul’s exhortation: “Warn a divisive person once, and then warn him a second time. After that, have nothing to do with him. You may be sure that such a man is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned” (Titus 3:10-11).

But knowing that, may we seek after the prodigals God has put in our lives. May we exhort, admonish and beseech them to repent and return to God’s holy church. May we turn them from the error of their ways, save their souls from eternal death and to eternal salvation, and cover their mountain of sins. May God himself turn them that they may be turned—turned away from the far country, turned away from the rule of the devil, turned away from the sewer of sin, that they may come back to God’s house and his kingdom, which is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. There, under God’s rule, they will have all the provisions they need.

Daniel 12:3 says, “Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” So may we live to receive God’s reward! Paul says, “Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:58).

¹Jay Adams, More Than Redemption (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1979), 291.