"And he said, A certain man had two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father. But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry." - Luke 15:11-24 (AV)

I want to preach this morning about what one must know in order to be saved. We will do this by looking into the scriptures. Let me start by saying that there is a balance in everything that is done. When you build a house, you get out a level so that everything is balanced and put into the right perspective. This is so nothing is tilted too far to the left or too far to the right. Some people have a tendency to think that a person does not have to know anything to get saved. Some think you have to study for years before you can get saved. I want you to know you do have to know some things. But, you do not have to study for years to get saved.

I believe that what one must know can be found here in this parable of the prodigal son. This is what some people call it. However, I think it would best be called the parable of the lost son. Some people argue whether or not this is a parable about an unsaved person or a backslidden Christian? The answer to that is that he is lost, because it says in verse 24, "For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found" Notice, he was not half dead. He was dead. He did not lose his salvation. He never had salvation. He was lost and now he is found. So, this is a story about a person who gets saved, not a person who has been out in the world and comes back to God in the end.

You must remember that this is a parable to the Jews. And Jesus was speaking in response to the Pharisees. If you look in chapter 15 verse 1, you will see the situation as to why He gave the parable. "Then drew unto him all the Publicans and sinners for to hear him." And the religious people, the Pharisees, and the Scribes murmured, saying, "This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them." So this parable was explaining to the Pharisees what God was doing when He was eating with the sinners. There are two sons in this parable. One represents the Pharisee and the other represents the Publicans and sinners. The Pharisees were the elder son who had always been around the house of God. The Publicans and sinners were those who had left the house of God. You have to understand. These Publicans and sinners were not Gentiles; they were Jews. Jews were people who were raised under the scriptures. Remember, what Jesus said about the Publican? He said there was a Pharisee and a publican who went to the house of God to pray. The publicans knew about God. They were Jews. Jews were taught about the things of God. These publicans and sinners who came near to hear him were people who believed the Bible. It was read to them from little children. They probably even memorized it as little children. But they did not want what their parents taught them so they went out into the world and left that teaching. The Pharisees went into it wholeheartedly and stayed around those things. However, both sons were lost. But the Pharisees were upset with Jesus for accepting these wayward children, these wayward Jews. Just because a man was a Jew, did not mean he was a child of God. This is what Paul said in Romans 2:28-29. "For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." (AV) Just because he was a Jew in the flesh, did not mean that he was in the spirit. A truly saved Jew was one who had been circumcised in the heart, not in the flesh. I can identify with this because I was raised believing the Bible was true. Some of you were raised believing the Bible was true. And your parents were good, Christian people, who took you to church. But when you got out on your own, you did like some of these publicans and sinners, you just fled out into the world and did what you wanted to do. If you had really been saved, you would have never left (See I John 2:19). Some people say you can get saved and backslide. I say no. You cannot. The reason you backslid and went out into world was you never were of God in the first place. You cannot live off what mama and daddy have. Somewhere, you have to get your own experience with God.

Now, let us get back to the subject at hand. We are talking about how much one has to know in order to be saved. I think you can find this in this parable of the publican and sinner. The publican and sinner, you have to realize, knew some things about God. And you are going to see this in this parable. The Gentiles were heathens who did not know anything about God. They were never around the Scriptures. I do not believe that a person out in the world who has no biblical background, who has never heard anything about Jesus can immediately get saved. I do not believe that can happen. They must know some things. Just as much as the publicans and sinners had to know.

The first thing you have got to know is that you are lost. Luke 15:17 says, "And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!" (AV) The lost son was out in the world, living riotously. He woke up one day and looked at his condition. He began to realize where he was. The scripture uses the phrase, 'he came to himself.' The word came means to come from one place to another. It means he was not in his right mind. In other words, he was somewhere else and then he came to himself. I think he woke up and said, "What in the world am I doing here?" He knew where he was. Some people say you do not have to know you are lost to get saved. They are wrong! You cannot get saved unless you know you are lost. In order to get saved, you have got to leave lostness and go toward God. If you do not know that you are lost, then you do not know you need to be saved.

The first thing that the lost son knew was that he was lost. He came to himself and realized his condition. He looked around and said, "I am not in the right place." He also knew that he was dying. Look at what he said, in his own words, in verse 17, "I perish with hunger." Do you know what the word lost means? It means 'to be perishing,' or 'to be destroyed.' Some of you, who say you have the issue of salvation settled, cause me question how you got it settled. You may have doubted if you were saved, so you may have prayed, "Lord, if I'm not saved, save me." You may have written it down in your Bible. However, since you prayed as an 'ifer' you are still not saved! God does not save 'ifers.' Some-where, you have got to know where you are, without any doubt. You have got to know that you are lost. Jesus said He came to seek and to save that which was lost. He did not say that He was seeking that which might be lost or might be saved.

Some people do not really see how bad a shape they are in. Until a person realizes this, they cannot be saved. There are some people in this world who you want to help get saved, yet they do not see that their life is in that bad of shape. You may hear them tell you that they are not any worse than those people down there at the church. What they want to do is point out everybody else's sin. You cannot help people who do not think they are in bad shape. When they get to the point where they are worse than everybody else, they are getting close to being saved. The lost son knew he was in bad shape. But moments before that, I do not think he realized how bad a shape he was in. However he was in bad shape long before he realized it. He was in bad shape when he asked his father for his inheritance.

There is a difference between a person who is lost and a person who realizes his lost condition, thus the phrase, "When did you get lost?" Some people do not like the phrase, but it is usually because they do not understand it. Is not a person always lost? Yes, but the phrase get lost means to come to yourself, to realize where you stand before God. It is not enough to just be a lost person. Somewhere a person must know he is lost beyond doubt. Let me show you what the Bible says concerning this: John 9:39-41 says, "And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind. And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth." (AV) Jesus had just healed a blind man who had been blind from birth. (A picture of a man lost from birth) After Jesus healed the man, He made the above statement to some Pharisees, who thought they were saved, yet were not. Jesus knew they were not. Jesus was, in essence, saying that He had come to show men their lost condition. Since the ascension of Christ, it is now the work of the Holy Spirit to prove to you beyond any doubt your condition before God. God wants every man to become guilty before Him. That is the work of the Spirit. If you have never been lost beyond any doubt, then you have never been saved beyond doubt, because the Holy Ghost has never convicted or convinced you of your standing before God. It was the work of the Son to make people blind so that they could have their sins forgiven. He said that He had come so 'that they which see might be made blind.' In other words, He came to get people to need God. And, when they are blind or lost, cause them to see or be saved.

A good example of this is Paul, or Saul. Saul, on the road to Damascus thought he was all right. He was a Pharisee. The people who have trouble seeing their blind condition are religious sinners. They just cannot believe that they are lost. This is why, in our text, the Pharisees asked if Jesus was telling them that they were blind; "Are we blind also?" Jesus responded by saying they were not, because if they were, they would have had their sins forgiven. In other words, if a man is really lost, he can get saved. But, notice what Jesus said; "but now ye say, We see." They were not lost, because they did not see that they were lost. Were they really lost? Yes, they were. Jesus said to the Pharisees at one other time in Matthew 9:13, "But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (AV) Who was He talking to? The Pharisees! He knew they were lost, but they were not called to repentance because they did not know they were sinners. They had to know beyond any doubt that they were blind. And when a person knows he is lost, God will help him see. But God does not open the eyes of people who think they can see.

Some people may be able to see out of one eye but not out of the other. He might be lost, or, he might be saved. I want to ask you are people really blind if he can see out of one eye? Everybody close one eye. Can you see? Then you are not blind. To think you could be lost or to think you could be saved describes a person who has not yet been convinced of his lostness. I do not know how many times I prayed that years ago, "Lord, if I am not saved, save me. Lord, if I am saved, show me." That prayer never did a thing for me. And every time I would pray that, some-thing inside would say, "If you would ever really get lost, I would save you." My hang-up was, I would not close both eyes and become blind. I would say, "Lord, I think I am lost." Some people can see pretty well out of one eye. You would be amazed how well I got around in the church with one eye shut and one eye open - an ifer. I was an ifer in the church. A lost ifer. I argued with God. But God finally won!

To come to yourself means 'to come to,' or 'to arrive at,' your real location. It is amazing how I did not think I was where I thought I was until I realized I was where I thought I was. I did not want to be where I thought I was but I was where I thought I was. Did you get that? I did not want to be where I thought I was, which was lost. Some of you did too, but you did not want to be there. When you come to yourself, you realize that you really are lost. Some might say that is bad. No, that is good! Because, you see, the lost son could not have been found, he could not have had the party, if he had never come to himself. Lostness is not an end! It is a means to an end. It is one of the best things you could ever know! That is why I like that song, 'I'm Glad I Got Lost So I Could Be Saved.' When you see salvation as the result, then you will start to like the day you got lost, the day you came to yourself. You will say, "Thank you, God. God showed me beyond any doubt that I was lost."

When the lost son came to himself, he was on his way home. He knew he was perishing. He knew he was lost. And the second thing that he knew was that he needed the things of his father's house. He knew he was lost but he had a desire for the things of his father. I know some people who know they are lost and they have no desire for the things of God. They can tell you they are not going to heaven. You might even ask them, "If you died right now, do you know where you would go?" They then reply. "Yes, I would go straight to hell." When I was pastoring another church, I remember pulling up for gasoline one day at a little country store. The man who owned this little old country store came out while I was pumping gas. He said, "I hear you're the new preacher in town." I replied, "Yes, I am." He said, "I want to straighten some things out with you right now. I don't want your church. I don't want your sermons. I'm going to hell and that's the way it's going to be." He set me straight. He knew where he was going and he did not want me bothering him. He knew he was lost. But he did not desire the things of God.

There are a lot of folks out there, who after you have shown them where they are and what they must have in order to be saved, would admit they are indeed lost. However, there has got to be more than the knowledge of lostness. There has got to be a desire for the things of God. Look at the text and the words of the lost son. Verse 17 says, "And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!" He knew his father's house had food. He was out there in the world eating the swine's husks, or leftovers from the pigs. He got sick of leftovers from the pigs and decided he would rather the leftovers of God. He had to have God. He started thinking about his father's house and wanted them more than the world. You will never get saved until you want the things of God. If you show me someone who says they are saved yet they do not want the things of God, I will show you someone who does not realize that they are lost. They are not saved, because there comes a hunger for the things of the father's household. Before you get saved, you will want to go to church.

What do you have to know to be saved? You have got to know you are lost. You have got to know you need the things of God and are hungry for them. Jesus said, "blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." Who? Blessed are they who just know they are lost? No! No! You have got to hunger, too. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness. Hungry enough to turn your back on the world and say, "I do not care, I have got to have God. I do not care if my husband does not want Him. I do not care if my wife does not want Him, or my kids, or my parents. I have got to have God. I am going to God though none go with me."

The lost son had a desire for the things of God, and he knew where they could be found. He knew what he needed. He knew what he did not have. He knew where he was and he knew where he needed to be. Some people say you can disconnect salvation from the house of God. You cannot do it. I want to ask you, can you disconnect Christ from the church? The church is the body of Christ. When Paul was persecuting the church, Jesus came to him and said, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" (AV) Wait a minute: Paul was not persecuting Jesus, he was persecuting the church. The Lord was right, because Jesus identifies with the church, Paul was also persecuting Jesus. How are you going to come to Christ if you are not willing to come to the church to find him? The church and Christ are inseparable. To get saved, you need to not only want Christ, but the church also. People have known this for years. That is why they are always wanting rebellious children to go to church - "If they could just get back in church!" You know what? That is true. However, the Church is not all they need. They need Christ, and the Church is a good place to find him, because it is His house. The lost son knew where he needed to be. He needed to be at the house of God. People, who want to be saved without going to church, cannot get saved. The reason is that, when you get saved, Christ puts you in the fold. He puts you in the body. God is working to make you one of his people.

The lost son knew where he needed to be. He needed to be with the father and he needed to be with his household. He said to his father, "make me as one of thy hired servants." So he knew he was lost and where he needed to be, which was at the house of God. The object of his desire was the person of the father and the people of his household. Salvation and the house of God are connected. If you ever get saved, you will want to be in the house of God. Now I did not say you have to get saved in the house of God. Let me clarify that. I am not saying that you have to get saved at church. I have some church members who got saved outside of the church, one at home, and one in the back seat of a van. However, before they got saved, they knew where the church was and what it was. After they were saved they became a part of the church (i.e. local Church). The reason for this is because when you are saved you become a part of the church and are baptized into that body.

"For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit." - I Corinthians 12:12-13 (AV) "Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit." - Ephesians 2:11-22 (AV) We once were outsiders, outside, and in the world. You were an outsider but Christ came. We were outside of the things of God. Strangers having no hope and without God in the world, which means to be lost. But, Christ has said we can come in and participate in the things of God. In the Old Testament the tabernacle had places where the Gentiles sat. Like, back in the days of the old south, white people had a place for the black people to sit. They sat up in the balcony. They could get no closer than the balcony. Back in the Old Testament, the Gentiles were way off. They were in the outer court. They could only look in on what the Jews were getting in on. And the good news from God to the Gentiles is you can get in on everything. When you get saved, you get in on the house of God. The message of Christ is that He is letting you in on the house of God. So, why would Christ save you and leave you in the world with no place to go? One of the best parts about being saved is that we have found the fold. Verse 18 says that through Christ we have access unto the Father. Now, therefore, because you have met the Father, coming through the Son, you are no more strangers or foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and with the household of God. Therefore, salvation and household of God are connected.

So, the lost son knew where he needed to go. He knew where he needed to be. He knew where his life needed to be. He needed to be a part of the house of God. He needed to be with his father and with his father's children. You need to know you are lost, but you also need to know that you need the house of God. A man who is wanting to be saved but is unwilling to love the church, does not want to be saved from the world. The Holy Ghost is going to tell you that you need the Church, not after you get saved but, before you get saved. We try to tell people that after they supposedly get saved. We lead them through a little prayer and tell them they need to do is go find a church to attend. Then, they are left on their own. This can be very dangerous because not every building that says CHURCH over the door is really the household of God. Sheep are still wandering because of these terrible methods.

The lost son knew that he was lost. He knew he needed God. He had a desire for the thing of God. He knew where he needed to be. He also knew the way. Look at what it says again in Luke 15:18. It says, "I will arise and go to my father . . . " Verse 20 also says, "And he arose and came to his father." How could he go if he did not know the way? He knew the way home. That is how he got home. Can you not see such a person out in the world? He knows he needs to be at the house of God. But he does not know how to get there. He knows he needs the Son. He knows he needs to be saved, but he does not know the way to be saved. Can a man get saved without knowing how? Could the lost son have traveled from where he was, even though he knew where he was and where he needed to be, if he had not known the way home? Could he have gotten there if he did not know how to get there? I believe there are people who really know they are lost; people who really want to be saved in this world; people who have a desire for the things of God, but who have no idea how to get saved.

However, these Jews knew the way of forgiveness. This was a parable and in it the lost son represents publicans and sinners, which were Jewish. They were taught from childhood about the sacrificial system. More than likely, as a child, they were taken to the house of God and watched the rams which were slain. That was their cure for sin. They knew that the way was through the blood. Men cannot get saved unless they know the way to be saved. The devil works overtime at destroying the real way. He muddies the water. This is why Jesus sent John before him to prepare the way of the Lord. He was to make the way plain because people have got to know. You might want to be saved. And just how do you plan to do that? That is a good question. You might say, "I am just going to ask Jesus into my heart." Where, in the Bible, does it say that is how you get saved? "I'm gonna commit my life to God." Where does it say that is how you get saved? Do you know that people have perverted the way to be saved? And we have told them all kinds of ways but the right way. The right way is to come to the Son. The way is through the Son.

To Continue Click Here:know