Our speakers gave challenging sermons on the condition of the human heart. They both examined parables, told by the Lord, which feature a comparison of two individuals.
Gene told us about a certain man who had two sons. One son rebelled and wasted his life with riotous living – but he repented and returned and was received! The other son, though he stayed at home, was proud of himself, and held resentment towards his father for receiving his rebellious brother.
Jack told us about two men that went to pray, one man believed he had nothing to confess and only had good works to talk about – he didn’t realise his need for forgiveness! The other man confessed his sin and asked God to be merciful to him.
In each story, there was one individual who correctly understood that they were a guilty sinner and they repented of their sins and were received and forgiven by God. The other individual failed to recognise they were a sinner, thinking they were righteous -sadly, they did not receive forgiveness.