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Alienation from God
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Luke 15:13  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) The far country symbolizes forgetfulness of God (Deuteronomy 8:11, 14, 19), the condition Paul describes as "alienated from the life of God" (Ephesians 4:17-19). All the dissatisfied young man wants to do is to satisfy his senses and desires. After disillusionment, destitution, and degradation, the prodigal, feeling no longer worthy to be called a son, decides to ask his father to make him one of his servants. The far country is the place people go to remove themselves as far from God the Father as possible. It represents the world, the place where evil flourishes, where it is the norm, popular, and acceptable. In it, the perversions of society—lying, adultery, abortion, homosexuality, and many others—are tolerated and even celebrated (I John 2:15-17). The far country signifies the abode of the ungodly, those with whom the prodigal son feels most comfortable. The righteous cause him discomfort because he cannot over-drink, smoke, cuss, or tell dirty jokes when he is with them. The godly stifle him because he feels pressured to produce the fruit of self-control. The far country is the state of mind that is enmity toward God (Romans 8:7). Martin G. Collins Parables of Luke 15 (Part Three)

1 Corinthians 5:2  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) The Corinthian congregation had serious problems with sexual sins, but instead of feeling terrible, people were "glorying" in it. They did not comprehend the slavery imposed by profligate lifestyles: broken marriages, ruined health, and alienation from God and man. They did not realize true liberty is in keeping the law. Staff Holy Days: Unleavened Bread

Ephesians 2:12  (Go to this verse :: Verse pop-up) One cannot be separated from God any further than this verse describes. The Bible's general approach to man's estrangement from God is that it is a fact without dispute. It assumes that the separation is there and that there is good reason for it. The separation is obvious from Genesis 3 when Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden. They and all mankind were now separated from the presence of God, so every biblical writer after picked up on this fact and assumed everybody knew that man is separated from God. Atonement, therefore, is necessary if God and man are ever going to be brought back together. So the New Testament approach to it is that our disobedience to God's will—what we know as sin—has alienated us from Him, and that it must be somehow remedied if a right relationship is to be restored. John W. Ritenbaugh The Azazel Goat

 

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