Alright, let's turn back in our
Bibles to that passage that Brother Craig read in Matthew chapter
20. I told you last week that I was
going to preach from this passage, and I hope maybe you took some
time this week to read through those verses. As Brother Craig
re-read them, they were familiar to you. I'm sure many of you
have read them before. You've heard messages on this
parable. It's called, The Parable of the
Laborers. That's the title of the message, Matthew 20. The
Parable of the Laborers. I started to title the message,
The Parable of What is Right. You notice as he read through
this parable, two times, verses 4 and verse 7, the Lord said,
I'm going to do whatever is right. Now, whenever you see that, you
have to understand that it's right in God's eyes. whatever
is right in God's eyes, in His side, according to His standard.
Because sometimes what God does to us, in our side, in our view
of things, just doesn't seem right. But I'm going to tell
you something, it is. And a thing is not, a thing is,
God doesn't do a thing just because it is right. It's right because
God does it. There's a difference there. Because
God is the standard of all right. But in this parable, it teaches
a very important lesson. Our subject in this parable of
the laborers in the vineyard, the parable of the laborers,
has to do with the sovereign grace of God in the doctrine
of reward. That's what it has to do with.
That's what this subject is about. And there are so many people.
who are confused on this issue of what they call rewards in
heaven. And I didn't realize how many
people are really emotionally attached to that doctrine, what
they call rewards. Now let me tell you something
first off. You get you a concordance and you go through it and I challenge
you to find the word rewards, plural, in the scripture when
it applies to salvation in heaven. You won't find it. You won't
find the word rewards plural, connected with salvation or even
heaven. Now you'll find the word reward
singular, and that's important too. But I didn't realize how
many people are emotionally attached to this idea of rewards plural,
a degree of rewards in heaven. I preached this years ago, and
I hope I've learned some more since then. A man get up and
walk out on me over it. And what we have to understand
here is the lesson the Lord is teaching. Now, he says the kingdom
of heaven. Look at verse 1. For the kingdom of heaven, the
kingdom of heaven is likened to a man that is a householder,
which went out early in the morning to hire laborers into his venue.
Now there is the kingdom of heaven. What is the kingdom of heaven
in these parables that the Lord is teaching the disciples? It
is the rule and reign of Christ on earth as he controls, sovereignly,
and disposes of all things for his glory and the good of his
church. That is the kingdom of heaven. He mentions here a householder. Who is this householder? The
householder is the Lord himself. This is the master of the house.
This is the owner of the vineyard. And God is the owner of the universe. He's the creator. He's the owner
of all things by sovereign right and creation. But now He's also
the owner of His church by redemption. Christ bought the church with
His precious blood. He owns it. The Bible says over
and over again, we are not our own. Even though we walk around
like we are, we're not our own. We do not belong to ourselves.
Nothing we have really belongs to us. Now, we think it does,
but it really doesn't. The Lord giveth, Job said, and
the Lord does what? Takes away. And whether He gives
or whether He takes away, what Job said, blessed be the name
of the Lord. We don't really own anything.
The Bible calls Christians stewards. That means that we are put in
charge for a little while, something that the Master owns. Stewards
of the grace of God. Even though our name may be on
the deed, God owns the cattle on a thousand hills. He owns
it all. So that ought to put things in perspective for us.
So God is the householder. This is the Lord himself. Then
he mentions the vineyard. He hired laborers into his vineyard.
The vineyard is his church here on earth in the last days. That's
what these parables are about. He's teaching the disciples what
it's going to be like in the last days. From the time of his
first advent, his first coming and ascension, where he did his
great work on the cross, was buried and rose again the third
day and ascended into glory, and then until the time of his
second coming to judge all things and put all things right and
gather his church unto himself. So the kingdom of heaven here
is the vineyard, the church of God, the household of faith.
Now the laborers, who are they? The laborers hired to work are
all true believers, all true servants of God, yoked together. I use that term because they're
laborers. Christ said, come unto me all ye that labor and are
heavy laden, I'll give you rest. He said, take my yoke upon you,
for my yoke is easy, my burden is light. It's not a yoke of
law, it's a yoke of love. It's not a yoke of religion,
it's a yoke of truth. Working together, going in the
same direction for the glory of God and the salvation of sinners
and the good of His people. Yoked together by a common need.
What do we need? Salvation by what? By grace.
Now understand that. This is fundamental, foundational. You see, we think in degrees. That's our natural way of thinking.
This one's better. This one's worse. This one gets
more. This one gets less. That's the
way we think. I mean, that pervades our natural minds. But you see,
God doesn't think like we think. His thoughts are not our thoughts. His ways are not our ways. The
way we think it should be, that's not the way it is. It's the way
God says it is. And so, salvation, growth in
grace and knowledge, is the Holy Spirit adjusting our thinking
to God's thinking. And that's what He's doing to
these disciples here. He's discipling them. They're learners. I'm teaching you. Here's how
you naturally think, but you've got a war against that. You've
got the Spirit of Christ, you've got the Spirit of God within
you and the truth within you, and you're in a warfare. So here's
how you naturally think, but here's how you ought to think.
Now get busy in the battle. That's what he's saying. You've
got to fight that flesh. You've got to fight the warfare.
You don't give in to it and bring it into the Kingdom of God as
a doctrine and preach it to people and puff up the flesh. Incidentally,
I tell you, that's why people get offended when you preach
the truth about this thing of rewards. It offends their pride.
Somebody says, well, I think I deserve more. You say I don't. I'll get up and walk out. What's wrong? What's the problem?
Self-righteousness. Pride. You see, that's the issue.
So as he goes through here, now we've got a common need, salvation
by grace. And let me tell you something,
there's not one person in this building this morning who is
in more need of grace than the other. We all equally need God's
grace. And if salvation is not by God's
grace, we would all equally be lost and condemned to hell. Now, we're yoked together by
a common provision. And what is that common provision?
It's grace. If I'm saved, it's by grace. If you're saved, it's by grace.
Not more grace, less grace. Just grace in Christ. If you're in Him, you've been
washed clean from all your sins by the blood of Christ. Now,
you may walk around thinking, well, I have less sins to wash
away than old so-and-so over there. That's crazy. You don't
even know what sin is, if that's the way you think. O Nicodemus,
the religious man, needed to be washed clean from all his
sins just like the old Samaritan adulterous. Equally. So we're equally cleansed in
the eyes of God by the blood of Christ. We're equally righteous.
There's not one person who's more righteous than another in
God's sight as far as our justification. Now, there are people who are
more mature. There are people who have more
gifts. distributes his gifts sovereignly to whomever he will,
without any qualification in the one who receives it. There
are some who are more obedient, but there are none more righteous,
because Christ is equally our righteousness." Isn't that right? That's the issue. Now, laboring
in the kingdom, serving Christ, is a manifestation, an evidence,
a fruit of God's free, sovereign grace in Christ. We read in Ephesians
chapter 2. For by grace are you saved through
faith. That's not of yourself. Don't
go around bragging how much faith you have. I'll tell you what
you need to brag on. Brag on in the one whom your
faith is. Brag on Christ. You won't go wrong there. Because
you go around bragging on how much faith you have, tomorrow
God may put you somewhere where you don't have much faith, if
at all. He may take your legs right out
from under you. Isn't that right? He can do it. Here today, gone tomorrow. On
the mountain today, in the valley tomorrow. God's the same, isn't
He, James? God of the mountain, God of the
valley. He's the same. Brag on Christ. Don't be bragging
about what you've done for the Lord. Brag on what God's done
for you in Christ. There's the issue. So it's not
of yourselves, it's the gift of God, not of works, lest any
man should boast. And then verse 10, for we are his workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before
ordained or prepared that we should walk in them. If I do
anything good, it's not I that do it, it's Christ in me. Isn't
that right? It's God who worketh in you to do his goodwill, his
pleasure and his goodwill. Well, now, God places each one
in the body of Christ to serve him and to serve one another,
not to be noticed, not to be praised, not to be first, not
to be in competition, And he gives each one particular gift,
as he sovereignly sees fit to do so, in our mental or physical
abilities, gifts of ministry, hospitality, material wealth,
whatever gift it is, and we are to use it for the glory of God.
Now, this parable here is intended to teach the reward of God's
saints, the reward of those who labor in the Master's venue.
Well, now, here is the question that comes up. He says, will
those who work in the Lord's service for a longer time get
a bigger reward? And will those who do more get
a larger reward? Now these two questions of time
and quantity are questions that come before us right here in
this parable. Let me put it to you in a very practical way. Look at the Apostle Paul. Most
scholars would tell you he was around 40 years old when God
converted him onto Damascus Road. That's probably true. Then he
lived several years longer. But look how the Lord used that
man, the Apostle Paul. The Apostle Paul was used of
God, really, in a greater way than the other apostles. And
used this man as the instrument to write over half of the New
Testament. Getting the gospel. You know, he is the man who he
was the instrument by whom you who are sitting here today heard
the gospel. You said, well, man, that was
a long time ago. He was the he was the one who was the gospel
to the preacher to the Gentiles. And all that trickled down right
down to Ashland, Kentucky and surrounding areas, and we heard
the gospel. Well, now compare Paul to the
thief on the cross, who was saved in the last breath he took on
that. Now, the question is, shall the
Apostle Paul get a larger reward in heaven than the thief on the
cross? What do you think? What's your opinion? Well, it
really doesn't matter what we think, does it? It really doesn't
matter what our opinions are. What does God's Word say? Look
back at Matthew chapter 19 and verse 30. And let me tell you something,
he says, but many that are first shall be last, and the last shall
be first. Now keep that in mind, 1930 there. You remember, last week I preached
on preparation for this parable of grace. It showed you how,
why this parable was taught, the question that came up. Peter,
you know, he had seen the Lord deal with a rich young man, and
the lesson there is salvation is by grace. You cannot work
for it, you cannot earn it, and you do not deserve it. If salvation
comes, it's impossible with men, but all things are possible with
God. It's by His free, sovereign, mercy and grace. He said, I'll
be merciful to whom I'll be merciful. I'll be gracious to whom I'll
be gracious. It has no qualification in its object. It's all of God. Salvation is of the Lord. And
then, Peter, speaking for the other disciples, he said, well,
now we've given up everything for you. What are we going to
get? And he says, you're going to be judges, going to sit on
12 thrones and be judges over Israel. I believe those are not
thrones of rule as far as in heaven. He's not what he's talking
about. Those are thrones of judgment that comes by the preaching of
the gospel given to the church equally. As we preach, he that
believeth not shall be damned and he that believeth shall be
saved. And all of these things, so keep
that in mind. He repeats that over in the last part of this
parable, verse 16. So the last shall be first and
the first last. And then he goes on to say, many
be called, a few chosen. Look back at Matthew 18 again.
We turned here last week. Now, let me show you how this
kind of thinking about earned rewards pervades the minds even
of the saved. It's the flesh, it's the natural
way of thinking. I'll tell you why, because we
all think economically. I mean, if you go out and you
work eight hours on a job, and somebody else just comes in and
they work two hours, and they get the same pay that you get,
you are rightfully going to be upset, aren't you? And you would
be well within your rights to do so. That's economics. That
is fairness among men. But let me tell you something.
God doesn't think economically. He thinks graciously. I want
to show you this. Now look at verse 1 of chapter
18 of Matthew. He says, At the same time came
the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom
of heaven? And Jesus called a little child
unto him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Barely,
I say unto you, except you be converted, and become as little
children. You shall not enter into the
kingdom of heaven." A little child here, most scholars agree,
is an infant at this point in time. Some other time when the
Lord spoke of children, He was speaking of older children, like
a toddler or something, one even who could talk and one who could
think. But here He's talking about an infant. And I've heard
commentators say here, you know, now, that talks about childhood
innocence. You've got to be as innocent
as a child. That's not what it's talking about. First of all,
childhood innocence is a myth. It's a myth. See, we're all born
in trespasses and sins. I've heard preachers talk about
how children can get in a fight and they get over it. That's
true, but they still get in the fight. Now, no, they're not like
us. We can get in a fight and it
lasts a hundred years for us. Dudes. Children do get over it
quick. I agree with it. But that's not
innocence. That's just their attention goes somewhere else.
But they do fight, and they fight because it's mine. Selfishness. We're all sinners. This is not
teaching any view of childhood innocence. And then I've heard
preachers go this and say, see, you've got to come like a little
child, ignorant. No. God doesn't save His people in
ignorance. The Bible says that all who are saved are what? Taught
of who? God. God teaches them. They hear and
believe the gospel by the power of the Holy Spirit. Yes, before
he enlightens our minds, we're ignorant. But that's not a good
thing. Christ is not saying, now, you all just act like you're
ignorant. It's not childhood ignorance. What he's teaching
here is humility. You say, well, what about a child? You know, sometimes they're,
I, me, mine. Well, he's talking about an infant
here. What's humble about an infant?
Let me tell you something about an infant. An infant can't do anything except
cry and give off waste. An infant is totally dependent
on its parents for everything. It can't eat without its parents.
It can't go here without its parents. It can't clean the ceiling
without its parents. That infant is totally dependent
upon its parents for life. Let me tell you something. You're
totally dependent upon your Heavenly Father for everything. I'll give
you an example of it. Let's say that you got in a car
accident and you were paralyzed. Some of you big strapping men
who have taken care of your families all your life now. And you were
paralyzed from the neck down. And now you're totally dependent
upon your wife and your children to do everything for you. How
humbling would that be? You probably wish you were dead,
wouldn't you? Oh, that's a pride killer right
there, isn't it? You mean I've got to totally
depend on my wife and my children and other people to do everything
for me? Well, my friend, that's just
what salvation is. We are totally dependent upon
Christ for everything in salvation. And that's what the Lord's telling
them, become as that little child. You can't do this for yourself.
That little child, I'm getting ready. Craig said any minute.
I'm having a grandchild. I guess it is any minute. I guarantee
you that little child is not going to earn my love. I guarantee
you that little child is not going to earn the food that Aaron
and Alyssa put in that little child's mouth. They're not going
to earn it. And you may say, well, they deserve it because
they're children. But you see, let me tell you something. When
we Look at our relationship with God. What were we before God
saved us? Enemies. What did we deserve? Wrath. What did God give us? Salvation through His Son. And
that's what he's talking about here. It's grace, you see. It's
not works. It's not by human merit. When
you look back at chapter 19, look at verse 30. Let me show
you this. He said, many that are first shall be last, and
last shall be first. You know how some people interpret
it? They say, well, that's a reversal of rows. That means, well, if
you've been downtrodden and poor in this life, that in heaven
you'll just be the richest one there, and if you're rich in
this life, you'll be the poorest. That's not what that's talking
about. Now, how do I know that? Read the parable. The parable
tells you what he's teaching. I'll tell you exactly what he's
teaching. He's teaching equality in the Kingdom of Heaven. Listen
to this. First of all, what have I been
saying? Salvation is by what? Grace. That's where you've got
to start. Do you notice here, it says here that the householder,
verse 1, he went out early in the morning to hire laborers
into his vineyard. Verse 2, when he had agreed with
the laborers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
Did you notice there that He didn't wake up early in the morning
and have guys knocking at his door looking for work. Do you
notice what he did? He got up early and he went out.
What does he say? All this begins with the initiative
of the householder. It didn't begin with the initiative
of the laborers. These men were not out looking for work. He
came looking for them. What's that teaching us? It's
teaching us that the whole work of salvation, the whole work
of eternal life, begins with God and not with us. Salvation
is of the Lord, friend. You see, if God had not come
and sought his people out, we would have been perfectly content
to stand around on the street corner without working, without
having anything to do with God. We would have gone merrily our
way to hell. You say, well, we thought we
were going here. Well, we think a lot of things that aren't true.
But you see, the initiative begins with God. God is the source and
originator of all salvation. He's sovereign in it. And what
does that tell you? It's not earned and it's not
deserved. And again, when you consider
who we are, who we were before God saved us, and even what we
are now, we cannot earn it and we cannot deserve it. Even now. Even now. And let me ask you
this. Let's put it in this light. Let's
say a person hired you to work for a particular wage. And you
agreed to work for that wage. But let's say the person you
agreed to work for, let's say you already owed that person
a million dollars. Now think about that. You already
owe that person a million dollars. He's hired you to work for a
particular wage, and you owe him a million dollars. You say,
well, I'll never be able to work enough to pay him back. That's
right. Well, let me tell you something.
Christ paid our sin debt to God's justice on the cross. Paid it
in full. We didn't have one penny to contribute.
That's right. Nothing. I mean, He did it while
we were yet enemies, Romans 5 says. He died on that cross to pay
the sin debt of His sheep, not because they asked Him to, but
because His Father sent Him to do it, and He agreed to do it,
and because He loved them. And in return, He gave us the
whole inheritance of grace and glory. Not only did we owe Him
a million dollars and He paid it, He gave us a million to the
good. Now, what do we owe Him? Well, let me tell you something.
We don't owe Him any legal debt. There's no debt of law. Christ
paid that in full. But I'll tell you what we do
owe a debt of love. A debt of love and gratitude,
which will never be paid. Salvation by grace. Here's the
second thing. God does not measure things the
way we do. Look back at the parable. Say
verse three. He says he went out about the
third hour. And he saw others standing out on the marketplace.
And he said unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever
is right." Now, God's going to do what's right. He's not going
to do anything wrong. Will do wrong, but God will not.
He said, "...whatsoever is right I will give you." And they went
their way. And again, he went about the sixth and ninth hour
and did likewise. He did the same. About the eleventh
hour went out, found others standing idle, and said to them, Why stand
ye here all the day idle? They say, Because no man hath
hired us. He said unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard,
and whatsoever is right. And that shall you receive."
Now, what's right? Keep that in mind. You know what
God's going to give you and give me? He's going to give you what's
right, and He's going to give me what's right. Look at verse
8. So when even was come, at the
end of the day, the Lord of the vineyards saith to his steward,
Call the laborers, give them their hire, beginning from the
last unto the first." Give them their hire. And when they came
that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man
of That's what he said, again, that's what they agreed to work
for. But when the first came, they supposed that they should
have received more. There's the flesh. I think I deserve more. Is that
what you think? He says, and they likewise received
every man a penny. Now, what did the Lord just do
for them? He did what was right. You knew anything wrong. And
they said, when they received it, they murmured against the
good men of the house, saying, These last have wrought or worked
but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us. You're equal to me? Now, you
know, I found that a lot of times people love to talk about grace,
but they don't much love living grace. This is what you call
living grace. It's alright to talk about, oh,
I just don't deserve anything, but I deserve more than you. That's the kind of thinking that
this reward stuff pervades, you know. Oh, if God gave me what
I deserve, I'd be in hell, but I deserve a little more than
you. That don't wash, does it? That's a contradiction. He says,
made him equal to us. The Jews had a big problem with
that when God began bringing Gentiles in. You mean they're
equal with us? We're Abraham's seed. We're circumcised. We keep the law of Moses. He
said, we should have borne the burden in the heat of the day.
Verse 13, but he answered one of them and said, friend, I do
thee no wrong. I didn't do anything wrong. I
did what's right. Dost thou not agree with me for
a penny? Take that thine is, and go thy
way, I will give unto the last, even as unto thee." And he says
in verse 15, is it not lawful for me to do what I will with
mine own? We're His. Whatever God does
with that which belongs to Him, it's lawful, it's good, it's
righteous, it's just. And he said, is thine eye evil
because I'm good? What he's asking there is, are
you seeing evil in what I'm doing that's good? In other words,
here God's doing something and you're calling it evil? It's
like in Romans 9. Does that remind you of Romans
9? Is there unrighteousness with God? Is God unfair? I'm going to tell you something. Whatever God does is right, fair,
and good, and wise. So he says, the last shall be
first, and the first last. You see, God does not measure
things the way we do. Listen to me. He will reward
every laborer in his vineyard, but not as men judge that he
should, and not on the basis of what they've earned or deserve.
He'll reward his people in a way, listen to this, here's how God
rewards his people. It's a way that exalts his grace
in the salvation of sinners by Christ. It's a way that exalts
His Son. It shows that you don't deserve
to be here. You haven't earned your way in
here. It's all because of Christ. That's how He's going to reward
His people. It's a way that gives no room for the flesh to boast. No room. However God chooses
to reward all of us, there won't be any of us who will have room
to come out and say, well, I've got a little more. Listen. He has no regard to the
time of our service or the amount of ground we've covered. God
does not measure our reward according to the abilities of his servants.
If they have any ability, he gave it to them. Heaven's reward
will not be given according to the judgment and estimation of
men. How much have you done? How little
did you do? No, that's not how it is. God
will not be impressed with the impressions we make upon men.
Now, you may impress men. Do you think that impresses God?
You may have a name that everybody turns and listens to among men.
But do you think, God, listen, think about that. He will not deal out his reward
according to the measure of our apparent success or failure. And God will not reward us according
to the measure of our gifts. He dispenses His gifts sovereignly. God will not even reward us according
to the measure of our faithfulness, for our faithfulness is not the
ground or cause of our salvation. It is His faithfulness. The reward
that God gives to His servants at the end of the day, in heaven's
glory, will be a matter of pure grace and will be one that makes
all His people equal in His sight in Christ. God will reward us according
to the merit of Christ, which has been imputed to us. In Christ
we are one. In Christ we have one reward. Christ is our reward. Heaven's
eternal glory. We are blessed with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Now, does that just
apply to me and not you? Or to you and not me? It applies
to all of God's elect people, redeemed by the blood of Christ.
Our reward in Christ is glory, no degrees. This, my friend,
here's what Christ is teaching them. This is not the world where
you go out and work and earn your wage, which you ought to
do, and get paid what you deserve to get paid in the world. But
when it comes to salvation and eternal life and how God justifies
a sinner and how a sinner is made righteous, let me tell you
something, this is a kingdom of grace. Grace. Grace all the way. God does not
operate on the principle of economics, giving His people what they deserve,
for we deserve nothing that we have. That's right. We don't deserve anything we
have. If He gave us what we deserve, what would we get? What does
the Bible say we deserve? Death. But the gift of God His
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. No one deserves to
be saved, and no one earns their way into the Kingdom of Heaven,
and no one earns keeping the Kingdom of Heaven. No one who
works in it works of their own accord, but it's by the power
of God. Paul wrote to the Philippians
this in chapter 2 and verse 12. He said, Wherefore, my beloved,
as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now
much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear
and trembling, But don't stop there. In verse 13, he says,
for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of
His good pleasure. I've heard people try to finagle
that thing around and say, well, when He gives you your rewards,
He won't really be rewarding you. He'll be rewarding Himself.
That's just human talk. That's just human talk. Forget
it. Let me tell you something. Consider our debt to the one
who has brought us into the kingdom and put us to work in his service.
As I said before, we owe a debt of love and gratitude that we'll
never be able to pay. We'll spend eternity worshiping,
praising, serving God in Christ. And if you're working to earn
your reward, then it's not out of love and gratitude. If you're
working to earn your reward, that's not love and gratitude.
You want me to prove that to you? Well, do you stop working
when you see you cannot earn your rewards? That proves it wasn't love and
gratitude. It's like the person says, well,
if salvation has nothing to do with my works, then why work
at all? Same thing. The person says, well, if I can't
earn my rewards in heaven and get a better reward than old
so-and-so who isn't doing anything, he said, then why should I do
it? That proves it's not out of love and gratitude. You're
doing it to earn it. You think you deserve it. Well,
let me close with this. God is sovereign and just in
his dealings. Now, you remember I told you
a while back when we were going through the... Christianity is
advanced citizenship. Well, let me just prove it. This
is advanced citizenship. It takes the spirit of the grace
of God. To put this desire in the hearts of His people. To
just serve Him. Worship Him. Love Him. Obey Him. Not to be saved. Not to earn
greater reward. But because you love Him. Now
there's a concept, isn't it? There's something to think about,
isn't it? Just because you love Him. Just because He's given
you so much that you didn't deserve and cannot earn. Think about
it. Well, this reveals a whole lot
about the character of our God represented by the householder,
the master. He's just in all his dealings
with men. He said, I'm going to give you what's right. Well,
what is right for God to give a sinner, a sinner whom he loves? It's
only right that he should give us all things in Christ. He that
spared not his own son, how shall he not with him freely give us
what? All things. He didn't say freely
give you more and you less. He said freely give us all things
in Christ. He's faithful to his word. He
says here in verse 13, he said, I didn't do you any wrong. Did
you not agree with me for a penny? That's like a person saying,
don't you see and believe and say you believe salvation by
grace? Well, all right, let's live grace. And then he's sovereign in the
exercise of his grace. He says, it's lawful for me to
do with mine own what I will. We belong to him, not to ourselves. There's equality among the saved.
Now, there is a distinction made here between the saved and the
lost. And you know what it is? It's
distinguishing grace. He says in verse 16, for many
be called, but few chosen. Now, you know what I believe
the main lesson there is? There's the general call of the
gospel, and many hear that general call and claim they believe it. Many called. You go around and
ask the average person, do you believe salvation is by grace?
They'll say yes. That's right. Go ask a particular person and
say, do you believe salvation is by grace? Yes, but you've
got to be baptized. Well, that's not grace. But you've
got to worship on Saturday, not Sunday. Well, it's not grace.
But, you've got to earn your rewards. That's not grace. Many call, but few chose. Now, you claim to believe grace. I claim to believe grace. Let's
live grace. Let's live it. My hope is built
on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not
trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On
Christ the solid rock I stand. All other ground is sinking sand.
Always remember, in grace, that we are the undeserving recipients
of an inheritance that we can't even imagine, an inheritance
of eternal life based on the blood and righteousness of Christ,
and we cannot earn anything from God. It's not of debt, it's of
grace.