I'm going to be preaching from
Matthew chapter 20 this morning, but. I think that my introduction
was already read when Don read that passage of scripture, there's
a verse that really caught my attention. Back to Romans, chapter
four, first, while you're turning there tonight, we will be observing
the Lord's table together. Verse four of Romans chapter
four says now. To him that worketh. Is the reward. Not reckoned of grace. But a
debt. And I thought that's a good title
to this message. Grace or debt. Grace or debt. If you want to
know what the Bible means by the word grace. There's not a
clearer. Exposition of grace anywhere
than in the passage of Scripture, we're going to look at this morning.
Now, would you turn with me to Matthew chapter 20? Verse one. For the kingdom of heaven is
like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning
to hire laborers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with the
laborers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard.
And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing
idle in the marketplace, and he said unto them, Go ye also
into the vineyard. And whatsoever is right I will
give you. And they went their way. Again
he went out about the sixth hour and ninth hour and did likewise.
And about the eleventh hour, five p.m., he went out and found
others standing idle and saith unto them, Why stand ye here
all the day idle? They say unto him, Because no
man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also
into the vineyard And whatsoever is right, that shall you receive. So when even was come, and the
Lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers,
and give them their hire, beginning from the last, the fellows that
you started at five p.m. unto the first. And when they
came, that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received
every man a penny. That's awful gracious, isn't
it? That's gracious. He gave these fellows that worked
only one hour of full day's pay. Isn't that gracious? Isn't that
generous? Isn't that an act of mercy? Anybody
think, well, that's not fair that he did that. That's not
right. No, that's an act of generosity on his part. I'm so thankful
for the generosity of our God. Verse 10. But when the first
came, and these are the fellows that worked 12 hours, they supposed that they should have received
more. Who wouldn't make that supposition?
I would. If I worked 12 hours and somebody
else just worked one hour, I would expect to receive more. It's only right. It's only fair. It'd be wrong for me to not get
more. I did more. I understand them making that
supposition. You'd make that supposition too,
wouldn't you? You know you would. I'd suppose I'd receive more. Verse 10, And they likewise received
every man a penny. Same thing. And when they had
received it, they murmured against the good man of the house, saying,
These last have brought but one hour, and thou hast made them
equal unto us, which have borne the burden and
the heat of the day. But he answered one of them,
and said, Friend, this is the master of the vineyard. I do
thee no wrong. There is nothing unfair about
this. Didst thou not agree with me for a penny? Take that thine
is, and go thy way. I will give unto this last, even
as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do
what I will with my own? Is thine eye evil, because I
am good, so the last? shall be first, and the first
last, for many be called, but few chosen." Here's a man that, let's say
he has left all the material comforts of the United States
and given himself To the preaching of the gospel. A missionary,
maybe in some poor poverty stricken country, let's say he takes his
wife and kids there. And spends his entire life. Preaching the gospel living in
a hut somewhere. I've even read of missionaries
who have actually gone into leper colonies. And became lepers so
they could preach the gospel to those people. Knowing that
that's what was going to happen now, that's impressive, isn't
it? It's very impressive. Let's say this man. Buries his wife, she catches
some disease that. Is found in that country and
then all those kids die. Catching that disease, he. What
a life, what a hard life of hardship he has. just to preach the gospel. We admire that man, don't we? Here's another fellow for that
all that time that this other fellow has been in this other
country preaching the gospel. Here's another fellow who's perhaps
heard the gospel and just over his head. Doesn't mean anything
to him. Like read the newspaper, he's
not impressed. He goes all these years, perhaps
coming to worship services and hearing the gospel and so on,
but it has no effect on him. No effect. He lives an idle life,
a useless life. As a matter of fact, if you look
at him, you think, is the guy even a believer, the way he's conducting
himself? I mean, he's not. I mean, he's
just lived a useless life. But let's say on his deathbed,
right before he dies, the Lord reveals the gospel to that man. Are you going to tell me And
if what this parable is saying is so, and we know it is, this
is what it's saying, are you going to tell me that that fellow
who dies on his deathbed is going to be equal in the kingdom of
heaven to that guy that was a missionary? Are you going to tell me that?
Yeah. That's what our Lord is saying.
You know, that doesn't seem fair, does it? It doesn't seem right. I think
of Abraham and Lot. Abraham, the friend of God. Abraham,
the father of the faithful. What a man Abraham was. Lot. You wouldn't even think he was
a Christian unless the Holy Spirit said he was in 2 Peter. You wouldn't
think it by his life. You're going to tell me that
Abraham and Lot are equal in the Kingdom of Heaven? That does
not seem fair. That's my gut response. I was
laying in bed this morning thinking about this passage of Scripture.
I just think about what it actually said. And even this morning after
I prepared this, my flesh rose up against this. This doesn't
seem right. What if you were on a job and
you were much more qualified than somebody else and you had
a much harder job and more responsibilities and it took more ability on your
part to do your job and somebody else did a whole lot less and
they gave him the same thing they gave you, the same pay.
That's not fair. That's not right. You've made
him equal with me? That's not right. Doesn't seem fair, does it? Well,
this parable will answer that question. This parable actually
begins in Matthew chapter 19, verse 27. Then answered Peter and said
unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all and follow thee. What shall we have therefore?
What's in this for us? Now, I am impressed with the
fact that the disciples did forsake everything. They left their homes.
They left their families just to follow the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's impressive, isn't it? I'm impressed with that. You're
impressed with that. That demonstrates great faith. And Peter said,
We've done this. We've left all to follow You. Now what's in
it for us? How are we going to be rewarded
for this? Now look how our Lord answers them. Verse 28, And Jesus
said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that you which have
followed Me in the regeneration, when the Son of Man shall sit
in the throne of His glory, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone that hath
forsaken, everyone that hath forsaken houses, or brethren,
or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands,
for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit
everlasting life." Now you can't be the loser in following Christ.
You can't give too much. You can't sacrifice too much.
You can't do too much. Our Lord says plainly, you'll
receive a hundredfold in this life. You can't be the loser
in following Christ. You cannot give God. You cannot
do God. You will be blessed in following
Him. He makes that clear. You'll be
blessed in following Him. However, this is not about earning
a blessing. He says, Many that are first
shall be last, and the last shall be first. So really, this parable
is in response to Peter saying, We have forsaken all. What's
in it for us? What are we going to get out
of this? And he says, Well, here's what you're going to get out
of this. The Kingdom of Heaven, verse 1 of Matthew chapter 20,
we're going to read it again. The Kingdom of Heaven is likened
to a man that's a householder, which went out early in the morning
to hire laborers into his vineyard. Now the householder is the master
of the house. It's his house and he does as he pleases with
what belongs to him. Now he goes out about six o'clock
in the morning to hire laborers into his vineyard. verse two
and when he agreed with the laborers for a penny a day. Now that's
not a penny the way we think of a penny. That was a working
man's wages in that day. It was a Roman denomination of
money somehow, but maybe it was the equivalent of nine or ten
dollars an hour. It was a good fair wage for a
day's pay. When he'd agreed with them for
a penny a day, He sent them into his vineyard. He agreed, this
is what you'll get. They said, that's what we'll
take. That sounds fair. So they go out to work for him
that day. Verse 3. He went out about the
third hour, nine o'clock in the morning, after these other fellows
had been working three hours already. And he saw others standing
idle in the marketplace. Now notice, they weren't seeking
him. They weren't looking for a job. They were just standing
there idle. But he comes to them. He comes after them. And he said
unto them, verse four, Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever
is right, I'll give it you. Now, you can count on this. The
Lord's going to give you what's right. Whatever he does is right, and
he always gives what is right. And he went out, verse five,
about the sixth hour, noon, and the ninth hour, 3 p.m., and did
likewise. He tells these fellows, you go
out and work in the vineyard, and whatever is right, you'll have
it. And about the 11th hour, 5 p.m., after these first guys
had already been working 11 hours, 11 hours hard labor. That's a
hard day. That's a hard day. I mean, I do two hours labor,
and I've got to lay down. I'm bored out. You know, I can't... I'm glad I sit down all day.
A hard laboring job, but very difficult. 11 hours, and you
can imagine how tired they were. But yet these fellas, at 5 p.m.,
he sends them out. He says, whatever's right, you'll
get. They said, OK, so they went out. Verse six, about the 11th hour,
he went out and found others standing idle and saith unto
them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? They said unto him,
Because no man's hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into
the vineyard, and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.
So when even was come, the Lord of the vineyard saith unto his
steward, Call the laborers, and give them their hire, Beginning
from the last, the fellows that only worked an hour, unto the
first. Verse 9, And when they came,
that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man
a penny. Now this was an act of generosity.
This was true gratuity. They only worked one hour, but
they were given a full day's pay. Isn't that generous? That's such an astounding act
of generosity. How gracious this man is. They
only work an hour and all they spend a day idle and he gives
them a full day's pay. I love the generosity of the
master of the land. Verse 10, But when the first
came, they supposed that they should have received more. Now,
let's be sympathetic with these fellows. By all sense of fairness,
shouldn't they receive more? They did 12 times more. I would
have expected to receive more. You would have expected to receive
more. I have no doubt about that. We would have supposed that we
should receive more. But they received the precise
same amount that the people who worked one hour received. So
what's their reaction to this? Verse 11, And when they had received
it, they murmured against the good man of the house. They muttered
their displeasure under their breath. They were upset. Look
what they say in verse 12, saying, These that have wrought but one
hour, you've made them equal unto us, which have borne the
burden and the heat of the day. We've sacrificed so much. We've
done so much more than them. And you've made them equal to
us. It's not right. This is not fair. We should have
more coming. Now let me say three things about
that. Their reaction, this is not fair. Three things. First,
did they not agree to a penny a day? Was there anything unfair at
all about the man giving them a penny a day? That's what they'd
agreed to. It was a fair wage. There was
nothing unfair about this. They're getting exactly what
he said he was going to give them. Second thing I want to
point out about this that I think is very interesting. They demonstrate
what they really thought about serving their master. We've borne the burden and the
heat of the day. This has been a miserable day.
This has just been rough. To them, serving their master
was a burden. It was a hot, thankless job. We had not enjoyed this. And
you know, most people's religion is such an unhappy thing. It's
a burden to them. It's not what they actually enjoy. They're forced to do things they
really don't want to do. Here I am in this church service. I'd rather be out doing something
else. But I've got to do it. I've got to keep my reputation
up. I've got a, and I don't get to
do what I really want to do. If I got to really do what I
want to do, boy, you wouldn't, you wouldn't believe the stuff
I'd be doing. But I can't because, you know, it just, I don't, I
don't, I don't get to. It's a burden. It's a burden. But the third thing that I see
in this attitude, where they said, thou has wrought but what
they have wrought, but just one hour you've made them equal unto
us which have borne the burden and the heat of the day. This
attitude is actually a rejection of the gospel. And why do I say that? If I'm saved, and if you're saved,
I am saved because the obedience, the righteousness, the merits,
the law-keeping of Jesus Christ is charged to me. And that is
my standing before God. His perfect obedience, His very
righteousness. That's what justification is,
not guilty. I have, and this is true of every
believer, I have the very righteousness of God. That's why God accepts
me. He looks me over and He sees
nothing but perfect righteousness. That's what he sees when he looks.
You know how come? Because that's all there is there.
I'm saved by the righteousness of Jesus Christ. My sin became
His. Who His own self bear our sins
in His own body on the tree. My sin became His. God's wrath came down upon Him.
He knew no mercy. But just as truly as my sin became
His. And it literally became His because
He literally died. It literally became His. It wasn't
figurative. It wasn't a fairy tale. It became
His. And just as truly as my sin became His and He suffered
under the wrath of God, His righteousness becomes mine. And it really is
mine right now. You know, this makes me so happy.
I just love this. I'm the righteousness of God
in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's my name. That's my name. This is the name wherewith she
shall be called, the Lord our righteousness. That's my name.
That's who I am. That's my standing before God.
Now, you're going to tell me that I can take some work. I'm a preacher. You guys aren't
preachers. I am. I've done more than you have.
Now, that's the way religious people think. I'm a preacher. I'm in full-time Christian service.
I don't do that secular stuff you guys do. I'm full-time Christian
service. Now, can't that be added? Aren't
I going to get a higher place in heaven because of that? Aren't
I going to get a little better than you because I'm a preacher?
I'm a missionary. I've given more. I've sacrificed
more. I've done more. Aren't I going to get a higher
place in heaven than you? No. No. This idea of differing degrees
and higher rewards in heaven is salvation by works. That's
all it is. I don't care if you put works
in the beginning, in the middle, or the end. If somehow your salvation
has something to do with your works, you believe in salvation
by works all the way through. If by grace, it's no more works. If by works, it's no more grace.
Grace or works. Now, let's suppose for just a
moment that you did do more. Think about that. You've seen
people in the church, some who do so much and some who seemingly
do so little. Let's say you did do more. Is
that not the grace of God in you? Are you not even a greater
debtor to grace than the fellow who did less? You owe God's grace more, don't
you? You really do. You owe God's grace more. And
you know this. thing of wanting to have a higher
reward in heaven. If I love you, do I want to be
exalted above you if I really love you? Well, I'm up here and
you're down here. I heard a preacher in the last
couple of months, he said to his congregation, he said, some
of you are going to be shining my shoes in heaven. Rich, I'd like to see you down
on your knees shining my shoes. There's not a drop of love in
that kind of attitude. That's evil. That's self-righteousness. That's all it is. I'm going to
have a bigger car than you in heaven. I'm going to have a bigger
home in glory. I'm going to have a bigger mansion. I'm going to
have more than... That's as offensive as anything I know of. the Master's answer to this.
Verse 12, These have wrought but one hour, and you have made
them equal unto us which have borne the burden and heat of
the day. But he answered one of them, verse 13, and said,
Friend, I do thee know wrong. Didst thou not agree with me
for a penny? You're getting exactly what I said you'd get. Now take
that thine is, and go thy way. For I will give unto this last,
even as unto thee. Now the master is setting forth
his authority. Now, I will give, not pay, but
I will give to this last, even as unto thee. You see, salvation
is by grace. It's not about debt. It's not
about what he owes you. It's about grace. I'll give to
this last even as unto the saving grace. By grace ye are saved. Now understand this. God's grace
is not something he makes available to you. It's not something he
throws out and you can take it and accept it or reject it and
use it. And so grace isn't potential salvation. Grace is salvation. By grace ye are saved. Saving grace. Electing grace. You don't really believe grace
if you don't believe election. Don't believe it for a second. Electing
grace, redeeming grace, justifying grace, regenerating grace, preserving
grace, glorifying grace, by grace ye are saved. That's unmerited
favor. I love that definition of grace.
Unmerited favor. It didn't have anything to do
with whether you worked one hour or twelve hours. It's got the same
thing because salvation is by grace. Verse 15. He said, is it not lawful for
me? To do what I will with my own. Is there anything unjust at all
about what the master of the house does? He has a right to
do what he wills with his own. Let me show you what he's saying
here. Turn with me to Romans 9. Can I not do what I will with
my own? You sure can. It's his own. Now remember, the
objection to this is this is not fair. This is not right. You've made them equal to us.
We've done all this more stuff than they have. It's not right.
This is not fair. Well, the same objections used
here in Romans chapter 9. Look in verse 11. For the children, talking about
Jacob and Esau, being not yet born, neither having done any
good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election
might stand. And what is the purpose of God
according to election? What does he say next? Not of works. That's plain enough, isn't it?
Not of works. But of him that calleth. It was
said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger, as it's written.
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. That's God speaking. Now, how can that be fair? How
can it be fair for him to love Jacob and hate Esau? That's showing
favoritism. That's being partial. I mean,
he's doing something for one, but he's not doing it for the
other. That's not fair. Oh, wait a minute. What is fair?
What's fair? If God gave you what you deserved,
what would be fair? He'd send you to hell, wouldn't
he? Do you really believe that? He'd send you to hell if he gave
you what you... It was gracious. Oh, what grace he demonstrated
in loving Jacob. You know, the only reason somebody
objects to this is because they really believe God owes them
something. You really believe God owes you
his favor and his salvation. That's the only reason why somebody...
Well, let's go on reading. Verse 14, what shall we say then? Is there unrighteousness with
God? Is God unfair? God forbid, for He said to Moses,
I'll have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion. So then it's not of him that
willeth. Why? I thought salvation came
by man's will. Not. Not. It's not of him that willeth.
Nor of him that runneth. It's not because of a man's efforts,
but of God that showeth mercy. For the Scripture saith unto
Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I
might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared
throughout all the earth. Remember what he did with Pharaoh?
He hardened his heart and he drowned. He said, Even for this
same purpose have I raised thee up. Verse 18, Therefore hath
he mercy on whom he will have mercy. and whom He will. He hardens,
now thou wilt say unto me, why does he yet find fault? Now here's
what he's asking. How? If God either hardens me
or doesn't harden me, if I'm totally in His sovereign hands
and He can do with me whatever He's pleased to do, and there's
nothing I can do about it, I can't change His will, I mean, if He
hardens me, I'm hardened. If that's the case, how can He
hold me responsible? That's not right. That's not
fair. I mean, if he's the one who hardened
my heart, how can he hold me responsible for my sin? It's
his fault. It's his fault. This is not right. That's the
natural man's objection. Now look how Paul answers this.
I love this. Verse 20. Nay, but, O man, who are you
to reply against God? Since when Do you have the moral
authority to set in judgment on what God does? You become
God's judge? Something's wrong with that picture.
That's what he's saying. Who are you to reply against
God? You see, any reply against God
is based on self-righteousness. If you really believe what you
were, if you really believe God's testimony of you, I like that
passage of Scripture we open the service with. Genesis chapter
6 verse 5, God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth
and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart, not
even talking about the works now, talking about what goes
on in the heart, it was only evil non-stop, continually. Now if you believe that about
yourself, does God owe you salvation? Does He owe you His mercy? If
you really believe that about yourself, He says, oh, who are
you to reply against God? Shall the thing formed say to
him that formed it, why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the
potter power over the clay of the same lump to make one vessel
unto honor and another unto dishonor? God is absolutely sovereign in
the dispensation of his grace. He gives his grace to whom he
will. This is just the truth. I don't apologize for it. Matter
of fact, I love this because this is what gives me hope. He
gives his grace to whom he will. But this is good news if you're
a sinner. The only reason you'd find this
bad news is if you think there's something you can do to recommend
yourself to God. But if you really believe you're
a sinner, this is good news. He's pleased to give grace. He's
pleased to show mercy. This is his generosity. This
is his goodness. It's not unfair. This is good
news. This is the only hope a sinner
has, that he freely shows mercy. He says, as I am not evil because
I am good, because I am generous to these eleven hour workers,
you attribute evil to me. It's not fair. Can you see how
ridiculous that is? An act of generosity? An act
of graciousness? And you say, this is not right.
Well, all this does is magnify the mercy of the great God. That's what this does. He's generous. He's gracious. He's kind. If I'm opposed to this, after
the veneer has all been stripped away, it's enmity against God. God on the throne, God doing
as He wills, God absolute, unfettered, and unchained, a God that I can't
control and manipulate. That's the God I have problems
with. I'll tell you what, I'm going to bow to that God.
I'm going to bow to that God or I won't be saved. That is
the God of the Bible. That's who He is. And I love Him as He is. As the Lord is my witness, and
I say this carefully, as the Lord is my witness, if I could
change this, I wouldn't do it. This is my God. Actually, this is the only safe
place to be in his hands. I love what David said when the
Lord gave him those three choices. He said you can run before your
enemies. You can See, what were the three
things? You can either spend three days
running before your enemies. The last choice was you can have
diseases in the thing. And he said, let me fall into
the hands of God. I don't want to run before my enemies, because
with Him is great mercies. Just being in the hands of God,
that's the only place I want to be. And the Lord says, back to our
text in Matthew 20, Verse 15, Is it not lawful for
me to do what I will with my own? Is thine eye evil because
I am good? So then, the last, these one
hour fellows, shall be first, and the first last. For many be called, but few are
chosen. Now you know who liked this Who
liked this? The eleventh hour workers. You
reckon they had any problem with this? I bet not one of those
fellas said, this ain't fair. No. They said, oh, this is great. This is good news. Man, what
gratuity. What grace. And the other fellas
who said this is not fair, they exposed themselves. Now while
the world is amazed by what God's people say about grace. I can't
believe they believe something like that. We're amazed, too. We say, amazing grace, how sweet
the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but
now I'm found. I was blind, but now I see. It
was grace that taught my heart to fear. And grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear
the hour I first believed.