The Reward of the Righteous

I want to read this parable before
I bring the message. Let's read Matthew 20, the first
16 verses. For 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 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 said unto them, go ye also into the
vineyard, and whatever is right I'll give you. And they went
their way. And he went out about the sixth
hour, noon, and the ninth hour, 3 p.m., and did likewise. And about the eleventh hour,
5 p.m., he went out and found others standing idle, and said
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 whatever is right. that shall ye receive. So when even was come, the Lord
of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers,
and give them their hire, beginning from the first, or from the last
unto the first. And when they came that were
hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. But when the first came, they
supposed that they should have received more, and they likewise
received every man a penny. And when they had received the
penny, they murmured against the good men of the house, saying,
These last have received or have wrought
but one hour, these lasts have wrought but one hour, and thou
hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and
heat of the day. But he answered one of them and
said, Friend, I do thee no wrong. Dist not thou 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 mine own? Is your eye evil because I'm
good? So the last shall be first, and
the first last, for many be called, but few chosen." Now this parable
of our Lord is called the parable of the laborers And the occasion
of it, and I always have said this to you, when you come upon
a parable, find out who's speaking, to whom he's speaking, and what's
the subject. And the occasion for this parable
is found in the previous chapter. Now let's go back to chapter
19, and you'll see that this is the occasion. Verse 27, I
won't go all the way back, just part of the way, verse 27. something
had happened, then answered Peter and said unto him. Now, what
had happened? Well, a very rich young man came running to Christ,
a very wealthy young man, a rich young ruler, he's called. And
he came running to the master, and he fell down and worshiped
him. And he said, good master, what shall I do that I might
inherit eternal life? And the Lord Jesus answered him
and said, why do you call me good? This young man didn't consider
Christ to be God. He didn't see his deity. He regarded
him only as a good teacher or a good prophet. And the Lord
Jesus said, there's none good but God. Now, he said, you know
the law. Thou shalt not steal. Thou shalt
not bear false witness. Thou shalt not murder. Thou shalt
not commit adultery. He said, well, all these I've
kept from my youth up. I've kept the law. And the Lord
Jesus said, well, if you would be perfect, if you would be perfect,
and that's what a man has to be to inherit the kingdom of
God by works, is perfect. In fact, that's what a man has
to be to inherit the kingdom of God by grace, perfect in Christ. If you would be perfect, go sell
what you have and give it to the poor, and come take up your
cross and follow me. In other words, someone ask our
Lord sometime before this, What's the greatest law? And he said,
the greatest law is this, love God with all your heart and your
neighbor as yourself. And what he's doing to this young
man is just exposing his carnality and evil heart by showing him
he didn't love God and he didn't love his neighbor and therefore
he'd broken all the law. You see, the whole law is comprehended
in this, I shall love God with all your heart and your neighbor
as yourself. And he showed you haven't fulfilled the law. And
he said, just go sell what you have and give it to the poor
and show that you love God and you love your neighbors yourself
and come follow me. And it said the young man was
grieved in his heart because he had great riches. He was a
wealthy young man. He had great holdings. And he
went away. And when he'd gone away, the
master turned to the people and he said, how hardly shall they
that have riches enter into the kingdom of God. He said, it's
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich
man to enter the kingdom of heaven. And the disciples said, well,
who then can be saved? He said, with men it's impossible,
but with God all things are possible. Now that's the occasion. Now
watch verse 27. Then, then, at that moment, answered
Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, We disciples have forsaken all.
We've given up our homes. We've given up our jobs. We were
fishermen. Luke was a physician. Matthew
was a tax collector. We've forsaken all. We've given
up everything, and we followed thee. What shall we have? Therefore, what will be our reward? Behold, he said, we apostles.
We've forsaken everything and followed thee. Now the disciples
were not men of great wealth like this rich young man. They
did not have great treasures like this young man, but all
that they had, they had given up. All that they had, they had
forsaken and followed Christ. Is that not true? And now Peter's
asking on the basis of this, what reward shall we have for
this sacrifice? And what part shall we play in
this great kingdom of God? That's what we'd like to know.
All right, verse 28. And Jesus said unto them, he
said unto them, now Peter's the spokesman. Peter has presented
this question, but the Lord Jesus, Tom, said to all of them, Verily
I say unto you, surely, truly, I say unto you, that you which
have followed me, and they had, They had followed him, no question
about that. No question. This is no small
matter to these men. Our Lord didn't treat it as a
small matter. Peter said, we've left everything and followed
you. And Christ said, you have. You have. It's no small matter
with them, and it was no small matter to him. And he was treating
it kindly. And he said, it's true, you have
followed me. It's indeed true, you have believed
on me. It is indeed true, you have given
up your work and your homes and you've walked with me. While
others denied Christ, these men professed Christ. While others
mocked Christ, these men loved Christ. They not only left all,
but they truly had followed him. And he said, you have followed
me. You have followed me. You that ye which have followed
me now watch this see where the comma is That ye which have followed
me comma in the regeneration when 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 Now when is this, this in the
regeneration? Now get the picture, you with
me? Stay with me now. Peter said, I've given up everything,
I've followed you. Now what's my reward? And we
have borne the brunt of the battle, we have taken it along with you.
Our Lord had taken the mocking and harassment and hatred of
the multitude and they've taken it right along with him. And
he said, you indeed have followed me. And in the regeneration,
when is this regeneration? Well, let's eliminate some things. This is what I've done today
in finding the answer here. This is not the grace of regeneration,
Paul, can't be, because they didn't have any part in the regeneration
of their souls or anybody else's. Regeneration, recreation, the
new birth is of God. We're born of God. No man's got
any part in that. There's no man sitting on any
throne in regeneration, the new birth, all right? That's eliminated. All right, secondly, this is
not the day of resurrection. This is not the day of resurrection
and the last judgment, because no man's going to judge any man
at the great white throne judgment. God's going to judge this world
by that man, Christ Jesus, whom we crucified. All judgment is
committed to the Son. There's no man, Peter, James,
John, and the rest of them, going to judge men in eternity. We have no right to judge anyone.
Our judgment is dealt with and passed in the person of our beloved
Savior. It doesn't matter whether you're
an apostle, a prophet, a missionary, or just an ordinary believer.
We have no business judging others in regard to sin. No man. You
know what Christ is speaking of here? He speaks of the reformation,
the reformation in the day of regeneration, the new state of
things which began when John the Baptist said, Behold, the
kingdom of heaven is at hand. Behold, the kingdom of heaven
is at hand. And it was more manifestly declared
when the Lord Jesus Christ arose from the grave and the Holy Spirit
descended upon the church. In other words, in this day,
this is what our Lord is saying to his disciples, you indeed
have followed me and I have chosen you. And in that day that the
law is completely fulfilled by Christ and set aside, he taketh
away the first and establishes the second. In that day when
all the tithes and shadows and sacrifices and prophecies and
priesthood and feasts and days and Passover's are fulfilled.
In that day when the Old Testament priesthood and the Holy of Holies
is no more and the veil in the temple is rent in twain. In that
day when all things are realized and manifested and perfected
in him. He sits upon the throne himself
as the high priest, as the atonement, as the altar, as the king of
his people. And the twelve men, these twelve
men, and I know one of them was a devil, but Matthias or Paul
I took the other's place, and these twelve men in that day
in that day of reformation, reformation, in that day of regeneration,
in that day of the new state of things, in that day coming
from the old priesthood and the old sacrifices and the old ordinances
and the old tithes, in that day when Christ is all, when Christ
is all, these 12 men have an apostleship and an authority
in the Church which no other man has. And they judge, they judge doctrinally,
they judge practically, so that quoting Paul is the same as quoting
Jesus Christ. That's right, in his inspired
Word. This is the reason I object to
what we call red-letter Bibles. Somebody said, what's a red-letter
Bible? Well, that's the Word of the Lord in red. Now wait
a minute, you mean Romans is not the Word of the Lord? You
mean Galatians is not the word of the Lord? You mean that the
book of Ephesians is not the word of the Lord? It certainly
is the word of the Lord. It's the inspired, inerrant,
verbally inspired word of God. And our Lord is saying to these
disciples, these men, he says, you indeed have followed me.
And in this new day, in this new state of things, in this
regeneration, in this reformation, You and these shall sit upon
twelve thrones. The Son of Man sits upon his
throne. He's the head of the church and
the king of the church. But these twelve men have been
given an authority. These twelve men have been given
a responsibility and a power and a place to judge not only
doctrinally, but practically, not only Israel, but the Gentiles. And they did speak, Paul, Peter,
James, and John, charging Israel with the crucifixion of the Son
of God. Peter began the fulfillment of this judgment right here on
Pentecost. When he looked out there over those Jews from all
nations, and he said, you have crucified the Lord of glory. And Paul pronounced the condemnation
upon them when he said, when Moses is read, the veil shall
be on your faces. And Paul used to say to the church,
if I come in judgment, you've had it. Isn't that right? You've
had it. He had an authority as an apostle,
and that authority exists in this book right here. They condemned
the unbelief of Israel. They spoke for God. Our Lord
said to them, when men hear you, they hear me, and when they hear
me, they hear him who sent me. That's how serious it is. And I hear some poor preachers
of today say, well, you know, we're like Paul. No, you're not
like Paul. Somebody else says, well, you
know, Paul was speaking in haste when he wrote Romans 9. Somebody
else said, well, Paul, you know, was against women. So he told
the women to keep silent in the church. Paul spoke for God Almighty. And those who hear Paul hear
God. And those who do not hear Paul do not hear God. That's
exactly what our Lord is saying here. And these men will sit
upon twelve thrones and judge Israel. They shall judge doctrinally,
they shall judge practically, and they shall speak for God
to Israel and also to the Gentiles. And quoting these men is quoting
God Almighty. And that's what our Lord is saying
to them right now. In the regeneration He said unto
them, said to Peter, he said, we've left everything. We've
followed you. What shall be our reward? What shall we receive?
He said, well, I'll tell you this. You followed me. And when
the Son of Man is exalted, when the Son of Man is enthroned in
all things, when all of the types and promises and pictures and
patterns have faded into the background like the stars fade
at noonday, then you're going to sit on 12 thrones. And you're
going to judge Israel. You're going to judge Israel.
And those that hear you, hear me. What he said to Peter, what
you bind on earth bound in heaven, what you loose on earth loosed
in heaven. That's judgment. We're not talking about out yonder,
in the future. And then he said in verse 29,
and everyone, and everyone, not just an apostle or a prophet,
not just these disciples, but everyone who has believed on
me, everyone who's paid the price of discipleship, and everyone
that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father,
or mother, or wife, or children, or land, for my sake, for my
sake. And, my friends, a person doesn't
have to part with all of his natural relatives to follow Christ. A person doesn't have to part
with all of his worldly substance to truly follow Christ only,
only when these people or these things enter into competition
with Christ. That's when they have to be forsaken.
When these people or things hinder our relationship with Christ.
You see, our substance, our worldly substance that God has given
us And our natural relations must always be dealt with by
us on the basis of our fellowship with him, and they will be. And
they will be. If Christ is our first love,
we have no hindrance from any other love. He has no rival. He has no competitor for his
affections. He is Lord. If you want to turn
back or turn over to the book of Mark, just hold that Matthew
19, turn to Mark 10, Mark chapter 10. And Mark quotes Christ here
and adds something that Matthew didn't include, and I'm sure
it's to be there. In Mark 10.30, the same parable,
the same incident is reported, recorded. And Mark says, Christ
said, verse 30, but he shall receive a hundredfold now at
this time. Go back to verse 29, and Jesus
said, Verily I say unto you, there is no man that hath left
the house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife,
or children, or lands for my sake and the gospel, but he shall
receive a hundredfold now at this time. What's that saying? Well, all of you right here,
this is a fellowship of believers. I look out over this congregation.
I have many houses. Is not your house my house? My
house is your house. I only had one brother and he's
dead. But are you not my brother? Are you not my brother? Closer
than that brother, John. I have many brothers. Brothers
in Australia. I have brothers in Africa. I
have many hundred-fold brothers. Real brothers. See what I'm saying? Sisters, are you not my sister? Are you not my sister? Houses
and land, brothers, sisters. Why, we have a hundred-fold now,
and in eternity, everlasting life. Everlasting life. All right,
back to the text, Matthew 19. And I tell you, this family,
this believer's family, this spiritual family is not in name
only now, any more than our relationship with Christ is in name only.
I know with some people it is. I know the name Father means
very little to some people. They use it carelessly and they
use it theologically, but they don't cry like Paul said, Abba,
Father. Abba Father. And I know the word
brother is thrown around rather loosely and lightly, brother
and sister and so forth. But let's look at verse 30. But,
he's finished this now with the disciples. But, I mean he's finished
this about their elevation and their exaltation. But, many that
are first shall be last and the last shall be first. Now what's that mean? Well, let's
eliminate some things. First of all, the rich young
ruler was first. He was first in wealth and power
and influence. He was, in the community, a powerful
force, a powerful man. And the disciples were nothing
but poor men, very poor and despised men. They had no influence, no
authority, no wealth, no nothing. Well, there's a case in which
the first is going to be last, and the last is going to be first.
Also, the Pharisees, this land in which our Lord was ministering
during His incarnation, who were the top religious leaders? Who
were the men who spoke and everybody listened? Who were the recognized
theologians? The Pharisees. The Pharisees,
certainly not these disciples. The Pharisees were first. They
were in the chief seats in the synagogue, the chief seats. And
they had the highest esteem in the temple and among the people. And these so-called Christians,
their word meant nothing. In fact, they turned to that
young man that the Lord healed and they said, do you teach us?
You've got problems, son. Do you teach us? They even said
that to Christ. How do you know letters? You
never went to school. That was the Pharisees. Well,
in that case, the first shall be last. The last shall be first. And then the Jews. The Jews were
the first to receive the prophets. Go back here. Back here in the
Old Testament, the Gentiles never had any tabernacle or priesthood
or sacrifices or anything. The Jews were first. They were
unto the Jew first, and also to the Greek. The Jews were first
to receive the prophets, the promises. They were the first
to receive the gospel. And the Gentiles were passed
by. And in the kingdom of God, the first shall be last, and
the last shall be first. But now he's speaking to the
disciples here mainly, isn't he? He's talking to the disciples. talking to the disciples. Peter
asked him, point blank, he said, now we've left everything. We've
followed you. What's our reward? He said, and
it was a heavy matter with them. They were suffering. These men
were suffering. These men bore the brunt of the battle now. One of them were martyred, but
one, he was exiled on the Isle of Patmos. Peter was crucified
upside down. Some of them were beheaded, stoned. He said, you followed me, and
in the regeneration, in this reformation, in the day of new
things, you're going to sit on thrones. And you're going to
be men of power, and I'm going to give gifts to you, speak in
other languages. You're where it will be long.
But, he that is first shall be last, and he that is last shall
be first. Now, here's what our Lord's doing. Our Lord is speaking
right here to these men who will be given on earth, in his name,
exceeding authority and responsibility. And our Lord is warning these
believers, and I warn you. And I wish I had the whole religious
world as an audience tonight. I warn every man, as our Lord
is warning here. I warn men of falling into a
legal spirit of rewards and crowns and merit. It's devastating.
It's dishonoring to God, and it's contrary to grace. In other
words, our Lord Saint Peter, you'll have a place of prominence
and a place of great power, but don't you ever forget that you're
still an object of God's grace. And you that are first will be
last, and the thief on the cross will be right on the throne of
glory with you in the resurrection. Beware of calculating rewards
and position in a kingdom where such a legal spirit is entirely
out of place. Beware of calculating crowns
and rewards and return and position in the kingdom of God where such
a spirit is contrary to all upon which that kingdom is built.
I'm telling you the truth. You see, anything we receive
here or hereafter is not a matter of debt, but of grace, and grace
alone. The kingdom of God and the fellowship
and family of God, like salvation, is the gift of God's grace. And
I'll tell you, it's a mystery. And I know there are people who
can't understand this, and I know if I had the religious world
as an audience, I'd send three-fourths of the preachers out mad. I've
sent three-fourths of the people out mad when I told them that
all of God's children are loved with the same infinite everlasting
love. All of them. When I told them
that all are chosen, he said, you didn't choose me, now I chose
you. They're all chosen by God before the world began. They're
all redeemed with the same blood, whether they're redeemed when
they're 50 or 30. They were actually redeemed before the foundation
of the world because he was the lamb slain from the foundation
of the world. And they're all justified by
the same spirit. They're all robed in the same
wedding garment, the wedding garment of Christ. Now listen
to me. He's not going to have any marks of credentials on it
anywhere. It's his robal righteousness.
Oh, I know in these religious schools, I watch their commencement,
and I watch their graduation ceremonies, and here's, this
man's got a D-Min and a D-Th, and this one's got a Ph.D., and
they all wear different colored robes and different colored stripes,
and one has two stripes, and one has three, and one has four,
and one has his tassel on that side, and one on this side, and
one sticking straight up, and all these different things. There
are degrees of position and power not in God's kingdom. the wedding
garment of Christ in which every believer's robe is his garment
and his righteousness. And anyone who thinks otherwise
or desires otherwise will be there without a wedding garment.
It's exactly right. Because all the sons of God and
all adjoined heirs with Jesus Christ, all of them. Now, listen
to me. On this earth, In the ministry
of the gospel, all believers are not called to faith at the
same age. Some are called early in life,
and some are called late in life. But do you know when they're
called? Can you tell me when a believer is called? Paul told
us, he said, when it pleased God. That's when he called me,
when it pleased God. What do you have to say about
it? when it pleased God. And on this
earth all believers do not have the same office, but where did
you get your office? God gave it to you. You all don't
have the same gifts. You have the gift to sing. You
have the gift to play the instrument. You have the gift to read and
to pray. You have the gift to sing and read. Who gave you those
gifts? What do you have you didn't receive?
Who maketh thee to differ? Well, if you received it, why
do you boast as if you didn't receive it? On this earth all
do not have the same offices and all the same gifts, but they're
all in the same body. If you put a crown on me, where
you gonna put it? On my head. Well, who's my head? The Lord Jesus Christ. And if
you put a crown on the church, where you gonna put it? You don't
wear crowns on your fist. You don't crown your big toe,
that's stupid. See what I'm saying? You don't
crown your elbow, you crown the head. Christ is the head, that's
on his head are many crowns, not on yours. And in glory all, watch this
now, in glory all offices and gifts will cease, for they're
all inferior. Is that not right? Paul said,
I know in part. Well, we don't want any part
knowing up there. I prophesy in part, is that not what he
said? We don't want any part preaching up there, but when
that which is come, I'll know as I have been known. In other
words, you and I are going to know much as anybody in glory,
and we'll all know the same. We'll know Him, and everything's
in Him. Come on now. Am I telling the
truth? You know I'm telling the truth,
what this book says. And all of these degrees of glory
and rewards in heaven and crowns on people's heads and stars in
the crown is a pack of foolishness invented by carnal men, covetous
carnal men who are seeking to extract out of you something
for their own benefit. And all these gifts we have here
in knowledge is inferior to heavenly knowledge. my soul, how little I know. And
as I get older, the more I know about my ignorance, don't you?
Nothing in the world like a young, energetic, so-called professing
Christian that knows everything. And on this earth, all believers
do not have the same measure of faith, isn't that true? But
in glory, we don't live by faith. Faith gives way to sight. I'm
going to see Him. And you think in His presence
I'm going to brag about my faith? But wait a minute, even with
no matter how small my faith or how great yours, we're both
complete in Him. Is that not true? We're both
complete in Christ. And on this earth, believers
do not have the same knowledge or capacity for knowledge, but
then face-to-face. Oh, face-to-face. How in the
world can we even talk about any of our afflictions and infirmities
and failures and ignorance on this earth when we stand with
Him face-to-face? That's the reason our Lord says
to these dear men, Oh, you followed me. And in the state of things,
new things. and in the regeneration on this
earth, you'll have power, and you'll speak for God, and God
will use you for His glory. But I tell you this, the first
will be last, and the last will be first. And then he gave them
this parable. He said this fellow went, and that's what brought
this parable up. He said this owner of the vineyard
went out, and these fellows weren't looking for a job, they didn't
come to him, he went to them. And he found them in the marketplace
in the world. That's where he found them. Said,
you fellas want to work? Yeah, we want to work. Come work for
me and I'll pay you. And he told them what he'd pay.
He told them exactly what he'd pay. A penny. A Roman penny,
which was worth a lot of things. I'll pay you a penny. You come
to me and I'll give you eternal life. You come to me and I'll
give you glory and heaven and all these things. You come to
me. And they came. Six o'clock in the morning. Six
o'clock in the morning. Well, he went out at nine o'clock
in the morning, he found some more fellas, said, do you want
to work for me? Yes, sir. Well, you come work for me and
I'll give you what? That which is right. He didn't set a price,
he just said, I'll give you that which is right. He went on through
the day, and five o'clock in the evening, he went out and
found some men still lardering about, and he said, how come
you're not working? Why do you stand idle here? I believe God saves
people early in life, and I believe he saves some folks late in life,
don't you? Maybe 70 years old, 65. You come work for me. So when the day was over, now
here's the way we think. Here's the way this natural,
covetous, greedy mind thinks. I was converted when I was 20,
and I bore the heat of the battle, and I stood for Jesus. And I
preached, and I gave my money to the church, and I witnessed,
and I played the organ and the piano, and I led the singing.
I did this all my life. And hear the Lord call some dear
white-haired lady. She'd been not interested in
God, maybe in false religion, not interested in the gospel
late, and was 65 years old, God save her. Some old sorry no-count
fellow, you know, all his life had swarped about and acted like
a reprobate, but God met him and brought him to Christ. And
then when the kingdom of God is ushered in and the glorious
Lord Jesus Christ receives the praise of his own, who walks
in first but that old 65-year-old. And I come along behind him.
This ain't fair. He getting the same thing I'm
getting. That's what these fellas said. It's not right. We worked
all day, and them fellas just worked one hour. And we get the
same thing. And our Lord said, did I give
you what I promised you? Yes, sir. Then why come you got
an evil heart because I got a good heart? And besides that, can't
I do with my own? Who's this kingdom belong to
anyhow? Who's this grace belong to anyway? Can I not do with
my own what I will? What business is it of yours?
If I want to give that old boy the same thing I give you, that's
my business. Besides, everything you've got
I gave you anyway. That's the way it's going to
be now. And you know something? Every believer wants it that
way. Because any other way is contrary
to the free, unmerited, unearned, unsought, undeserved grace of
God. Besides that, the very fact that
God called some of you early in life and permitted you to
know His grace and love His grace and enjoy His peace, well, that
ain't work, that's a blessing. That's a blessing. The world
never gave that 65-year-old anything or the young one either. Didn't
have anything to offer him. And I'll tell you, what is any
gift that we give or sacrifice we make compared to his sacrifice? None of us have resisted under
blood. Suppose I preach. It's His grace that enables me.
I didn't learn this because I'm smart. I'm not smart. Never have
been smart. God revealed this to me. I don't
know the gospel because I'm smart. I know the gospel because I'm
an object of His grace. We sing, but it's His grace that
gave us the gift. We give, but you know what a
fellow said to me one time? He said, I had to pay $38,000
income tax last year. I said, I wish I had to pay that
much. It just means he had an awful
lot to pay, huh? Man, that'd be good. Would you
like to pay $38,000 income? I would. Man, that's good. I gave more to the church than
that fella there. Wait a minute now, you had more to give. God
can't exchange places with you fellas. Come on now. He said the Lord lifteth up and
bringeth down. The Lord maketh poor and maketh
rich. Who runs this thing? Who's the banker in this thing?
You can give a whole lot less, you know, because you can have
a whole lot less to give. See how stupid rewards are? We
serve, but it's His grace that's used, not unto us. We say these
things, but most folks don't believe them. Not unto us, not
unto us, but unto thy name give glory, now give me my crown. How in the world can a fellow
accept a reward for something he didn't do, and accept it honestly? By the grace of God, I am what
I am. It's disturbing to me. Why are
you saying those things, Pastor? Because it's disturbing to me.
It troubles me that any true believer would covet a higher
seat than another believer. That bothers me. It troubles
me that another believer would covet a larger mansion or a brighter
crown than another believer. That bothers me. because that's
a denial of the principle of mercy. Is it not? If I was a lawyer, I'd win this
case. It's a denial of the principle of mercy. It's a denial of those
statements, chief of sinners. The Lord came to save sinners
of whom I'm what? Chief. It's a denial of the statement,
I'm less than the least of all the saints. Besides that, and I close, Christ
is our reward. What in this world, what in this
world could heaven afford greater, richer, more brilliant and beautiful
and glorious than his person? Now you tell me. But not only that, what we render
unto him, even the best that we have, can add nothing to his
glory, and without him wouldn't merit a reward at all but would
merit damnation. Our works and our deeds, at their
best, is what? Vanity. And it would merit the
wrath of God if it weren't for Christ's blood to make us and
them acceptable. Is that right, Pop? So the whole matter comes down
to what Mr. Spurgeon said one time. It comes
down to not what I'm due, but how much I owe. Not what I'm due. If I get what
I'm due, and you get what you do, I'll see you in hell. That's exactly right. It's how
much I owe. Bridget sings it, when I stand
before his throne, dressed in a beauty not my own, when I see
thee as thou art, and love thee with an unsinning heart, then,
Lord, shall I fully know, but not till then, how much I owe.

The Reward of the Righteous

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The Reward of the Righteous

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