GOD’S WORD FOR FEBRUARY 8 ~ ~Romans 8:17 ~ ~ “and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.”

YOUR PERSONAL PROMISES:

“The LORD watches over the strangers;

He relieves the fatherless and widow;

But the way of the wicked He turns upside down.”

Ps 146:9

Jer 32:41   …I rejoice to do them good…

Looking at the section called, “THE PRINCIPLES”  In John MacArthur’s book, “PARABLES”

Still, the parable is full of vital principles, including some that are core gospel truths, and most of these are obvious on the face of it.

It teaches, first of all that SALVATION IS NOT EARNED.  Eternal life is a gift that God gives purely by grace according to His sovereign will.

But the parable’s most obvious lesson is that GOD GIVES THE SAME ABUNDANT GRACE TO EVERYONE WHO FOLLOWS CHRIST.

When we get to heaven we’ll all live in the Father’s house (John 14:2).  We are all “heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.”  And we will all be glorified together (Romans 8:17).  We don’t each receive a part of heaven, we all get the whole!

Elsewhere Scripture does indicate that in addition to full redemption from sin and everlasting life, there will be differing rewards the Lord is pleased to give His children for their faithfulness.  At the judgment seat of Christ, “If anyone’s work which he has build on it endures, he will receive a reward.  If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss” (1 Corinthians 3:15).  So some will suffer loss and some will be rewarded, depending on the enduring quality of their work.

But revelation 4:10-11 pictures what becomes of those rewards: 

“the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, ‘You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor, and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.”

Rewards, however, are not the issue in the parable of the laborers,.  Jesus is teaching a lesson about the abundant, eternal life that belongs to all who embrace Him as Lord and Savior.  Heaven itself is not a reward to be earned by hard labor;  it is a gracious gift, given in full abundance to all believers equally,  God “shows no partiality” (Acts 10:34), and He makes no distinction between male and female, rich and poor, Jew and Gentile (Gal 3:28)

Some important secondary principles are also illustrated in this parable.  For example, we see in the imagery that it is God who initiates salvation.  In the parable, the landowner went out to find the laborers in the marketplace of the world and brought them into his vineyard.  God does the seeking and the saving.  Our salvation is entirely His work, and that’s the main reason we have no right to make demands or set limits on what He gives to someone else.  It is God’s prerogative and His alone to show mercy to whomever He chooses.

Meanwhile, HE CONTINUES TO CALL WORKERS INTO HIS KINGDOM.  All through human history and in every phase of the human lifespan, God is calling people into His kingdom.  It’s an ongoing work.  Jesus said in John 9:4, “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.”  Our parable illustrates what He meant.   Redemption continues until the judgment comes. 

AND THAT TIME IS COMING.

(We’ll continue with this subject tomorrow for the last writing from this book, before we start with one on the subject of the reasons Jesus suffered and died for us ~ ~ leading to Good Friday and Resurrection Day)

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