In God's Vineyard

Last will be first, and the first last: This is the essence of God’s grace, when He rewards and blesses man according to His will and pleasure, not necessarily according to what men deserve. The system of law is easy to figure out: you get what you deserve. The system of grace is foreign to us: God deals with us according to who He is, not according to who we are. It is important to see that the landowner did not treat anyone unfairly, though he was more generous to some than to others. We can be assured that God will never, ever be unfair to us, though He may – for His own purpose and pleasure – bestow greater blessing on someone else who seems less Last will be first, and the first last: This is the essence of God’s grace, when He rewards and blesses man according to His will and pleasure, not necessarily according to what men deserve. The system of law is easy to figure out: you get what you deserve. The system of grace is foreign to us: God deals with us according to who He is, not according to who we are. It is important to see that the landowner did not treat anyone unfairly, though he was more generous to some than to others. We can be assured that God will never, ever be unfair to us, though He may – for His own purpose and pleasure – bestow greater blessing on someone else who seems less deserving. The point isn’t that all have the same reward – though all God’s people do go to the same heaven (where they will have reward in different measure). The point is that God rewards on the principle of grace, and we should therefore expect surprises. He will never be less than fair, but reserves the right to be more than fair as pleases Him. God’s grace always operates righteously. This parable is not a perfect illustration of God’s grace, because the principle of working and deserving is involved. The grace of God does not give us more blessing than we deserve – it gives blessing to us completely apart from the principle of deserving. Living under grace is sort of a two-edged sword. Under grace, we can’t come to God complaining, “Don’t I deserve better than this”; because God will reply, “Does this mean that you really want Me to give you what you deserve?”

Grace should be especially manifested in our service; it is of grace, not works.

· All our service is already due to God; it belongs to Him.

· The ability to serve God is the gift of His grace.

· The call to serve God is the gift of His grace.

· Every opportunity to serve is a gift of His grace.

· Being in the right state of mind to do the Lord’s work is a gift of grace.

· Successful service to God is the gift of His grace. point isn’t that all have the same reward – though all God’s people do go to the same heaven (where they will have reward in different measure). The point is that God rewards on the principle of grace, and we should therefore expect surprises. He will never be less than fair, but reserves the right to be more than fair as pleases Him. God’s grace always operates righteously. This parable is not a perfect illustration of God’s grace, because the principle of working and deserving is involved. The grace of God does not give us more blessing than we deserve – it gives blessing to us completely apart from the principle of deserving. Living under grace is sort of a two-edged sword. Under grace, we can’t come to God complaining, “Don’t I deserve better than this”; because God will reply, “Does this mean that you really want Me to give you what you deserve?” Grace should be especially manifested in our service; it is of grace, not works.

· All our service is already due to God; it belongs to Him.

· The ability to serve God is the gift of His grace.

· The call to serve God is the gift of His grace.

· Every opportunity to serve is a gift of His grace.

· Being in the right state of mind to do the Lord’s work is a gift of grace.

· Successful service to God is the gift of His grace.