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[0:00] Tonight, with Willard unavailable, we're going to pause that Exodus study to remind ourselves! again, of God's grace. And as you can see from your handout, we'll cover Matthew 19, verse 30, all the way to verse 16 of chapter 20. Those are a lot of verses to cover, and we'll need to look at some other verses to set the context, but Matthew 19, 30 through 20, 16 have one parable where Jesus illustrated that all believers are equally and graciously saved.

[0:42] Let's go ahead and read those verses. Again, it's Matthew 19, 30 through 20, 16. Jesus is speaking here, and he said, But many who are first will be last, and the last first. For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. After agreeing with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace. And to them he said, You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you. So they went. Going out again, about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour, he went out and found others standing. And he said to them, Why do you stand here idle all day? They said to him, Because no one has hired us. He said to them, You go into the vineyard too. And when evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last up to the first. And when those hired about the eleventh hour came, each of them received a denarius. Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, but each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it, they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat. But he replied to one of them, Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity? So the last will be first and the first last. Before we dig into the verses in detail, let's start with a question. That question is, how many of you like to finish last or even finish in a tie? Nearly everybody wants to win, and finishing last is counter to our culture, and the desire to finish ahead of others is common across other societies too. Ancient Israel in Jesus' day was like that as well. Jesus said something in tonight's passage that would have been a new concept to his listeners, just as people in our day might find some of those words to be unusual.

[3:26] Jesus says the same thing two different ways at each end of tonight's passage. In 1930 of Matthew, he said, that many who are first will be last and the last first. And then in Matthew 20, 16, Jesus said, so the last will be first and the first last. Two explanations can fit for how the first can be last and the last can be first. One explanation, of course, is that only one person is entered, into the contest. If Mike is the only person entered, then he's going to be first and last at the same time. That's right. You would have won. It would have been a small field, but you would have won.

[4:09] And that other explanation is that all participants finish in a tie. And that's the explanation that fits this parable. Typically, we know a tie is disappointing, but this, however, is going to be a tie that we will like. So here's the main idea for tonight's passage. All people who repent from sin and come to Christ receive the same salvation, no matter when they are saved and no matter how long they serve God after salvation. So listen to that again. All people who repent from sin and come to Christ receive the same salvation, no matter when they are saved and no matter how long they serve God after salvation. Tonight's verses commonly are called the parable of the workers in the vineyard.

[4:58] And the two episodes before the parable help explain why Jesus told the parable. So let's look at those episodes to set the context. In Matthew 19, verses 16 through 26, we have the story of the rich young ruler. Matthew 19, verses 16, says, And behold, a man came up to him saying, Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life? And then skipping down to Matthew 19, 21 through 26, we see this. Jesus said to him, If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come follow me. When the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples, Truly I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished, saying, Who then can be saved? But Jesus looked at them and said, With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. As usual, Peter felt compelled to make a comment after hearing that. And Peter's question and Jesus' answer give us some additional context for the upcoming parable. Peter's question comes in verse 27. Verse 27 says, Then Peter said in reply,

[6:38] See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have? Can you feel Peter's anticipation there? After the exchange with the rich young ruler, Peter and the other disciples must have been thinking that they were bound to get an extra special reward. After all, the disciples had left everything to follow Jesus. Then Jesus' answer in Matthew 19, 28 and 29 sets up the parable of the workers in the vineyard. The disciples will get something great, but it's different than what Peter expected.

[7:14] All true believers will share in Jesus' triumph and his reign. Listen to Matthew 19, 28 and 29. Jesus said to them, Truly I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

[7:39] And everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.

[7:53] Then listen to this cross-reference in Revelation 3, 21 that helps explain what Jesus is talking about there. Jesus said in Revelation 3, 21, The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my father on his throne. Earlier in Revelation, Jesus said this in Revelation 2, verses 26 and 27.

[8:20] He said, The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my father.

[8:40] So now we come to the parable itself, and we're going to break this lesson into three sections. And the first thing we see is the story. So the story is your first blank.

[8:54] This is a little bit unusual, because we're going to look at all of the verses in this one section. The lead-in is in Matthew 19, 30, and that, of course, is where Jesus said, But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

[9:09] So the disciples are going to get something special, but so will all believers. The parable centers around a single workday.

[9:21] The workday began at 6 a.m., and it went to 6 p.m. And so when we see references to the third hour, that's 9 a.m., the sixth hour would be noon, the ninth hour would be 3 p.m., and then the eleventh hour would be 5 p.m.

[9:40] Moving on to Matthew 20, verse 1, Jesus said, For the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.

[9:53] Jesus states plainly there that the theme of the parable is the kingdom of heaven, and it's the subject he'd been addressing since the rich young ruler approached him. Remember that that man wanted to know how to receive eternal life, and every Jew knew that was equivalent to the hope of salvation and heavenly citizenship.

[10:15] Following up on that incident, Jesus warned his disciples about the great barrier that riches can be to entering the kingdom, and then we saw him declare the impossibility of entering by man's own resources and efforts.

[10:29] We enter only by God's gracious power. We saw that when we looked at Matthew 19, verses 23 through 29. To fully understand this parable, we need to put ourselves in the culture of that day.

[10:46] The parable describes a normal situation for that time period. A landowner would have some permanent paid workers, but he would like enough of his own workers to quickly bring in the harvest.

[10:57] To supplement his workers, he would need to hire day laborers to help bring in the crop. The day laborers were the lowest of Israel's workforce.

[11:08] They had to hope that someone would hire them, and if they could not find work for the day, the laborers and their families might not be able to eat that day. Verse 2 tells us how much the landowner agreed to pay the first laborers he hired.

[11:24] It says, The denarius is a silver coin, and it's the value of a day's wage for a Roman soldier.

[11:38] The denarius also was the typical wage for a full-time servant in a day, so the agreed-upon payment was more than a day laborer probably would have expected.

[11:49] Because of that wage, the workers readily agreed to go into the vineyard, and there's really no hint that they did much negotiation, if any at all. Look again at verses 3-7.

[12:02] Verses 3-7 say, And going out about the third hour, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace, and said to them, You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.

[12:16] So they went. Going out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour, he did the same. And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing.

[12:27] And he said to them, Why do you stand here idle all day? They said to him, Because no one has hired us. He said to them, You go into the vineyard too.

[12:39] So looking at those verses, how much does the landowner agree to pay the workers that he hires throughout the rest of the day? That's right.

[12:49] Verse 4 says, Whatever is right I will give you. The workers hired later in the day were so desperate to find work that they agreed to work without even knowing what they would be paid.

[13:01] And that goes back to what we discussed earlier. The day laborers who didn't find work likely would like money to buy food. So look now at verse 8. Verse 8 says, This verse shows that Jesus was careful to follow the Old Testament law, even when telling a parable.

[13:32] The law required that day laborers be paid at the end of each day. Leviticus 19.13 and Deuteronomy 24.14 and 15 make this requirement very clear.

[13:47] Here's Leviticus 19.13. It says, You shall not oppress your neighbor or rob him. The wages of a hired worker shall not remain with you all night until the morning.

[14:01] Then in Deuteronomy 24.14 and 15, we see, So far the parable is tracking along just exactly like the disciples and anybody else listening to the parable would expect.

[14:36] A landowner needs to bring in his harvest and he supplemented his normal workforce with some temporary help. Being a good Jew, the landowner pays the workforce daily, just as required by the law.

[14:49] So now let's look at what they were paid. And this is where Jesus begins to surprise his listeners. Look at Matthew 20, verse 9. It says, Think about the situation for a second here.

[15:11] The last workers were hired at about 5 p.m. That only left them one hour to work in the field, yet they were paid a full denarius, the same amount that Jesus had promised the workers who had started working at 6 a.m.

[15:26] The first workers were watching, so can you imagine what they must have been thinking? Well, they must have been thinking, This is our lucky day. If he's paying those latecomers a full denarius, we're going to get a lot more.

[15:42] That would have been a logical assumption because after all, those first workers had been working since early in the morning. They'd spent 12 times as long in the field as the last people hired.

[15:54] But check out verses 10 through 12 again. Verses 10 through 12 confirm that the workers did anticipate additional pay. And then as we move through those verses, we see that they were in for a surprise.

[16:09] Starting in verse 10, it says, Now when those hired first came, they thought they would receive more, that each of them also received a denarius. And on receiving it, they grumbled at the master of the house, saying, These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.

[16:33] The word that the first workers used for heat is the word that's sometimes translated as burner. It's the word used to describe the scorching east wind that parches the lips and cracks the skin when that hot east wind blows.

[16:48] It may have been that hot, but the workers were also trying to make a point. The first workers thought they deserved more, and they were going to make sure the landowner knew what they thought.

[16:59] Their very normal human reaction was, That's not fair. Those men only worked an hour at the end of the day, and we worked hard all day long, including during scorching heat.

[17:10] Why should they get paid as much as we did? The first workers may have been over-dramatizing their case, but their basic description of the situation was correct.

[17:22] That made them extremely disgruntled at the perceived injustice. They were determined to wait until they had satisfaction from the landowner who was standing near his foreman when the wages were handed out.

[17:36] Can you relate to that first group of people thinking that they would have received more? Is there anything inherently wrong with feeling like you should get paid more if you work longer than somebody else?

[17:49] That's what our society is based on, right? You get paid for performance. So expecting to be paid based upon the level of work performed is normal. But as we looked at the landowner's reply in more detail, we'll see what is wrong with the first group's response.

[18:06] Let's break the landowner's reply into sections that each end with a question from that landowner. Here's verse 13. But he replied to one of them, Friend, I am doing you no wrong.

[18:20] Did you not agree with me for a denarius? The word translated friend is not the term for a close friend, but rather a casual companion. So the owner let them know firmly but courteously that they were out of line.

[18:36] He was doing them no wrong because they had a clear agreement early in the morning at the marketplace. We saw that in verse 2. And that agreement was that they would be paid a denarius apiece, which we already know was a fair wage.

[18:50] Remember that the denarius was equal to what Roman soldiers and long-term servants got paid. So the first group was paid well for what they did. Also remember that they had no problem with the proposed wage when they first heard what it was going to be.

[19:06] Only after they saw the latecomers get the same amount did the denarius wage seem unfair to them. Let's read on to see more of the landowner's response.

[19:17] Here are verses 14 in the first part of verse 15. The landowner says, Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last worker as I give to you.

[19:30] Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? So what's the correct answer to the landowner's second question? Well, he's boxed them into a corner there, hasn't he?

[19:43] It's obvious that he's allowed to do what he chooses with what belongs to him. And why did the landowner give the same amount to the last people? Well, the simple answer is he gave them the same amount because he wanted to.

[19:58] Now look at the landowner's last question at the end of verse 15. The ESV says, Or do you begrudge my generosity? The New American Standard actually translates the same phrase a little more poetically and it says, Or is your eye evil because I am good?

[20:18] Did you realize that evil eye is a biblical term? It's always good to put an evil eye in the lesson that way. If somebody gives me an evil eye, I'll just think you're paying attention to the lesson rather than trying to send me a message.

[20:32] But the evil eye is a Hebrew expression referring to envy and jealousy. Depending on the translation you have, you can see the same words translated as evil eye in Deuteronomy 28.54 and Proverbs 23.6.

[20:49] So the point is that the first workers had not been cheated out of anything. Their real problem was jealousy and envy. Jealousy is wanting what somebody else has.

[21:02] A step up from jealousy is envy and that's begrudging someone for having something regardless of we have it or whether we even want it. Envy comes into play here.

[21:13] All of the workers had a denarius but the first group was envious because the last group was paid the same amount. The charge of unfairness was grounded in the selfish assumption that the extra pay that they wanted was pay that they thought they deserved.

[21:31] In reality, what the later workers were paid had absolutely no bearing on what the all-day workers were paid. They had entirely separate contracts with the landowner. Selfishness sees what it wants us to see.

[21:45] All those envious men could see was that they did not receive the grand bonus that they expected and that they thought they deserved. On top of that, they couldn't stand to see someone else who was hired at the last minute get paid the same as they did.

[21:59] Instead of rejoicing at the good fortune of their co-workers, they envied them and became bitter. It's possible that the 11th hour workers were less capable and more needy than the all-day men.

[22:12] The all-day men probably were hired first because they were the best workers. The other men may have had a hard time finding work at all and when they did, it may have been menial, demanding, and low-paying usually.

[22:25] But regardless of the differences in their situations, none of them was wrongly paid. All of them were well paid by a landowner who was not obligated to hire them in the first place.

[22:38] And that's the key. All of them were well paid by a landowner who was not obligated to hire any of them in the first place. And because he had no obligation to hire any of them, the landowner showed grace to every person that he hired and paid, regardless of how long each person worked.

[22:59] So now that we've looked at the story, let's look at the symbolism. The symbolism. Nearly every character or item in the parable is symbolic of something else.

[23:14] The vineyard represents, can you guess what that is? The vineyard represents the kingdom of God. So the vineyard represents the kingdom of God.

[23:28] Given that, whom do you think the landowner represents? The landowner represents God. You're right. So whom does the landowner's foreman represent?

[23:43] Right. The landowner's foreman represents Jesus. Jesus paid the wages necessary for us to enter into the kingdom. We'll come back to that in a little bit.

[23:54] So whom do the workers represent? Well, the workers represent us, the people whom God calls into his kingdom.

[24:07] Here's one that's a little tougher. What does the workday represent? Any ideas on what the workday represents? I heard it back there.

[24:19] The workday represents each person's lifetime. So for those that are called into the kingdom, some are called early in life, some are called in the middle of their life, and some are called as they get even older, some are called at the very end of their life.

[24:36] The people called at the very end of their life are represented by those who are called at the eleventh hour in this parable. So what do you think the denarius represents?

[24:51] You're right. The denarius represents salvation, or you could also say eternal life. Remember the words of Jesus in John 3.16.

[25:02] Of course, that's the verse that said, for God so loved the world that he gave his only son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. The parable in Matthew 20 illustrates that verse.

[25:18] What does Jesus promise in John 3.16? He promises that eternal life. And does he say anything about how old or young a person must be to obtain that eternal life?

[25:33] You'll notice there's nothing in the verse that says about a person's age. So we've seen the story and the symbolism. Let's spend our remaining time tonight looking at the significance of the parable.

[25:48] So your last blank is the significance. Some of that significance should be obvious already. In addition to illustrating John 3.16, the parable reminds us of several more biblical truths.

[26:06] First one is that God sovereignly chooses who will be saved. God sovereignly chooses who will be saved. in John 6.44, Jesus said, No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him and I will raise him up on the last day.

[26:28] We saw that illustrated in the parable, didn't we? The landowner went into the marketplace and found the workers for his vineyard. The second thing we see is that God accepts all who are willing to come to him.

[26:43] God accepts all who are willing to come to him. We've already looked at John 3.16 where we saw that whoever believes will have everlasting life.

[26:54] We just looked at John 6.44. A few verses earlier, Jesus said these words in John 6.37. In John 6.37, Jesus said, All that the Father gives me will come to me and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

[27:12] And then a little bit later in John 6.40, Jesus said, For this is the will of my Father that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day.

[27:28] Sometimes we can get caught up in focusing too much on how the first two points can both be true at the same time. We know that they're true because the Bible teaches both.

[27:41] Suffice it to say that God has it all figured out and if it matters to us when we get to heaven we can ask for more details at that point. But we also see the second point illustrated in the parable.

[27:55] The landowner gave a denarius representing everlasting life to every worker who came to the field. The third thing we can see is that God is still busy saving people.

[28:08] God is still busy saving people. He will continue to save people right up to the end of the age. In addition to illustrating this concept in tonight's parable, we hear Jesus teach this truth in Matthew 24 14.

[28:26] Listen to Matthew 24 14. Jesus said, And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations and then the end will come.

[28:42] Tonight's parable illustrates this point by showing people saved in nearly all hours of the work day or at all times in their lives. We should never give up on somebody we hope will be saved.

[28:56] That person may be someone God will choose to save at the 11th hour. So even if we no longer can witness to somebody, we can still pray for that person and pray for that person's salvation.

[29:07] The fourth thing we can see is that God always gives us what he promises. God always gives us what he promises. In Titus 1-2, Paul writes this to Titus.

[29:23] He says, In hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages begin. How comforting is it to know that God never lies?

[29:34] God gives us we deserve. God gives us more than we deserve. Romans 3-23 tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

[30:00] God. Then in Romans 6-23, we see this. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

[30:13] I like how the ESV puts free gift in there because a gift is free, but it emphasizes the freeness of that gift by saying the free gift of God.

[30:24] God. So what do we as sinners deserve? We deserve death, but what do believers get instead? We get the eternal life, so that's why we can see that God gives us more than we deserve.

[30:41] And we see this principle several places in the parable. Even the workers who worked the full day got more than they deserved. They got paid the same amount as a full-time servant or even a Roman soldier would get paid.

[30:57] Those wages were paid by the foreman, of course, who we just talked about represents Christ who paid the wages of sin for us. A sixth thing we see is that God blesses us for his good pleasure.

[31:12] Ephesians 1, 5, and 6 say that God predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ according to the purpose of his will to the praise of his glorious grace which he has blessed us in the beloved.

[31:27] So that's why we see that God blesses us for his good pleasure. Think about how we see that principle at work in the parable. Do you think that the workers hired at the 11th hour added much value for the landowner?

[31:42] They really couldn't add that much value with only one hour left in the workday, but the landowner had compassion on them and hired them anyway. That demonstrates the merciful nature of the landowner who of course represents God.

[31:58] Remember what he said in the parable, is it not right for me to do what I want with what I have? The seventh thing we see is that God gives us every spiritual blessing.

[32:09] We don't just get some spiritual blessings, we get every spiritual blessing. Also in Ephesians chapter 1, Ephesians 1, 3 says this, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

[32:30] Think about the workers in our parable. The first group was envious because the last group got the same wage as they did. However, if all of the redeemed have eternal life and every spiritual blessing, should we be envious of people who came to salvation later than we might have?

[32:51] Well, obviously the answer to that is no, but it's hard sometimes as humans to think that maybe we deserve more if we've been serving God longer. So we listed seven items of significance, but they all fall under the same general category.

[33:09] They are all evidence of God's grace. And that brings us back to the main idea. All people who repent from sin and come to Christ receive the same salvation no matter when they are saved and no matter how long they serve God after salvation.

[33:29] The classic biblical example of someone coming to salvation late in life is the thief on the cross. Listen to Luke chapter 23 verses 39 through 42.

[33:41] This, of course, was when Jesus and the two criminals were already on the crosses. Luke 23 39 starts, One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, talking about Jesus, saying, Are you not the Christ?

[33:56] Save yourself and us. But the other rebuked him, saying, Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation?

[34:07] And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward for our deeds, but this man has done nothing wrong. And he said, Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.

[34:20] Now, did Jesus respond, I'm sorry, fella, if only you could get off the cross, get baptized, and then do some kingdom work for me, then you could go to heaven? But it's too late for that?

[34:32] Some of you turned to the cross reference and some of you didn't, but no doubt all of you know that Jesus would never say something like that. We just learned that from tonight parable, even if we didn't already know how Jesus answered the thief on the cross.

[34:47] Listen to how Jesus really responded to the repentant thief. This is Luke 23, verse 43. And he said to him, truly I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise.

[35:01] That's why the repentant thief on the cross is a real life example of tonight's main idea. He might not have even had an hour left to live when Jesus spoke those words to him.

[35:13] And he certainly couldn't do anything to help Jesus, but he was going to be with Jesus in paradise anyway. That's why we say all people who repent from sin and come to Christ receive the same salvation, no matter when they are saved and no matter how long they serve God after salvation.

[35:32] Did you ever think about how the thief on the cross of salvation shows amazing grace? But when you think about it, any salvation, including our own, is a salvation that shows amazing grace.

[35:48] God did that because he wanted to out of his own grace and mercy toward us. God's sovereign principle for salvation is that every person who comes in faith to his son, Jesus Christ, receives the same gracious salvation prepared by the Father and given by the Son.

[36:08] There are no exceptions or variations. Whether a person comes to God as a small child and lives a long life of faithful, obedient service, or whether he comes to Jesus on his deathbed, all come into the kingdom on the same basis and receive the same glorious eternal blessings.

[36:27] So that's why we can say that it's amazing grace. Listen to that last part again. Whether a person comes to God as a small child and lives a long life of faithful, obedient service, or whether he comes to him on his deathbed, all come into the kingdom on the same basis and receive the same glorious, eternal blessings.

[36:49] From a human perspective, that does seem unfair and inequitable. But from a divine perspective, it's totally just. And here's why it's totally just.

[37:01] Because no person is worthy of salvation, eternal life is a gracious gift for everyone that is saved because only Jesus Christ could have paid the cost.

[37:13] Differences among human beings are infinitely smaller than the difference between even the most righteous human being and God. So before receiving Christ as Lord and Savior, all men are equally lost, and after they receive him, they are equally saved.

[37:30] Relative merit among humans is irrelevant because all that even the greatest human righteousness can merit is eternal damnation. But by God's perfect standard of righteousness, no person comes to Christ with more or less merit, and no one is received by Christ with more or less grace.

[37:51] Listen to that last sentence again. By God's perfect standard of righteousness, no person comes to Christ with more or less merit, and no one is received by him with more or less grace.

[38:04] So with that in mind, let's consider the proper response to God's grace. Well, first, we should be thankful to God for saving us. We should be thankful to God for saving us.

[38:19] The Apostle Paul is perhaps our best example of how to be thankful. In Colossians 1, verses 12 through 14, he says that he is giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

[38:34] He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. So we should be thankful to God for saving us.

[38:48] We also should be willing to work for God. Or said another way, we should be willing to work in the vineyard, thinking about the vineyard as the kingdom of God. In our parable tonight, every worker that the landowner hired did do some work.

[39:03] Some worked for only an hour, but all worked for whatever time was left. Ephesians 5, 15, verse 1, 15, and 16, say, The phrase, making the best use of the time likely refers to one's lifetime as a believer.

[39:28] We're to make the most of our time on this evil earth in fulfilling God's purposes, lining up every opportunity for useful worship and service. And then finally, the third thing we should do in response is that we should rejoice when God saves and blesses others.

[39:47] We should rejoice when God saves and blesses others. Think about the angels whom Jesus references in Luke 15, 10. Jesus said there, Just so I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.

[40:04] Listen to this quote from John MacArthur. The Christian who is envious of other Christians for whatever reason not only is unspiritual but foolish.

[40:18] If God really did give him what he deserved, he would be destined for hell rather than for heaven. The spiritual believer rejoices in the salvation of others no matter what the circumstances of their conversion.

[40:30] If he sees someone come to Christ on a deathbed after a life of sin, he rejoices with the angels in heaven that one more sinner has repented and that God has again been glorified through his marvelous grace.

[40:45] That brings us back to being thankful to God for saving us. Psalm 68, 19 says, Blessed be the Lord who daily loads us with benefits, the God of our salvation.

[40:58] Notice the plural pronouns in Psalm 68, 19. It says, the Lord loads us with benefits and he's the God of our salvation. We are to be grateful for more than just our salvation.

[41:13] We're to be grateful for the salvation of others as well. So we started this lesson with a question and that question was how many of us like to finish in a tie?

[41:26] Well, from an earthly perspective, none of us likes to finish in a tie. But from God's eternal perspective concerning salvation, all of us should be thrilled to finish in a tie.

[41:39] Only God has infinite resources to bless all his children equally. Just like the workers in the vineyard who helped us see God's grace, we are recipients of God's infinite grace as well.

[41:52] That's why we can say, Blessed be the Lord who daily loads us with benefits the God of our salvation. Let's pray. Father, we thank you for the reminder of your grace.

[42:08] Let us always be mindful of how grateful we should be for that grace. And Lord, if we're ever tempted to think that we deserve more from you because we've served you longer or because we perceive ourselves to do more than perhaps we think others do, let us remember this and let us remember that none of us deserves your salvation.

[42:31] All of us deserve eternal condemnation, yet you have saved all of us and given us the same equal salvation. Help us be more willing to share this news with others.

[42:43]  In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.