SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/11/2023 9:03 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-6 “The Vindication of Kingdom
Equality”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew
20:13-16
Message of the verses: “13 But he replied
to one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Did you not agree with me for
a denarius? 14 Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give to this last
worker as I give to you. 15 Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what
belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ 16 So the last will be first,
and the first last.’”
I am not sure how far that I will get through what
is the final part of what is to be said about the parable, but let us begin by
looking at the first of ten spiritual principles that are closely related to
the central truth that the gift of eternal life is equal for all believers. The first principle is that God sovereignly
initiates and accomplishes salvation, something I have certainly written about
in different Spiritual Diaries, most of them from the book of Ephesians. As I look again at this parable I can see
that the landowner went out looking for workers, and it was he who was asked
them to labor in his vineyard. John
MacArthur writes “God does the seeking and the saving in His own initiative and
power; we have no demands on His special favor or privilege. Every person who believes has first been
sought out by the Father and given to the Son (John 6:39)” “"This is the will of Him who sent Me,
that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last
day.” “And whether He sought as early in
our lives or late and whether we answered His call early or late, all merit and
glory belongs to Him.”
I
will not talk about the second principle and that is that God alone is the one
who establishes the terms of salvation.
I can see from this parable that because the laborers in the vineyard
came at different times, which means that they worked a different number of
hours, and so it can be assumed that they worked with many different degrees of
productivity. However they did not
receive different pay, so that means that the measure of God’s gift of
salvation is not man’s merit or accomplishments but His own grace, which does
not vary.
The
third principle that can be seen is that God continues to call men into His
kingdom. This can be seen in that the
landowner (God) continued going back into the market places of the world
calling men to Himself. This will
continue to be done until the last hour of this age. MacArthur adds “The night of judgment is
coming when no man can work, but while it is day, the Father will continue to
draw men to Himself. ‘My Father is
working until now, and I Myself am
working,’ Jesus said (John 5:17), because the Lord does not wish ‘for any to
perish but for all to come to repentance’ (2 Peter 3:7).”
A fourth principle is that God redeems everyone who
is willing. We can see this from John 6:37,
and 39: “37 “All that the Father gives
Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out.” “39 "This is the will of Him who sent Me,
that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last
day.” It can be seen from this parable
that all the workers who went into the vineyard to work were needy. They had no hope of work except what the
landowner would give them, and they received it gladly and thankfully. These had given up dependence on their own
resources and looked only to him.
I
want to do the fifth principle and then save the rest for our next SD. This fifth principle is that God is
compassionate to those who have no resources and acknowledge their
hopelessness. God reaches out to those
who are in need, the ones who know that they are in need. When the men in the last group told the
landowner they were standing idle because no one would hire them, that is when
he hired them. And when anyone comes to
God knowing he has no other prospect for life but Him, the Lord will always
lovingly and also mercifully accept the person for His own.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: As I think back on when the Lord called me to
Himself, I was rather young, but certainly not a child as I was 26 years
old. I have been able to serve the Lord
for a bit over 49 years now and I am thankful first of all that the Lord called
me when He did so that I can have time to serve Him.
My Steps of Faith for Today: I trust that the Lord will continue to use
me, and that I will serve Him faithfully all the remaining days that He gives
me, and my hope is that the Lord will come very soon to take His bride into
heaven at the rapture.
4/11/2023 9:42 AM
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