Is Salvation Fair For Everyone?

[kanakattack]

Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard

In Matthew 20 we read Christ’s parable of “The Laborers in the Vineyard”. There are valuable lessons to learn in regards to serving in the Lord’s Kingdom here on earth, especially those who don’t have the opportunity to serve their entire lives because they weren’t converted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ until later on in life.

The parable is goes as follows: A householder goes out and hires some laborers to work in his vineyard for the day. The laborers agree to a wage of a penny for their day’s work and proceed to labor in the householder’s vineyard. The householder then goes out three hours later (the third hour) and finds more laborers to work in his field and they agree to receive whatever pay the householder feels is right. The householder then goes out three hours after that (the sixth hour) and then three hours after that (the ninth hour). Offering the same compensation to them that he offered those in the third hour. He finally goes out two hours later (the eleventh hour) on his final search for laborers and offers the same compensation as he did to the previous laborers. At the end of the day he starts with the last of the laborers and ends with the first laborers in giving out pay. Surprisingly he gives a penny to each of the laborers including the ones he had first hired. The first group of the laborers complained because they felt they had been wronged by not getting more pay than the laborers who hadn’t given a full day’s worth of work. The householder asks them why they feel wronged when they had agreed to the pay before they were hired. He then asks them why he shouldn’t be free to give whatever compensation he feels is right since it is his vineyard and his money.

To simplify the parable here is a summary of each of the group’s work hours and compensation:

Group 1
Worked 12 hours
Agreed on a penny wage
Paid a penny

Group 2
Worked 9 hours
Agreed on a fair compensation
Paid a penny

Group 3
Worked 6 hours
Agreed on a fair compensation
Paid a penny

Group 4
Worked 3 hours
Agreed on a fair compensation
Paid a penny

Group 5
Worked 1 hour
Agreed on a fair compensation
Paid a penny

This parable teaches an educational lesson about how things work in serving in the Lord’s Kingdom. Although not all of them worked the same amount of hours they were all compensated with the same pay. How can we compare that to those who come into the Lord’s vineyard and serve even if they come later than others? We may feel that it is unfair for some to receive the same rewards in heaven as others who have served longer in the Lord’s Kingdom. However, Salvation is a gift that the Savior paid a price for and only the Savior can give it. If those who enter the Lord’s vineyard and give their all in serving Him who are we to tell the Savior what he feels is a fair compensation for their labors? Why should we not rejoice for those who choose to accept the Savior and come into his vineyard later on in life and receive Salvation along with those of us who are already there?

I loved this parable and the lessons it taught about how willing the Savior is to offer salvation to those who accept him and serve in his vineyard. I feel that we should all feel a greater love for Him because of it and be encouraged to invite everyone we meet to come with us into the Gospel of Jesus Christ to share in the blessings that come from it regardless of their age.

 

[Rev T.S.Perkins]

the thing i like is that the ones who had been in service longest were the ones who felt unfairly treated like they were better due to longer service ,! how many MINISTERS FEEL LIKE THEY SHOULD BE TREATED SPECIAL becasue they found Christ first.?..its a cryin shame we cant all serve as equals in the Lords kingdom ...the bible warns us to one .NOT THINK MORE HIGLEY OF OUR SELVES THAN WE OUGHT,,and two ,THAT GOD IS NOT A RESPECTER OF PERSONS..as we serve shoulder to shoulder in the kingdom of God the rewards are the same and salvation is for all ..!......Rev

 

[eddieb]

how i see it is the only one who would be right to complain would be the master of the vineyard. i mean, He bore the wrath to pay for our sins, and he aint complaining. what a friend we have in Jesus.

 

[james1523]

This parable is part of a continuing message that starts at Matt 19:27 and ends in Matt 20:16, which is about "kingdom rewards". We should ignore the chapter 19 and 20 division in our bibles , and read from Matt 19:27 to Matt 20:16 as if it is one chapter.

This parable is part of an answer to Peter's question in Matt 19:27 , Peter says to the Lord that he has left all and followed Christ, and asks "what will I get"?

The Lord's attitude towards the workers is the same as in Romans 9:14-15 and Romans 9:20. God is not unrighteous and He has mercy on whom He has mercy. The one worker Jesus refers to in Matt 20:13 is probably Peter himself, who asked the question "what will I get"? The Lord knew Peter's heart and that Peter was very ambitious (remember later he self-confidently declares that he will never leave Christ, yet ends up denying Him 3 times).

In the worldly financial system a worker is paid according to their performance and normally against a set of defined rules or pay-scales, in a system which encourages fairness and equality and yet also encourages competition and rewards success. In the kingdom of God however a worker is paid according to the gracious wish of the owner, and according to the personal contract between the worker and the owner. In the kingdom of God there is no "middle management", there is no set of rules laid down by the organization. And here also is the difference between a religious organization and the kingdom of God. A religious organization will act similar to a company, it will have a middle management (priests, popes, pastors etc) and reward spiritual success and not reward or even punishing spiritual failure, according to the same set of rules for everyone within that organization. However it is not so in the kingdom of God.

In this parable, is also the sense that our contract is between the Lord and us, and not anybody else's concern. In John 21:22 Jesus says "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me.". And Romans 14:4 "Who are you to pass judgement on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. "

The sense of fairness in the world is "all things being equal". The sense of righteousness with God however is "all things being just and proper according to God's desire". The sense of fairness in the world may otherwise be described as "self-righteousness".
The sense that human beings deserve to be treated the same as everybody else, that if you are better than someone else, you should get more. If you are worse, you should get less. But in God's eyes we are all the same and He is does not show favouritism. He treats the next man just as graciously as the next. Fairness in the world is not the same as righteousness in the kingdom. God's sense of fairness is according to His personal desire and His "contract" with the individual. It is not according to the "status quo", "majority", "average", or "industry standard". We live in a democratic society which emphasises freedoms and "rights" to every man without distinction. Yet the the kingdom of God is like a monarchy, a theocracy, which is not about the majority, nor about individual rights, but altogether about God's will (being done on Earth as in Heaven). It is on this point of difference that those who are in the societal or religious system of equality and fairness, (no matter how just, free and good it may be), will clash with those who are truly living in the kingdom as Jesus Christ did.

 

[amadeus2]

Salvation when given, it is fair because God is fair. The judgment upon a person is dependent upon what a person has been given and what he has done with what he has been given. All of us have been given varying amounts of brains, opportunities, time, etc. God is able to judge fairly, but no one else.

"But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more." Luke 12:48

 

[Brighthouse]

The point to me being better late then never! The difference from this parable to me will be in the rewards from there labor.Rev 22:12

 

[Davy]

Hi Kanakattack, this is an interesting parable about how all those Jesus is speaking about, will receive the same reward. That is going to heaven and serving with Jesus as kings and priests along side Jesus.

However, not all who receive salvation will receive the same reward Jesus is talking about. Some will go to heaven, as the Bible makes clear and serve along side Jesus in his kingdom, ruling over the earth for 1000 years, that is his millennial reign. (Revelation 20:4) However, those who survive Armageddon, these ones will continue living on the earth, and will be ruled by Jesus Christ and all those who were resurrected to heaven. Because if everyone goes to heaven, and all wicked unbelievers die at Armageddon, who are they going to rule over?

Those who survive, will finally live in a world of peace and security. Then as Jesus said, the meek will inherit the earth, not heaven. (Matthew 5:5) After all, Jesus' rule would not be a very good one if the earth was still full of pain, suffering, disease, war and crime, when he starts ruling for 1000 years. So the question we need to ask ourselves is, which reward will I personally receive, a heavenly reward or a earthly reward?

 

[clark thompson]

We serve not because of what we get but because He is Lord.