“But when the farmers saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the lord therefore of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers? They say to him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard to other farmers, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.” (Mt 21:38-41 AKJV)
What we’ve done and been is not important; the only thing that matters is that we BELIEVE on and RECEIVE the Lord Jesus, now.
It doesn’t matter that we’re Gentiles, that we’re sinners, and that we’ve DISOBEYED God in the past. If we NEED and trust Christ, receiving Him as the heir of the vineyard who must have His glory, then we shall be saved. God is JEALOUS of His glory, but not STINGY with His grace. He will be GRACIOUS to sinners, even though He sends many to perish. He will be gracious to us because others have rejected His Son, and He will make sure to have a people that He saves.
The gospel is an open door policy for sinners, even though He has great wrath on Christ rejecters.
1. Jesus was a man, but He hungered for the salvation of sinners and the glory of God, “Now in the morning as he returne3d into the city, he hungered” (Matt 21:18). He hungered that we’d serve God, and yet Israel, after all of His preaching and working, was still a fruitless vine. And, for this, she was cursed, “And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but LEAVES only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on you henceforward forever. And immediately the fig tree withered away” (vs19).
If we don’t glorify the Lamb, then the Lamb will give Himself to a SINFUL people that love Him. He will leave the proud and self-serving, and He will make His abode among the humble saints that need His blood so they can live for His glory (Rev 2:22). They need His love for power, so He reveals Himself to them, while others, who have a religious name but no fruit are cursed.
2. What the Lord Jesus has, which is ACCESS to God and God to do His pleadings, is the same thing that you and I have, if we come to God in the name of Christ, believing Christ SUFFICIENT for God to do as promised, “And all things, whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive” (Matt 21:22). We may have FORGIVENESS, freedom, love, joy, and peace, as promised to us, through the means that He has said. We may ASK God to open the scriptures, to improve our behavior, to humble our minds, and He will do this for us, because He REWARDS us by Christ’s faithfulness, even as He rewarded Christ.
We don’t have the same power and promises as the early church and apostles (manifestation of the Spirit in tongues, etc), but we have plenty to save and rejoice us, to cause us to live right!
3. If you don’t want to see His glory, don’t want to know the answer, and are dealing with Him as pretend sinners in pretend hope of answers that will change nothing, then you and I won’t hear from God. He says, “Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things”, because they “reasoned with themselves”, rather than honestly hearing from God (vs23-27). He is no fool to answer our question after question and give us sign after sign. He DISCERNS the heart, and if you haven’t heard from Christ and are NOT saved, then it is because you come to Him with sinful motives of insincerity. Every SINNER shall be saved, but PRETEND sinners who don’t want to be saved will be destroyed, left to themselves, and shown to be foolish.
4. The issue isn’t the past, for He is forgiving, “For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and you believed him not; but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and you, when you had seen it, repented not afterward, that you might believe him” (vs32). There are SOME things that can be squandered FOREVER, but not the grace of God. It doesn’t matter that we’ve failed and said “no”, time after time and year after year. We may ENTER the kingdom and ENTER the service we could have had, right now.
If we REFUSE to believe Christ, then we shall be damned. But, if we’ve plucked out His beard, crucified and mocked Him, then we shall be SAVED by trusting Him now.
Do you and I believe in forgiveness? Do you really believe that God PARDONS sinners, or do we live in the past as why we CAN’T be blessed now? Christ says, “the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom”, and that means preachers and church members who confess their sins shall receive the REWARDS of Christ’s obedience.
Repent and be saved; it is THAT simple.
5. Man hates the Son of God, and his sinfulness is DESERVING of his doom, “And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him” (vs39).
God has consigned men to hell, and don’t think that if they heard the gospel, they’d be different. Everyone He punishes is a murderer, God hater, and would put Christ out of business if they could. The punishment fits the crime, says God, because He values His Son enough to DAMN anyone that disobeys Him. Christ is God’s King for eternity.
It doesn’t matter that we’re Gentiles, that we’re sinners, and that we’ve DISOBEYED God in the past. If we NEED and trust Christ, receiving Him as the heir of the vineyard who must have His glory, then we shall be saved. God is JEALOUS of His glory, but not STINGY with His grace. He will be GRACIOUS to sinners, even though He sends many to perish. He will be gracious to us because others have rejected His Son, and He will make sure to have a people that He saves.
The gospel is an open door policy for sinners, even though He has great wrath on Christ rejecters.
1. Jesus was a man, but He hungered for the salvation of sinners and the glory of God, “Now in the morning as he returne3d into the city, he hungered” (Matt 21:18). He hungered that we’d serve God, and yet Israel, after all of His preaching and working, was still a fruitless vine. And, for this, she was cursed, “And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but LEAVES only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on you henceforward forever. And immediately the fig tree withered away” (vs19).
If we don’t glorify the Lamb, then the Lamb will give Himself to a SINFUL people that love Him. He will leave the proud and self-serving, and He will make His abode among the humble saints that need His blood so they can live for His glory (Rev 2:22). They need His love for power, so He reveals Himself to them, while others, who have a religious name but no fruit are cursed.
2. What the Lord Jesus has, which is ACCESS to God and God to do His pleadings, is the same thing that you and I have, if we come to God in the name of Christ, believing Christ SUFFICIENT for God to do as promised, “And all things, whatsoever you shall ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive” (Matt 21:22). We may have FORGIVENESS, freedom, love, joy, and peace, as promised to us, through the means that He has said. We may ASK God to open the scriptures, to improve our behavior, to humble our minds, and He will do this for us, because He REWARDS us by Christ’s faithfulness, even as He rewarded Christ.
We don’t have the same power and promises as the early church and apostles (manifestation of the Spirit in tongues, etc), but we have plenty to save and rejoice us, to cause us to live right!
3. If you don’t want to see His glory, don’t want to know the answer, and are dealing with Him as pretend sinners in pretend hope of answers that will change nothing, then you and I won’t hear from God. He says, “Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things”, because they “reasoned with themselves”, rather than honestly hearing from God (vs23-27). He is no fool to answer our question after question and give us sign after sign. He DISCERNS the heart, and if you haven’t heard from Christ and are NOT saved, then it is because you come to Him with sinful motives of insincerity. Every SINNER shall be saved, but PRETEND sinners who don’t want to be saved will be destroyed, left to themselves, and shown to be foolish.
4. The issue isn’t the past, for He is forgiving, “For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and you believed him not; but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and you, when you had seen it, repented not afterward, that you might believe him” (vs32). There are SOME things that can be squandered FOREVER, but not the grace of God. It doesn’t matter that we’ve failed and said “no”, time after time and year after year. We may ENTER the kingdom and ENTER the service we could have had, right now.
If we REFUSE to believe Christ, then we shall be damned. But, if we’ve plucked out His beard, crucified and mocked Him, then we shall be SAVED by trusting Him now.
Do you and I believe in forgiveness? Do you really believe that God PARDONS sinners, or do we live in the past as why we CAN’T be blessed now? Christ says, “the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom”, and that means preachers and church members who confess their sins shall receive the REWARDS of Christ’s obedience.
Repent and be saved; it is THAT simple.
5. Man hates the Son of God, and his sinfulness is DESERVING of his doom, “And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him” (vs39).
God has consigned men to hell, and don’t think that if they heard the gospel, they’d be different. Everyone He punishes is a murderer, God hater, and would put Christ out of business if they could. The punishment fits the crime, says God, because He values His Son enough to DAMN anyone that disobeys Him. Christ is God’s King for eternity.
