No Free Lunches

It's often said in life that there are no free lunches. You've received these telephone calls, as I have, of someone saying that there is a free cruise, a free vacation in Hawaii or somewhere, and we're always very skeptical because when we pry, we know that there are strings attached. And so we have this expression, there are no free lunches. And in life, that's generally true.

You get what you pay for. You work, you get paid. You don't work, you don't get paid. You study, you pass the exam, you are lazy, and you flunk the exam. You train hard, you win the game, you are lazy, you don't practice, and you lose the game. And so in life, generally speaking, we get what we deserve.

There are no free lunches. It's very interesting that in the Gospels, and as we study the teaching of Jesus, He explains that the values of the kingdom of God are the exact opposite of the world. For example, Jesus says, if you want to gain your life, you must lose it. He turns our values upside down.

If you want to gain your life, you're going to lose it. If you want to be great, you must serve. If you want to exalt yourself, you've got to humble yourself, because whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. And at the beginning and the end of the Scripture we're going to read, we have another of these enigmatic sayings where Jesus says, many who are first will be last, and the last first. And again, so the last will be first and the first last. In the kingdom of heaven, we're going to learn that the last shall be first and the first shall be last.

You say, what's that all about? Well, let's read this wonderful parable told by our Lord in Matthew chapter 19. If you're visiting, we are excited that you are here, and we're going through consecutively the Gospel according to Matthew. And we find ourselves in the opening verses of Matthew chapter 20. Now look back at the last verse of chapter 19 that we saw last week. Jesus is speaking.

Notice what He says, many who are first will be last and the last first. Chapter 20, 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 He said to them, 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 were 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'm doing you no wrong.

Did you not agree with me for a denarius? Take what belongs to you and go. I choose to give 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. Jesus is the brilliant teacher, isn't He? He tells a parable, and some of these parables are easier to understand, and this one kind of sets us aback. It's only told by Matthew, so the other Gospel writers don't mention it at all.

And on reading it, we feel a little uneasy, don't we? We feel that, well, did the man deal with them in a just way? So let's think of the parable. There's the hiring of the workmen. Various workmen are hired at different times during the day to work in the vineyard. A work day then was from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. That's 12 hours. So workmen in that culture weren't paid by the hour but by the day. Men willing to work gathered in the village square, and along comes the man who wants to hire some laborers. So some laborers are hired at the beginning of the day at 6 a.m.

They're going to work 12 hours. Now notice in verses 1 and 2, a contract of employment, a verbal contract is concluded. Verse 2, after agreeing with the laborers for a denarius. Perhaps there's some negotiation and the owner, the boss says, well, if you work in my vineyard, I'll pay you denarius. And these men agree.

That's very important. One denarius is paid for the day's employment. They're going to work 12 hours. Other workers are hired at the third hour, verses 3 and 4. About the third hour, he sees others standing idle and he hires them and he says to them, verse 4, whatever is right, I will give you. He doesn't mention a specific wage. He says, I'm going to pay you whatever is right.

Whatever is fair, I will pay you. And the workmen, apparently, trust the landowner. Other workers, verse 5, are hired on the same basis on the sixth and the ninth hours.

And the owner does the same thing. I'm going to pay you a fair wage. The day comes. It's now 5 p.m., the eleventh hour.

Notice verses 6 and 7. He says to them, why are you standing idle all day? And they say, well, it's not that we're idle, it's just that we haven't got work. And he says, well, I'll hire you. You go into the vineyard too. Perhaps the grapes are very ripe and the owner of the vineyard wants to get all of the grapes in that day and there is no discussion on the wage to be paid.

So what do we have? We have some men who start at 6 a.m. That's the first group. The agreement is they will be paid one denarius. Then there are people hired at 9 a.m. and at noon and the owner says, I'm going to pay you what's right. I'm going to pay you a fair wage. And they trust them. The men are also hired at 3 p.m. and then the last group are hired at 5 p.m., which means that they only work one hour.

Do you get the picture? And the work day for all of them ends at 6 p.m. Now, how are they going to be paid? Well, at the end of the day, the man gets his foreman and says, I want you to pay the laborers. Those who have worked the least are paid first, verse 8. 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. So those who worked one hour who began at 5 p.m. are paid first.

And they receive, I'm sure to their surprise, a denarius. And each workman comes to the foreman and all of them receive the same wage, one denarius. Starting with those who had worked the least, graduating up to those who had worked a full 12 hours, each of them receives the same wage.

Verse 16, so the last will be first. Those at 5 p.m. are first. And the first, those who began at 6 a.m. are last.

Now, understandably, think of what you would feel if you had begun at 6 a.m. Understandably, those who had worked all day think they will receive more. You can imagine them saying, oh, he's given the guys that worked just one hour and three hours, they got a denarius, we're going to get much more. That would be their expectation, isn't it?

They had worked through the whole day, surely they're going to receive more. But to their surprise, they only receive a denarius. But the owner reminds them, that is what the agreement was. Verse 2, after agreement with the laborers for a denarius. Verse 13, friend, I'm doing you no wrong, did you not agree with me for a denarius? We have a contract of employment, what are you complaining about? You agree to work for a denarius and you're getting a denarius.

You have no grounds for complaint. What's the point? The first and last receive the same wage. That is very important to understand this parable. Whether you work 12 hours or 9 hours or 6 hours or only 1 hour, you receive the same wage. Now, what happens to the workmen who had worked longest? What do they do? They do exactly what you probably would do, they complain. They grumble. We've worked hard the whole day.

We've been there in the scorching heat. We worked and we worked and now these fellows come along, only work an hour or 3 hours and they're receiving the same as we received. That doesn't seem fair, does it? What do you think? What do you think of the owner?

Is he a fair man or is he not? Now, I've never picked grapes, but when I was a boy, 10, 11, 12, 13, in the summer holidays where we lived, there were farmers raising raspberries and strawberries. And so we were dispatched, myself, my older brother, my younger brother, the three of us dispatched and we worked all day picking raspberries and strawberries, eating a few as we went along. But we were paid on the quantity we picked.

I liked it. The more you picked, the more you got paid. You could be there all day and receive nothing.

And that seems fair, doesn't it? There is something in this parable which probably troubles us a little bit. Would the workers who had begun at 6 a.m., would they have grumbled if the other men had received only part of a denarius?

I don't think they would have. If the ones who'd only worked half a day received half a denarius, they would think, well, that's fair. They complained.

Did you notice verse 12? Very interestingly, they complained. These last worked only one hour and you have made them, notice it, equal to us. That's not fair. They didn't do equal work, but they are receiving equal compensation. Listen, we who have worked all day, we who have been in the sun all day and have worked so hard for 12 hours, we deserve more than a denarius.

We're entitled to more. It's a fascinating parable, isn't it? Now, notice the context.

Remember last week? Remember the rich young ruler? Jesus gives that challenge, go, sell all that you have and give to the poor and come follow me. And we saw this rich young ruler turn his back on Jesus and walk away because he had great possessions. And what does Peter say? Chapter 19 verse 27, Peter said, see, we've left everything and followed you. What then will we have? I mean, remember, Lord, we abandoned our nets and our boats.

We left everything and followed you. What are we going to get? Jesus tells them. And then He says, verse 29, 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. The disciples, the 12 disciples are not the only ones whom God will bless.

So, as we come to the parable, that's the context. The master reminds them that they received the wage that was agreed. Has the master acted justly? Of course he has.

He has acted with perfect justice. As the master says, the money is all mine. I can do with my money what I like. If I want to pay someone a denarius for an hour, that's up to me.

Notice he says, am I, verse 15, am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me or do you begrudge my generosity? See, the men who had not worked all day weren't lazy men. They had waited all day for employment. They would have realized that they had families in need. They needed money. There's no welfare checks. These men wanted to work. The problem is not the generosity of the landowner.

After all, as he says, I can do what I like with my money. What's the problem? Problem that many of us have, the problem is the envy and the resentment and the meanness and the small-mindedness of the workmen who didn't want others to receive the same wage. They would have been perfectly happy with the denarius if the others had only received a proportion of the denarius. What really ticked them off was, we've worked hard, longer than everyone else, and you have made them equal to us. We should be up here. We should be getting more.

All laborers receive the same wage. So the last will be first and the first will be last. Masterful teaching. You say, well what do we take from that? I want to remind you that Jesus says at the beginning, verse one, for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house. So I want us to learn three principles from this parable, three principles of the kingdom of heaven. Now I've said three because I like three. I believe in the trinity.

I believe in past, present and future. So I often have three points. I'm going to give you three principles, but in a sense there's only one.

Three, one principle as it were, said in three ways, three facets to help us to understand. Churchill said, if you have an important point to make, don't try to be subtle or clever. Good advice for preachers.

Use a pile driver. Hit the point once, then come back and hit it again. Then hit it the third time, a tremendous whack. He's right.

The great orator, Churchill. So in a sense I've got one point, but I'm going to hit it three times. I'm going to state it one way, I'm going to state it another way, and I'm going to state it another way, but it is one basic point that I want you to get, but I'm going to say it three times. This is what the kingdom of heaven is like. First, everyone saved by God's grace receives the same gift of eternal life.

That's wonderful, isn't it? Everyone, every single person saved by the grace of God receives the same gift of eternal life. God's grace always reigns. Here's the nation of Israel, God's chosen people with many privileges, yet Gentiles who are saved, we receive the same gift of eternal life. No second-class citizens with God. The thief on the cross who trusted Jesus Christ moments before he died receives the same gift of eternal life as the Apostle Peter does.

The last shall be first, and the first shall be last. Here is an old person who trusts Christ for salvation on her deathbed. Over the years, I've had the privilege of visiting people who are dying. I remember in the last church, there was a man, we prayed and prayed for him. His wife was a godly woman and he was dying. I'd gone to his home and his wife said, Pastor, will you go to the hospital?

I went to the hospital late one night and it was so wonderful. There was no one there other than the man and myself, and I had the joy of reminding him again of the old, old story of the Gospel. And there, literally, on his deathbed, he trusted Christ. That individual receives the same gift of eternal life as a little boy who comes to Christ when he's eight years old and lives to be 98, and who through his life has faithfully loved God and served God and trusted God. Both receive the same gift. Many who are first will be last, and the last first.

So the last will be first and the first last. You know, sometimes Christians are a bit skeptical about this. They seem to sometimes almost resent it. We hear of someone trusting Christ on death row, and what do people say? It's almost as if some people don't want the person to be saved. That person on death row, if they turn to Christ and ask for salvation, receives the same gift of salvation of the grace of God.

Only God knows their hearts. But those who receive eternal life at the end of their life are just as saved as those who trust Christ at the beginning of their life. This is not saying that you wait to your deathbed to trust Christ.

Absolutely not. That's not the message. But think of the grace of God. And can I say to those who are followers of Jesus Christ, when you see God working in the lives of others, often in unexpected ways, in unexpected individuals, don't resent God's grace to others. Do you remember the elder brother in Luke 15? The prodigal comes back, the father is delighted, everything I have is yours. The prodigal comes back and says, the prodigal comes back and says, I've sinned against heaven and in your sight. I'm not worthy to be your son.

Make me like one of your higher servants. And the father says, absolutely not. You're my son. And he brings him back, and they have a party of celebration. But the elder brother doesn't understand the grace of God, and he is full of resentment. And the father has to remind him, everything I have is yours.

He resents the father's grace and mercy to his prodigal son. Do you ever feel like that? You feel I've always done the right thing. I've been a good person. And along comes this individual, and they live a life of sin, and they really mess up their sin. And now that they're saved and everyone's rejoicing, but what about me? Jesus says, there's joy in the presence of the angels over one sinner who repents. Are you joyful? Are you joyful when people come to Christ, unexpected way? Are you full of joy when someone who is an authentic follower of Jesus Christ strays and backslides and then they come back?

Do you receive them with joy or are you a cynic and a skeptic and always looking for the worst and complaining? Don't begrudge, to use the words of Jesus here in verse 15, don't begrudge God's generosity to others. Don't do that.

Don't do that. Some of you have been attending Calvary Church for many, many years. You've worked very hard. You've given generously to the work of the Lord. You're faithful, good followers of Jesus Christ, and now new people come to Calvary and they enjoy our facilities and ministry and they get involved. And it's true they've not served as long as you have. It's true they have not given over the years as you have, yet God is blessing them. Isn't it wonderful to see this person then enthusiastically involved in ministry? And sometimes we think, well, who is this person?

I really don't know them. What's happening? And we could have an attitude of resentment. Don't be envious or resentful of the work of God in the lives of others. Don't do that.

Don't do that. Be gracious. You resentful of others. You resentful of how God has blessed some people materially. They have more material goods than you have. And you feel I've worked just as hard as they have and why has God blessed them and not blessed me in the same way? Do you really think that you deserve more than others? When you work at the bank or the hospital and you get bonuses and you're happy with your bonus until you find out someone got more than you have.

And instead of being joyful, there is a spirit of resentment. Are you thankful for what God in His grace has done in your life over the years? Oh, you say He's blessed other people more. That may be. But are you thankful for the way that God has blessed you? You think you deserve more?

Really? Who are the complainers in the parable? Obviously not those who'd only worked one hour in God's scenarios.

They're delightful. Who are the complainers? Who's making all the noise in the fast? Those who'd worked the longest and felt this is unfair. They think they have a just cause. They want everyone to hear their perspective instead of saying what a gracious, generous man this is that He gives a denarius to this man that I know who's got five children and he's going to go home with great joy. Instead of rejoicing with that, they're full of envy and criticism. Don't resent God's grace and blessing in others. I have to ask you, I'm asking myself this, are you a thankful person? Are you? Are you thankful for what God has given you?

First of all, your salvation, the greatest of all gifts that nothing in this whole world can take away. Are you thankful for that? Are you thankful for what God is doing in your life? You say, well, others have more. Our life is unfair.

Yes, it seems to be. From our perspective, sometimes things are unjust. There are things that happen in our lives, things that happen in my life that I can't understand. But the point of the parable is this, I'm not to compare myself with others.

I'm to be thankful for what God in His grace is doing in my life. So I have to ask you, are you a grumbler? Are you a complainer at home? Men, you're complaining what your wife does. You're complaining about the children. Instead of seeing the blessing of God in your life, in your home, you're complaining, what about at work? You're one of the individuals who's an agitator.

You're never quite happy. You're always trying to stir something up. You're always pointing out what you think are inequities in perhaps promotions or bonuses or compensation or time off. You're a bit of an agitator instead of doing what God wants you to do to say how blessed I am.

What about in the church? You're the kind of individual that is a complainer. You focus on that. There are so many blessings and yet there's something that you don't think is quite fair according to your ideas and you're going to make a big, big fuss about it.

Many who are first will be last and the last first. Don't begrudge God's generosity. I don't know about you but this is kind of convicting for me because sometimes in life I've tried to compare myself with others and thought, here I am.

I'm doing all of this work. And this is not quite fair. Instead of saying how blessed I am that God's grace has been on me. Big point. Everyone saved receives the same gift of eternal life. So secondly, God is never in debt to us. Don't ever think that God owes you something.

God's grace in fact is lavished on us and God's grace is always sufficient. All of the grace I need for today God will give me. You say I'm worried about tomorrow. Don't worry about tomorrow.

I guarantee this. Tomorrow God's going to give you all of the grace, all of the help, all of the wisdom that you need as you look to Him as we began our service. Don't think because you have followed Jesus and have served Jesus faithfully for many, many years that God is obligated to bless you in a way that you think is just.

God is never obligated to anyone. Paul writes, 1 Corinthians 11, 12, God the Spirit apportions to each one individually as He wills. Think of God's gifts, our spiritual gifts. Don't compare yourself with others. Understand that God sovereignly apportions His gifts to His people as He wills. Sovereignly given.

Each of us has received a spiritual gift which is a manifestation of the grace of God in our lives and you are to accept that. Don't compare that with others. Don't say, well this person can do it better than I can.

Of course they can. Why do you always want to be the top dog? No. Totally the wrong way to look at it. But be thankful of God's grace. You see it's very natural for us to think that we deserve God's blessings.

Do you find yourself that? You're serving God. You've been following Christ and therefore you think God is going to bless me in this way. God, God, God's always going to give me a great job. God's going to help with my family. God's never going to bring any suffering into my life because I'm a good person serving God.

Don't think that God is ever in debt to you. That was these men. We've worked hard. We've been in a scorching heat. We deserve more than a denarius.

We've worked harder and much longer than they have. You really think you deserve more than other people? Do you? God is never, ever obliged to you because of what you have done. We don't serve God to pay off a debt or to atone for our sins.

No. This is the attitude God wants. That we delight to serve Him.

Nerea, as she stood here a few moments ago, testified to the joy of the Lord, which is our strength, that we serve God as His children joyfully and faithfully as a demonstration of His grace. Trust His grace. God is always, always a gracious and generous God.

And the parable is reminding us. Aren't you glad that God is a gracious God? That you really think you want a God who is going to give you what you deserve? You think because you've done one, two, three, God is now obliged to deliver what you think you deserve? In fact, God graciously does much more for those who trust Him than His justice demands. It is true God is a just God. This man was just in the parable. He kept His word.

I'll pay you denarius. He kept His word. He was a just employer, but He was more than just. He was also gracious and generous.

You want a boss like that, don't you? Last shall be first and the first last. Here's the point, the third way. God deals with us on the principle of sheer grace. The men who'd worked only part of a day did not deserve a denarius, did they? The employer acted towards them not as a matter of justice, but as a matter of grace and generosity.

He gave not based on their performance, not based on the hours that they had worked. This parable reminds us as we, as Scripture does, as Scripture does repeatedly of the triumph of grace, of amazing grace that saves riches like us. This parable is shouting, grace, grace, grace. So Paul says, by the grace of God, I am what I am. What's the nature of God's grace? Notice it was the owner who came to the marketplace. Grace comes down from God.

The landowner took the initiative and went to the market. How wonderful to know that our salvation isn't based on what we do. It doesn't start with us.

It has begun in the sovereign and eternal purposes of God, that God in His grace comes to us in Jesus Christ. Grace is love that stoops down and down and down and comes to people like you and me. No, it's not produced by us.

It's not manufactured by us. It's not that we are good and God says, well, little Johnny there is a good person, little Susie is a nice little girl, and so I'm going to bless them. That's not how it works at all. It's grace from the heart of God. I speak to people, the common belief out there is this. Some of you have got this wrong way, so wrong, that because you're a good person, you'll get to heaven. That God will reward you for what you have done.

This parable shatters that view. Grace, by definition, is undeserved. It is unmerited kindness. It is the very opposite of a reward. It's the very opposite of compensation. Grace, by definition, can't be earned, can't be bought. The workers didn't earn the denarius who had worked just a few hours. Of course they didn't.

Payment was given to them out of the landowner's generosity. God is just, yes, praise God for that, but He's also a gracious God and a good God. Haven't you experienced that? Do you just want a God who's just? Do you just want a person who just gives you what you deserve?

No, no. God is just, but God showers and lavishes His grace on us. He offers you what you do not deserve, namely eternal life. Grace gives us what we do not deserve. God surprises us with His grace. Paul writes, He saved us not because of works of righteousness done by us, but according to His own mercy.

Did you catch the song we sang? That however great our sin, God's mercy, His grace is more. It is greater than our sins and this grace, I want you to get this, is absolutely and totally free. The gospel is not you do this and God will do His part. The gospel is not you obey the commandments and if you do, God will let you into heaven. It's not that at all.

It's not do this. It's to look to our Lord Jesus Christ who's done it all. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. This is a gift. It's a gift of God. It's a gift of God. We receive it freely, all of God's grace. You can never pay for your salvation.

You can never contribute anything to your salvation. It's grace. You say, how do I get it? It's received through faith. Grace is the fountain, the infinite fountain of salvation.

How is it received? Faith is the channel by which this living water comes to me. I look to Christ.

I look on His lovely face. I look on the Lord of glory who died for my sins, was buried and rose again. Faith is the outstretched hand receiving the gift. Today, God in His grace, in His limitless grace, whoever you are, whatever you've messed up your life have done, God offers you grace, salvation, forgiveness. Will you receive it? Will you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved?

Many who are first will be last and the last first, but all who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ inherit eternal life. Have you received the gift of eternal life? Have you received God's grace?

Or are you like these workmen saying, no, I need to get what I deserve. My friend, if you get what you deserve, it will be an eternity in hell. That's what we all deserve. But God commends His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. With grace, grace. I praise God I'm saved by grace. If you are saved by grace, there are certain things that should characterise you. Do you display that grace to others? Are you a harsh, legalistic individual, divisive in your relationships because you're so tough, you're so unyielding.

Or there's a harshness about you and you say, well, I'm all about justice. Yes, we should all be about justice, but we should also be all about grace and generosity and forgiveness and kindness and generous. It's wonderful to have friends who are kind and generous. It's wonderful to be in a home where your spouse and your children or grandchildren, if you have them, where there's an evidence of grace, where there's thankful hearts, where there's generosity, when there's kindness, when we're quick to forgive each other rather than thinking the worst about each other, because God in His grace has poured grace upon grace upon grace on us. We serve God and not grudgingly trying to pay off a debt, but know we serve God joyfully out of a heart of love and thankfulness for this one who loved us and gave himself for us. Today God offers you not what you deserve, He offers you grace.

Absolutely free. It's never too late to come to Christ. You may be 98 or you may be 8. It makes no difference. If you receive Christ, you'll receive the same gift. And the love of God that came into my heart is the love of God that will come into your heart. And the blood of Christ that cleansed me from all of my sin is the same blood that will cleanse you from all of your sin. And the Holy Spirit who indwells me is the same Holy Spirit who's going to indwell you, that we're all on the one level, all saved by grace alone, sheer grace, grace which is greater than our sins. Will you bow with me? Some of you have never received this salvation in Christ. Some of you are struggling with this. Now, I ask you, you confess your sins.

You see that. Will you look to the Lord Jesus and ask Him to come and save you? Into my heart, into my heart. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus.

Come in today. Come in to stay. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus. I believe that you're the Son of God who died on the cross for my sins.

I believe that you were buried and you rose again. You're the living God. Come and cleanse me and save me. I pray. Will you pray that prayer? Will you pray that prayer? And if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, live a life of grace, a life of thankfulness. We ask it in Christ's name. Amen.