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“What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?”

Jesus made it clear that “many will say to me on That [Judgment] Day ‘Lord, Lord did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive our demons and in your name perform many miracles?” Being a Christian isn’t just saying that you believe in Jesus. It’s not even thinking that you believe in Jesus… it’s actually believing in Jesus, which always leads to acting as though you believe in Jesus. This Parable in Matthew 21 illustrates the point, who is a Christian, the one who says they are, or the one who does God’s will? Jesus paints a picture of those who do many many things in Jesus’ name. In our contest, this might be serving at a soup kitchen, collecting clothing for the poor, going on mission trips to foreign countries… all amazing and excellent things Christians should do… but not things that make you a Christian.On the other side, we have people who come and sit in church, perhaps only a few times per year, and they think that because of their attendance (even weekly) they are a Christian because they are around the Church, this is not the case.

I believe this is related to the whole “ask Jesus into your heart” controversy. The problem is not that people ask Jesus into their heart (without getting too into it… Paul uses such language in Ephesians 3 thus making it not “superstitious” to say it, and the SBC published a great resolution on this in 2012 which settles the issue). Praying a prayer, walking an aisle, making a pledge, signing a covenant, enrolling in a membership class, learning a catechism, or anything else you do doesn’t make you a Christian… repentance and belief in the Gospel does. God’s work is not all this ‘stuff’ we think we accomplish, “the work of God is this: to believe in the One He has sent” that is Jesus. Do you believe in Jesus? That’s all it takes… but who really believes in Jesus, the one who says it, or the one who lives it?

Jesus is pretty clear… James is more direct: “a person is justified by works and not by faith alone.” Even the Apostle Paul speaks about “the obedience of faith” (Romans 1:5; 16:26)

John Calvin put it this way “Faith alone justifies, but the faith which justifies is not alone” (The Principles of Theology, p. 61)

Walk the walk, don’t simply talk the talk. You say you’re a Christian? You claim to be an Evangelical? Very well, understand that means something. I can’t just claim to be a bird and make it so, if I jump off a roof and fall to my death, I’m fooling myself. Don’t fool yourself. Do you actually follow Jesus, or are you simply claiming to be a Christian?

Being a Christian isn’t complicated, put Jesus first as best you can, rely on His strength to do it, follow him, every day, every moment, step by step, for the rest of your life.

Who is doing God’s will? The one who believes… trust Him today.

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?’

We all struggle with entitlement. We look at those who have more material wealth than we do and we immediately think “they didn’t deserve that.” We begin to think it would be more “fair” if we all had closer to the same amount of stuff. Actually, that’s pretty much the complete opposite of “fair.” Jesus’ Parable of the Vineyard illustrates the spiritual truth that we all receive the same ‘riches’ (i.e. eternal life) because our reward isn’t based on our work.

At the same time, it also reveals the truth about tangible wealth as well. The master is the one who owns the wealth and he is free to pay whomever he wants whatever he wants. He is not unfair or a cheat, he agrees with them what he will pay in advance, and then he pays them. There is no external entity or group of individuals determining what is ‘fair’ other than the one who is paying for services and the one doing the work.

Christians shouldn’t act like this, not simply because it’s wrong, but because we’ve all been given so much in Christ. Do what you say, say what you’ll do, be a person of your word (Matt 5:37; James 5:12).

“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.” And they were exceedingly astonished, and said to him, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

Rimshot! Jesus had a good sense of irony. People with money, I mean ‘real money,’ are accustomed to making things happen their way. Just ask a Billionaire (maybe one running for President) when the last time He/She said “I’m sorry” or asked for forgiveness… There is an entitlement that comes along with money and power. It is hard to admit you cannot pay your way to righteousness. The more money you have and the higher your position, the less likely it is that someone will put you in your place. Be careful… “rich” is something we all tend to think is someone else. If you’re able to read this blog post, changes are, you have more individual wealth than 99% of the rest of the world. Trust in God. Realize our true identity is of a beggar relying 100% on God’s grace for salvation. 

And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one ‘s wife for any cause?” He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘ Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh ’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” They said to him, “ Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” He said to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.

What are what are usually referred to as “biblical reasons” for divorce? Well, Jesus tells us there’s one reason for divorce, and it’s not what you think… “hardness of heart.” Usually when people ask about divorcing their spouse, they’re looking for a kind of loop-hole to allow them to walk away. Yet, Jesus has a very high view of marriage. When the Pharisees asked Jesus for some excuses to divorce, He didn’t play their game. Elsewhere (like 1Corinthians 7) the Bible acknowledges there are times when you can’t help what happens to you. Getting a divorce isn’t the unpardonable sin. It’s not the scarlet letter. There is grace and hope after divorce… but we do need to take marriage seriously. Marriage is the uniting of two people into one, that means divorce is like killing a person, sometimes it is necessary to kill (but not murder), but that’s the rare exception, not the rule. So to with marriage, sometimes divorce is forced upon you, but that’s the rare exception. Don’t be hard hearted, and don’t let a divorce rob you of what God has in store for you today and all the days to come…

And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart. He said, “ In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary. ’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘ Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming. ’” And the Lord said, “ Hear what the unrighteous judge says.

Don’t give up on praying. Pray until God changes your circumstances or He changes you! He will.