Generous Salvation—It's Not What We Earn

Generous Salvation—It's Not What We Earn

Mat 20:9-16 NLT - [9] When those hired at five o'clock were paid, each received a full day's wage. [10] When those hired earlier came to get their pay, they assumed they would receive more. But they, too, were paid a day's wage. [11] When they received their pay, they protested, [12] `Those people worked only one hour, and yet you've paid them just as much as you paid us who worked all day in the scorching heat.' [13] "He answered one of them, `Friend, I haven't been unfair! Didn't you agree to work all day for the usual wage? [14] Take it and go. I wanted to pay this last worker the same as you. [15] Is it against the law for me to do what I want with my money? Should you be angry because I am kind?' [16] "And so it is, that many who are first now will be last then; and those who are last now will be first then."

Mat 11:27-30 NLT - [27] "My Father has given me authority over everything. No one really knows the Son except the Father, and no one really knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him." [28] Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For my yoke fits perfectly, and the burden I give you is light."

Grace is the foundation of Christianity. Without it, Christ’s death is meaningless because it does not address the issue of what is to be done with human wickedness. Many people are surprised to hear this term, “human wickedness.” “Are we not,” they ask, “essentially good?” That is the great danger of humanism thought—the idea that humans are essentially great, moral agents who do what is right at their core. But I once had a psychology professor who awakened me to the reality of what Christianity teaches: we are not good at our core. He explained, quite rightly, that the Bible says Man became corrupted with sin after eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Thus, humans are fallen creatures in desperate need of a complete transformation.

Our Lord provides us a way out. He teaches us this in Saint Matthew. His parable explains how, in spite of some workers working only a few hours compared to others working a whole day, every worker received the same pay. Economics teaches us this is impractical. Law teaches us it is unjust. Grace teaches us it is precisely correct. The employer in the parable asks, “Should you be angry because I am kind?” He explains that he “wanted to pay this last worker the same as [the previous worker].” Jesus wants to grant us repentance. Grace is within His nature; it is the God we serve. His salvation is generous.

Of course, humans, still in their fallen state, struggle to accept grace. It is, I will admit, a difficult habit to accept. We are taught that we get nothing for free; indeed, even the laws of the universe teach us that. And yet here is our Lord promising to give us something for free: “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11.28). He does not prefix or postfix the gift with any requirements other than belief in the Father and Son. Indeed, His “yoke fits perfectly, and the burden [he gives us] is light” (Matthew 11.30). As Christians, we must learn that salvation must be taken freely. Our mistakes and misgivings, our ill attitudes, our bad days, and our flaws are all acceptable to Him. He did not die for the perfect, but for the imperfect. He died for you and me. He has “taken us in.” He does not say, “Clean yourself, then come to me;” He immediately proclaims, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens.” Jesus wants you just as you are so that He can make you just as He is. That is the nature of grace. The unconditional willingness to do so is the nature of love.

If you have been trying to live your life like the first workers, trying to earn your wages, don’t attempt it. It is futile to earn anything before God. I heard a pastor once say, “You don’t owe God anything, and He isn’t asking you for anything.” All Jesus asks is our life. Let His generous grace and mercy sweep over you. “Hallelujah, grace like rain falls down over me,” a worship song goes. Is His grace sweeping over you? Amen.

With love in Christ,

Austin Aldrich