The Grace of God and the Parable of the Laborers--Is God Just

Everyone is pleased to have the grace of God in their life, but are we disturbed when God’s grace shows up in the lives of others seemingly more generously than in our own? I am afraid that is sometimes the case. The parable of the laborers found in Matt. 20:1-16 is an example and also an illustration of how man has a tendency to feel he knows more about what is just than God does. We judge God.

The passage is too long to quote here but I will jog your memory and summarize it for you. A man had a vineyard and needed workers. He went out to hire workers for his vineyard five different times during the day, each time sending them directly to work as they were hired. At day’s end, as was the custom back then, each was paid. A problem arose in the hearts of those hired early in the day when, at the end of the day, the owner of the vineyard paid those who came to work last, late in the day, the same amount as those who had gone to work first. They complained feeling they had been treated unjustly. “These last men have worked only one hour, and you made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the heat of the day.” (Matt. 20:12 NKJV)

It is easy to read this account and, at first impulse, feel that indeed the earliest workers were mistreated. We have all been raised to believe in the concept of quid pro quo, pay based on the amount of work done, the more work, the more pay. The last workers in this parable did not do an equal amount of work, far less, yet received equal pay.

To an American this seems most unjust but what was the vineyard owner’s response? “Is your eye evil because I am good?” (Matt. 20:15 NKJV) The ESV reads, “Do you begrudge my generosity?” The NAS reads, “Is your eye envious because I am generous?” The bottom line is that they were jealous and angry over the generosity shown by the vineyard owner to those hired last.

One must understand, and I think we do, that this parable is about God’s dealings with those who believe and obey the gospel. It is about God’s grace, not about how people ought to be paid in the material, physical world in which we live our daily lives. God’s grace gives a man what he needs, not what he deserves. Every person who is saved is granted far more than he deserves. God’s grace is not based on works, not on how much work one has done, not on how difficult it has been, not on how long one has had to endure.

God is always just in the sense that he treats us honestly and fairly and does not go back on the word he has given. In the parable those who went to work in the vineyard earliest in the day were glad to go, to have the opportunity, and agreed that the wage set was fair and the work required was just. He did not ask of them more than they could do or were willing to do.

These early workers were blessed and enjoyed the grace of the vineyard owner. What had he done for them? He had given them work. Not every man was so blessed with a job. He had given them security. At the end of the day they knew their need to feed their family was going to be met. He had given them dignity and self-respect. They need not hang their head in embarrassment and shame as those who could not provide for themselves and their family.

Those were great blessings in that day and they are great blessings in this day. These men were treated not only with justice but with grace in being given these blessings. They should have been in a state of thanksgiving and rejoicing, and perhaps they were for a time--until the time they learned of grace given to others, grace beyond what they perceived had been given to them. Envy and jealousy arose. If we are not careful the same attitude can develop within us and for the same reason. It is the age-old complaint that men have that God is not fair. In the parable, the vineyard owner is representative of God. Was he fair? Did he do what was right?

In the parable, as the day went on, others were hired with the last being hired at the eleventh hour, quite late in the work day. When this last set of men were hired they were told, “whatever is right you will receive.” (Matt. 20:7 NKJV) When they were paid at the end of the work day what did they receive? They received the same amount as did those who had worked far more hours of the day, who had endured a much greater workload because of it, and who had borne the heat of the day. But, note what those at the eleventh hour received--they had received what was “right.” (Matt. 20:7)

How could that be? If I owned a business today and went out and hired men as in the parable and acted accordingly in paying them, would I be doing what was right? Most would say no. In what sense then could this be said to be “right”? If it was “right,” it would have been wrong to have done it the way most think it should have been done--pay based on the amount of work done.

Here is what made it “right.” Every man hired that day had an equal need--the need to feed himself and his family, if he had one, which is most likely. If it is in my power to do good and make that possible for another man, can I be righteous and fail to do it? “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” (James 4:17 NKJV)

Paul told Timothy to command the rich to “be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share.” (1 Tim. 6:18 NKJV)

In Matt. 25 who is it that is going to be condemned on the last day? “Then he will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave me no food; I was thirsty and you gave me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take me in, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’” (Matt. 25:41-43 NKJV)

“But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?” (1 John 3:17 NKJV) The eleventh-hour men in the parable had a need. The vineyard owner, since he had it in his power, could not have been a just man with the love of God in his heart and done anything other than what he did. What he did was good and right. If these laborers had not had need they would not have been laboring, so there was a need to be met that could not now be met by any other principle.

What was that principle? The principle of grace. God is a God of grace. If we are his children, we too must have grace for others. When we take the position everyone has to earn all he gets, then that locks us all out of heaven “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Rom. 3:23 NKJV) Remember this parable is in reality about spiritual matters, not economics.

Many who work hard and make a living develop an attitude toward those who have been less fortunate than themselves. It goes something like this. See me, see what I have done, anyone could have done the same and would have if they had any get up and go about them and were not so shiftless. Look at me. Vanity, pride, arrogance all fit into one body made of dust to which it will in due time return. I have even heard preachers talk along this line.

It would be good to look closer at the eleventh-hour laborers. In the parable when the vineyard owner was preparing to hire the eleventh hour workers he quizzes them before doing so and asks them, “Why have you been standing here idle all day?” (Matt. 20:6 NKJV) Their answer is, “Because no one hired us.” (Matt. 20:7 NKJV) It was not that they were lazy, nor that they had not been seeking work. It may well have been simply a matter of not being in the right place at the right time. I say that because the vineyard owner had been seeking day laborers evidently all day long hiring it seems about any who would answer the call. He only runs into these men at the eleventh hour and yet they had obviously been where they were long enough to have been passed over by other employers, as per their answer to the vineyard owner’s question.

Why were they passed over? Was it unwillingness to work? They went to work at the eleventh hour knowing the work day was pretty much over and that they could not realistically expect anything close to a full day’s wages, yet they went being willing to work for what they could get. They had been passed over but it was not because of failure to seek work or unwillingness to work. People are passed over for employment for a great many reasons that have nothing to do with character in the least bit and yet we so often see their plight as their fault for look at us, we raised ourselves up by the bootstrap and if they have any grit about them they would do the same.

We, if we are not careful, see ourselves, because we were hired, as worthy, as talented, as deserving, while looking down on the other guy who was not hired. We can sin in our attitude toward others if we are not awfully careful and it is not just a matter of attitude but also of judging. Where is compassion and mercy? Where is grace?

I do not judge those first hired in the parable as regards their attitude toward the eleventh hour workers for their attitude was not revealed save in one particular. They, in concern for self only, lost sight of compassion for others who had a like need (provide for themselves and for their family). How easy that is to do. It is easy to do, but it is still a sin.

Were the first-hour workers treated fairly? Most certainly, for they got exactly what they had been happy to agree to. Had they been paid in private and left unaware of what the later laborers received, they would have walked away fully satisfied and content. But, as it was, they were made jealous by the generosity of another, one who gave grace.

Bible teaching is that we “rejoice with those who rejoice.” (Rom. 12:15 NKJV) The proper attitude is to be happy and thankful for the good fortune of others. I think we know this but we have to battle human nature (which tends towards jealousy and envy) and overcome it if we are to become the person of character that we need to be having the kind of attitude God would have us have. Those first hired in the parable fell short in this respect.

Jesus used the parable about the laborers in the vineyard to teach how God’s grace works for those who become Christians. We become Christians at different stages in life and in different circumstances and environments. Some have much longer to live and labor as soldiers of Christ than do others. Likewise, some suffer much greater persecution than do others with the apostles being perfect examples of that. Yet, we all, if we will live faithfully unto death, receive the same inheritance.

Is it fair? Would you have it any other way? If it is your son, your daughter, your wife, your husband, your mother, or your dad who is the eleventh-hour worker, you would have it no other way. Give praise to God for his grace. We are pleased with his promise to us no matter what hour worker we are, and rejoice in the grace he gives others. No, we would have it no other way. We will not complain, and we are overcome with joy to know there is hope, even yet, that some will come to work at the eleventh hour, even some of our loved ones.

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The Church as the Body of Christ – The Implications

 Relationships Within The Body

The church of the New Testament is referred to in the scriptures under several different designations or appellations, one of which is the body of Christ. “And he put all things under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” (Eph. 1:22-23 NKJV) “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of his body, which is the church.” (Col. 1:24 NKJV) Paul says, in speaking to the church (see 1 Cor. 1:2) at Corinth, “Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.” (1 Cor. 12:27 NKJV) To those in Rome, he says, “So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.” (Rom. 12:5 NKJV)

The body of Christ, the church, is, of course, a spiritual body. Peter describes the church as a building but what he says is applicable here for he says, “you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house.” (1 Peter 2:5 NKJV) The church is spiritual; it consists of men and women and boys and girls of accountable age who, each in their individual spirit, have submitted to Christ in both faith and obedience. “You are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.” (Rom. 8:9 NKJV) “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God.” (Rom. 8:14 NKJV) “If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body (the fleshly physical body we each possess--DS), you will live.” (Rom. 8:13 NKJV) It is thus spiritual beings who have the Spirit of Christ within them who comprise the church, the body of Christ.

In the description the Holy Spirit gives of the church as a spiritual body, the body of Christ, it is compared to a physical body to provide us with lessons about its nature and what it is to be. He (the Holy Spirit) says, speaking through Paul, “for in fact the body is not one member but many” (1 Cor. 12:14 NKJV) and then begins discussing the foot, the hand, the ear, the eye, the smelling (the nose) with the idea being that each member of the body has its function to fulfill for the profit of the entire body and that each part of the body, each member, contributes to the well being of the body and is needed. (1 Cor. 12:15-22) With the physical body we readily see this need. Remove any part of the body and, to that extent, we become handicapped.

This is a lesson the church needs to learn -- the value of every single member and the fact that they each contribute in one way or another, whether we see it or not. Too often the member that has standing is the one with speaking talent, or the one who is a church leader in one capacity or another, or one who is well thought of in the community while the poor widow with but two mites to cast into the collection plate (Luke 21:1-4) is left out of the social interaction of the membership.

The church that is what God would have it to be is egalitarian. Too often, the church is divided into cliques based on social, economic, or educational status or perceived superiority. This should not be. If men can see such behavior surely God sees it. To show favoritism of one over another is sin. “My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism” (James 2:1 NAS77) or, as the NET Bible puts it, “do not show prejudice.”

But the reader should not make more of what I have said than what I stated, for I do not mean to imply this is a common practice, but if it is found even once it is once too often. Every congregation is different and the whole body of believers should never be judged based on what one might find in a particular location. Do we think it would be fair to judge all of the congregations that belong to Christ based on the church at Sardis as described by Jesus himself in Rev. 3? I think not.

Here is the body of Christ, the church, as God would have it be--“that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually.” (1 Cor. 12:25-27 NKJV) “By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35 NKJV)

The church being what it ought to be starts with each individual member being what he ought to be in his relationship both with Christ and with his fellow brethren. We cannot sit back as observers and see how it is going and say the church is not what it ought to be in its love for each of its members when we are, as stated, just sitting back and watching and not becoming actively involved ourselves.

John says, for example, “Whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?” (1 John 3:17 NKJV) We say that it is the church’s duty, the church’s responsibility, to care for the needy. Now, be honest, is that what the passage says, that it is the church’s obligation? It says it is my obligation if I can help to step in and help; the church being what it ought to be as a body begins with me in friendship, in fellowship, in caring, in sharing, in sacrifice, in the depths of love as measured by God’s word. Besides, if we do not care about one another, who will care about us?

Salvation is in The Body

How many bodies does Christ have? That is a foolish question on its face. How many bodies do you have? It makes as much sense to ask one as to ask the other. Besides, even if we were that dull, Paul tells us, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling.” (Eph. 4:4 NKJV) There is an idea held by many that each of the individual denominations is a member of the body of Christ and that, taken collectively, they make up the church. Talk about an absolute perversion of scripture and utter nonsense!

Denominations did not exist when the New Testament was being written, thus when Paul wrote to the church at Corinth talking about these matters regarding the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12) he most certainly was not talking about that which did not exist. He clearly was talking to “those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints.” (1 Cor. 1:2 NKJV) How do I know he was talking to them--because I just quoted the passage, because he says so. They, each one individually, each Christian, was a member of the body of Christ to whom he was speaking. “You are the body of Christ (the church at Corinth--DS), and members individually.” (1 Cor. 12:27 NKJV)

Christ is the head of the body, the church (Eph. 1:22-23, Col. 1:18), to whom each member of the body is to hold fast (Col. 2:19). The head always directs the body using the analogy of the physical body. The rest of the body follows the decisions made by the head. In other words, the head rules the body. God never gave man legislative powers in the realm of religion; Christ has all authority. “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth” (Matt. 28:18 NKJV) were some of the last words Jesus spoke while on earth. He is the king of a kingdom and not the head of some kind of a democratic government. This being the case, and as Christ the head has spoken and given his will in the pages of the New Testament, why have men not been content to be guided by his will and it alone?

Men have arrogated power to themselves and set up conferences, councils, and governing bodies, and tried to make laws for God and in many cases even overrode his will, for their own, setting aside scripture and people say it is okay, all is well, God is pleased, he is satisfied, and we are saved. In religious bodies that have done these things it is safe to say Christ may be spoken of as the head but it is not taken seriously by those of us who have a New Testament and have read it and studied it and believe it.

Man may vote and elect a governing body in a club, or a benevolent organization, or a union, or whatever, but such has no place in the New Testament church, the body of Christ, which already has its head and governing body in place--Christ himself.

Christ is the Savior of the body (Eph. 5:23), but scripture says his body is the church (Col. 1:24). There are an awful lot of people who believe the church does not matter. To their thinking it does not matter whether one is a member of the church or not for their thinking is a man can be saved without church membership. If you can be saved without church membership then it does not matter whether or not you are in the body of Christ for the church is the body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23). If you are in the church, you are in the body of Christ; if you are not in the church, you are not in the body of Christ.

Now, what is it that Christ is the Savior of? It is his body, the body of Christ (Eph. 5:23). Name one place in the Bible where Christ ever promised or gave hope of saving anyone not in the body of Christ. I am willing to wait for the answer but it will be a long wait as you will not find it.

Here is what causes the confusion: people do not know the truth about how one becomes a Christian. They think becoming a Christian is one process and becoming a church member is another. The truth is that the same process that makes one a Christian also adds him to the body of Christ, the church. If you obeyed the gospel of Christ, in truth and sincerity, you are a member of the church, whether any in the church accept you or not. God adds you to the church (see Acts 2:47 NKJV), not men. He does it when we obey the gospel. You cannot obey the gospel and not be in the church.

God adds you to the church, the body of Christ, but on conditions. One condition all agree upon is faith in Christ. That, however, is only one condition. While everything else flows from it and while it must of necessity be the first thing in order (Heb. 11:6) God requires more of man than that even though many do not believe he does.

A second condition is repentance. God is not in the business of saving unrepentant sinners, even if they are believers. If so, where does the Bible teach it? If man can be saved without repentance what did Jesus shed his blood for? If a man can be saved without repentance, meaning he can go on and still live a life of sin and be saved, then why did Jesus shed his blood for the remission of man’s sins if sin does not matter? Repentance is thus required of man for salvation (Acts 2:38).

A third condition is a confession of Jesus with the mouth. “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.” (Rom. 10:9-10 NKJV) Confession is made before baptism for only believers can be scripturally baptized. It is disciples who are to be baptized, says Jesus (Matt. 28:19), but you cannot know a person has been made a disciple unless that person lets it be known.

The final condition one must meet before it can be said he has entered the body of Christ, of which Christ said he is the Savior (Eph. 5:23), is baptism. “For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free--and have all been made to drink into one Spirit. For in fact the body is not one member but many.” (1 Cor. 12:13-14 NKJV) We enter the body of Christ by baptism. “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” (Gal. 3:27 NKJV) To be baptized into Christ is to be baptized into his body.

I have quoted the passage from Eph. 5:23 a few times in this article where it is said Jesus is the “Savior of the body.” If you will read but 2 verses on down you will begin reading as follows, “Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish.” (Eph. 5:25-27 NKJV)

Let me ask you one thing. What did Christ cleanse the church of “with the washing of water (baptism--DS) by the word”? To ask is to answer--sin. If you think spiritual cleansing of sin does not come by “the washing of water by the word,” then you must explain why the Holy Spirit said it did while not meaning what he said. Would you question his integrity?

Those who think they can enter the body of Christ some other way than by being baptized, as Peter said, for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38), will search in vain for the passage that teaches it. No one is a Christian who has not been baptized, despite years of man-made tradition that teaches otherwise. One can either choose to believe the Bible or believe men.

I grow weary of hearing men talk of faith who have no faith, who will not believe plain statements of scripture. I can find several passages that say we are baptized into Christ, it is for the remission of sins, that it saves, etc.–teachings along those lines. Those who oppose this teaching oppose every passage I produce and yet can find no passage in support of their own proposition that it does not save or have anything to do with man’s salvation.

If one enters the body of Christ by baptism (1 Cor. 12:13), that is where salvation is found for his body, the church, is what Christ is saving, then what do you think you ought to do with regards to baptism? If you think one can enter that body without baptism why not teach us all how? Teach us how that while Jesus said, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16 NKJV) the truth is “He who believes and is ‘not’ baptized will be saved.”  Whether Mark 16:16 is authentic or not is debated but, nevertheless, be that as it may, the teaching of many is “he who believes and is not baptized will be saved.” That is an exceedingly dangerous doctrine in light of Bible teaching on the subject. Who is so reckless to do it?

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Calling On The Name Of The Lord

The Apostle Peter, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, preached the first gospel sermon ever preached on the Day of Pentecost in Acts 2 after Jesus’ ascension back to heaven. By believing and obeying the message preached that Pentecost day the men and women present would be saved from their sins, and so they were. In that sermon, Peter quoted the prophet Joel, saying, “It shall be, that every one who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Acts 2:21 NAS 77)

All rational men and women ought to want to be saved. We all know, if we are at all honest, that we have sinned and have sins that need to be forgiven. God’s promise through Joel the prophet was that “every one” will be saved who will call on the name of the Lord, so how do we do that?

One’s first inclination when hearing the word “call” is to think of verbal communication, thus prayer to God. Yet, when one reads the entirety of Peter’s sermon in Acts 2, we find not a word about prayer to God or Christ.

As Peter proceeded in his speech to those who had assembled that day after convincing them he and the other apostles who were speaking in tongues were not drunk, his first objective was to convince them that the Jesus they had condemned to death was indeed the Christ. This was not difficult to do. Peter reminded them of the miracles, wonders, and signs Jesus had done in their presence. No ordinary man could do such things if God was not with him, and God is not with liars. Jesus was who he said he was – the Son of God.

No doubt they were also aware of the events surrounding the Lord’s death, the earthquake, the darkness, the veil of the temple being rent, and, add to that, many of them were likely already convicted in their hearts that they had condemned an innocent man.

Being convicted in heart of their sin and of the fact that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, they appeal to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37 NAS 77)

Peter’s well-known response was, “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:38 NAS 77)

Now to the heart of our subject: what does it mean to call on the name of the Lord? It means to obey the gospel; if you are not a Christian, to become one, it means for the alien sinner to repent and be baptized upon your faith in Christ.

Were these people on the Day of Pentecost saved after obeying Peter’s instructions? The Bible says, “There were added that day about three thousand souls.” (Acts 2:41 NAS 77) Inspiration says that, not me. We ought to believe what the text clearly states.

I ask you this question: Did those three thousand that day call on the name of the Lord? It is those who call on the name of the Lord that Joel says will be saved. Did they do it? What did they do? When you answer that question, you will know what it means to call on the name of the Lord. It means to obey the gospel -- to have faith, repent, and be baptized.

If calling on the name of the Lord meant to simply pray to God for forgiveness, Peter would surely have emphasized that, but we hear not a word from him along that line. Why not? Because that is not what it means to call on the name of the Lord.

Saul, called on the name of the Lord in Acts 22:16. Perhaps you recall his experience on the road to Damascus when he encountered the Lord and was told to go into the city and it would be told to him what he must do. Ananias was sent to him and told him, “Why do you delay? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.” (Acts 22:16 NAS 77)

Paul had developed faith and repentance on the road to Damascus when the Lord appeared to him thus all that was left in calling on the name of the Lord was to be baptized. Calling on his name was not something in addition to baptism that Saul needed to do, but it was a summarizing statement of what was transpiring or being accomplished by being baptized.

Surely, Paul had been praying to God, no doubt for forgiveness, ever since Jesus had appeared to him on the Damascus road. The Lord, in directing Ananias to go to Saul, said specifically to Ananias, “he is praying.” (Acts 9:11 NAS 77) We are told just two verses before this, “he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.” (Acts 9:9 NAS 77) If calling on the name of the Lord meant praying to God for the forgiveness of one’s sins certainly Saul had done that before Ananias ever arrived at his abode. Why then did Ananias not instruct him to do what he had already been doing if praying to the Lord is the same as calling on the name of the Lord?

Saul, despite his prayers, had not yet called on the name of the Lord, for he had not yet completed his gospel obedience. He had developed faith, he had repented at the time of his heavenly vision when Jesus spoke to him, but he had yet to be baptized; thus we find Ananias directing him to do so. In Ananias’ own words, “Why do you delay?” (Acts 22:16 NAS 77)

When one obeys God, that person is without speech, but by action, asking God to fulfill his promise. The person obeying the command is expressing in action his/her faith in what God has said and promised. The alien sinner in obeying the gospel is asking or calling on God, by his acts, to grant him or her the promised forgiveness of sins.

There are a few other passages in the New Testament that shed light on this subject. Acts 9:14 speaks of those who “call upon Thy name.” (NAS 77) It is clearly a reference to Christians for those who call upon the name become Christians.

Rom. 10:12-14, “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call upon Him; for ‘Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.’ How then shall they call upon Him in whom they have not believed?” (NAS 77) Again, to call upon the name of the Lord is to become a Christian, to obey the gospel. However, there is an additional point that needs to be made from this passage and what it teaches.

This passage makes plain that belief alone is not calling upon the name of the Lord. You cannot, according to this passage, call upon the name of the Lord until you first believe. When you believe, then you can call on the name of the Lord. This accords with Peter’s sermon in Acts 2 and Saul’s conversion account in Acts 9 and Acts 22. The Bible has never taught salvation by faith alone as so many today teach.

In closing it needs to be said that one must always read the context in determining the meaning of words and/or phrases. The one exception that I am aware of to what I have set forth in this article is the passage in Acts 7 where Stephen is being stoned to death, looks up into heaven, and sees the Lord. The text says, “he called upon the Lord.” (Acts 7:59 NAS 77)

He was speaking person to person, face to face, man to God directly. He was making a request, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!” (Acts 7:59 NAS 77) Context always matters in scriptural exegesis.

To summarize, calling upon the name of the Lord is, in the New Testament, a request by man to God for God to fulfill his promise. It is a request not made verbally but a request made by obedience, an action out of faith in God’s word, faith in God’s promise.  

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A Way That Seems Right

The apostle John made the statement that he had “no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” (3 John 4, NKJV) Yet, today, some approximately two thousand years later, it is questioned whether one can know the truth or whether such a thing even exists. I find that quite distressing, but find myself unable to do much about it.

It was reported to me that one I know quite well made the comment as it relates to Christian doctrine that “everyone sees it differently.” The implication, of course, is that it makes little to no difference what one believes and practices in the Christian religion as long as it fits somewhere in the broad spectrum of what men call Christendom. The idea is that one can be a member of about any Christian denomination with their peculiarities and all will be well with one’s soul. It implies that truth cannot be known with any certainty and even questions whether absolute truth even exists in religion.

It is a live-and-let-live philosophy. My Christian faith and practice are as good as yours, and yours as good as mine, even though we are in deep disagreement about many things. It just makes no difference.

Certainly, there is nothing rational in this train of thought, but that is the world we live in. How do people think today? George Barna recently came out with a new report entitled: 2025 American Worldview Inventory – Report #6 Americans Possess Contradictory and Unbiblical Views about Moral Truth. I quote from it:

“Most adults in the United States do not believe that there are any moral absolutes, and they live accordingly. … Even substantial majorities of some of the largest Christian church groups reject absolute morality, including 69% of Catholics and 61% of those who attend a mainline Protestant church.

Beyond that, half of the adults considered to be spiritually conservative and a cornerstone of evangelical Christianity—a niche known as “theologically-identified born-again Christians— admit to rejecting absolute moral truth.

The research has shown that these days, Americans most often make their moral choices based on their emotional reaction to a situation. In fact, the only consideration that a majority of adults trust to discern moral truth is their feelings, which is relied upon by three out of four adults (74%).”

You can read the report for yourself, as long as it is up, online at: https://www.arizonachristian.edu/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/AWVI-2025-6-Contradictions-in-Beliefs-about-Moral-Truth_FINAL.pdf

Further down in the report he goes on to say: “One of the guiding moral ideals is that being open-minded and accepting of alternative philosophies of life is a sign of maturity—even if those points of view conflict with one’s personal perspectives. A large majority (67%) of adults embrace this supposed “sophisticated” thinking. ...

Pluralism is alive and well in America today: the dominant worldview of nine out of 10 adults is Syncretism, which is the blending of beliefs and behaviors conceived or favored by a variety of competing worldviews.

The popularity of that approach to life provides an ideal philosophical environment for people to suppose that competing, even conflicting, truth views can all be right or should at least be appreciated as valid.”

If, in fact, we live in such a society it is easy to see that the narrow gate Jesus spoke of is non-existent in the mind of the average American, even of many Christian conservatives. Jesus said, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.” (Matt. 7:13 NKJV) In American religious thought today, Jesus had it just backwards. In our minds the gate that leads to life is quite broad indeed.

Today, even among many, perhaps most Christians, who can say (?), one sees this kind of thinking. Let someone die who has not lived a Christian life but has been a nice guy, man or woman, friendly and kind, but never lived as a Christian, and it is suddenly said upon their death that they are “in a better place now” or they have received “their angel wings.” We rail against those who would judge others, and we should oppose such judging, but on the other hand, who put you or me in charge of judging people into heaven? Who made us judge?

But that is a reflection of how people think today. People have discarded the clear teachings of the Bible and developed their own religion, which is basically whatever seems right to me. What does the Bible say about such a course? “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” (Prov. 14:12 NKJV)

Paul, in Rom. 10:2, spoke of those in his day who “have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.” (NKJV) I make two points about those Jews of whom he spoke. (1) He was not complimenting them. He goes on to say they were “seeking to establish their own righteousness” (ver. 3).  That is exactly what is happening today with the way we are thinking about Christianity and life.

(2) The second point is that Paul spoke of knowledge. He was saying there is such a thing as truth. It is not my truth nor your truth, but the truth applicable to both of us. It is objective, not subjective, and is independent of our feelings.

Today, believing the way so many do, the Bible is forced to take a back seat, but it will not stay there. You cannot fight against God and win; only a fool tries to do so.

It is felt that Christianity is too narrow if you take the word of God to mean what it says, so we play around with it and tell ourselves the text does not mean what it seems to be saying in so many different places. We spend our time not in teaching what the text says but in teaching why the text does not mean what it says. No, not all of us, but so many do.

Of course, there is such a thing as intolerance which we must fight against. The problem is that we have come to tolerate the evil and condemn the good. “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” (Isa. 5:20 NKJV)

This raises the question, of course, of how do we know the good from the evil? Are we to determine it for ourselves? Is it whatever seems right to me? Is there no objective standard? That is where we are today, each person doing what is right in his/her own eyes, living by feelings, and intolerant of anyone judging their personal decisions. We have abandoned our standard, the Bible, and each is doing what is right in their own eyes.

Two examples are our society’s open embrace of homosexual unions and of living together outside marriage. We all know the Bible condemns both, but we have embraced both as a society, for we make the rules now, not God. We will reject him if need be, and so we have.

Where is all this new worldview going to land us? God only knows. It will not be a good place, but only time will tell. We do know, however, “sin is a reproach to any people” (Prov. 14:34 NKJV) and God will eventually judge us all.

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