The Unconventional God of Christianity
Matthew 20:1-16
1. The Call of the King Comes at Different Times to Different People. (Matthew 20:1-7; 1 Corinthians 1:9; Genesis 7:6, 12:4; 1 Samuel 3:1a, 4)
1 Corinthians 1:9, God is faithful; you were called by him into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Genesis 7:6, Noah was six hundred years old when the flood came and water covered the earth.
Genesis 12:4, So Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he left Haran.
1 Samuel 3:1a & 4, The boy Samuel served the LORD in Eli’s presence…Then the LORD called Samuel, and he answered, “Here I am.”
2. The Coming of the King Doesn’t Manifest from Justice (i.e. what you Earn or Deserve). (Matthew 20:8-12, Ephesians 2:8-9, Luke 17:7-10)
Ephesians 2:8-9, For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast.
Luke 17:7-10, “Which one of you having a servant tending sheep or plowing will say to him when he comes in from the field, ‘Come at once and sit down to eat’? Instead, will he not tell him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, get ready, and serve me while I eat and drink; later you can eat and drink’? Does he thank that servant because he did what was commanded? In the same way, when you have done all that you were commanded, you should say, ‘We are worthless servants; we’ve only done our duty.’
3. The Choice of the King Makes Grace Supreme! (Matthew 20:13-16, Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 11:5-6, 1 John 4:7-10)
Ephesians 2:8-9, For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast.
Romans 11:5-6, In the same way, then, there is also at the present time a remnant chosen by grace. Now if by grace, then it is not by works; otherwise grace ceases to be grace.
1 John 4:7-10, Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent his one and only Son into the world so that we might live through him. Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice, for our sins.