The Vineyard of Grace

Septuagesima Sunday| Matthew 20:1-16| Pastor James Preus| Trinity Lutheran Church| February 16, 2025

The kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house who hires laborers for his vineyard. The vineyard is the Christian Church on earth. The laborers are Christians, who are called into the vineyard to work. If you are a Christian, then you are a laborer in the Lord’s vineyard. So, here’s the question. On what basis will the Lord pay the laborers in his vineyard? The master said to those whom he hired throughout the day, “You go into the vineyard too, and whatever is right I will give you.” But what is right? Will the master base what is right on how much work the laborer accomplished or on how many hours he worked? Are Christians rewarded based on their works? The clear answer from the parable is no. The laborers in the vineyard are rewarded based on the master’s generosity. And so, Christians are rewarded, not based on their works, but based solely on God’s grace. This is the meaning of Jesus’ statement, “The last will be first, and the first last.”

Very quickly Jesus’ parable departs from what you would expect of an earthly vineyard. Hiring laborers early in the morning with an agreed upon wage, we would expect. But going out throughout the day to hire more, to promise them whatever is right, that is unusual. And what is the point of hiring workers for just the last hour? How much work can they get done? And to turn everything completely upside down, the master instructs his foreman to call those who came last to be paid first, and he paid those who worked one hour the same as those who worked twelve. The only conclusion we can draw from this is that the master is not paying any of the workers based on their input, their labor, their efforts, their work, but solely on his own generosity. Whatever is right is not whatever they’ve earned, but rather what is right is based on the master’s grace.

And this is the consistent teaching of Holy Scripture. God saves us by grace. “For by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not your own doing, it is the gift from God, not a result of works, lest anyone may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) The master said, “Whatever is right, I will give you.” The word right is the same word as righteous or just, and is related to the word righteousness. To be justified means to be declared righteous. Most believe that a person is justified based on his works, just as most people believe that the right wage for a worker is based on how much he has worked. But it is not so in the kingdom of God. Rather, it is the one who does not work, but trusts in Him who justifies the ungodly whose faith is counted for righteousness (Romans 4:5). St. Paul writes in Romans 3, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood, to be received through faith.” Paul consistently teaches that a person is justified, that is, declared righteous by faith apart from works of the Law. He writes in Galatians 2, “Yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” (vs. 16) And Paul always pairs faith with grace, because as he says in Romans 4, “That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace.” Faith is the act of receiving a gift. Grace is a gift from God.

The three Gesima Sundays before Lent focus on the three Solas. This Sunday is Grace alone. Next Sunday, with the parable of the sower, is Scripture alone. The Sunday after that, with Jesus’ healing the blind beggar, who believed in Him is Faith alone. But the focus of this sermon is grace. But what is grace? Grace is God’s undeserved love for us. For God to save by grace means that God saves as a free gift. However, not everyone defines grace that way.

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that grace is a divine help, which God gives. They teach that God infuses us with grace to enable us to do what we need to do to be justified. They teach that at first, God will reward a work, not based on the value of the work, but on God’s generosity. But then after the person has received more grace, that is, help, the person begins to truly earn a reward based on the value of the work. So, instead of a sinner receiving a reward based purely on God’s generosity, the sinner receives a reward based on his work, which God helped him to do. And there are many variations of this teaching in Christianity and in other world religions. “Sure, God will help you. That’s his grace. But you still need to earn the reward.”

But that is not grace. Grace is not a help that God infuses into you. You don’t find grace in yourself at all. You find grace in God. God’s grace is God’s generosity, God’s attitude, God’s work. This is why the acronym, God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense (GRACE) is a helpful tool. Where do you find God’s grace? You find it in the crucifixion of Christ Jesus, whom God sent to make atonement for your sins. You find it in the preaching of the cross, in your Baptism, and in the Lord’s Supper, which declare Christ’s work of salvation to you. On what is the reward given to the laborers based? The reward is based on Christ’s Work. It is at Christ’s expense that you are paid in the kingdom of heaven.

God is not unjust. He is righteous. That is why He does not ignore sin. Yet, He declares us sinners just. He pays those who do not earn the wage. How can He do this? Because Christ has earned the wage for us. Christ is our righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30; Jeremiah 23:6). He paid for our sins on the cross. That is why St. Paul writes in Philippians 3 that he considers all of his own righteousness and merits as rubbish, so that he may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of his own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness of God that depends on faith (Philippians 3:8-9). The master did not pay the laborers counterfeit money when he paid them what they didn’t earn. He gave them real money from his own purse. Likewise, God does not lie when He declares us righteous. He declares to us real righteousness, bought and paid for by the perfect obedience of Christ and His holy labor on the cross for us. And so, you do not find God’s grace in your measly works, but in the labor of Christ Himself.

The proper understanding of grace is so important, for two reasons. First, it gives proper honor to Christ. Christ has completely satisfied the Law in your stead and taken away all your sins. The baptized put on Christ as a holy garment, having washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. To say that Christ’s righteousness is not enough is to dishonor Jesus. Second, the proper understanding of grace is important, because it gives you certainty of your salvation. If grace were just God’s help so that you could earn what is right, then you would always be in doubt of whether you have employed his grace well enough.

The Bible never tells us to trust in our works. Rather, Jesus says that when you have done all that was commanded of you, you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’ (Luke 17:10) It was not only the laborers who worked but one hour who did not earn their denarius. It was also those who had worked twelve hours who had not earned it. As long as we labor in the vineyard, we receive by God’s grace alone. We never consider our works as meriting our salvation.

So, does this mean that we do not work? Should we continue in sin, so that grace may abound? “By no means!” St. Paul says, “How can we who died to sin still live in it!” When the master called the men, who were standing idle in the marketplace into his vineyard, he did not intend for them to stand idle in his vineyard. He intended for them to work in the vineyard. And so, you, who have been called into the Lord’s vineyard, that is, into the Holy Christian Church, you are expected to work! You are called to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. This means that you worship Him. You are called to love your neighbor as yourself. This means that you serve your neighbor, beginning with those of your own household, and then of your congregation and community, considering the needs of others before your own. As laborers in a vineyard prune unhealthy branches, so you labor in the Church by repenting of your sins and putting off the old self and putting on the new self. This is hard work. This is a battle between the spirit and the flesh within you. Christ has called you to cultivate fruit in His vineyard. A person who refuses to do this work should not consider himself a Christian. One who continues in hatred, laziness, and impenitent sin cannot honestly claim to be a laborer in Jesus’ vineyard, but is still standing idle in the marketplace.

We are not saved by our works. We are saved by grace. But you are still called to work. However, some get confused by Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 9, where he says that we should strive to win the prize, comparing the Christian life to that of an athlete. Does this not teach that we are saved by our works? No. Rather, St. Paul is telling us how to live a faithful life. He gives the Israelites as an example. They were all baptized into Moses when they passed through the Red Sea, and they all ate and drank the spiritual food and drink of Christ, as we do today through the Word and Sacraments. Nevertheless, most of them did not reach the promised land. Why? Because they fell into unbelief. Instead of continuing to trust in the Lord who redeemed them, they fell into grumbling, idolatry, and sexual immorality. To use the analogy of the Vineyard, they put their pruning hooks down and left the vineyard!

The enemy of your saving faith is your old sinful flesh, which does not want to do the work of the Lord. The way you battle your old sinful flesh is through faith in God’s grace shown in Jesus Christ. St. Paul admonishes the Galatians in chapter 3, “Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” It is foolish to believe that you will be perfected by your works. Rather, Paul’s call for us to work like athletes is a call to have an active faith in God’s grace. Be joyful laborers, who trust that your Good Master will pay you what is Right, because Christ Jesus has made it right.

Jesus is the Good Master who invites you into the vineyard. He says, “Come to Me all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) Jesus’ yoke is easy and His burden is light, because He has already accomplished your salvation. Your work is light in His vineyard, because your pay is already secured by His blood. And whatever additional reward God lavishes on you, He gives not based on your merits, but on His own generosity.

So, work diligently in this Vineyard. Train yourself like an athlete to subdue your sinful flesh under you, so that it does not drive you from this work. In the Lord’s vineyard, your labor is never in vain and your pay is always secure. Amen.