"Let's be Doer's of God's Word"

Good Morning. If you have your Bibles turn with me to James Chapter 1. As you are heading that way we have been taking a look at the parables of Christ and what exactly do they mean? We have taken a look at parables that talk about the Kingdom of God, parables about judgment, parables about salvation like last week, and how the prodigal son repented of his sin and returned to his father. Now today we are going to look at parables that deal with the Christian life. This parable today resembles that of the prodigal son in just a simple way ,but also directs us as God’s children to serve Him, and to be doers of God’s Word. In fact, the title of the message is this, “Let’s be Doer’s of God’s Word.” Are you doing or obeying God’s Word or are you rebelling against it?

There are many people today who talk about being a Christian and have heard about God’s Word. In fact, many have read it and have even attended church where it has been preached but they are not actively a doer of God’s Word. In the book of James we see that this is exactly what we are to do, to be doers of the Word. Look at James 1 verse 22 with me.

James 1:22 ESV

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

James calls us not to just listen or talk about doing the will of God, but to live a life pleasing to the Lord that it is marked by willful and joyful obedience to God and His Word. The Greek word here for deceiving is a mathematical word which means miscalculation. Pastor John MacArthur says, “Christians who are content with just hearing the word have made a serious miscalculation.” You see true faith is not lip service. In fact, Christ actually condemned those who worshiped Him with their lips and not with their lives in Matthew 15. I love what A.W. Tozer said about this.

A.W. Tozer once said, “The Lord will not save those whom He cannot command. He will not divide His offices. You cannot believe on a half-Christ. We must take Him for what He is. He is the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings. Christ would not be who He is if He saved us and called us and chose us without the understanding that He can also guide us and control our lives.” God desires for His children to follow Him and not to reject His authority.

Now, turn with me to Matthew chapter 21 and I want us to look at this parable about the Two Sons.

When we come to chapter 21 of Matthew we read about the Lord’s Triumphant Entry into Jerusalem. But even in the excitement of the people, we quickly see the anger of many of the religious people namely the chief priests and elders. Here is what we know about Christ. He was healing people, and forgiving their sins and casting out demons and had gained recognition. Because of this, these religious leaders wanted answers from the Lord on what grounds or what authority He had to do these things. Now we see as Christ comes into Jerusalem He cleanses the Temple in verses 12-17. He does this because His house was to be a house of prayer. So, once again these religious leaders want answers to explain by what authority Christ had to do this? Jesus is quick to bring them back to the ministry of His cousin John because by doing so He helps us to see that it was John who was sent by God to prepare the way for Jesus. If these religious leaders would not accept John’s ministry of repent and be baptized then they would not accept the ministry of Jesus either. Both John and Jesus had been sent by God. These religious leaders had rejected the truth preached by John and Jesus and ultimately they had rejected God. They had disobeyed the will of the Father. Let’s begin in verse 23 so we can see the whole context here.

Matthew 21:23–32 ESV

23 And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. 28 “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.’ 29 And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. 30 And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.

The Father here represents God and the vineyard here represents the church. The sons here represent two classes of to whom the command to labor in the church comes from God. Let’s dive in and let me give you some practical application of this parable.

1. God Desires for His Children to Do His Will.

-As believers we need to understand that there is Work to be done. I know that I am stating the obvious here, however there are many times were we can get lazy and not even realize the most obvious matters. The father here in verse 28 has to tell the son “GO.” The father wants both of his sons to understand that there is work to be done and we should not be so blind to see that there are other people who have needs around us. Of course there are all kinds of physical needs around us even here in our community. People are looking for jobs, food, clothing, a place to stay. Last month several of us from the church went and passed out grocery items to over 250 people in our community. So of course we are to do things to help out with physical needs.

But just as serious as all those physical needs are I would say that on an even bigger level there are tremendous spiritual needs in our country and even here locally. There is a famine for the Word of God, there is a spiritual need to preach God’s Word faithfully and correctly. There is a spiritual need for evangelism and sharing our faith with others, for more missionaries, to teach our children and young mean and women what is truth and what is not. There is a tremendous need for Godly Biblical counselors to give people Godly wisdom, advice and counsel as so many people today are struggling with depression, anxiety, worry, abuse, addictions and many other issues. Here is how the great doctor Luke said it.

Luke 10:2 ESV

2 And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.

-The Work to be done is God’s Work. Again that may sound repetitive and very obvious but my point here is that if we are not careful so often when we set out to do any type of work we do it for our own profit or our own good and glory. Look at all I have done for the pastor or missionary or even the Lord. So, our work is done because we have a genuine love for Christ. So many times I hear people talk about their love for God but they are not teaching a bible class or helping with children or students. They are not bringing their friends to church with them. They never really spend time reading their Bibles much or praying, and yet somehow they would tell everyone around them how big of a Christian they are.

-Finally the Work to be done is Now. At the end of verse 28 we see that the Father desires for his sons to do the work in the vineyard today. Here we see the importance of doing what ever the Father asks of us now while there is still time to do it. Don’t delay, don’t procrastinate or put off what the Lord is telling you and calling you to do. None of us are assured of tomorrow or next week or even next year. The only safe way is to be prompt and obedient to God’s call.

2. Even though some people rebel initially, God’s desire is for them to submit to Him.

The son who first told His father No, and then changed his mind and went out to work in the vineyard represents a group of people who were obviously sinners. These people were the tax collectors and prostitutes of the Lord’s time. They had been rebellious to the Lord’s commands but then repented of their sins and came to faith in Christ. This group of people finally became sober and came to their senses much like the prodigal son did. The key here is that they repented and came to do the will and work of the Father. Now I want to be careful here lest someone today thinks that their works can save them. Ephesians 2:8-9 is very quick to help us here.

Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

Salvation is in grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. It is a gift of God, and clearly not a result in our works. However for those who have been changed by God, there will come a time where because of our love for Christ obeying Him and living for Him will be a natural outpouring of our faith. Now back to our parable.

So, this first Son here who was naturally disobedient in his spirit eventually went to work in the vineyard. The Lord did not approve of his initial disobedience. The Lord desired for this Son to obey and he initially did not. The only thing we see that was good is that later he repented of his disobedience.

I want to help us see here that there are many people who have this same type of attitude. There are many people today who think that because they are young that they can go on in their sin or rebellion against God as long as they return to Him down the road. Many people tell me today that they want to have fun now and then later on serve God. Please here me today if that is you. It is best to give your entire life to the Lord now, and to begin to serve Him right now. Why wait? Besides there is no guarantee that later on you will come back to the Lord. Sin often has a way of taking its toll on people and entraps them so that they don’t desire to come back to the Lord.

Notice here that the Father said Go and work in the vineyard today. If you are a Christian today, there was a time when you were not a child of God. This means there was a time when you were not part of the family. You were disobedient and not living for God. But, then God brought you out of that old way of life and into the family. The Apostle Paul says it like this in Ephesians.

Ephesians 2:19 ESV

19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,

If you are a Christian today that means you are a son or daughter of God’s. God has given each and everyone of us responsibilities in the family to serve Him and each other. Let’s be Doer’s of God’s Word!

3. Don’t be found as a person who promises to obey, but never follows through.

This group of people represents the religious leaders and even more importantly those who are hypocritical in how they live. These people are smooth in their talk and make promises which they never intend to keep. They change their mind and never really take thought of genuinely serving God. Here we see that this group of people or this son in particular failed to do the will of the father. This second son said, “I will go, but never did go out into the vineyard.” Of course there could be all kinds of reasons or excuses that one does not do the father’s will, but the point here is that Jesus is against an insincere profession. This is someone who says, “Lord Lord” but does not do what he says.

Let me ask you today, are you in this category? Are you the person who says I will do what God wants me to do only to quickly make an excuse?

Even these religious leaders here were found to be people who were serving. In fact, they were so involved in serving and doing that they missed the Lord. They thought they were religious but it was just lip service. Why? Because they didn’t believe in Jesus and they were not found to be working in His vineyard. They were so selfish and inward focussed that they were working in their own little vineyard trying to build up their own little kingdoms. They were not true believers.

Conclusion: These religious leaders thought that they were Sons of God, but they did not value the relationship and sadly missed truly serving God. They missed the Son, the missed God’s Son in that of Jesus who was standing in front of them. On the opposite side the sinners, tax collectors and prostitutes, came to a place of repentance and served the Lord with joy.

My encouragement for you today is don’t buy into the lie of Satan that you can never be forgiven of your sin. If Jesus can forgive the prodigal son or those who have lived a sinful life He too can forgive you. God is not saying here that hypocrites cannot be saved. Even some of the most terrible sinners can repent and come to Christ. Whatever your past is today, don’t despair. I want to encourage you today to turn from your sin and know that God will save you. Trust in the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. If you have trusted in Christ today, take seriously the call to be a doer of His Word. Ask the Lord to help you faithfully follow Him all of your days.