Grace

I am a sinner who has been saved by grace and I do not want what is fair, I want grace.

Matthew 20:1–16 “1 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. 3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went. “He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ 7 “ ‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’ 8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ 9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’ 13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.””

Received a whole days pay for one hour of work.

The grace of God is such that I do not get what I deserve.

The idea that he who is last becomes first is completely unfair.

God is generous

I am a sinner who has been saved by grace and I do not want what is fair, I want grace.

Grace is God’s unmerited, unearned, undeserved favor towards you because He is good. It’s just who He is.

Notice - how we relate to God.

The first group related to God based on an agreement of pay. This relationship was transactional. I do this and get this in return.

This is how most people try and relate to God.

They measure themselves. If they have lived a good life they feel holy and deserving of God’s favor. If they have lived a bad life they feel unworthy and undeserving of God’s favor. They live by what is fair and deserved.

Their relationship with God is completely based on what is deserved and not deserved.

This will lead to two options. Trying harder and harder to earn God’s blessing or falling deeper and deeper into despair because they know they can’t.

The truth is - no one, ever, at any time, could ever deserve an ounce of God’s blessing. Romans 3:23 “23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

The only hope we have is the goodness of God.

That is why the solution to our problem of sin, the solution to our predicament was not me or you. The solution was not trying harder. The solution was not greater will power. The solution was not some extra bit of knowledge or secret. The solution of Jesus Christ.

You can receive what you don’t deserve because Jesus received what He did not deserve - all of our sin and shame and punishment.

Romans 3:23–25 “23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—”

And Jesus in the parable is forming our thoughts and understanding of who God is and how we relate to Him because of what Jesus himself would do.

I am a sinner who has been saved by grace and I do not want what is fair, I want grace.

Being a recipient of grace carries a sacred responsibility to give that grace away.

Matthew 18:21–35 “21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. 26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. 29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ 30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. 32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.””

2 Things:

Forgive yourself

Stop lying to yourself. Often this stems from the internal conflict where your idealized version of yourself judges and condemns your actual self.

Distinguish between guilt and shame

Guilt - I did something wrong

Shame - I am something wrong

Therefore we can learn from our mistakes instead of defining ourselves by them. As we see, our identity is not something that we earn or achieve but rather it is something we receive from the goodness of God.

You are defined by the grace of God. If He forgives you you can certainly forgive yourself. You are not wrong, you did something wrong but that is not what defines you.

You are a human being not a human doing and God loves you and designed you and desires and wants you.

Forgive others

This is a core condition of our walk with God.

How much we forgive others is a good indicator of how much we have received forgiveness from God.

Because the debt that God has freed us from is so great and large that it cannot even be compared with the sin of others against us.

Forgiveness does not minimize the wound someone has caused you.

This doesn’t mean it is excused or that you pretend it doesn’t hurt.

But it is choosing compassion, recognizing your own sinfulness and will bring you healing and transformation as you trust in God.

It will help you rid yourself of bitterness, rage, and anger, replacing it with kindness and compassion, mirroring how Christ has forgiven you.

I am a sinner who has been saved by grace and I do not want what is fair, I want grace.

Being a recipient of grace carries a sacred responsibility to give that grace away.