The Parables of Jesus

If you were to “make up” a religion, what would it be like? All you need to do is look around at any of the religions of the world to discover the answer! There are religions that believe in “gods” or “spirits,” and there are those that don’t. There are religions that believe in some kind of “after-life” existence, and those that believe you come back as “something else.” But what they ALL have in common is that you get what you earn!! Your life after this life is based on how much “good” you do, as defined by each specific religion. With all the talk of “justice” in our world today, it seems right to think that you reap what you sow.  Even the Bible says that! But what the Bible doesn’t teach is that you can somehow “earn” eternal life!  God reveals that HE determines the standard for entrance into HIS kingdom, and no one can meet the requirement: Perfection!! “ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory (perfect holiness and majesty) of God!” (Romans 3:23). Salvation, eternal life, is by grace … “undeserved favor,” through faith in Jesus Christ … and even that faith is produced by the gracious work of the Holy Spirit giving you new life and empowering you to believe. You “earn” absolutely nothing!! What place then do good works have in the lives of the citizens of God’s kingdom? As Paul asks in Romans 6:1, “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound?” In His “Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard,” Jesus teaches an important lesson about grace and the motivation for service in God’s kingdom. “The kingdom of heaven is like …”