June 10: The Freedom to Obey
“But what do you think? A man had two sons, and he came to the first and said, ‘Son, go, work today in my vineyard.’ He answered and said, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he regretted it and went. Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, ‘I go, sir,’ But he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said to Him, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. For John [the Baptist] came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him; but tax collectors and harlots believed him; and when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him.” Matthew 21:28-33
Jesus, in addressing religious leaders of His time, is also addressing the church of today. Like ancient Israel, the modern Christian church has dishonored God in departing from the light of His Word. Christians are called to be peculiar (Titus 2:14 KJV) and holy (1 Peter 1:16), yet the lengthy list of ignored passages, additions to- and deletions from- His Word continues to grow. Such deviations are the very things that blur the intended distinction between the world and the professed people of God. Having professed Christ as Savior, the neglect or misuse of Scripture produces only the corruptible fruit of worldliness. A profession of faith in Jesus, like the second son above, is meaningless apart from living out His will as laid out in Scripture.
The Bible teaches of the unconditional love of God for all of His creatures, yet the promises of God are conditional upon obedience. And no matter how far one of His sheep wanders from the fold, our merciful God stands ready to receive such a one who returns to Him in true repentance and faith.
When John the Baptist came in the way of righteousness, he called out sin, for his job as forerunner to the coming King required it. A forerunner was to clear the road of obstacles ahead of a king’s arrival. The hearers, as free human agents, are invited to respond. Should we not teach of the freedom to co-operate with God? The emphasis on this freedom is essential, for Christ’s work on our behalf is steadily resisted by Satan, who even propagates his message inside the church. But Jesus said:
“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” John 15:2
What more could have been done to My vineyard That I have not done in it? Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes, did it bring forth wild grapes? Isaiah 5:4
Yet I had planted you a noble vine, a seed of highest quality. How then have you turned before Me into the degenerate plant of an alien vine? Jeremiah 2:21