God Is Not Fair | Part 2

Guest (Male): Does God deal with us on the basis of fairness? Listen to Adrian Rogers.
Adrian Rogers: Now the concept of fairness is based on the idea that I am owed something in comparison with others. I want my fair share. That's what fairness is based on. But God doesn't deal with fairness. Listen, God deals on the basis of justice and mercy. Justice is God giving us what we deserve. Mercy is God not giving us what we deserve. Friend, grace is God giving us what we do not deserve. Don't ever ask God for justice. If you get justice, you'll be in a pickle. Ask God for mercy.
Guest (Male): Welcome to Love Worth Finding, featuring profound truth simply stated by pastor and author Adrian Rogers. Fairness is a wonderful human attribute we learn when we're young and demand of each other as we grow. In Matthew chapter 20, Jesus shares the parable of the vineyard workers. In part one of today's program, we learned that this parable is a glimpse at the character of God, who is not fair, but he is good. And that really is good news. If you have your Bible, turn to Matthew 20:15 as Adrian Rogers shares part two of "God Is Not Fair."
Adrian Rogers: God is not fair, but God is good. Now you need to get the background of this passage of scripture. There's a man who has a vineyard. He needs some workers, so he goes out early in the morning at the beginning of the day and hires some laborers. Then he goes out again at nine and hires some more laborers. Then he goes out again at 12 and hires some more laborers. Then he goes in three in the afternoon and hires some more laborers, and then also some at five, at the last hour before sunset. Now pay time comes, and he starts with those who came last, and he gives them a day's wages. And then the ones who had been working all day said, "Boy, this is going to be wonderful. Look, he gave those who only labored an hour a day's labor. I wonder what we're going to get." And they got the same thing. They were disgruntled, and they felt discriminated against, and they voiced their grievance. And they ended at the end of the day saying, "It just isn't fair." I want you to learn tonight some incredible truths, some great truths that will see you through in life. And if you don't learn these, I think you're going to get your nose bumped on the spiritual highway. Truth number one: it's always too soon to quit but never too late to start. Always too soon to quit, but it is never too late to start. Now look in verse six. "And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing idle and saith unto them, why stand ye here all day idle?" And they came at the eleventh hour. Now, he's not talking here about deathbed repentance. He's not talking about burning the candle of life for yourself and then blowing the smoke in God's face. Now, there is a deathbed repentance. God will save anybody if they're drawing their last breath if they call upon him to save them. But that's not what he's trying to teach here, or what he is teaching here. Second truth: if you bargain with God, you will cheat yourself. Look now in verse two. "And when he had agreed with the laborers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard." That means an agreement had to be made. That means there was some haggling. And finally, they agree. There's a contract, and they go into the vineyard. I was called into the vineyard early. God saved me at 14, called me to preach at 16. I've been pastoring since I was 19. It's all I've ever done. And if you've been called early, praise God that you've been kept from much sinning. Praise him for that. I praise God I've never known what it is to use alcohol, or tobacco, or to be morally impure with fornication. I am so glad that God saved me from all of that. I am so glad that God called me early in the morning into his vineyard. And if God has called you that way, thank him, praise him that you have been saved from much sinning. But if God calls you late in the day, praise him that he has forgiven you much. You see, listen friend, to bargain with God is to cheat yourself. Now, these people were bargaining with God, the ones who came early. And nothing wrong with coming early, but they were trying to drive a bargain. The others came with what we would call a gentleman's agreement. They were saying, "We know that you will do whatever is right, and we trust you. We don't ask for a contract; we just simply go into the vineyard to work." Now what our Lord is doing here is teaching the difference between service that comes out of legalism and service that comes out of love. The principle is that God gives the best to those who leave the choice with him. If you bargain with God, you will cheat yourself. Here's a third principle: you will be very wise if you let God keep the books. The legalist always has his eye on the clock. He knows how many hours he has served. He knows what so-called sacrifices he's made. And he really doesn't have the vineyard in his mind. He doesn't have his master in his mind. He has himself on his mind. When I was a boy, among other jobs that I worked at when I was in junior high school, I worked in a drugstore. That was a kind of a drugstore we had back yonder that had a soda fountain in it. And I cooked hamburgers. You didn't know I could do that. I made ice cream sundaes. I did all of these things there in the soda fountain for Mr. Al Britton. And in the evening time, when it was time to close, which was 11:00, I would sweep the floor. Now, we didn't have air conditioning in that drugstore; we had folding doors that opened right out to the street. I had my eye on the clock. It is now 10:59. 11:00, closing time. I saw a car pull up outside. I went to the door. I began to fasten the door, bolt it down. They came and knocked on the door. I said, "We're closed." I turned around, and Mr. Al Britton was standing right behind me. He said, "Son, I've had this store for X number of years." He said, "That's the first time a customer was ever turned away." I felt about that high. Now, what was the difference? I was a legalist. I had my eye on the clock. I was not concerned about Mr. Al Britton's vineyard. Now listen to me friend, you'll get more if you let God keep the books. If you keep the books, let me tell you what the danger is. Number one, you may overpay yourself on some occasion. Sometimes we think we're really doing great things, and we may not. I heard a black preacher use a very poignant illustration one time. He was preaching to preachers and he said, "Now, you preachers, you talk about all of those souls that got saved Sunday morning in your church. You might be prone to think they got saved because of your preaching." He said, "Have you ever gone dove hunting? And a man in this field over here will shoot a dove, but he keeps on flying and he lands in your field." He said, "That man that fell at your altar this morning, someone may have wounded him a long time ago. Somebody witnessed to him, somebody shared Christ with him, and you say, 'Look what I did with my preaching'." You see, sometimes you may take credit for something that you really don't deserve credit for. And there are other times when you don't even realize how you've been used of God, but God is using you in a very special way. Listen to Matthew 25 now. Just go forward to Matthew 25. Jesus is talking about those that he's going to reward. And he said, "For I was hungered and ye gave me meat. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in, naked and you clothed me. I was sick and ye visited me. I was in prison and you came unto me." Then shall the righteous answer him saying, "Lord, when saw we thee an hungered and fed thee, or thirsty and gave thee to drink? When saw we thee a stranger and took thee in, or naked and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick or in prison and came unto thee?" And the king shall answer and say unto them, "Verily, I say unto you, inasmuch as you've done it unto the least of one of these my brethren, you've done it unto me." Here are people who've been serving the Lord, doing acts of kindness. They're not keeping a record. As a matter of fact, they don't have it in their books. They said, "Lord, when was that? When were you thirsty and I gave you something to drink? When were you naked and I gave you clothes? When were you in prison and I visited you?" You know, if we were to pay ourselves, if we would keep the books, we might overpay ourselves sometimes and underpay ourselves sometimes. Sometimes what we think is the most incidental thing, if it's done out of loyalty, God blesses. I told you a while back about a letter I received from a man. He said, "Forgive me for taking so long to write this letter, but I want to tell you how God used you in my life." He said it was on Merritt Island where you used to pastor. He said, "I was a long-haired surfer going down the road with my surfboard and you stopped and picked me up. It was a hot day and you talked to me about Jesus." He said, "I laughed at you. I made as if it had no impact on me at all. You let me out." He said, "I went on my way, but I was never, ever able to forget what you said to me until I gave my heart to Christ." He said, "Jesus saved me and now I am pastor of a very wonderful church, and I just want to thank you." Well you see, look, I didn't even remember it. I thought, do I remember now? I think maybe vaguely, faintly, I remember picking that boy up. You see, sometimes the things we do, we don't put in the books. The things we think we have done, God does not put in the books. But you will be wise to let God keep the books. Now here is the fourth thing: don't look for fairness, ask for mercy. Look in verses 14 and 15. The owner of the vineyard said, "Take that thine is and go thy way. And I will give unto this last even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil because I am good?" Now the concept of fairness is based on the idea that I am owed something in comparison with others. I want my fair share. That's what fairness is based on. But God doesn't deal with fairness. Listen, God deals on the basis of justice and mercy. He said, "Look, it's mine. I can do with it what I will." You see, God is good. God is merciful. But you can only receive mercy after you agree with justice. Justice is God giving us what we deserve. Mercy is God not giving us what we deserve. Friend, grace that we heard about is God giving us what we do not deserve. And I'm so grateful for God's grace. God showed grace to these people who came in the eleventh hour into the vineyard. Now if you serve God for fairness, you'll get upset if somebody gets more than you. And you'll get upset if they got it sooner than you. And you'll get upset if somebody gets something that you don't get. Now friend, don't ever ask God for justice. If you get justice, you'll be in a pickle. Ask God for mercy. Now here's the fifth thing I want you to learn, and we'll be finished. Another's blessing is never your loss. Because God blessed these at the eleventh hour, that doesn't mean that those who came at the first hour somehow suffered loss. Look in verses 14 and 15 again. "Take that thine is and go thy way. I will give unto this last even as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil because I am good?" When one serves for a reward, it is not long before he's complaining that he is not sufficiently rewarded. Do you remember the story of the Prodigal Son, Luke 15? One brother went off and wasted his father's substance in riotous living. The other brother stayed home. That was fine. The other brother worked in the vineyard, and that was fine. But the other brother got all bent out of shape. And the reason he got bent out of shape is that when the younger brother came home, the father loved him, hugged him, put a ring on his hand, shoes on his feet, and barbecued the fatted calf. The older brother said, "This is not fair. I've worked for you all this time and look how you're treating this son of yours." He couldn't even call him his brother. Well, somehow this elder brother thought that his younger brother's blessing was his loss. Father said to the older brother, "Look, all that I have is yours." Don't worry if somebody gets more than you get. Don't worry if God is blessing someone more than he's blessing you, supposedly. Don't be a legalist. Legalism is the root of jealousy. And jealousy is the root of ingratitude, and ingratitude is the root of self-pity, and self-pity is the root of bitterness and envy. Thank God for what he does for you. Don't drive a bargain with God. We're going to be much happier in this life if we take our eyes off of our brothers and sisters and put our eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ and be grateful for what he does. You know, a lot of us have the elder brother syndrome, the legalist syndrome. I've pastored churches where people resent newcomers into the church. "These people are taking up all the room. That man is sitting in my seat." And they get upset when a newcomer comes in and shares in the blessings like those who've been laboring for 10, 15, 20, 30 years in this church. What a pity that is when people feel that way. What I'm trying to say is this: someone else's blessing is not your loss. There's no seniority in the kingdom of heaven. Now when we get to heaven, not everybody's going to have the same reward. You know, we sing that song, "Just give me a cabin in the corner of Gloryland." Well, it may be all you get. I'm serious. Jesus said, "Lay up for yourself treasure in heaven." Some will have more than others, or this verse doesn't make sense. But how is that treasure laid up in heaven? By loving, free service. Now I want to close the message, but what about those of you who are living in the eleventh hour right now? Those of you who are saved and you're in the eleventh hour, you haven't been serving the Lord. What I want you to do is to say, "Lord, how can I use these last days for you?" Don't coast into the holy city. Cross the line with your heart blazing, the torch held high for the Lord Jesus Christ. Maybe you're not even saved, and it's the eleventh hour for you. And you're saying, "You know, I've lived this way, I guess I'll just have to die this way and miss heaven." No you don't. Billy Sunday was a famous evangelist in the 20s and 30s of the last century. He was a mighty man of God. He was a former Major League baseball player, a great athlete. But he was a drunkard and alcoholic. God saved him, and God transformed him, and God used him as a mighty preacher of the word of God. When Billy went to a particular city one time, they said, "Billy, there's a man in this city who used to play baseball with you. We call him the Old Timer. Billy, why don't you go by and talk to him about Jesus? If you were to talk to him, perhaps he'd get saved. We've talked to him and it doesn't seem to do any good." So Billy Sunday went to talk to this man they called the Old Timer. And Billy explained the gospel to him and said, "Old Timer, you remember we had a good time playing baseball, and we had a lot of fun. But Old Timer, there was some things that I did that were wrong, and Jesus forgave me, and Jesus saved me, and he wants to save you." And the Old Timer said to Billy, "Billy, thank you for coming to see me. We did have some good times together. We were close friends. But I remember that day when you heard that gospel band on the street corner and they preached. I remember, Billy, when you went into the mission there and you gave your heart to Christ. Billy, you went that way and I went this way, and now my life is just about over." Billy Sunday said, "Well, Old Timer, God is merciful. It may be the eleventh hour, but come on in, come in and be saved." The Old Timer said, "No, it's too late for me. I made my choice a long time ago." Billy Sunday pleaded with the Old Timer, but the Old Timer shook his head and refused Christ. Billy said, "In my mind, I saw a picture. The sun was sinking in the west. It was the bottom of the ninth inning. The Old Timer was at bat. He had two strikes against him. The bottom of the ninth, the ball came across the plate big and soft. The crowd said, 'Swing, Old Timer, swing'." And Billy said, "He never even lifted the bat from his shoulder." Don't be like that man. This may be God calling you. You may be one of those eleventh-hour people. Maybe today's the first time you've ever really understood that God will save anybody, anytime, anyplace, who will call upon him. It's always too soon to quit. It's never too late to start. Aren't you glad that God is not fair but God is good? Aren't you glad for his mercy? We don't want fairness; we need mercy, and we can have it. Father God, I pray that you'll help all of us not to try to bargain with you, not to keep books, but Lord to lovingly and joyfully serve you and trust you. Amen.
Guest (Male): Maybe today as you've listened to Pastor Rogers you see your need to surrender to the mercy and the grace and the forgiveness of God. Aren't you glad he's not fair? Praise something like this from your heart: "Oh God in heaven, I know that I'm a sinner. I know that I deserve punishment from you, but you're offering me your grace. Jesus died in my place on the cross and rose again to new life, and you're offering me his righteousness today. So I receive that. Would you come in, would you change me from the inside out, rob my sin and give me the righteousness of Jesus, and help me to live forgiven from this day forward? I pray in Jesus' name, Amen." Well, if you prayed a prayer like that from your heart, let us celebrate with you. We'd love to have you go to our "Find God's Love" page on our website. You'll find answers you may need about your newfound faith. Go to lwf.org/radio and click the "Find God's Love" tab. Welcome to his forever family. We can't wait to hear from you today.
Cary Vaughn: Hi, this is Cary Vaughn, and this program has been brought to you by Love Worth Finding, a nonprofit ministry showcasing the powerful preaching and teaching of Pastor Adrian Rogers. We operate solely through the generous gifts of individual supporters just like you. So to give a gift today, call 1-877-LOVEGOD. You can also connect with us online by going to lwf.org/radio. There we offer helpful resources inspired by the timeless teachings of Pastor Rogers, or even write to us at Love Worth Finding, Box 38-600, Memphis, Tennessee 38183. Thank you for listening today and be sure to join us next time for more profound truth simply stated right here on Love Worth Finding.
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