It is a sad fact that many who were led by Moses out of the land of Egypt, who were “baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink” (1 Cor. 10:1-4) did not enter into the promised land. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “but with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness” (1 Cor. 10:5).
So also it is today. Not all who are outwardly affiliated with a church — even with a faithful church — not all who have been baptized or who have partaken of the Lord’s Supper will be saved. Why? Because they do not believe! And, if they did once believe, they failed to continue in the hearing of God’s Word and in the reception of Christ’s Supper and their faith in the promises of the Gospel grew weaker and weaker until it died!
This is why St. Paul writes to the believers in Corinth (1 Cor. 9:24-27): “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: but I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
It is why he adds the warning in the following verses (10:6-12): “Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”
And there is the warning in our Gospel reading for today in which the kingdom of heaven is compared to a landowner who hired workers to go out and work in his vineyard, going out early in the morning and agreeing to pay a penny (denarius) per day; again at 9 a.m. offering to pay what is right; at noon; at 3 in the afternoon and at 5 p.m. (only an hour before quitting time). And when he graciously paid those who had only worked a short time a denarius, those who worked all day thought they deserved more and grumbled when they were only given a denarius.
What had happened? Those who had gladly accepted the landowner’s gracious offer of a denarius a day now thought they deserved more because of their hard work all day long in the heat of the sun. Instead of being thankful for what they were given and rejoicing that those who came later were also treated graciously, they grumbled and complained and, as a result, were told to take their pay — “that thine is” — and leave.
So also it is in the kingdom of God. God finds us wasting our lives in the marketplace and employs us in His kingdom. Some are baptized as little children and spend their whole lives in God’s service, and others do not come to faith until late in life and serve only a short time before they are called home and stand before God. Yet, because their reward depends not upon their own works but upon the merits of Christ — upon Christ’s holy life and His innocent suffering and death for the sins of the world — those who came to faith late in life receive the same eternal reward, the everlasting joys of heaven!
As Jesus said in Matt. 20:16, “So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.” The rewards God gives us are of His grace and mercy in Christ, not of works (cf. Eph. 2:8-10).
And, if we begin to think that God owes us heaven and all its blessings or that we deserve more blessings and glory than others because of all our devotion and service to Christ, we may find that we are cast out. Why? Because of unbelief, because we ceased trusting in Christ and God’s grace and favor for Christ’s sake and began to trust in our own life and works and somehow think we are worthy and deserving of God’s grace and mercy!
As Jesus said, “For many be called, but few chosen.” Though God calls all to repent of their fruitless ways and come work for Him in His kingdom, trusting in His grace and mercy which are offered and given to us for the sake of Christ and His cross, not all believe. Some turn away from Christ in order to continue on in their sinful ways, and some fail to trust in Christ because they feel deserving of God’s favor on account of their own works and service to God. The end result, of course, is the same: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16; John 3:18,36; 1 John 5:11-12).
Many are called. Christ died for all and atoned for the sins of all — He won forgiveness for all. God’s call goes out to all through the preaching of His Word, calling upon them to repent of their sinful ways and trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins and a place in God’s everlasting kingdom. The Holy Spirit graciously works through the Gospel to bring all who hear it to believe its promises and to place their faith in Christ Jesus that they might be justified, absolved and forgiven of all their sins.
Few are chosen. Only those who, by the grace of God, believe are justified, forgiven and absolved. And it is through the continued use of Word and Sacraments, that they are, by the Holy Spirit’s working, preserved in the true and saving faith and remain possessors of God’s gifts. And those who are preserved in the true and saving faith through God’s life-giving Word and Sacraments are also those who will be glorified and partake of the eternal joys of heaven!
“For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified” (Romans 8:29-30; cf. John 17:1ff.; Eph. 1:3ff.; Col. 1:19-23; 2 Thess. 2:13-14; 2 Tim. 1:9-10; Phil. 1:6).
O gracious and merciful God, grant that we hear Your Gospel call and trust in Christ our Savior unto life everlasting. Amen.
[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]