The Equality of Salvation

Matthew 20: 1 – 12 (NIV): "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire men to work in his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a denarius for the day and sent them into his vineyard. "About the third hour he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. He told them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went. "He went out again about the sixth hour and the ninth hour and did the same thing. About the eleventh hour he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, 'Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?' " 'Because no one has hired us,' they answered. "He said to them, 'You also go and work in my vineyard.' "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.' "The workers who were hired about the eleventh hour came and each received a denarius. So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 'These men 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.' "But he answered one of them, 'Friend, I am not being unfair to you. Didn't you agree to work for a denarius? Take your pay and go. I want to give the man who was hired last the same as I gave you. Don't I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?' "So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

What an amazing parable! Jesus lets us know through this illustration that all who believe in him will receive the same salvation – the same heaven – no matter how hard we work, because it isn't work that saves us, but God's generosity. God's grace.

This story proves that salvation is not earned in the first place. If it were, only the workers who hired on early in the morning would receive the daily wage. Instead, everyone is paid the same even if he only worked an hour.

That may seem unfair, but Jesus is making the point that no Christian is more valuable in the Kingdom than another. We all all sinners, saved by grace, and God is the only one who should be worshiped, celebrated and emulated. There is no class system in Christianity; we are all equal.

This amazing story shows another truth, too. It tells us that if we have waited all our lives to believe in Christ – to be saved – we still can. A man who is saved at 95 goes to the same heaven as a boy saved at seven. I wouldn't want to wait too long since tomorrow isn't promised and since a life lived for Christ is so much more rewarding, but if you have waited, the good news is it's never too late.