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29 - The Reward of Grace - Christ's Object Lessons · Philosophy and Faith

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  Speaker 1: Chapter twenty nine, The reward of grace. The truth of
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  Speaker 1: God's free grace had been almost lost sight of by
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  Speaker 1: the Jews. The rabbis taught that God's favor must be earned,
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  Speaker 1: the reward of the righteous they hoped to gain by
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  Speaker 1: their own works. Thus their worship was prompted by a
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  Speaker 1: grasping mercenary spirit. From this spirit, even the disciples of
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  Speaker 1: Christ were not wholly free, and the Savior sought every
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  Speaker 1: opportunity of showing them their error. Just before he gave
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  Speaker 1: the Parable of the Laborers, an event occurred that opened
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  Speaker 1: the way for him to present the right principles. As
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  Speaker 1: he was walking by the way, a young ruler came
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  Speaker 1: running to him and, kneeling reverently, saluted him, Good Master.
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  Speaker 1: He said, what good thing shall I do that I
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  Speaker 1: may have eternal life? The ruler had addressed Christ merely
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  Speaker 1: as an honored rabbi, not discerning in him the son
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  Speaker 1: of God. The Savior said, why callst thou me good?
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  Speaker 1: There is none good but one that is God. On
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  Speaker 1: what ground do you call me good? God is the
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  Speaker 1: one good. If you recognize me as such, you must
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  Speaker 1: receive me as His son and representative. If thou wilt
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  Speaker 1: enter into life. He added, keep the commandments. The character
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  Speaker 1: of God is expressed in his law, and in order
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  Speaker 1: for you to be in harmony with God, the principles
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  Speaker 1: of his law must be the spring of your every action.
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  Speaker 1: Christ does not lessen the claims of the law in
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  Speaker 1: unmistakable language. He presents obedience to it as the condition
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  Speaker 1: of eternal life, the same condition that was required of
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  Speaker 1: Adam before his fall. The Lord expects no less of
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  Speaker 1: the soul now than he expected of man in paradise.
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  Speaker 1: Perfect obedience, unblemished righteousness. The requirement under the Covenant of
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  Speaker 1: Grace is just as broad as the requirement made in
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  Speaker 1: Eden harmony with God's Law, which is wholly just and good.
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  Speaker 1: To the words, keep the commandments, the young man answered,
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  Speaker 1: which he supposed that some ceremonial precept was meant. But
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  Speaker 1: Christ was speaking of the law given from Sinai. He
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  Speaker 1: mentioned several commandments from the second Table of the Decalogue,
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  Speaker 1: then summoned them all up in the precept, Thou shalt
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  Speaker 1: love thy neighbor as thyself, The young man answered, without hesitation,
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  Speaker 1: All these things have I kept from my youth? Up
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  Speaker 1: what lackye yet? His conception of the law was external
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  Speaker 1: and superficial, judged by a human standard. He had preserved
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  Speaker 1: an unblemished character. To a great degree, his outward life
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  Speaker 1: had been free from guilt. He verily thought that his
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  Speaker 1: obedience had been without a flaw. Yet he had a
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  Speaker 1: secret fear that all was not right between his soul
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  Speaker 1: and God. This prompted the question, what lackeye, Yet, if
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  Speaker 1: thou wilt be perfect, Christ said, go and sell all
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  Speaker 1: that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou
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  Speaker 1: shalt have treasure in heaven, and come and follow me.
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  Speaker 1: But when the young man heard that saying, he went
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  Speaker 1: away sorrowful. He had great possessions. The lover of self
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  Speaker 1: is a transgressor of the law. This Jesus desired to
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  Speaker 1: reveal to the young man, and he gave him a
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  Speaker 1: test that would make manifest the selfishness of his heart.
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  Speaker 1: He showed him the plague spot in his character. The
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  Speaker 1: young man desired no further enlightenment. He had cherished an
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  Speaker 1: idol in the soul. The world was his God. He
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  Speaker 1: professed to have kept the commandments, but he was destitute
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  Speaker 1: of the principle, which is the very spirit and life
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  Speaker 1: of them. All. He did not possess true love for
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  Speaker 1: God or man. This want was the want of everything
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  Speaker 1: that would qualify him to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
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  Speaker 1: In his love of self and worldly gain, he was
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  Speaker 1: out of harmony with the principles of heaven. When this
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  Speaker 1: young ruler came to Jesus, his sincerity and earnestness won
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  Speaker 1: the Saviour's heart. He beholding him loved him. In this
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  Speaker 1: young man, he saw one who might do service as
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  Speaker 1: a preacher of righteousness. He would have received this talented
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  Speaker 1: and noble youth as readily as he received the poor
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  Speaker 1: fisherman who followed him. Had the young man devoted his
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  Speaker 1: ability to the work of saving souls, he might have
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  Speaker 1: become a diligent and successful laborer for Christ. But first
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  Speaker 1: he must accept the conditions of discipleship. He must give
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  Speaker 1: himself unreservedly to God. At the Saviour's call, John, Peter,
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  Speaker 1: Matthew and their companions left. All rose up and followed him.
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  Speaker 1: The same consecration was required of the young ruler, And
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  Speaker 1: in this Christ did not ask a greater sacrifice than
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  Speaker 1: he himself had made. He was rich, Yet for your
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  Speaker 1: sakes he became poor. That ye, through his poverty might
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  Speaker 1: be rich. The young man had only to follow where
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  Speaker 1: Christ led the way. Christ looked upon the young man
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  Speaker 1: and longed after his soul. He longed to send him
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  Speaker 1: forth as a messenger of blessing to men in the
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  Speaker 1: place of that which he called upon him to surrender.
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  Speaker 1: Christ offered him the privilege of companionship with himself. Follow me.
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  Speaker 1: He said, this privilege had been counted a joy by Peter, James,
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  Speaker 1: and John. The young man himself looked upon Christ with admiration.
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  Speaker 1: His heart was drawn toward the Savior, but he was
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  Speaker 1: not ready to accept the Saviour's principle of self sacrifice.
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  Speaker 1: He chose his riches before Jesus. He wanted eternal life,
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  Speaker 1: but would not receive into the soul that unselfish love
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  Speaker 1: which alone is life. And with a sorrowful heart, he
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  Speaker 1: turned away from Christ. As the young man turned away,
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  Speaker 1: Jesus said to his disciples, how hardly shall they that
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  Speaker 1: have riches enter into the Kingdom of God. These words
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  Speaker 1: astonish the disciples. They had been taught to look upon
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  Speaker 1: the rich as the favorites of heaven, worldly power, and
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  Speaker 1: riches they themselves hoped to receive in the Messiah's kingdom.
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  Speaker 1: If the rich were to fail of entering the kingdom,
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  Speaker 1: what hope could there be for the rest of men.
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  Speaker 1: Jesus answereth again and saith unto them children, How hard
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  Speaker 1: is it for them that trust in riches to enter
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  Speaker 1: into the Kingdom of God. It is easier for a
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  Speaker 1: camel to go through the eye of a needle than
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  Speaker 1: for a rich man to enter into the Kingdom of God.
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  Speaker 1: And they were astonished out of measure. Now they realized
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  Speaker 1: that they themselves were included in the solemn warning. In
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  Speaker 1: the light of the Saviour's words, their own secret longing
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  Speaker 1: for power and riches was revealed. With misgivings for themselves,
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  Speaker 1: they exclaimed, who then can be saved? Jesus looking upon them,
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  Speaker 1: saith with men. It is impossible, but not with God.
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  Speaker 1: For with God all things are possible. A rich man
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  Speaker 1: as such cannot enter Heaven. His wealth gives him no
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  Speaker 1: title to the inheritance of the saints. In light, it
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  Speaker 1: is only through unmerited grace of Christ that any man
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  Speaker 1: can find entrance into the City of God. To the rich,
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  Speaker 1: no less than to the poor are the words of
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  Speaker 1: the Holy Spirit spoken. Ye are not your own, for
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  Speaker 1: ye are bought with a price. When men believe this,
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  Speaker 1: their possessions will be held as a trust, to be
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  Speaker 1: used as God shall direct, for the saving of the
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  Speaker 1: lost and the comfort of the suffering and the poor.
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  Speaker 1: With man, this is impossible for the heart clings to
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  Speaker 1: its earthly treasure. The soul that is bound in service
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  Speaker 1: to Mammon is deaf to the cry of human need.
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  Speaker 1: But with God all things are possible. By beholding the
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  Speaker 1: matchless love of Christ, the selfish heart will be melted
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  Speaker 1: and subdued. The rich man will be led, as was
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  Speaker 1: Saul the Pharisee, to say, what things were gained to me?
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  Speaker 1: Those I counted loss for Christ, yea doubtless And I
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  Speaker 1: count all things but loss for the excellency of the
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  Speaker 1: knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. Then they will not
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  Speaker 1: count anything their own. They will joy to regard themselves
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  Speaker 1: as stewards of the manifold grace of God, and for
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  Speaker 1: his sake, servants of all men. Peter was the first
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  Speaker 1: to rally from the secret conviction wrought by the Saviour's words.
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  Speaker 1: He thought with satisfaction of what he and his brethren
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  Speaker 1: had given up for Christ. Behold, he said, we have
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  Speaker 1: forsaken all and followed thee. Remembering the conditional promise to
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  Speaker 1: the young ruler, thou shalt have treasure in heaven, he
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  Speaker 1: now asked what he and his companions were to receive
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  Speaker 1: as a reward for their sacrifices. The Saviour's answer thrilled
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  Speaker 1: the hearts of those Galileean fishermen. It pictured honors that
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  Speaker 1: fulfilled their highest dreams. Verily, I say unto you that
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  Speaker 1: ye which have followed me in the Regeneration, when the
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  Speaker 1: Son of Man shall sit in the throne of his glory,
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  Speaker 1: ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve
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  Speaker 1: tribes of Israel. And he added, there is no man
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  Speaker 1: that hath left house or brethren, or sisters, or father
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  Speaker 1: or mother or wife, or children, or lands for my
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  Speaker 1: sake and the gospels. But he shall receive an hundredfold
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  Speaker 1: now in this time houses and brethren and sisters and
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  Speaker 1: mothers and children, and lands with persecutions, and in the
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  Speaker 1: world to come eternal life. But Peter's question what shall
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  Speaker 1: we have? Therefore had revealed a spirit that, uncorrected, would
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  Speaker 1: unfit the disciples to be messengers for Christ. For it
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  Speaker 1: was the spirit of a hireling. While they had been
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  Speaker 1: attracted by the love of Jesus. The disciples were not
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  Speaker 1: wholly free from pharisaism. They still worked with the thought
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  Speaker 1: of meriting a reward in proportion to their labor. They
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  Speaker 1: cherished a spirit of self exaltation and self complacency, and
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  Speaker 1: made comparisons among themselves. When one of them failed in
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  Speaker 1: any particular, the others indulged feelings of superiority. Lest the
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  Speaker 1: disciples should lose sight of the principles of the gospel,
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  Speaker 1: Christ related to them a parable illustrating the manner in
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  Speaker 1: which God deals with his servants and the spirit in
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  Speaker 1: which He desires them to labor for him. The kingdom
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  Speaker 1: of Heaven, he said, is like unto a man, that is,
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  Speaker 1: an householder, which went out early in the morning to
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  Speaker 1: hire laborers into his vineyard. It was the custom for
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  Speaker 1: men seeking employment to wait in the market places, and
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  Speaker 1: thither the employers went to find servants. The man in
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  Speaker 1: the parable is represented as going out at different hours
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  Speaker 1: to engage workmen. Those who are hired at the earliest
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  Speaker 1: hours agreed to work for a stated sum. Those hired
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  Speaker 1: later leave their wages to the discretion of the householder.
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  Speaker 1: So when even was come the Lord of the vineyard
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  Speaker 1: saith unto his steward, call the laborers and give them
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  Speaker 1: their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. And
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  Speaker 1: when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour,
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  Speaker 1: they received every man a penny. But when the first came,
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  Speaker 1: they supposed that they should have received more, and they
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  Speaker 1: likewise received every man a penny. The householders dealing with
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  Speaker 1: the workers in his vineyard represents God dealing with the
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  Speaker 1: human family. It is contrary to the customs that prevail
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  Speaker 1: among men. In worldly business, compensation is given according to
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  Speaker 1: the work accomplished. The laborer expects to be paid only
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  Speaker 1: that which he earns. But in the parable, Christ was
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  Speaker 1: illustrating the principles of his kingdom, a kingdom not of
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  Speaker 1: this world. He is not controlled by any human standard.
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  Speaker 1: The Lord says, my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither
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  Speaker 1: are your ways my ways. For as the heavens are
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  Speaker 1: higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than
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  Speaker 1: your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. In the parable,
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  Speaker 1: the first laborers agreed to work for a stipulated sum,
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  Speaker 1: and they received the amount specified nothing more. Those hired
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  Speaker 1: later believed the master's promise whatsoever is right, that shall
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  Speaker 1: ye receive. They showed their confidence in Him by asking
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  Speaker 1: no question in regard to wages. They trusted to his
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  Speaker 1: justice and equity. They were rewarded not according to the
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  Speaker 1: amount of their labor, but according to the generosity of
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  Speaker 1: His purpose. So God desires us to trust Him who
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  Speaker 1: justifieth the ungodly. His reward is given not according to
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  Speaker 1: our merit, but according to his own purpose, which he
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  Speaker 1: purposed in Jesus Christ, our Lord. Not by works of
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  Speaker 1: righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy
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  Speaker 1: He saves us, and for those who trust in him,
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  Speaker 1: he will do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask
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  Speaker 1: or think. Not the amount of labor performed or its
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  Speaker 1: visible results, but the spirit in which the work is
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  Speaker 1: done makes it a value with God. Those who came
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  Speaker 1: into the vineyard at the eleventh hour were thankful for
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  Speaker 1: an opportunity to work. Their hearts were full of gratitude
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  Speaker 1: to the one who had accepted them, and when at
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  Speaker 1: the close of the day the householder paid them for
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  Speaker 1: a full day's work, they were greatly surprised. They knew
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  Speaker 1: they had not earned such wages, and the kindness expressed
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  Speaker 1: in the countenance of their employer filled them with joy.
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  Speaker 1: They never forgot the goodness of the householder or the
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  Speaker 1: generous compensation they had received. Thus it is with the sinner, who,
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  Speaker 1: knowing his unworthiness, has entered the master's vineyard at the
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  Speaker 1: eleventh hour. His time of service seems so short. He
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  Speaker 1: feels that he is undeserving of reward, but he is
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  Speaker 1: filled with joy that God has accepted him at all.
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  Speaker 1: He works with a humble, trusting spirit, thankful for the
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  Speaker 1: privilege of being a co worker with Christ. This spirit
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  Speaker 1: God delights to honor. The Lord desires us to rest
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  Speaker 1: in him without a question as to our measure of reward.
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  Speaker 1: When Christ abides in the soul, the thought of reward
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  Speaker 1: is not uppermost. This is not the motive that actuates
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  Speaker 1: our service. It is true that in a subordinate sense
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  Speaker 1: we should have respect to the recompense of reward. God
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  Speaker 1: desires us to appreciate his promised blessings, but he would
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  Speaker 1: not have us eager for rewards, nor feel that for
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  Speaker 1: every duty we must receive compensation. We should not be
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  Speaker 1: so anxious to gain the reward as to do what
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  Speaker 1: is right. Irrespective of all, gain love to God, and
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  Speaker 1: to our fellow men should be our motive. This parable
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  Speaker 1: does not excuse those who hear the first call to labor,
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  Speaker 1: but who neglect to enter the lord's vineyard. When the
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  Speaker 1: householder went to the market place at the eleventh hour
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  Speaker 1: and found men unemployed, he said, why stand ye here
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  Speaker 1: all day idle? The answer was because no man hath
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  Speaker 1: hired us. None of those called later in the day
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  Speaker 1: were there in the morning. They had not refused the call.
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  Speaker 1: Those who refuse and afterward repent do well to repent.
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  Speaker 1: But it is not safe to trifle with the first
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  Speaker 1: call of mercy. When the laborers in the vineyard received
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  Speaker 1: every man a penny, those who had begun work early
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  Speaker 1: in the day were offended. Had they not worked for
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  Speaker 1: twelve hours, they reasoned, And was it not right that
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  Speaker 1: they should receive more than those who had worked for
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  Speaker 1: only one hour in the cooler part of the day.
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  Speaker 1: These last have brought but one hour, they said, And
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  Speaker 1: thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne
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  Speaker 1: the burden and heat of the day. Friend the householder
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  Speaker 1: replied to one of them, I did thee no wrong.
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  Speaker 1: Didst thou not agree with me? For a penny? Take
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  Speaker 1: that thine is, and go thy way. I will give
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  Speaker 1: unto this last, even as unto thee. Is it not
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  Speaker 1: lawful for me to do what I will with mine own?
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  Speaker 1: Is thine eye evil? Because I am good? So shall
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  Speaker 1: the last be first and the first last? For many
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  Speaker 1: be called, but few chosen The first. Laborers of the
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  Speaker 1: parable represent those who, because of their services, claim preference
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  Speaker 1: above others. They take up their work in a self
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  Speaker 1: gratulatory spirit and do not bring into it self denial
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  Speaker 1: and sacrifice. They may have professed to serve God all
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  Speaker 1: their lives. They may have been foremost in enduring hardship, privation,
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  Speaker 1: and trial, and they therefore think themselves entitled to a
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  Speaker 1: large reward. They think more of the reward than of
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  Speaker 1: the privilege of being servants of Christ. In their view,
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  Speaker 1: labors and sacrifices entitle them to receive honor above others,
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  Speaker 1: and because this claim is not recognized, they are offended.
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  Speaker 1: Did they bring into their work a loving, trusting spirit,
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  Speaker 1: they would continue to be first. But their querulous, complaining
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  Speaker 1: disposition is unchrist like and proves them to be unworthy.
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  Speaker 1: It reveals their disease, desire for self advancement, their distrust
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  Speaker 1: of God and their jealous, grudging spirit towards their brethren.
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  Speaker 1: The Lord's goodness and liberality is to them only an
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  Speaker 1: occasion of murmuring. Thus they show that there is no
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  Speaker 1: connection between their souls and God. They do not know
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  Speaker 1: the joy of cooperation with the Master Worker. There is
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  Speaker 1: nothing more offensive to God than this narrow, self caring spirit.
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  Speaker 1: He cannot work with any who manifest these attributes. They
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  Speaker 1: are insensible to the working of His spirit. The Jews
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  Speaker 1: had been first called into the Lord's vineyard, and because
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  Speaker 1: of this they were proud and self righteous. Their long
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  Speaker 1: years of service they regarded as entitling them to receive
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  Speaker 1: a larger reward than others. Nothing was more exasperating to
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  Speaker 1: them that an intimation that gentiles were to be admitted
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  Speaker 1: to equal privileges with themselves and the things of God.
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  Speaker 1: Christ warned the disciples who had been first called to
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  Speaker 1: follow him, lest the same evil should be cherished among them.
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  Speaker 1: He saw that the weakness the curse of the church
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  Speaker 1: would be a spirit of self righteousness. Men would think
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  Speaker 1: they could do something toward earning a place in the
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  Speaker 1: Kingdom of heaven. They would imagine that when they have
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  Speaker 1: made certain advancement, the Lord would come in to help them.
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  Speaker 1: Thus there would be an abundance of self and little
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  Speaker 1: of Jesus. Many who had made a little advancement would
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  Speaker 1: be puffed up and think themselves superior to others. They
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  Speaker 1: would be eager for flattery, jealous, if not thought most important.
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  Speaker 1: Against this danger, Christ seeks to guard his disciples. All
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  Speaker 1: boasting of merit in ourselves is out of place. Let
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  Speaker 1: not the wise man glory in his wisdom. Neither let
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  Speaker 1: the mighty man glory in his might. Let not the
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  Speaker 1: rich man glory in his riches. But let him that
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  Speaker 1: glorieth glory in this that he understandeth and knoweth me
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  Speaker 1: that I and the Lord which exercise loving kindness, judgment,
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  Speaker 1: and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight,
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  Speaker 1: saith the Lord. The reward is not of works, lest
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  Speaker 1: any man should boast, but it is all of grace.
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  Speaker 1: What shall we say, then, that Abraham our Father, as
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  Speaker 1: pertaining to the flesh, hath found. For if Abraham were
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  Speaker 1: justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not
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  Speaker 1: before God. For what saith the scripture Abraham believed God,
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  Speaker 1: and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now to
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  Speaker 1: him that worketh is the reward, not reckoned of grace,
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  Speaker 1: but of debt. But to him that worketh not, but
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  Speaker 1: believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is
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  Speaker 1: counted for righteousness. Therefore, there is no occasion for one
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  Speaker 1: to glory over another, or to grudge against another. No
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  Speaker 1: one is privileged above another, nor can any one claim
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  Speaker 1: the reward as a right. The first and the last
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: are to be sharers in the great eternal reward, and
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: the first should gladly welcome the last. He who grudges
• 18:51
  Speaker 1: the reward to another forgets that he himself is saved
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: by grace alone. The parable of the laborers rebukes all
• 18:59
  Speaker 1: jealousy and suscipt love, rejoices in the truth, and institutes
• 19:03
  Speaker 1: no envious comparisons. He who possesses love compares only the
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: loveliness of Christ and his own imperfect character. This parable
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: is a warning to all laborers, however long their service,
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: however abundant their labors, that without love to their brethren,
• 19:19
  Speaker 1: without humility before God, they are nothing. There is no
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: religion in the enthronement of self. He who makes self
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: glorification his aim will find himself destitute of that grace
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: which alone can make him efficient in Christ's service. Whenever
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: pride and self complacency are indulged, the work is marred.
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: It is not the length of time we labor, but
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: our willingness and fidelity in the work that makes it
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: acceptable to God. In all our service, a full surrender
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: of self is demanded. The smallest duty done in sincerity
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: and self forgetfulness is more pleasing to God than the
• 19:54
  Speaker 1: greatest work. When marred with self seeking, he looks to
• 19:57
  Speaker 1: see how much of the spirit of Christ we cherish,
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: and how much of the likeness of Christ our work reveals.
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: He regards more the love and faithfulness with which we
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: work than the amount we do. Only when selfishness is dead,
• 20:10
  Speaker 1: when strife for supremacy is banished, when gratitude fills the
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: heart and love makes fragrant the life. It is only
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: then that Christ is abiding in the soul, and we
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: are recognized as laborers together with God. However, trying their labor,
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: the true workers do not regard it as drudgery. They
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: are ready to spend and be spent, but it is
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: a cheerful work done with a glad heart, joy in
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: God is expressed through Jesus Christ. Their joy is the
• 20:38
  Speaker 1: joy set before Christ to do the will of Him
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: that sent me and to finish his work. They are
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: in cooperation with the Lord of glory. This thought sweetens
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: all toil, It braces the will, It nerves the spirit
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: for whatever may befall. Working with unselfish heart ennobled. By
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: being partakers of Christ's sufferings, sharing his sympathies, and cooperate
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: rating with him in his labor, they help to swell
• 21:02
  Speaker 1: the tide of his joy and bring honor and praise
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: to His exalted name. This is the spirit of all
• 21:09
  Speaker 1: true service for God. Through a lack of this spirit,
• 21:12
  Speaker 1: many who appear to be first will become last, while
• 21:15
  Speaker 1: those who possess it, though account at last, will become first.
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: There are many who have given themselves to Christ, yet
• 21:22
  Speaker 1: who see no opportunity for doing a large work or
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: making a great sacrifice in His service. These may find
• 21:29
  Speaker 1: comfort in the thought that it is not necessarily the
• 21:32
  Speaker 1: martyr's self surrender which is most acceptable to God. It
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: may not be the missionary who has daily faced danger
• 21:38
  Speaker 1: and death that stands highest in Heaven's records. The Christian
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: who is such in his private life, in the daily
• 21:45
  Speaker 1: surrender of self, in sincerity of purpose, and purity of thought,
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: in meekness under provocation, in faith, and piety, in fidelity,
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: in that which is least. The one who, in the
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: home life represents the character of Christ. Such a one may,
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: in the sight of God, be more precious than even
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: the world renowned missionary or martyr. Oh, how different are
• 22:07
  Speaker 1: the standards by which God and men measure character. God
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: sees many temptations resisted, of which the world and even
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: near friends never know, temptations in the home. In the heart,
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: he sees the soul's humility in view of its own weakness,
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: the sincere repentance over even a thought that is evil.
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: He sees the whole hearted devotion to his service. He
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: has noted the hours of hard battle with self, battle
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: that won the victory. All this God and angels know
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: a book of remembrance is written before him. For them
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: that fear the Lord and that think upon his name.
• 22:44
  Speaker 1: Not in our learning, not in our position, not in
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: our numbers or intrusted talents, not in the will of man,
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: is to be found the secret of success. Feeling our inefficiency,
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: we are to contemplate Christ, and through Him who is
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: the strength of all strength, the thought of all thought,
• 23:02
  Speaker 1: the willing and obedient will gain victory after victory. And
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: however short our service or humble our work, if in
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: simple faith we follow Christ, we shall not be disappointed
• 23:13
  Speaker 1: in the reward that which even the greatest and wisest
• 23:17
  Speaker 1: cannot earn, the weakest and most humble may receive. Heaven's
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: golden gate opens not to the self exalted. It is
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: not lifted up to the proud in spirit, But the
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: everlasting portals will open wide to the trembling touch of
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: a little child. Blessing will be the recompense of grace
• 23:35
  Speaker 1: to those who have wrought for God in the simplicity
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: of faith and love. End of Chapter twenty nine.