I invite you to turn this morning to Matthew 21. Matthew 21, as we read together, beginning at verse 23 through verse 32. The text for our consideration, verses 28 to 32, the parable of the two sons. Matthew 21, beginning at verse 23, as we hear now the Word of God. Jesus entered the temple courts, and while He was teaching, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him. By what authority are you doing these things? they asked. And who gave you this authority? Jesus replied, I will also ask you one question. If you answer me, I will tell you by what authority I am doing these things. John's baptism, where did it come from? Was it from heaven or from men? They discussed it among themselves and said, If we say from heaven, he will ask, Then why didn't you believe him? But if we say from men, we are afraid of the people, for they all hold that John was a prophet. So they answered Jesus, We don't know. Then he said, Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things. What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, Son, go and work today in the vineyard. I will not. He answered. But later he changed his mind and went. Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, I will, sir. But he did not go. Which of the two did what his father wanted? The first, they answered. Jesus said to them, I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him. But the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. Let's bow together in prayer. Father, we thank You for Your Word, which is truth. We pray, O Lord, that You would apply Your Word to our hearts and our lives in this morning hour. Open us by the power of Your Holy Spirit and illumine us that we might hear and understand, believe and obey. We thank You, O Lord, that You continue to nourish us and strengthen us. And we confess, O Lord, we need that nourishment. You have hidden such wonderful truths in Your Word. We pray that You would reveal them to us even in this morning hour. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray these things. Amen. Beloved congregation of our Lord Jesus Christ, the time was quickly approaching for Jesus to go to the cross. You see, it was Passion Week. It was the very week that He would be crucified. And we might say that the heat was being turned up by the scribes and the Pharisees, the teachers of the law, by those who wanted Him dead. They were working hard to find a reason, even one reason, to exterminate this pest. But this very weak Jesus Himself, you see, turns up the heat against them through a number of parables that He told. With these parables, He shows them the impurity of their hearts. And He demonstrates to them that they have neglected their duty as leaders of God's people. You see, they had a mistaken view of their place in God's kingdom. And as well, through these parables, Jesus exposes their hate against Him. Now, with this parable before us this morning, it takes a look back at what had already taken place. It takes a look back at their rejection of the Lord Jesus Christ. The fact that they would not repent and believe. And the following parables, we might say, are prophetic, talking about what will still take place. And with this parable, Jesus sets the stage for the leaders, for the scribes and Pharisees to see that they needed to repent. As we read, they asked Jesus about his source of authority. And in his wisdom, Jesus responded with a question about their view of the authority of John the Baptist. And with his own application of this parable, Jesus, in effect, after telling them, first of all, that he will not answer their question, At the end, He in effect tells them where John's authority came from. And He reveals to them how they were disobedient to that authority. Jesus is talking here, beloved, about obedience. Obedience with the mouth versus obedience from the heart. True obedience versus false obedience. And as he tells this parable, Jesus reveals the two-fold reception of the call to obedience. That call to obey is received in one of two ways. Now, the father's command to his sons to go and work today, that command was not out of the ordinary. They had a special father-child relationship in which the father provides for and protects his children, And the father had every right to assume that his sons would also be interested in the family farm. And children, we know, children, we know, have the obligation to be obedient to their parents. Children are called to give childlike, no questions asked, no excuses, obedience to their parents. Now, to these sons, the father gives an identical call. To each one, we receive the idea here, to each one he goes separately and says, Son, go and work today in the vineyard. Now this is more than just a call to perform a specific task. It is a call to obedience. And what would be the evidence of being obedient? Very simply, going and working. You see, these two sons represent all who hear the Gospel call to repent and believe. That call is identical to all men, to all people. It's not to be watered down for some in order to make it more appealing. The call to repent and believe is not to be manipulated so that the so-called requirements don't seem so strict, so that some accept this call as if they are doing God a favor. All men share in the same sinful nature. All people are sinners in need of salvation which only comes through Jesus Christ and therefore the call to repent from sin and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ is to be identical to one and all. And what is evidence of God's grace in heeding that call, in hearing it and responding to that call? Again, going and working. In other words, the necessary result or evidence or fruit of true repentance and faith is obedience. The call to repent and believe is also a call to obedience. To be obedient to the Word of God. But you see, beloved, it's not just an outward obedience we're talking about, but we're talking about obedience from the heart. Paul says in Romans 10, verses 9 and 10, if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, And with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. And the writer of Proverbs in chapter 4, verse 23 says, Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. It is your heart that moves you to demonstrate what it is you believe. Your thoughts and words and actions spring from what is hidden in your heart. And we are called to hide God's Word there by diligent study and meditation and memorization so that in the Spirit's power, we can confess with the psalmist, Your Word I have hid in my heart. Why? That I might not sin against You. Beloved, the call of the Gospel is to go to work in God's kingdom. To tend His vineyard. to witness and testify of the saving sacrifice of our Lord, to be obedient to the law of God from thankful, love-filled hearts for the grace of Jesus Christ. John says in his first epistle that those who practice righteousness give evidence that they are children of God. And those who practice lawlessness give evidence that they are children of the devil. But genuine obedience, beloved, has only one source, and that source is true faith. Anything that appears to be obedience to God's call which is not done from true faith but instead from selfish motivation is nothing more than lip service which is really disobedience. Yet obedience and the works of obedience done from true faith, beloved, do not secure God's love for us but instead it's the other way around. They demonstrate our love for God because He first loved us. Our works of faith and obedience do not make us alive, but they are evidence that we have been made spiritually alive by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. And notice also that this identical call is to go work today. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Not simply some future date. But today. There are many people. Maybe you've run into some. I have as well, including young people in the church who readily say that later, you see, maybe when they are older, then they will get serious about the faith. And what so many of these are saying, in effect, is this. If I commit to the faith now, then all of those worldly pleasures that I want to participate in, well, they might make me feel guilty. And therefore, I will indulge in those things first with a free conscience. You see, because I haven't said anything, I haven't committed my life to Christ, I haven't made that public profession of faith so I can participate with a free conscience. And then when all of the fun is gone, when it's all over, then maybe I'll get serious about eternity. In other words, to many young people, there is too much fun to be had that they know outright contradicts a Christian profession of faith. But you see, beloved, to put this off is to say that God is not worth it today. Young people, I know some of you readily say, I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe that He has died for my sins. I believe that if I die today, I'm comforted that I'm going to heaven. but you have not yet stood before God and His people and made that profession of faith. Today, don't wait. You see, beloved, whenever we read in Scripture the call to repent and believe, it always means right now. Right now. It's not an option to go home and sleep on it like you would a major financial decision, which is a good thing to do in that case. Think about it. Sleep on it before you invest or whatever the case may be. But not here. It's not something that you sit down with a pen and a piece of paper like you would young people while you're choosing a college maybe and you list the pros and the cons, you list the advantages and the disadvantages of believing in God. By God's grace, that call is to be responded to in humility today. going to work for the Lord today and no longer working against Him. In the second place, consider the opposite responses to this identical call. The first son. The first son openly and forthrightly rebels. I will not. And notice he doesn't even make any excuses. He doesn't even say, well, you know, I'm a little bit busy right now, so I can't really do it right now, But maybe later, he doesn't look back at his dad and say, well, why do I have to? Why should I? Parents, do you ever hear that? Boys and girls, do you ever respond like this? He says, I won't. I don't want to. Do you ever respond like that? Even with excuses when your parents ask you to do something? Well, notice something very important here that even though this first son regretted what he said. See, it says in the NIV that he changed his mind, but the idea is that he regretted it. He was sorry. He was humbled. He regretted what he said. He regretted how he treated his father. And he went to work. Yet, Jesus does not approve of his conduct here when he says, I will not. Jesus does not approve of that. This first son, too, was sinful. But Jesus does approve of him because he recognized his guilt and his disobedience, he repented of it, and he proved that he was sincere by what? Going to work. Now, the second son was the opposite. I will, sir. And the idea that we get from the Greek is that he's already on his way to the vineyard, looking over his shoulder, he's got a hoe in one hand and a pruning shoes in the other. I'm on my way, Dad. You see? his words give the impression of instant obedience but his actions tell a much different story but he did not go you see beloved this son's purpose was to please his father immediately with the correct answer to simply say the right thing in order to get his dad off his back and we must admit that many of us fall in line with this. We say we will do something to please someone. Maybe our spouse. I'm guilty of that. I'll get to it. Three months later, you didn't change that light bulb yet. Or maybe we say that to get our parents off our back, boys and girls. Maybe we say that to our children, parents. To our boss. To our teachers. To our elders. I will. But then we don't do it. But we must also admit, beloved, that we don't like those who do this, especially to us. We can't tolerate them. And as the kingdom lesson will show us in a moment, God does not tolerate this kind of lip service obedience either. The sons gave completely opposite responses, both with their words and with their actions. Again, both were sinful. Neither is praised. But the first son repents and brings joy to the Father by showing faith because again, true faith is the source of genuine obedience. But Jesus' application must have hit the scribes and Pharisees like a hard punch to the stomach that isn't ready for it. You know how that is. You've been hit in the stomach and you didn't have a chance to take that deep breath that completely knocks the wind out of your sails. And what must have hurt even more is the fact that in public, In public, they have no choice but to condemn themselves as they answer Jesus' question, right? Which of the two did what his father wanted? You see, if they didn't know that they were being condemned, then they learn quickly because Jesus basically draws them a picture, telling them that they are the second son who said, I will, sir, but did not go. You see, Jesus makes a comparison here between the obedience of those who appeared to be, as we might say, religiously higher on that ladder leading to heaven, namely the scribes and the Pharisees, and those who appeared that they weren't even on that first rung of the ladder, namely the tax collectors and the prostitutes. The tax collectors and the prostitutes who represent all those who openly indulge in gross sin, These were represented by the first son who said, I will not go, but then later regretted it and went. Their open refusal to God's call to be obedient to His law was demonstrated by their life of reckless sin. The tax collectors by means of their greed and their extortion and the prostitutes by means of their gross immorality He had, in effect, said, I will not, to God's commands. But in Jesus' day, many of these same tax collectors and prostitutes who were despised and hated by many, especially by the scribes and Pharisees, they had, by God's grace, not only heard, but heeded, responded to the call of John the Baptist to repent and believe. But on the other hand, again, were the scribes and the Pharisees who were represented, again, by the Son who said, I will, sir, but did not go. Outwardly, they were considered to be well at home with God's law. They had it down to the letter, as they would be the first to tell you. They gave the appearance that they constantly behaved in such a way as if they were constantly saying, Yes, Lord, we will do whatever You require of us and we will go wherever You want us to go. But their professions were hypocritical and empty. Nothing more than vain words and vain repetitions. They knew the right thing to say. And indeed, they said the right thing. Jesus says in Matthew 23, verses 2 and 3, the teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat, so you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. And in Matthew 15, verse 8, Jesus applies the well-known word of the Lord through Isaiah to the scribes and Pharisees. These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain. Their teachings are but rules taught by man. beloved when john the baptist came he came not only preaching the way of righteousness but also by the grace of god demonstrating the way of righteousness he came preaching and demonstrating that which the scribes and pharisees claimed to follow yet he came in the name of the Lord calling for repentance and faith. But the scribes and the Pharisees, they didn't need to repent. They weren't the sinners. Everybody else was. Everybody knew that. They rejected John's authority and they hated him because he too exposed their true nature when he called them a brood of vipers. They rejected the call to repentance and therefore the call to genuine obedience even after they saw, as Jesus says, even after they saw the repentance and faith of the tax collectors and prostitutes, the repentance and faith that leads to true, godly and visible obedience, even after they witnessed that, which was an amazing thing if you think about it, they refused to believe. Congregation, there are only two kinds of people who hear the gospel call. Those who repent unto obedience by the grace of God and those who don't. And we must confess that by nature we are all like the second son, those to whom the call of God means nothing. But with joy we can also confess that it is only by the grace of God, through the power of His Holy Spirit, that like the first son, we are brought to repentance and faith. But Jesus teaches a powerful kingdom lesson here he says to the scribes and pharisees in the second part of verse 31 i tell you the truth the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of god ahead of you now think about that beloved these must have been such bitter words for the ears of these religious leaders that such sinners would enter god's kingdom before these who were surely much more righteous. But not only does Jesus reveal their lack of true faith, lip service only attitude, but He also strips them of that false honor that they claim for themselves. They were not in the kingdom as they thought. And they would not be without repentance and true faith. They were being taught here that John's authority indeed came from God, even from Jesus Himself and the way of righteousness which John came in was the true and the only way. The way of repentance and faith was the evidence then of humility and genuine obedience. But the scribes and the Pharisees rejected John and Jesus and they felt justified in a righteousness of their own making. But notice too, beloved, that Jesus, using the example of the worst sinners of that day, the tax collectors and the prostitutes, teaches that there is salvation for the chief of sinners. The very worst. The vilest offender who truly believes is welcomed into God's kingdom. You see, no one is too lost except he who commits the unpardonable sin against the Holy Spirit. The blood of Jesus is more powerful than the worst stain of sin. And for those who recognize their sin and guilt by God's grace and cry out for God's mercy and repentance, they will enjoy the eternal grace of God for Jesus' sake. And that includes for you. Maybe you're sitting here this morning and you've struggled, maybe for some time, struggled with wondering, am I really saved? I mean, we think back and we can list all these terrible offenses that we have committed against God. Each one of us, really. You might wonder, can God really forgive me? Be assured, beloved, that He can. And that He does for Jesus' sake. The blood of Jesus is the most powerful cleansing agent there is. And there is salvation in Him. And you know what? This was even true for the scribes and Pharisees. Because notice, Jesus did not say that the door to the kingdom was eternally shut against them yet. He said the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. He was calling them to repent and believe. You see, beloved, as long as it is today, figuratively speaking, that this life has not yet been required of us, it is still the day of God's mercy and grace. So don't stop praying for that loved one who has fallen away or who has not yet given his or her life to the Lord Jesus Christ. Don't stop. The promise of God through Paul is still good and true for whoever calls on the name of the Lord in repentance and faith from the heart shall be saved. That's the only promise truly sealed with blood. But all those who do not admit their sin and guilt in this life, one day it will be too late and they will be brought face to face with the Almighty Judge on Judgment Day. There are so many today who confess with their lips but deny God with their lives. What about us? What about us? I say, how can you ask that, preacher? We're all sitting here, aren't we? We're all here faithfully, Lord's Day by Lord's Day. And you say, what about us? It's for me too. What about me? What do you find as you examine your confession and your life? Does your walk match your talk? Is your life a life of obedience in every single area where God has placed you, boys and girls, as students? The rest of us in the job site or in the office or in the home? In every area? You see, it's easy to talk the talk. It's easy to say the right things, especially standing in the congregation of God's people, surrounded by brothers and sisters in Christ. And believe me, I think I speak for the other preachers here and those who hope to be preachers too, that it's easy to stand in this pulpit, the comfort of this pulpit, and tell you and myself what it is that God says. But it's not always easy come Monday morning through Saturday night to walk the talk. It's not always easy. It might also be easy to give the appearance of walking the walk, going through the motions like the scribes and the Pharisees. But remember, beloved, you and I can fool some of the people, some or all of the time. But we cannot fool God any of the time. To be included in the Kingdom of God, we must have a righteousness that will hold up to God, that will meet His standards. Plain and simple, we don't have that on our own. And apart from repentance and faith, we won't have it, you see? But God, in His grace, God clothes those He regenerates and converts and brings to repentance and faith, and He clothes them in the perfect righteousness of Christ, received by faith alone. God's people are called to a life of obedience to Him. You see, true faith is not just agreeing with God's Word. But it is also embracing that life that evidences God's Word. And that means to renounce self and selfish interests and devote one's life wholly to God. Let me give one very, I hope, practical application that I just heard. It should apply to each one of us because each of us have work to do in our daily lives. Boys and girls as students, young people, all of us have some sort of work to do. I heard this recently. That Christians ought to be the hardest workers. In the shop. In the factory. On the job site. In the office. In school. We ought to be the hardest workers. No laziness. No unbeliever ought to be a harder worker than one of God's people. because we know that we do it ultimately for the supreme source of authority, God Himself. Scripture is clear that the evidence of faith, doing the will of God, is necessary. 1 Samuel 15, verse 22 says, Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice. Psalm 143, verse 10, Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God. Your Spirit is good. Lead me in the land of uprightness. And of course, Psalm 119, verse 105 says, Your Word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path to lead us and to guide us. Beloved, our comfort is that even though our best works are as filthy rags stained with sin, God sees our work done for Him through Jesus Christ. and His perfect righteousness. The Christian faith naturally embraces a lifestyle of obedience to the will of God tempered with the fruit of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And that means that all that we do and how we do it is done unto the Lord. The Gospel call is a call to repentance and faith with thankful obedience. And for those who do not repent of their sins and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, they will be responsible for their rejection. And they will be rejected, as Jesus says, whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. But those who truly repent and believe and obey by God's grace owe it all to Him who calls us out of darkness into His marvelous light. For them, Jesus gives these precious words. Therefore, whoever confesses me before men, him I will also confess before my Father who is in heaven. We will sing in a moment, O Jesus, I have promised to serve thee to the end. And may God remind each and every one of us daily that promise and performance can never be separated. Not as a means to enter the kingdom, but for those brought into and whose place is secure in the kingdom by Jesus Christ. Micah 6, verse 8 says, What does the Lord require of you but to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God? Why? So that God may be glorified. Beloved, a life of true faith by God's grace is also a life of true obedience in God's kingdom. Amen. Shall we pray? Father, we pray, O Lord, that You would work in our hearts and lives in a powerful way those to whom You have given such a great faith of such a great salvation that it might be our every desire to serve You, to live for You, to give thanksgiving and praise to You through a life of obedience. We thank You, O Lord, that our place in Your kingdom is secured only by Jesus Christ through His saving sacrifice and His perfect righteousness. And may we live as kingdom citizens. And may You receive all the glory and the honor and the praise. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.