 Well tonight, the title of our sermon is what do you think? What do you think? I'm going to put a question before you this evening. From the parable of the two sons in Matthew chapter 21. If you will, turn your Bibles with me. Matthew chapter 21. And we'll be looking at the parable of the two sons beginning in verse 28. What do you think? Matthew 21 beginning in verse 28. Hear from the words of Christ. The Bible says, what do you think? A man had two sons and he came to the first and said, son, go work today in my vineyard. And he answered and said, I will not. But afterward, he regretted it and went. Then he came to the second and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir, but he did not go. Which of the two did the will of his father? They said to him, these Pharisees, the first. Jesus said to them, assuredly I say to you, the tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him. But tax collectors and harlots believed him. And when you sought, you did not afterward relent and believe him. Let's pray to the Lord. Father in heaven, thank you for this time tonight. Or thank you for these faithful brothers and sisters. I'm so grateful to you, God, for the body of Christ. So grateful to you, God, for your word. And thank you, Lord, for the blessed joy of studying your word together and serving you alongside these brothers and sisters and working together in your vineyard. We love you, Lord, and we thank you for the clarity of your word. Thank you, Lord, how it exhorts and commands us and how it just, the genius, the brilliance of your word here, your instruction, God. We, as they were, just astonished at your teaching. Lord, how beautiful, God, how pure it is, converting the soul. Lord, how glorious it is to us who delight in your word, delight in your law. Thank you, Lord, for this. I pray that you would, by your word, God, cause us to examine our hearts, to, Lord, see our sin, to turn from it. Lord, to turn to you, to live, Lord, in a way that we are not merely hearers of the word, but doers of the word. Lord, and in that, God, live a life that is, by the power of your spirit, pleasing in your sight. What a joy that is. So I pray, Lord, you'd strengthen us by your spirit. You'd inform our understanding through your word tonight, by your spirit, in order that you would conform us into the image of Christ for your glory. In Jesus' name, amen. All right, in the title of our sermon, what do you think, the parable of the two sons in Matthew chapter 21. We'll look at verses 28 through 32 here. So what do you think? What is the right response to the gospel? What do you think? So many churches, so many denominations often divided along this very issue. We would agree on many fundamental aspects of the gospel. When it comes to the response, it causes much disagreement. What do you think? What is the right response to the gospel? Many, many denominations across many denominational lines would agree that you were created by God, who is holy and makes demands of you. You are to be holy as he is holy. You are to glorify him and worship him. However, you have from your birth, not done either one. You've not with your life glorified him as he deserves to be glorified, as it would be right to glorify him. And you have not worshiped him or served him in a way that is right. You have revealed yourself from your birth to be a sinner, to be a rebel, a rebel in God's kingdom. And Jesus Christ, we would agree, many would agree that Jesus Christ is God, who condescended to live as a man. We would agree that he obeyed God perfectly, fulfilling all righteousness, fulfilling the just demands of God, the just demands of God's law. He fulfilled that perfectly, that Jesus Christ was crucified, that he died, that he was buried, and he rose again on the third day. That in his death and in his resurrection, he defeated death. We would agree that he paid the penalty for sin and he broke the power of sin. And he would agree that he performed the wrath-satisfying work of a substitute on behalf of sinners. We would agree that he has now ascended and seated at the right hand of the Father, making intercession for his people. And we would agree that he holds out an offer of salvation to all men. For many, that's where the agreement ends. Where the disagreement often begins, concerns the proper response to this glorious truth. The response to the gospel is not a secondary or ancillary issue. It's not second chair, second fiddle in this sense. It is an essential issue. The response to the gospel is a critical and essential issue. The gospel demands a response and it demands the biblical response. The biblical response to the gospel is part and parcel with the gospel message. So much so that to have the message right, those facts right, and the response wrong is to have a false gospel. There were those in the first century that struggled with the right response to the gospel message. They're called the Judaizers. They understood the facts about Christ. They had heard from Paul. They'd heard Paul preach on faith. They'd heard Paul certainly preach on faith alone. And these Judaizers, however, decided that the response to the gospel, the response to the grace of God in Christ must include circumcision. That was a false response and a damning doctrine that Paul writes about in response to in Galatians chapter one, verse six. Listen to Paul's words. I marvel that you are turning away so soon from him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel. You change the response to the gospel. You have a different gospel. You pursue a wrong response to the gospel and you are turning away from him who called you in the grace of Christ. Verse seven, he says, this different gospel is not another but there are some, these Judaizers who trouble you and want to pervert, to distort, to corrupt the gospel of Christ. But Paul says, even if we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel to you, you see, the issue was the response. We would agree on the facts of the gospel leading up to this point that Christ died, that he was buried, that he rose again. But in the way that we respond to those facts here, different on the part of the Judaizers. They introduced a corrupt response and as such they introduced a corrupted gospel. Even if we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel to you, then what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed. In like manner, like manner to the Judaizers of the first century, there are those today that would add baptism as a response to the gospel required for salvation. There are those that would respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ by doing good works. They imagine that what will get them into heaven are the good works that they do, being a good person. The religious rituals that they go through and they busy themselves with being charitable. Maybe reading a proverb every night before they go to bed. They insist on being nice. They just are living an external religious ritualistic life believing that those good works will get them into heaven. There are others who believe that they get into heaven based on their decision to believe in Christ. And they may do no works at all. They simply have agreed to a set of facts about Christ. And they say, look, here I am in church on a Sunday. And they imagine that that is the entirety of the Christian life summed up. Just coming to church on a Sunday morning. They say to themselves, besides, we're all sinners, we're all sinners. Some would add, as the Judaizers did circumcision, some would add the sacraments, if there were such a thing. The pope just made a declaration that all you have to do is obey your conscience. The Catholic church would uphold many of the same facts of the gospel that we would. Yet the response to those facts is heretical and damning and wrong. And it is damning and wrong that to think that in light of those facts that all you would do is obey your conscience in order to make it into heaven, in order to be right with God. In our parable here, the parable of the two sons in Matthew chapter 21 verse 28, Jesus outlines for us two responses to the gospel. A contrast, if you will, between two different responses. And that, those responses impact the eternal destinies of those responders. It matters how you respond. It matters how you respond. As is common in the parables of Christ, we're gonna see a right response and we're going to see the Pharisees convicted of a wrong response. And as is common, he gives the hypocritical Pharisees just enough rope to hang themselves. We're gonna see that in error. They condemn themselves with their own words. And we were talking about it today. Just the beautiful economy of the words of Jesus Christ in these parables, the genius of scripture, the genius of Christ in destroying false religion on the turn of a phrase. We see here the hypocritical Pharisee condemned by their own words. This parable sets forth the glorious blessing that belongs to those who see their sin and turn from it to Christ. But it also carries a devastating warning. Devastating warning to those who do not see their sin and hypocritically falsely continue in it. God does not command the intent. God commands the action. He does not merely command the desire to turn away from sin. He commands the actual abstinence from sin, the fleeing of it and forsaking of it. And a following of him displays the fruit of saving faith, which is good works. The Christian life is characterized. It is distinguished uniquely by the fruitfulness of the Christian life as a result of genuine saving faith. In a phrase thought to have originated with St. Bernard of Clairvaux, it is said that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. The Lord commands action. Titus chapter two, verse 11, for the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. This grace teaches us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for himself his own special people zealous for good works. A part of Christ's purchased possession is your purification. Is your sanctification? Is your turning from sin and producing fruits of righteousness? And in Christ, in this clarifying of a proper response to the gospel through his use of this parable, Christ shows three things. He shows our obligation. He shows a crushing implication. And then he shows a condemnation for those that respond wrongly. Our obligation, an implication, and a condemnation. First, let's look at the obligation together. Beginning in verse 28, the Bible says, but what do you think? A man had two sons and he came to the first and said, son, go work today in my vineyard. The first truth we need to walk away with is that God is seeking doers. God is seeking workers, workers in his vineyard. Ultimately, from work in the vineyard, God is seeking fruit. That often is the case with many of his parables, many of his statements, is that God is seeking fruitfulness from the Christian life. Listen to the preaching of John the Baptist from Matthew chapter three. But when John saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, brood of vipers, who warns you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore, bear fruits worthy of repentance. And do not think to say to yourselves, we have Abraham as our father. For I say to you that God is able to raise up children to Abraham from these stones. And even now, the ax is laid to the root of the trees. Therefore, every tree which does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. God is seeking doers. He's not just seeking hearers of his word, he's seeking doers of his word. He is seeking fruit producing and as it applies to us today, Christians. Fruit producing Christians. Look at Matthew chapter 21 and look down at the following parable in verse 41. You're in Matthew 21. Look down at verse 41. They said to him, he'll destroy, speaking of the parable of wicked vine dressers, he had turned over his vine, his vineyard, to a group of wicked vine dressers. And so the Pharisees said to him, what are they gonna do when Christ asked him when the owner of this vineyard comes back? What will he do with these wicked vine dressers? They said to him, he'll destroy those wicked men miserably and lease his vineyard to other vine dressers who will render to him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus said to them, have you never read the scriptures, the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes. Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation, here it is, bearing the fruits of it. And whoever falls on this stone will be broken, but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder. When the chief priests and Pharisees heard his parable, they perceived that he was speaking of them. Look at James chapter one, let me give you another example. James chapter one, the Lord is seeking fruit. There are fruits of the kingdom. Those fruits of the kingdom are produced by God the Holy Spirit in the life of a genuinely saved brother or sister in Christ. James chapter one. And we need to be mindful of those fruits, mindful of that work. The response to the gospel, the response to new birth, faith in Christ will be the fruits of repentance, the fruits of faith. It's going to produce a radical difference in your life. In James chapter one, look at verse 22. James chapter one, verse 22. Here James says, but be doers of the word. Not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man, observing his natural face in a mirror. For he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work. And this one will be blessed in what he does. Flip over to chapter two. Chapter two, and look at verse 14. And again, the emphasis on fruit, the emphasis on work, the fruits of faith. Look at verse 14. What does it profit my brethren? If someone says he has faith, but does not have works, can faith or that kind of faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked in destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, depart in peace, be warmed and filled, but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works is dead. But someone will say, you have faith and I have works, and I'll show you my faith by my works. You believe that there is one God you do well, even the demons believe and tremble. But do you want to know, oh foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham, our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? In other words, his work of sacrificing or offering Isaac on the altar was a work that confirmed the validity and genuineness of his faith. It was an evidence of his genuine saving faith. Do you see verse 22, that faith was working together with his works and by his works faith was made perfect or confirmed or affirmed? Verse 23, in the scripture was fulfilled which says Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Faith is what is the response of the gospel and upon faith the Lord credits the righteousness of Christ imputes the righteousness of Christ to the believer such that they are just with God. The fruits that flow from that give evidence and affirm the genuineness of the faith. Makes sense? Here he goes on to say, you see that a man is justified by works and not by faith only. Likewise was not Rahab the harlot, also justified by works. When she received the messenger and sent them out another way, for as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. You cannot merely say. And here's the point. You cannot merely profess. You must show evidence, give evidence of your profession. John in Matthew chapter three preached repentance, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Go and bear fruits befitting repentance. Jesus Christ in Matthew chapter four preached repentance, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. James here produces a faith that gives evidence of its genuineness by works, preaches repentance from sin. Paul preached repentance of the Areopagus. God has overlooked these times of ignorance, but now commands all men everywhere to repent. Peter, the apostles, preached repentance. All called for repentance and the fruits of it. And the so-called gospel today only calls for, in most cases that we hear, only calls for a profession. It calls for a profession without repentance. If they use the word repentance, they're only calling for a profession of repentance and not actual fruits of repentance. And in doing that, listen, as a result of this parable, in looking at this parable, a gospel that calls for a profession only, calls for repentance in word only is calling forth the second son. What do you think? A man had two sons and he came to the first and said, son, go work today in my vineyard. There was a son that said, I will not, and he repented. The second son said, I go, sir, and he did not. The false gospel today, the primary false gospel that we see in churches today, calls forth from the gutter the second son. It is a factory producing the second son into the body of their so-called church. And then, after producing the false response of the second son, this false gospel inoculates the second son with a false assurance of salvation. Look back with me at Ezekiel chapter 18. Ezekiel chapter 18. I'll give you another example. Ezekiel chapter 18. Genuine response to the gospel will radically change your life. It will radically produce in you a hatred for the sin that you once lived in and radically producing you a hunger and a thirst for righteousness, which will eventuate in righteousness a living for God. And that's not in your own power, your own strength. That's in the strength of this Holy Spirit that indwells you. But here, it's with that understanding that the fruits of genuine faith are fruits of good works, fruits of righteousness, such that the Bible can say this in Ezekiel chapter 18, beginning in verse 20. Here the Bible says, the soul who sins shall die. The son shall not bear the guilt of the father nor the father bear the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon himself and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon himself. But if a wicked man turns from all his sins, which he has committed, that's turning from those past sins, you understand? A repenting of all that wickedness that you once committed and admitting to God and yourself the wickedness of your own heart, seeing yourself for the sinner that you are, agreeing with God that you're a sinner. But then it says, keeps all my statutes and does what is lawful and right. That's a present tense reality. Keeping the statutes of God, obeying the commandments of God, living for Christ. It says he shall surely live, he shall not die. Verse 22, none of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him. Praise the Lord, because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live. That is the fruits of genuine saving faith. Verse 23, do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die, says the Lord God, and not that he should turn from his ways and live. But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, those who profess today in the church profess the name of Christ, they make a profession, I'm turning from my sin. I'm following Christ, I'm trusting him alone. I'm turning from that life of sin and I'm following Christ, repenting and believing in the gospel. And they turn in profession only, in word only. They are hearers of the word, but not doers. Their faith is a dead faith that doesn't produce the righteousness of God. It doesn't produce holiness. And so inevitably they turn and they commit iniquity. And it goes on to say, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed. Because of them he shall die. This is the life of the second son. This is the life of those who say, I will go, sir, and they do not go. They don't produce the fruit of a changed life. They don't produce the fruit of a new birth. Verse 25, yet you say, the way of the Lord is not fair. Here now, O house of Israel, is it not my way which is fair and your ways which are not fair? When a righteous man turns away from his righteousness, commits iniquity and dies in it, it is because of the iniquity which he has done that he dies. Again, when a wicked man turns away from the wickedness which he has committed and does what is lawful and right, he preserves himself alive because he considers and turns away from all the transgressions which he has committed. He shall surely live, he shall not die. Yet the house of Israel says, the way of the Lord is not fair. O house of Israel, is it not my ways which are fair and your ways which are not fair? You read text like this, James chapter one. Read a text like this in Ezekiel chapter 18. If you're not a careful student of the word or a careful discerner of truth here from the word of God, you might think to yourself, the Bible is teaching works righteousness. Does the Bible teach works righteousness? Absolutely not. It's a righteousness that works. Is this the works salvation? Salvation by works? No, it's a salvation that works. These are evidences of genuine saving faith. It is the miracle of the new birth that produces these fruits. A miracle of salvation, the Holy Spirit in dwelling the believer that produces these works and fruits of righteousness. It's the miracle of salvation in Christ. All purchased by the blood of Christ. All bought, wrought by the Holy Spirit in the life of a believer. In this verse, verse 28, the Father comes to the two sons and he says, son, go work today in my vineyard. There is an obligation of a son to do the work that the Father has called for him to do. There's an obligation on the part of these sons to go work in the vineyard of the Father. This is the call to the gospel. It is the call to salvation. It is the call to an apprenticeship, if you will, with Christ doing the will of the Father is reflective of a right response to the gospel because it's that fruit, that work that is evidence of a right response to the gospel. It is the fruit of genuine saving faith. Christ says, come and follow me. Here reflected in go work a day in my vineyard. The Father asks and the son has an obligation. To be saved is to be an apprentice of Christ, a disciple of Christ, a learning follower. To be saved is to be working and plowing in his vineyard. The day there is the amount of time you have on this earth before the Lord calls you. We're to work in his vineyard. You have two responses, two responses beginning in verse 29. Based on the translation that you're reading, these two responses may be flipped, reading from the new King James. If you're reading a different translation, simply based on a different manuscript, they may be swapped, but you'll get the idea. Two responses here, verse 29. He answered and said, this son, I will not, but afterward he regretted it and went. So then he came to the second and said likewise and he answered and said, I go, sir, but he did not. Now bear in mind here, he gives the same command to both sons, the same exact command to both. However, the responses to that command are very, very different. Here you see two responses demonstrated, two responses given. There are actually four that we could consider in thinking about this. One son said, I will not, then he repented and he went. The other said, I will go, sir, and he did not. But you also have the response of a person that would say, I will go and they do. Today, son, go work a day in my vineyard. I'll go and he actually goes. Is there anyone that does that? No. There is none righteous, no, not one. That's the ideal. The ideal response would be to say, I will, sir. And then you go and you work as the Lord has commanded. There's no one righteous, no one who does good. We have all turned aside and have become unprofitable, unprofitable, unprofitable servants. We've all gone astray from our birth. There is not a one that says I'll go and then they go. Every person from their conception is a rebel in God's creation, a rebel in the kingdom, so to speak. They're a rebel and they need to repent of their sin. There's another group that says, I will not and they do not. It's just the rebellious unbeliever. The thoughts and intents of man's heart are wicked continually and they say in their hearts, I will not have this man to rule over me and they die as unbelievers. They will not and they do not. The concern of Jesus Christ with this parable here are the two sons, if you will, those in a sense in the family, those that are among God's people, so to speak, or today in the church, so to speak. It is those that say I will not and then they repent, those genuine believers who repent of their sin and they go and then those hypocrites that say I will go, sir, and they do not. Those that say I will go, sir, and do not fall into two categories. One is the willfully disobedient. The willfully disobedient. And the next group is the deceived so-called submissives. Those that say I will go and they do not fall into those two categories. The concern of the parable are these sons. There's Jews specifically here at this time and those in the church by application. To go and work is tantamount to forsaking your sin and following the Lord by faith, serving him, working, laboring, like we talked about this morning, toiling, striving for the Lord. So first, let's look at this group that says I will not and they repented. I will not, he said, and then he repents and he goes to work. Now, it's surprising, right? Especially if you consider the background, the context of this parable, it's surprising that the father even tolerated this response. Father comes to his son and says, I want you to go work a day in my vineyard and the son responds, I will not. Now, this is in the context of a society that held respect to parents in extremely high esteem. It was extremely important that parental authority was respected. So the Pharisees would have been shocked by this as well. The father actually tolerated this response. Disrespect like this would have garnered the most severe of consequences, the most severe of punishments in Israel at that time. They said, I will not. The next son says, I will go, sir, and then he doesn't go. Now notice first that both sons disobey, right? Both sons are disobedient here. It's not a matter of a son being obedient, being righteous in and of himself. Both sons disobey. In other words, there is no room here for the good son. If you believe yourself to be good, you're in another category. You're not represented here. There is no room here for the good son. You must admit your wickedness. This is part and parcel with the main point behind this parable. To have a right response to the gospel, you must admit your need of a savior. Admit your guilt, conviction, blame, and shame over your sin. Come to realize your blame and allow the shame to set in over your own sin. Agree with God about your wickedness. This is the foolishness of the wicked. I will go, sir, and they do not go. To work in a family vineyard would have been a good thing, right? If you sin in this way, it hurts you. It harms you. It's not good for you. To have worked in the family vineyard would have been going to work in the family business that this son would have had a part in. That this son might have inherited a part of. And so to work in the family vineyard would have been for his good. It would have put food on his table. It would have produced income for the family. They've been good for him, but he sinfully rebels, does not go, and it hurts him. When this second son sins, then, applied to the church today, he's comforted with a peace, peace of the false gospel, and he is harmed to his eternal destruction. These are those that say I will go, sir. Notice that he uses the word, sir. Korea, I agree, it's Lord. He says I will go. He says Lord, and then he doesn't obey him. There's a false gospel that produces the second son. And the false gospel produces the second son, the second son is harmed to his eternal damnation. Look with me at 2 Peter, chapter two. 2 Peter, chapter two, by virtue of a corrupted, perverted gospel, which is based in the response to the facts about Christ. It's based in a false response, is what produces the second son today. 2 Peter, chapter two, and look down beginning in verse 18. Here you have false teachers that come along and deceive. It says in verse 18, for when they speak great swelling words of emptiness, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through lewdness, the ones who have actually escaped from those who live in error. I want you to see for a second. These are those that are enticed by, if you will, the offer of peace. They offer peace, peace, but the gospel that they preach is not giving peace. Responding incorrectly won't secure a peace. They say peace, peace when there is no peace. And so, if you will, the second son comes, comes to church, right? Listen to the so-called preaching of God's word. They are comforted in their peace, producing the effects in a person of saying, I will go, sir, but the validity of that profession is canceled out, is exposed as false because there is no fruit giving evidence to the genuineness of faith there. It merely produces a hypocrite and they're harmed to their eternal destruction. They, in coming into the church, in a sense, escape those who live in error. In other words, they're coming out of the world and they're coming into the professing church wanting to have peace with God, wanting to have forgiveness for their sin. And so these false teachers, speaking great swelling words of emptiness, alluring through this gospel of peace, and you can live in your sin, these lust of the flesh through lewdness, they allure those who have actually escaped from those who live in error. While they promise them liberty, verse 19, they themselves are slaves of corruption. These are the blind leading the blind and they both fall into the ditch. That one that says you can have peace with God and yet have a wrong response to the gospel in that you can live in your sin and call yourself a Christian. They're just alluring with empty words, great swelling empty words. Attracting, if you will, those who will live in the lusts of their flesh, in the lewdness of their flesh, thinking themselves to be right with God, thinking themselves to have escaped. And yet they're condemned with the rest, the second son. They themselves are slaves of corruption. For by whom, by this false gospel, a person is overcome. By him, by that false teacher, also he is brought into bondage. For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, a latter end is worse for them than the beginning. Does this mean that someone loses their salvation? No, we're talking about the response of the second son here. This is someone who in profession only says that they are a Christian, but they have not escaped the defilements of the flesh. They've been offered a gospel of peace, peace, and they've responded in kind with a response that says, I go, sir, and they do not go. They do not produce the fruits of righteousness, only possible in genuine salvation, only possible by the spirit of God, only possible through a right response of genuine saving faith. And they just can't produce it in and of themselves. And they become the second son. It would have been better for them, verse 21, not to have known the way of righteousness than having known it to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them. But it has happened to them according to the second son. A dog returns to his own vomit and a sow having washed your wallowing in the mire is just a false profession. The second son, the implication here is that he intended to go. And he lied. He lied. I'm sorry, the implication is that he never intended to go, that he simply lied. He gives a false impression of obedience. He gives a false profession, sadly, despicably. This is the lot of the second son under a false gospel in many churches today. He says, Lord, and he does not go. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, he will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Let's look at Matthew seven together. Matthew chapter seven. It's a few chapters before our parable here. Certainly a teaching they would have heard him been familiar with. Matthew chapter seven and verse 13. Enter by the narrow gate. For wide is the gate, broad is the way that leads to destruction. And there are many who go in by it. There are many second sons that believe a false gospel, false response. They respond falsely. They respond in profession only. And yet do not go into the vineyard to work for the Lord. It says verse 14 because narrow is the gate. Difficult is the way which leads to life. And there are a few who find it. Beware of these false prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing. Inwardly, they are ravenous wolves. You'll know them by their fruits. The same way the genuine Christian produces fruits. These ravenous wolves produce fruits. You'll know them by their fruits. Demen gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles. Even so, every good tree bears good fruit. But a bad tree bears bad fruit. Again, fruits of genuine saving faith produce fruits of righteousness, fruits of the spirit, good fruit. If you're not in Christ, you cannot maintain. You cannot produce that good fruit. You're going to produce the same fruit you've always produced. Your life will produce the same fruit it has always produced. Fruits of unrighteousness, fruits of lust of the flesh and of lewdness. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Listen, a good tree cannot, cannot persist in a habitual pattern of bad fruit. It cannot do it. Verse 19, every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits, you will know them. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, I go, Lord, and you do not go. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my father in heaven. What is the will of the father? That you work a day in his vineyard. That you work in his vineyard. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your name? Cast out demons in your name and done many wonders in your name. And I will declare to them, I never knew you, depart from me, you second son, you who practice lawlessness. Therefore, whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock, rain descended, the floods came, the winds blew and beat on that house, and it did not fall for it was founded on the rock. It's that one who hears and does. That rock there, you could say that that's Christ. The rock there is obedience to God's word, basing his life on obedience to the word of God. He hears these sayings and does them, building his life on the bedrock of the fruits of genuine saving faith. Everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man, that second son who built his house on the sand and the rains descended, the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house and it fell and great was its fall. So it was when Jesus said into these sayings that people were astonished at his teaching for he taught them as one having authority and not as ascribes. Notice in the latter response, the second son, his words were good, the profession was good, but his actions did not follow his words. His intention, the intention wasn't even considered whether he had a right desire in his heart, a right intention in his heart or not. It wasn't even considered. There is no credit given for desire only. There's no credit given for intention only. What counts is not a promise. What counts is not a profession. What counts is the fruit of genuine saving faith, a work and labor in the vineyard, performance as a fruit of faith. Blunder of the false gospel being pedaled today is that intention is all you need. Every head bowed, every eye closed, no one looking around in the quietness of this moment. If you'd like to be saved today, don't you wanna be forgiven in your sin? Don't you want to be in heaven when you die? Just whisper this little prayer and Jesus, ask Jesus into your heart. Jesus, I know I'm a sinner. Repeat this after me. Jesus, I know I'm a sinner, right? If you're too embarrassed to come down front, just squeeze the hand of the person next to you to let them know you're serious. And we laugh at that, but that false response is a false gospel. It generates in the millions the factory producing the second son. It pedals a gospel that asks for intention or profession only. It's exactly what it produces. I was witnessing to a pastor of a mega church and I said, what if someone comes down front? They walk the aisle in response to an invitation and they say, I wanna ask Jesus into my heart. I wanna be saved. I know I'm a sinner. I wanna be saved for my sin. What would you do? They said, well, leave them in the sinner's prayer. Jesus, I admit that I'm a sinner. I believe that you died on the cross to save me from my sin. Come into my life, make me the person that you want me to be. Save me today, amen. And so what if that person then walks out having made that profession and goes back to his sin? Many hardly make it out the front doors of the church before they're back in their sin, but some may go a month, may go two months, maybe go six months. Maybe you go a year and then you're back in your sin. What if you go two years and you dive headlong back into your sin? The profession is a sham. Today many may use the word, repent. Lord, I repent of my sin. I repent of my sin, I turn to Christ. I ask this pastor, so-called. I ask this pastor, what if their life doesn't match their profession? Well, it's the sincerity of their heart. If they're sincere in their heart, is it the sincerity of your heart that saves you? They'll say it's not the words of this prayer that save you. So if it's not the words of this prayer that save you, what is it? What do you believe that it is? They say, well, if they mean it. What if they mean it? With all their hearts, they cry big, great, crocodile tears of godly sorrow or worldly sorrow. They walk away from that experience, so-called, and turn back to their sin. They say, I go, Lord, and yet they do not go. They produce, it produces the second son. Leon Morris said this. These are the conventionally religious who cause no scandal and go through the outward motions of religious observances and fail to respond to the demand for wholehearted repentance and complete dedication to the service of God that Jesus demands. What do you think? Who does the will of the father? Who does the will of the father? One who repents and goes and works in the vineyard. My anniversary is coming up. And I say to my wife, honey, I'm gonna take you out. We're gonna go on a beautiful date, listen to soft music. We're gonna hold hands. I'm gonna, you know, googoo in your eyes and whisper in your ear. I'm gonna buy you flowers. We're gonna eat a meal together. If I said all that and then didn't follow through, I'm watching football on the night of our anniversary. Where's that gonna get me? In hot water, doghouse. The profession counts for nothing. It's the follow-through. Where are the fruits of faith? Where are the fruits of the spirit in your life? There's a grave implication from this implication. Verse 41 says, which of the two did the will of his father? They said to him, the first. Jesus said to them, assuredly, I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. Having told the story, Jesus turns to the Pharisees just like Nathan and David, right? If you know that story in the Bible. He traps them in their own words by asking for an answer to a very obvious question. When he answers, he says like Nathan, you are the man, right? You are the second son. Jesus turns their understanding back on themselves as a searing and convicting spotlight. You are not the son who has repented. You are the second son. Who are you? Who are you? You hold yourself up to the light of scripture. The light of Jesus is teaching here. Who are you? Many, when they read a parable, relate to the first son. They relate to the first son when they are the second. Because you have not gone into the vineyard to work. Are you bringing forth fruits of genuine saving faith? When do you go evangelizing? When do you go evangelizing? Are you daily taking in God's word? Somebody said that's just legalistic. Holiness, righteousness, obedience to Christ's commands is not legalism. It's obedience to Christ's commands. We're all sinners, someone may say. Are you willfully in your sin? Are you willfully making decisions to go against the command of the Father to work in righteousness in his vineyard? Hebrew says for if we sin willfully, after we've received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. But a certain fearful expectation of judgment and fiery indignation, which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who's rejected Moses' law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How do you reject Moses' law? You disobey it. You disobey it. 29, of how much worse punishment do you suppose? Will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God under foot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing and insulted the spirit of grace? I'll go, sir, and yet you sleep with your girlfriend. I go, sir, and yet you live in fornication. I go, sir, and yet you won't put away your anger. I go, sir, and yet in your heart you seek vengeance. I go, sir, and then you cheat at work, steal from your employer. I go, sir, and you sin, and you sin, and you sin, count of the blood of the covenant by which he was supposedly sanctified a common thing, insulting the spirit of grace. For we know him who said, it goes on to say, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord, and again, the Lord will judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of a living God. Both sons sinned. So who's right with God at the end of this scenario, back in Matthew chapter 21? There's only one option here, it's the first son. It's the rebellious repenter that you see as a sinner, right? But it's that rebellious repenter who is immeasurably better than the hypocritical liar who is the second son. The answer of the Pharisees here to the question was right. But in answering it rightly, they condemned themselves with their own words because their response to the gospel was wrong. Here, their response is profession, without life transformation. It's intention without amending their wicked ways. Their history is one of saying, but not doing. I'll go, sir, into the promised land, and they do not go, right? I'll go, sir, I'll work a day in the vineyard. And yet they kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to them. There's a false gospel today that engenders this very thing in the professing church. Are you the latter son or the former? Most relate to the former wrongly. Say, look, I'm here in the church as if that were all the work that it was being referred to here. There's an implication here for the tax collectors and harlots. They've entered into new birth. Look quickly at Ezekiel chapter 36. Ezekiel chapter 36. There's an implication here for the tax collectors and harlots who responded rightly, turning from their sin and turning toward the Lord. And this is why the Bible can speak of the fruits of faith so connected, so joined to the faith itself as if to sound like a necessity, a requirement of salvation and fruits of faith are a necessity. They're essential to affirm genuine saving faith. Can say that because it is. Look at verse, this is chapter 36. Ezekiel 36 verse 22. Here, therefore say to the house of Israel, thus says the Lord God, I do not do this for your sake or house of Israel, but for my holy name's sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. I will sanctify my great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst and the nation shall know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. For I will God says, take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries and bring you into your own land. Then I will God says, sprinkle clean water on you, you shall become clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Another way of saying that Lord is going to forgive. Cleanse from all that iniquity, all that filth. Verse 26, I'll give you a new heart, a new nature. I'll put a new spirit within you. I'll take the heart of stone out of your flesh, give you a heart of flesh. I'll put my spirit within you and here it is too and cause you to walk in my statutes and you will keep my judgments and do them. Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers. You shall be my people, I'll be your God. I will deliver you from all your uncleanness. Look at verse 31, then is the fruit of this new birth, this fruit of a new heart, a new nature, a spirit, a new spirit dwelling within you. Verse 31, you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and your abominations. How did tax collectors and harlots here respond? Certainly tax collectors and sinners. Even now with the Pharisees, he goes one step further. It's not tax collectors and sinners as has been said so often in scripture. It's now even farther down the road. Tax collectors and harlots. Pharisees would have seen them as the dregs of society. Out of reach of the hand of God's mercy, right? They would have seen them as the dregs, the scum and yet they come in repentance and faith. Loathing themselves in their own sights for their sin. And it's the self-justifying, the self-righteous Pharisee that doesn't see his own sin. These tax collectors and harlots come through the door of the sheepfold. They come through Christ in broken, contrite hearts, in humility before the Lord. They repent, produce fruits of godly sorrow over sin, fruits of repentance, fruits of genuine saving faith because they've been given a new heart. They've been given a new nature. They've been given a new spirit to dwell in them. They've been caused by God to be made alive in Christ and already producing fruits of that genuine faith. There's an implication here for the Pharisees as well. The Pharisees are the second son. They're not producing fruit. There is no fruit and in that comes the condemnation. The condemnation, our third point. Jesus said to them, these Pharisees assuredly I say to you that tax collectors and harlots enter the kingdom of God before you. For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but tax collectors and harlots believed him and when you saw it, you did not afterward or lent and believe him. No rebuke could have cut deeper than this one or more severely than this one. Pharisees, the tax collectors, far away from the, any possibility in the minds of the Pharisees, far away from any possibility of the grace of God beyond the reach of God's mercy. However, the Pharisees were farther than they were. The religious elite, the ritualistic conformers, following God with their lips, but not with their hearts or even farther away. Tax collectors and harlots were those who first rebelled and then genuinely repented and they would go in before you. When Christ says that they go in before you was a huge reversal of preconceived ideas and notions in the minds of these hypocritical self-righteous Pharisees. Tax collectors and harlots in that sense were nearer God, nearer the kingdom, not because of their righteousness, right? Not because of righteousness, but because of shame and blame, humility over their sin, leading to their humbling and leading to their being able to see their desperate need for grace. Pharisees were farther because they were in the opposite situation. The Pharisees were asked about this in John, about John in verse 24. If you look in Matthew 21 and look in verse 32, Jesus Christ brings up John the Baptist. He said, for John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him. Well, he had been asked just prior to this parable, question by the Pharisees and so Jesus responds with a question of his own. They wanted to test his authority. So Jesus Christ answered them and he said in verse 24, I'll also ask you one thing. Which of you tell me likewise? I will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, where was it from? From heaven or from men? They reasoned among themselves saying, if we say from heaven, they'll say to us, why then did you not believe him? But if we say from men, we fear the multitude for all count John as a prophet. So they answered Jesus and said, we do not know, politicians, right? I cannot answer a question. He said to them, neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. And then he goes right into the parable here that we're studying, the parable of the two sons. When he gets to 32, Jesus gives them the answer to the question. In verse 32, Jesus says, for John came to you in the way of righteousness. In other words, John was from God. And John was a godly man. Jesus answers that question for them. How did the Pharisees respond to that fact? They knew that. It says they did not believe him. They didn't believe the truth of his message, but that belief, mind you, that response is synonymous with, they did not repent at the message. They did not respond by amending their ways. They did not respond to the message with repentance. And without responding to the message with repentance, what does Jesus say? You did not believe him. Again, this close connection between faith and repentance. To respond to the message without repenting and turning from your sin is to fail to believe. It is a repenting belief. And then he says, when you saw it, he tells them, when you saw it, you did not afterward relent and believe him. They didn't believe the power of the gospel to transform a sinner. They saw this change in the harlots and tax collectors was clearly evident. The tax collectors and harlots believed him. And so what did the tax collectors and harlots do? They repented, turned to Christ and followed him. When they saw it, this was so clearly evident to them, they saw it, they still didn't believe. They still didn't repent. They still didn't respond with repentance in a change of life. They simply didn't believe. It's a connection between repentance here and belief. There is clear evidence of what a true and godly response to the gospel is. It should be no problem for anyone to discern genuine conversion. Why? Because the Lord in saving a sinner radically transforms the life, radically produces fruits of righteousness, a change of direction. It is this fruit, this response of repentance, the consequent production of godly sorrow leading to diligence and earnestness and indignation and fear. All those fruits that give testimony of genuine saving faith. Which son are you? It's connected to the gospel and it is essential to answer that question. Do you think you have the message of the gospel right? And you respond wrongly. You're in error. The gospel includes its response and you must respond rightly, repentance and faith. Let's pray. Father in heaven, Lord, thank you for this parable. I'm just, what is the word? Just in awe of you, in awe of your word, in awe of this brilliant, masterful teaching in scripture as glorious truth. And Lord, just how clearly and succinctly that you lay that out for us. Lord, thank you, thank you for your word. Help us to examine our hearts, Lord. Help us to persevere in the faith and be doers of the word, not hearers only deceiving ourselves. And we, Lord, is your people gladly. Lord, we rejoice at the command of the Father to go work a day in the vineyard. And Lord, we say we go. Lord, then strengthen us by your spirit to persist in that going, persist in that doing, and persist in that glorious work. Protect us, Lord, from falling away into that second son who says I go and yet he doesn't go. Well, love you, thank you, Lord, for this time. Thank you for your word and Jesus' name, amen.