thou hast made them equal unto us, who
have borne the burden and heat of the day. But he answered one of them
and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong; didst not thou agree with me for
a penny? Take that thine is and go thy way; _I will give unto this
last even as unto thee_."--Matt. 20:1-14. From this the conclusion is
drawn that there are no different rewards in Heaven; that all are
rewarded alike. But not only does God's word elsewhere teach different
rewards in Heaven, but the Saviour made His teaching on this point
very plain. In the parable of the pounds, the servant who with one
pound gained ten pounds is rewarded with authority over ten cities.
But the one who with one pound gained only five pounds is rewarded
with only five cities (Luke 19:16-19). This shows clearly a difference
in rewards. If, now, this passage in Matthew teaches no difference in
rewards, then we have a positive contradiction. But consider the two
parables: the parable of the pounds is where men have the same
opportunity, each one a pound; then they are rewarded according to
what they accomplish. The parable of the vineyard is where the
laborers work different lengths of time; in the morning, boys and
girls, six, eight, ten, twelve years of age, becoming Christians and
going into the vineyard; the third hour, young people, fifteen,
eighteen, twenty years of age, becoming Christians and going into the
vineyard; the sixth hour, young men and young women, twenty-five,
thirty, thirty-five years of age, becoming Christians and going into
the vineyard; the ninth hour, men and women past middle life, forty,
forty-five, fifty years of age, becoming Christians and going into
the vineyard; the eleventh hour, old men and women, sixty, seventy,
eighty years of age, becoming Christians and going into the vineyard.
But does the Saviour mean all old men and women who become Christians
in old age and begin working in the vineyard? No, for He limits it to
those in old age who can say, "_No man hath hired us_." Then the
Saviour means by the eleventh hour laborers in the parable those who
in old age had never before had the opportunity of going into the
vineyard; who had never before heard or understood the way to be
saved, and enter God's service. With these, the Saviour reserves the
sovereign right to give them just as great rewards as though they had
entered the vineyard "early in the morning"; not that those who "have
borne the burden and heat of the day" shall r