By Jonathan Clark
In the Parable of the Vineyard in Matthew 20, Jesus tells us a parable which has offended my heart for the last 6 months. When the disgruntled 12-hour shift laborers complain about the same payment for the 1-hour laborers, Jesus, through the vineyard owner says, “Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?” (v. 15). Behind these two questions is a convicting truth I am realizing I need more and more. It is all too possible for each of us, even and especially us “grace-centered” people, to become the legalists we claim to renounce.
This is not a new truth, but it is one that even our particular tradition of reformed Presbyterianism can forget. In The Whole Christ, Sinclair Ferguson tells the story of an obscure theological scuffle in early-1700s England, but one which taps into the gospel nerves of every time, culture, and human heart. The occasion was “The Marrow Controversy.” It began as a simple theology question to a pastor candidate, but quickly fanned into a large-scale theological debate. In 2023 terms, the theology question was essentially, “Does repentance precede our acceptance of Christ as savior?” Or, “Does a person need to repent of their sin before they entrust their lives to Christ?” The seminary student initially said yes… and then later no, pointing to a pseudonymous systematic theology book entitled, The Marrow of Modern Divinity. The Marrow, as it was called, argued that both scripture and the reformed tradition teach that no one can bring any meritorious work into their salvation, including repentance. Rather, Marrow argued, God lavishes undeserved favor, or grace, without prior conditions from believers. Even repentance cannot qualify a person for faith or grace but instead follows it. Ferguson writes, “Repentance [and conviction] do not constitute grounds on which Christ is offered to us. They may constitute the way in which the Spirit works as the gospel makes its impact on us. But they never form the warrant for repentance and faith” (58).
In response, the Presbytery argued The Marrow was antinomian (“against law” in Greek), since it denied the law in our lives for holiness and salvation. The Marrow Men insisted that was the whole point not just of the historic Calvinist creed but of the entire Christian faith! That we do nothing to merit any part of our salvation has always been the “offense of the gospel.”
So what? Why does an obscure theology debate in 18th century Scotland matter? Because it reveals the ever-human reality that every person, every culture, every church is capable of, in Jesus’ words, “begrudging the generosity” of the vineyard master. We begrudge the vineyard master’s generosity when we say one person deserves reward more or less than another and when we attach conditions to our personal faith. We begrudge his generosity when we internally or externally demand that the vineyard owner use his resources as we see fit, not as he designs. One of the major themes of the Bible, and the starting place of the reformed understanding of salvation, is that humans are not saved or accepted or justified by God because of any condition, character, or merit in them. God does not save us because we deserve it. In the parable, he does not pay more for long days and less for short days. He does not even save us because of foreseen faith. We are saved (elected, justified, adopted, sanctified, and glorified) because of God’s sovereign choice. It’s not fair, just like a 12-hour shift receiving the same pay as a 1-hour shift. The life-long Christian, baptized as a child, attending church every week for 90 years, devoted to acts of justice, mercy, evangelism, and piety, is just as saved as the death-bed convert. The playing field is completely leveled, and this offends our meritorious sensibilities.
The problem is that all of us are experts at smuggling in personal and cultural conditions of merit into our daily theology. For the 18th century Presbyterians, they wanted to say that some repentance was necessary for salvation. But we do the same thing today. For some of us, it is a particular ethical behavior. For others it is a social or political issue, or perhaps theological precision. Because the impulse of the sinful human heart is to seek reconciliation with God on our terms, we constantly generate new and novel proofs that “I am not that bad! I can surely bring something to my salvation.” And then- God have mercy- we do begrudge the landlord’s generosity.
What challenged me so acutely about the Marrow Controversy is that the debate occurred at the high point of reformed theological discussion in Scotland, the birthplace of Scottish Presbyterianism, among some of the best reformed pastors ever. If anyone should have discerned “salvation by grace alone,” it was these men. And yet, the Marrow controversy was a hot debate.
The same could be said for Jesus’ main opponents, the Pharisees. They were experts in the law, in covenant theology, and in morality. They had Deuteronomy 7:7 drilled into their minds: “It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you…but because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers.” The Rich Young Ruler, who set the occasion for the Parable of the Vineyard, likewise knew the law (Mt. 19:16-22). Yet they all missed the grace! The sharp reality (and this unnerves me to the core as a pastor) is that sometimes it is the most theologically learned among us who can be the most confused or deceived about the basic tenets of the faith: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost (1 Tim. 1:15).”
What do we do with this? We must humble ourselves anew, as communities and individuals. We must ferret out the dark parts of our hearts and communities which still question and reject solo gratia, by grace alone. None of us moves beyond the basics of our faith, that of sin, repentance, Jesus, and undeserved grace. Paul confessed in Philippians 3 that his former life as a Pharisee was complete rubbish. Do I account my labors as a husband and father and pastor and friend and citizen as worthless next to the surpassing worth of knowing Christ by faith and only faith? I’m not there yet. I must attend closely to “guard the deposit” of “God who saved us and called us, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace” (2 Tim 1:9, 14).
The key to understanding the Parable of the Vineyard is found Jesus’ unsettling reminder in verse 16: “The last will be first, and the first last.” The Marrow controversy showed this again. Our modern-day controversies over merit show this again, too, even those that play out in the secret places of our hearts. I pray we learn from those who have gone before.
Jonathan Clark is a Presbyterian minister (PCA) and serves as the campus minister with Reformed University Fellowship in Colorado Springs, Colo. He holds an MDiv from Covenant Theological Seminary and a BA in politics, philosophy, and economics from The King's College. He is married to Caroline, a graphic designer, and together they have one daughter. His interests include Christian missions in a secular culture, Enlightenment philosophy and politics, and cycling whenever it's warm outside.