The Parable of the Two Sons Illustrates How Justification by Faith Alone is a False Concept

Matthew 21:23-27: “And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching, and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority? And Jesus answered and said unto them, I also will ask you one thing, which if ye tell me, I in like wise will tell you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John, whence (from where) was it? from heaven, or of men? And they reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From heaven; he will say unto us, Why did ye not then believe him? But if we shall say, Of men; we fear the people; for all hold John as a prophet. And they answered Jesus, and said, We cannot tell. And he said unto them, Neither tell I you by what authority I do these things.”

The Jewish leaders had been called out by John the Baptist and exposed as wicked people who needed to repent like the corrupt tax collectors and harlots did. Receiving John’s message as being from heaven would have meant losing face before the people and acknowledging that they themselves were wicked sinners in need of repentance. They had a major obstacle to repentance though which the tax collectors and the harlots (at least many of them) did not have. They claimed to already be serving the Lord faithfully- even though they weren’t. However, they were experts in displaying false holiness- like the popular leaders in the realm of professing Christianity today are (with few if any exceptions).

Jesus proceeded to tell them the parable of the two sons in Matthew 21:28-32: “But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Whether of them twain (two) did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.”

Besides not actually doing the will of the Father themselves, the wickedness of these leaders was further illustrated by how they did not highly esteem the repentance and accompanying righteous actions of others who received John the Baptist’s preaching. To do so would be to affirm the authenticity of John’s message. That would have meant that John’s scathing rebukes of themselves were accurate and ought to be given heed to. Going to work in this parable obviously represents bringing forth fruits fitting for repentance (the fruit of righteousness which John the Baptist emphasized the necessity of). The harlots had to forsake their harlotry to do the will of the Father. The tax collectors likewise had to forsake their dishonesty and cheating.

Luke 3:12-13: “Then came also publicans to be baptized, and said unto him (that is, to John the Baptist), Master, what shall we do? And he said unto them, Exact no more than that which is appointed you.”

The doctrine of multitudes of leaders in the realm of professing Christianity opposes true repentance and obedient faith- exemplified by the first son who eventually went and did the will of his father. It is generally considered acceptable now to say and not do- and to even call those who say that not doing is unacceptable “hateful” and “unchristlike.” In many cases, it is actually even considered “proper theology” to plainly say there is no need to actually do the will of the Father at all- and to attack those who say that there is with labels such as “opponents of grace.” Many believe in “justification by faith alone” and claim that Christians have the righteousness of Christ imputed to them. If they’re right, there’d be no need to actually do the will of the Father and actually bring forth righteous demonstrations of repentance in one’s life.

None of this vindicates the Catholic Church or Eastern Orthodox Church or similar churches which are critical of the faith alone doctrine- since there would likewise be no need to actually bring forth righteous demonstrations of repentance if following a sacramental system is the solution. Following an alternative system of justification to the Bible’s prescription is not doing the will of the Father. There is no shortcut around nor an acceptable alternative to actually forsaking sin and striving to do whatever the Bible commands us. You cannot have a living, authentic faith in Christ without that. And that is what John the Baptist, who was sent to prepare the way for Jesus, called people to.