For the sake of space I won't quote the entire passage, but the gist of the passage is that a man travels to a far country. He entrusts three of his servants with his money. He gives one servant five talents (or “pounds” - see Luke's version of this parable in Luke 19:12-27). To another in gives two talents. And to the last he only gives one talent. When the master returns, the servant entrusted with five now has ten; the servant entrusted with two now has five; and the servant with one only has one, having failed to faithfully use what was entrusted to him. I humbly think this parable represents God and humanity.
There is much confusion and debate on the internet concerning the meaning of this intriguing passage. Since verse 30 says the wicked servant went to Hell, we know that this passage (at least in part) concerns salvation. Matthew 25:30, “And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Just prior to this parable in Matthew 25:14-30, the Lord told the Parable Of The Ten Foolish Virgins. Five of the virgins foolishly went to buy more oil, to keep their lamps burning, but the bridegroom came while they were gone and they missed Heaven. They went to Hell forever!
Since I regularly preach on salvation by faith alone, through grace alone, in Christ alone, without works; it might be easy for many of my web visitors to make light of serving Christ, which is discipleship. I think there is an inherent fear that many preachers have, that if they emphasize salvation without works, people will capitalize on God's grace as a license to willfully live in sin. No doubt some believers sinfully do exactly that! 1st Peter 2:16, “As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.” Romans 3:31, “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.” If you are saved, you are liberated by the blood of Jesus!
The unsaved (or unregenerate) person is still under the condemnation of God's law. Look at these beautiful Bible verses from Romans 6:14-15, “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.” I don't see how any proponent of the heresy of Lordship Salvation, could read these Bible verses and conclude that a person must “turn from your sin” to be saved.
Dear friend, if you are saved you are UNDER GRACE! Just thinking about that truth compels me to jump up and down, and shout “I love Jesus,” and tell the whole world about God's goodness!!! If you are still not saved, you are UNDER THE LAW! There is a curse upon you! John 3:36, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” Everyone is either UNDER THE LAW or else you are UNDER GRACE! There is nothing in between. The entire concept of turning away from a lifestyle of sin as a prerequisite to saving faith is of the Devil. Jesus Christ alone bore the full weight of your sins on the cross, so you wouldn't have to by spending eternity burning in the fires of Hell.
Having said all that as introduction, I humbly believe that the Parable Of The Talents in Matthew 25:14-30 represents the entirety of life. A parallel passage in the Old Testament is Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Getting saved is just a part of what God expects from us in life. We are commanded to be FAITHFUL (1st Corinthians 6:20). In so doing we will receive a GREAT REWARD from JESUS HIMSELF. Revelation 22:12, “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” This verse speaks of discipleship, not salvation. We know this because eternal life is the free gift of God (Romans 6:23).
You can get saved, do nothing, and still go to Heaven. Once saved, always saved!!! That’s the FREE GIFT, but Jesus wants us to BE FAITHFUL and to do GOOD WORKS as His redeemed child. ...
Ephesians 2:5-10, “Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”Carefully notice that we are not saved BY good works; but rather, we are saved UNTO good works! Before we were even conceived in our mother's womb, God already knew in His divine foreknowledge that we would choose Jesus for salvation, and God planned our life ahead of time. We don't choose Jesus because God chose us, God chose us (the elect) because we freely chose Jesus as our Savior. Romans 8:29, “For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” The Bible doesn't say that God predestinates anyone to salvation; but rather, He has predestinated us to be conformed into the image of His only begotten Son. Literally, God the Father saved us with the intent of making us just like Jesus. Jude 1:24, “Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,”
Jesus wants us to be FAITHFUL STEWARDS of what He has entrusted us with in this life! He doesn’t want us to WASTE our talents and SQUANDER away the resource He has entrusted to us. When we give anything to God as His child, we are simply letting go of what is already His. Colossians 3:3, “For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.” Whatever happens to a child of God, happens to Jesus (Matthew 25:40 and 45). We're in this thing called “Christianity” together! We are joint heirs with Christ. Romans 8:17, “And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.” I thank God for that promise. If we suffer with Jesus, we shall also be glorified with Him in eternity.
I think the Parable Of The Talents regards obeying God in every aspect. We only need to trust the Savior to receive His free gift of eternal life, but there is much more that God expects from us if we are to please Him. One of the arguments that the proponents of Lordship Salvation make is that, “You can't just speak about getting saved, and you accepted Christ, and then that's it!” That is an exact quote verbatim from Dr. Steve Pettit, new president of Bob Jones University since 2014. Dr. Pettit is a personal friend and supporter of Pastor John MacArthur, the biggest promoter of Lordship Salvation in this untoward generation.
God sent His only begotten Son into the world to die on the cross for everyone's sins (John 3:16). Every human being who hears the Gospel has been entrusted by God with that truth. Since the wicked servant was cast into outer darkness in Matthew 25:30, I think it is obvious that he rejected the Savior. The other servants were saved, honoring God, and they faithfully used what the master had entrusted to them. I think the talents multiplied represent souls saved. This parable is about the Kingdom of God. The wicked servant buried the talent entrusted to him by God, just as the ungodly Christ-rejecter refuses to accept God's free gift of eternal life. The other servants multiplied the talents entrusted to them by the master.
As Christians we all have a duty to preach the Gospel to a lost and dying world. I heard a wonderful MP3 sermon today by Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001) on this subject, titled: “The Two Talents.” We can all be a voice for God! You may only be a two-talent person, but God can still accomplish much through you, if you're willing to be used by God. The first and hardest part about 'The Great Commission' in Matthew 28:19-20 is “GO YE.” Romans 10:15 says, “And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” God didn't say the lips, tongue or mouth of the soulwinner are “beautiful,” but “THE FEET.” That is because even the most wisest, eloquent and articulate words are meaningless if our feet are too lazy to GO YE into all the world with the Gospel of peace. Only the Gospel can bring peace between a sinner and His Creator (Romans 5:1-2).
No comments:
Post a Comment