What must I do to be saved?

First, the Bible: “Behold, now is “the acceptable time,” behold, now is “the day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2).

5… 4… 3… 2… 1… Haven’t you heard a parent say that, trying to motivate their child to obey? More often than not, it does not seem to work. The parent has to start over again. When parents treat their children like their commands mean nothing, the child is going to treat the command as if it means nothing. Sometimes even, the parent can’t get the child to do anything until the parent loses his or her temper. Not only has the parent then sinned, but now they have fallen into a very dangerous pattern of behavior in which the parent is being manipulated by the child.

When God commands, He expects obedience. God told Abraham to offer his son as a sacrifice and Abraham obeyed immediately (Gen. 22:1-2). God told Peter to go to Cornelius’s house and he obeyed immediately (Acts 10). God told Philip to go study with the Ethiopian treasurer and he obeyed immediately (Acts 8:26ff).

We don’t always have to explain why we want our children to obey us. I’m not suggesting we never explain our reason. But children have to be trained to obey. When we tried to put this principle into practice with our girls, I would give them a timeframe: “In ten minutes, we need you at the dining room table for dinner.” If they weren’t there in ten minutes, I would turn off or shut down or whatever it was they were doing that had delayed their obedience. I did not count down (5…4…), I gave them a point when I expected action to take place. It also gave them an opportunity to complete whatever it was they were working on.

Don’t make yourself sound like a broken record. You embarrass yourself that way. Give your children your expectations and then expect them to fulfill them. If they have to go to bed earlier in order to get up earlier, make it so.

Paul Holland

Sean Greasley struggled during the COVID pandemic, fighting mental health issues as well as the physical aspects of that virus. Now that he has recovered, he wants to give back to others who fight the same problems. That led to his plan to raise money for suicide prevention.

His approach was to climb and descend Mount Everest – sort of. That summit is 29,031 feet and 5.5 inches above sea level. The plan he devised was to climb the stairs at his home, making sure to cover the same distance as if he were scaling the world’s tallest mountain. One other condition he added to make his trek more authentic was to never touch the stairway banister, since there are no handrails on Everest.

Greasley set up a live stream of his feat on YouTube, showing him covering the distance in 22 hours, 57 minutes, and 2 seconds. A condensed version of that event is available, which is advertised as “Climbing Mount Everest In 35 Minutes”. In doing this he also set a Guinness World Record.

I applaud Greasley’s desire to help others who struggle with mental health issues, but his “climb” of Everest seems to be like running in place. Lots of effort is expended, but in the end you’re still at the place you began.

Solomon experienced something like running in place. In Ecclesiastes 1:2,3 he wrote, “’Vanity of vanities,’ says the Preacher; ‘Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.’ What profit has a man from all his labor in which he toils under the sun?” He went on to list various ways in which he tried to find meaning in life: learning, pleasure, material possessions, entertainment, etc. He had it all, but found no pleasure.

“Vanity of vanities, all is vanity” is a common refrain in this book, and it seems to suggest that life has no real meaning. Yes, we’re running up and down the stairs, but where have we gotten for all of our effort? As we read through the first eleven chapters of the book, we feel discouraged.

Chapter 12, however, brings us to the only way to view life for meaning and purpose: “Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth,” he advised in Ecclesiastes 12:1. As the book ends, there is this added instruction: “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is man’s all. For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil” (Ecclesiastes 12:13,14).

Colossians 3:1,2 makes the same point: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” Getting our minds set on the right things is the key to meaningful living.

When I climb my last flight of stairs – where will I be? If I’m climbing with the Lord, I know I will be at a place most satisfying (see John 14:6)!

Come to the light God offers! Study His word, the Bible. Worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss these ideas further.

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Copyright, 2024, Timothy D. Hall

LET US COME WITH THANKSGIVING:
The solution to the “self-esteem” issue for teenagers? It took me a long time to grasp this concept, but our problem with self-esteem is not our self-image as much as it is thankfulness to God for creating us for who we are. We too often have poor self-image because we compare ourselves with someone else and we don’t look at ourselves with thankfulness because God created each one of us in His own image, in His own likeness and He gave us the talents or skills – “gifts” if you will, if we understand the word in a non-miraculous sense – and He put us in His holy temple, the church, where He wants us.

We need more thanksgiving in the church and I am sure you need more thanksgiving in your life. I believe that will help cure the self-esteem problem teenagers have.

This Hebrew word for “thanksgiving” is used 33 times in the OT. It is used 13 times in the book of Psalms.

One thing our singing does for us is focus on being thankful to God. “I will praise the name of God with song and magnify Him with thanksgiving” (Psalm 69:30, a psalm written by David). Also, Psalm 110:4, a psalm titled “A Psalm for Thanksgiving:” “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise. Give thanks to Him, bless His name.”

In all the psalms, the expression “sing to the Lord” or “sing to Him” is used a dozen times. David is called the “sweet psalmist of Israel” in 2 Samuel 23:1. If PTP had existed in Israel back in those days, David would have been assigned to speak on this topic.

We should praise God more in order to have a “good” life so we can be more thankful to Him.

Look at these verses: Matthew 9:8, Jesus had healed the paralyzed man and the crowds were “awestruck [afraid] and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.” What did they do when they “glorified God”? They: 1) gave Him thanksgiving; 2) gave Him credit; 3) acknowledged His power.

Later in Matthew (15:31), when the crowd saw the “mute speaking, the crippled restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing, they glorified the God of Israel.” They gave Him thanksgiving; they gave Him credit for the work He was doing through Jesus Christ; they acknowledge the miraculous power of God was at work in Jesus Christ.

Luke likes to use the word “glorifying” to describe the response of men to the miracles performed by Jesus. Luke 5:25, the man who had been paralyzed went home “glorifying God.” The people, as we saw at Matthew 9:8, did the same, saying “We have seen remarkable things today.” In Luke 7:16, when Jesus raised the dead son of the widow from Nain, the people were gripped with fear and “they began glorifying God, saying, ‘A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited His people!” In other words, they saw the presence of God in the person of Jesus Christ.

That’s what happens when you praise God more in your life – you see the blessings God has given you in Jesus Christ: “When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed. When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, count your many blessings, name them one by one. And it will surprise you what the Lord has done.” Praising God more will make you more thankful to God and if there is one sin, besides pride, that the Bible condemns more than any other it is unthankfulness. Envy and jealousy are the opposite of thankfulness.

When Jesus healed a woman in Luke 13:13 who had a disease which kept her from standing straight, once she was healed, she “began glorifying God.” When the leper was healed in Luke 17:15, he turned back to Jesus, “glorifying God with a loud voice.” Finally, the blind man healed in Luke 18:43 regained his sight at the blessing from Jesus and he began “glorifying God.” And then the people were influenced to do the same: “when all the people saw it, they gave praise to God.”

Paul Holland

When I was doing my student teaching back in 1996, I worked with a sixth-grade science teacher. It was the end of the year when the students had taken their standardized tests but the school is not out. So the teacher had different themes to study with different grades. In the sixth-grade, we studied the properties of water.

You know that you can fill a glass of water to the edge and then you can continue adding drops of water. To a sixth-grader especially who has never done that before, it can be astounding. You have to count the drops of water; we used an eyedropper. It seems like you can put 100 drops in the glass before you break the surface tension. In fact, if you are looking at the glass from a side-view, you will see that the water actually creates a dome. And you add one more drop, then two, then three, four, five – eventually the surface tension breaks and the water overflows the glass.

The same thing is true when we perform acts of kindness. We can and should continue to be kind and show more kindness and then more kindness and eventually, our kindness will break the tension of the evil in someone’s heart and they change.

This time of year is when I do a lesson on one of the Fruit of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5:22. If we “walk by the Spirit” (5:16) and are “led by the Spirit” (5:18) and if we “live by the Spirit” (5:25), then we will produce the “fruit of the Spirit,” which includes “kindness.”

First, what does it mean to be “kind?” It is defined as being “friendly, generous, or considerate.”

“KINDNESS” IN ROMANS:
First, we see in 2:4 that God is rich in His kindness and Paul says that this kindness should have led Israel to repent of their sins. The second word for “kind” in this text is a related, but different word, which is used 7 times; we’ll come back to that.

Then in Romans 11:22, Paul speaks of the kindness of God versus His severity. Both Jews and Gentiles can receive the kindness of God if we “continue in His kindness,” that is Paul’s way of saying, “Walk in the light…”

God is essentially and inherently “kind.” Children are kind also but then they develop selfish tendencies if they are not taught to share. Adults might also have to be retaught to share because somehow or another, we think that if we share – if we are kind – to others, someone we will use up God’s treasure of riches and He won’t have anything left to give to us.

WE MUST PRACTICE THAT KINDNESS TOWARD A WORLD THAT IS HURTING:
Part of the reason why God is generous with us is so that we will be generous with others. Paul writes about the in 1 Timothy 6:17-19. Remember “generous” is a synonym for “kindness.”

So God calls on us to be kind to others. We have already seen that “kindness” is a fruit of the Spirit. Please notice Colossians 3:12.

We go back to Luke 6 where we saw that God’s kindness is a pattern for us. Let’s read Luke 6:31-36. Be kind. Without expecting kindness in return!

In 1 Corinthians 15:33, Paul will write that “bad company corrupts good morals.” The word there is “kind:” “Bad company corrupts kind morals.” The people we spend time with are the people who influence our behavior. So we should be careful who we send time with!

Then we have Ephesians 4:32 where Paul associates kindness with being “tender-hearted” (“compassionate”) and being graceful to each other just as God in Christ was graceful to us. Please notice again that if we are going to be “kind,” then it means being “graceful” toward those who do not deserve that kindness!

HOW CAN WE BE MORE KIND?
Relax. Remember that everyone is made in the image of God (James 3:9). Laugh. Smile. Be thankful. Be aware of your influence on others around you. Listen (James 1:19). Be present in people’s lives. Be kind to yourself. Don’t brag (Matt. 6). Don’t be afraid to say “no.” Don’t discriminate. Consider what others need. Compliment profusely.

It’s always a good day to flex your kindness muscle and make someone smile.

Paul  Holland

What are your strengths? If we are not careful, if we do not surrender our strengths to Jesus, Satan will tempt us to turn those strengths into weaknesses.

Compassion – Fearful of offending
Self-confidence – Pride
Attractiveness – Immorality
Justice – Wrath

Observe that our text comes just after Peter brags about going to prison or to death with Jesus (ver. 33). But Jesus predicts that Peter will deny him three times!

Anton Chekhov was a Russian playwright who suggested that a writer should not introduce an item into the story line (like a gun) which he does not use later in the story in some way. This principle came to be called “Chekhov’s gun.” I think we have something working like that in this event…

THE TEST – 22:35-38:
There does not seem to be any indication in the text that Jesus would expect His apostles to understand that He was speaking metaphorically. They surely expected Jesus to use swords if He was going to be the Messiah that the Jews expected and hoped He would be.

WILL YOU LISTEN TO CHRIST OR NOT?
However, He tells them that it was “necessary” for Him to fulfill what had been prophesied by Isaiah the prophet (53:12), that He would be numbered among the lawless. In other words, Jesus would be arrested as a criminal. Would the apostles (Peter) trust the Word and allow Jesus to be arrested?

THE FAILURE – 22:47-51:
Peter drew his sword and cut off the right ear of the high priest’s slave, whom John identifies as Malchus (ver. 50; John 18:10). Peter had failed to control himself; he had a temptation before him to trust in the flesh and he failed the test. He did not heed the warning and message of Jesus (ver. 37).

WHAT IS GOING ON?
What is going on here? In my opinion, we have an example of Jesus testing the apostles’ trust in God’s prophesied word (Isaiah 53:12). When He is arrested, will they trust the Scriptures and allow Jesus to be “numbered with the lawless,” or will they react in the moment and use their swords to fight? At the same time, it will give Jesus an opportunity (Rom. 8:28) to take advantage of Peter’s weakness and heal the ear of Malchus’s servant (Luke 22:51).

By performing that last miracle before His arrest, Jesus sends a strong message to everyone involved:

1) To His apostles, He reminds them that the Father (and Jesus) have all these events under their control. His Kingdom is, in fact, a spiritual kingdom (Matt. 26:52). They should not fight physically for Him because it is necessary for Him to drink the “cup of God’s wrath” in the crucifixion (Luke 22:42).

2) Jesus sends a message to Malchus, the high priest, and the audience (including Judas!) that Jesus is, in fact, the Messiah because He can perform miracles (Isa. 35:5-6; Luke 7:22-23).

3) Jesus sends a message to the Romans including Pilate that He will not fight against them. He is no insurrectionist. It is also likely that the miracle by Jesus kept Peter from being arrested.

Don’t let Satan twist your strengths into weaknesses. Submit your strengths to the Word of Jesus and allow Him to guide and strengthen you in all things.

Paul Holland

In this lesson we want to consider what the apostle Paul indicates will lead to the building up of the body of Christ at Ephesus, so that we learn as well. Let’s take a look…

READ TEXT: Ephesians 4:1-16

ATTITUDES WORTHY OF YOUR CALLING(4:1-3)
There are few things as significant to the growth of the church as our unity. Jesus thought so (see Jn. 17:20-23). Hopefully that is empowering to us. We can take part in the growth of the church by being the people we ought to be… that we are called to be.

Interestingly, he begins this short character list with: “all humility.” It seems to me that this is an intentional beginning point. Humility has to do with the way we see ourselves. If we don’t see ourselves from the right vantage point, we cannot see others the way we ought to. I suppose that one can struggle with the gentleness, patience, or bearing with one another in love, but it is humility that unlocks the potential for being what we ought to in these other areas.

While humility leads to unity, pride, the opposite of humility (see 1 Pt. 5:5), leads not only to division and discord in the body of Christ, but also to discouragement. Christians seek to give preference to one another (Phil. 2:3-4) from a sincere and true heart before God, and in so doing, they take on the mind of Christ who humbled himself by coming to this world to die for the sins of the world (see Phil 2:5-11). He did what He did for the sake of making peace between us and His Father.

Our attitudes and character are of untold value to growth of the kingdom!

THE DOCTRINE OF UNITY (4:4-6)
A superficial view of Scripture, and the Christian’s call, could easily lead to the conclusion that it’s all just about being at peace with one another and with the world, but that certainly is not the case. Paul lists what is sometimes referred to as the “Seven Ones” here.

Unity is in the “one body” (see Mt. 16:18), the church of our Lord that He died for (see Eph. 5:25). The church at Corinth was condemned strongly by Paul for merely starting to divide, or become denominated (see 1 Cor. 1:10-13). The “one Spirit” is He who calls Christians through the Word to be unified both in attitude and doctrine (compare Jn. 17:17). Likewise, we are called to the same “hope,” by “one Lord,” in “one faith” (see Jude 3), in “one baptism” (see Mt. 28:18-20), and there is but “one Father” over all.

These seven ones should not be seen as the totality of what really matters, but they certainly show that the teaching and practice of the church matters! In fact, related to this concept, as well as what Paul said earlier about humility, note what he said to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:2-4: “… Teach and urge these things. If anyone teaches a different doctrine and does not agree with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and the teaching that accords with godliness, he is puffed up with conceit and understands nothing.”

THE MINISTRY THAT BUILDS UP THE BODY (4:7-16)
In the context here Paul is speaking of miraculous gifts that were bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, in the first century (see Acts 8:18; 19:6). Remember that those gifts were especially for revealing and confirming the message of God (see Heb. 2:3-4; Mk. 16:20). Through the teaching of the Lord’s Word (see 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pt. 1:3), God’s people were prepared for their work together for His cause.

Today we have the complete and confirmed revelation of God, so we don’t need miraculous gifts (compare 1 Cor. 13:8-12). But nonetheless, there is much to glean from this section concerning the importance of being unified in God’s work. Notice just a few additional points:
1. Though not through supernatural means, the word of God continues to prepare God’s people for His work.

2. A part of building up of the body has to do with it being made strong, so not to be disturbed by false doctrine (see v. 14). It doesn’t matter how much “good” the church does if it goes astray from Christ! (See examples from the seven churches of Asia in Revelation 2 and 3).

3. Rather than the church giving into “crafty” doctrine, it is to “speak the truth in love” (v. 15). The truth is what sets men free (Jn. 8:32) and it is also the truth that causes all of us to grow in the Lord.

4. Note that the body functions at full capacity when “each part is working properly” (v. 16). There are no useless parts in the body of Christ! (See 1 Cor. 12.)

Let’s work on our attitudes; be unified in the Word; and seek to contribute properly in the church that it might be built up in love!

Daren Schroeder

First, the Bible: “Like a city that is broken into and without walls is a man who has no control over his spirit” (Proverbs 25:28).

When President Eisenhower was a child, his mom refused to allow him to go trick-or-treating. She believed he was too old. He went outside and, in a fit of anger, beat a tree with his bare fists. Later, when he was in his room crying, his mom went in and talked to him about controlling his attitude and she quoted the book of Proverbs.

One serious responsibility parents have is to train our children to control their emotions. God created emotions so emotions are good. But we cannot allow our emotions to rule us and drive us. We don’t have to become “Mr. Spock,” but a healthy family is a family where its members control their emotions, especially anger.

Some children feel emotions more strongly than others. Those children have a strength that can be channelled into the right paths that will allow them to serve their fellow-man very well. But when children allow their emotions to control them, parents might be allowing them to cook up a disaster in their future.

Yes, Jesus got angry (Mark 3:5) but He controlled His anger and channelled it into avenues that would glorify the Father. The home is the best place for parents to help train children to channel their own emotions into paths that will bring honor to God (first), to their parents, and to themselves.

Parents have to control their own emotions first. Sometimes children will express strong emotions in order to manipulate Mom and Dad to get what he or she wants. Or, they might express strong emotions in order to discourage Mom and Dad from implementing discipline that the child knows is coming. So parents can’t lose control of their own emotions in face of their kids. If you do, you need to quickly regain control and talk about how dangerous it is to lose control of one’s emotions.

What is motivating the loss of control? Mom and Dad need to have a talk with the child and teach them how to examine what is going on in their hearts and see what needs to be done to honor God. Remember that Solomon also said, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Prov. 15:1). That applies to parenting as well.

Paul Holland

What draws people’s attention to you? Might it be your loud voice? Your physical attraction? Your sharp instincts? We recall that Jesus said, “Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 6:1). People are going to notice us. If we do anything (even if we do nothing), people are going to notice us.

But what are we using to draw people’s attention to us? It’s not bad to draw people’s attention. You cannot live the Christian life without people noticing. Peter writes: “Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may because of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:12). Please observe here that the “Gentiles” observe the “good deeds” of the Christians. They observe. They notice. What draw people’s attention to you?

King Louis XIV had a duke named Duc de Lauzun who was of diminutive size, but his personality was larger than life. He engaged in rude behavior, such as sleeping with the king’s mistress. But his personality was so unpredictable that people wanted to have him around.

Our society is driven by people with personalities that are larger than life, from politics to sports. Christians should not be afraid to stand apart, to be noticed, as long as what draws people’s attention is our efforts to glorify Jesus Christ and His Gospel. That’s what Jesus did. He drew large crowds, but when He performed miracles, the Bible consistently says that the crowds praised or glorified God, rather than Jesus Himself.

We can do the same thing if we live the same way. Be busy doing good. Be busy teaching and defending the Truth of Jesus Christ. Be busy being kind, compassionate, patient, considerate – all the fruit of the Spirit – and direct the source of your difference to the Son of God.

Pablo Picasso did what he needed to keep himself and his artwork in the eyes of the public. If he felt like his artwork was getting predicable, he changed his style. It was better, in his opinion, to produce ugly artwork and be noticed than predictable artwork and be ignored.

Living a Christian life is, in our society, out of the ordinary. When you live for Christ, you draw people’s attention. Direct it to Him.

Paul Holland

Ken Wilson of Vacaville, California was determined to keep his expenses under control. Living in the same apartment for 19 years, he closely watched his power bill. To keep those utility costs lower, he began turning off nearly all of the electrical breakers when leaving for work each morning. The only appliance left running was the refrigerator. But those stringent measures didn’t seem to help.

Finally, the utility company was called in, and their investigation revealed the surprise: For several years (the power company says 15; Wilson says 19) Ken has been paying the electrical bills for the apartment next door, not his own. No wonder his efforts didn’t reduce his bills!

A spokesperson for the utility company released the following statement: “… we are fully committed to rectifying the situation with the customer and make the customer whole.” Soon Ken Wilson will be paying his own bills, not the bills of his neighbors.

The idea of paying what is owed by others is an old idea; Isaiah 53:5 is the most famous example: “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” For centuries that statement confused people. Who was Isaiah talking about? No one knew for sure.

In Acts 8 we are told of an official from Ethiopia who was puzzling over Isaiah 53. When he asked Philip who it referred to, “Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him” (Acts 8:35). Jesus was the one who was “wounded for our transgressions”.

1 Peter 2:24 also connects Isaiah 53 with Jesus: “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.” The payment of our debt of sin required no less a ransom than the blood of God’s own Son. That’s a staggering thought! It helps to explain why John 3:16 is so profound – “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son”.

Can we put a monetary value on such an offering? Of course not, but 2 Corinthians 8:9 comes close: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” Jesus gave everything so that we might avoid the horrible eternal consequences of our sins.

We don’t know who wrote the words of this song, but it speaks the truth of the Gospel: “He paid a debt He did not owe; I owed a debt I could not pay; I needed someone to wash my sins away. And now I sing a brand new song, ‘Amazing Grace’; Christ Jesus paid a debt that I could never pay.”

Come to the light God offers! Study His word, the Bible. Worship Him in spirit and truth (John 4:24). Get in touch with us if you’d like to discuss these ideas further.

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Copyright, 2024, Timothy D. Hall

“Why am I here?” Have you ever asked yourself that question?

“What am I supposed to be doing?”

“How am I supposed to serve God?”

“Am I pleasing God?”

I have a Master’s degree in education. When I graduated from college, I was certified to teach biology and middle school science. I enjoy teaching. I think if I had stayed on that path, I would have enjoyed being a biology teacher. Does God want me to be a preacher? If I had stayed on the path to be a teacher, would I have sinned against God because I did not become a preacher? Those are questions that we (I) don’t really have an answer for. “What am I supposed to be doing?” We all might have asked ourselves that question at some point. The Bible, of course, does not answer that question for each individual Christian. It seems to me that if we go down a path that utilizes the talents, skills, abilities, and education we have, then we can serve God faithfully in that respective area.

The key to pleasing God – what am I on earth for – is to be good stewards of whatever it is that God has placed in our hands. That is the message of the parable we will study today from Matthew 25: “My place in eternity.”

GOD GIVES “ACCORDING TO ABILITY” – 25:14-18:

You and I have talents with which we were born. Are we using those talents in service to God in His church? If not, why not?

You and I have some form of education which has enhanced our natural talents. Are we using our education in service to God in His church?

You and I have years of experience which has deepened and broadened our natural talents and education. Are we using our experience in service to God in His church?

AND IS PLEASED WITH GOOD STEWARDSHIP – 25:19-23:

“Good” stewardship is defined as being “faithful.” As a reward, the master would put each one over “many things” and they were invited into the “joy of their master.”

BUT ABHORS POOR STEWARDSHIP – 25:24-30:

The longer section of this parable (25:24-30) deals with the one-talent man, who was given according to his ability. Poor stewardship is described as being “wicked” and “lazy.”

The master takes the one talent from him, giving it to the one with the ten, stating a general principle in verse 29 (the point of the parable) that rewards will be distributed, to some degree, based on one’s willingness to use what he is entrusted with.

While Christians wait for Jesus’ return, they are to be busy staying faithful and producing fruit (cf. John 15). The fruit will be illustrated in the judgment scene which follows (25:31-46). Finally (ver. 30), the master commands other slaves to cast that “worthless” slave into the outer darkness, a picture of hell, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Jesus had stated verse 29 substantially the same in 13:12. The Scriptures teach that God gives, and expects out of us, proportionate to our ability: Romans 12:3, 6; 1 Cor. 4:1-2; 12:4-7; Eph. 4:7-8; 1 Peter 4:10. God does not tolerate laziness in anyone: Prov. 6:6-9.

Stewardship (1 Cor. 4:1-2) involves:

1. a) a master (spiritually speaking, Christ),
2. b) a steward (humans),
3. c) something entrusted (our lives, our energy, our money, our hearts),
4. d) and a reckoning (the final judgment).

Heaven awaits those who are faithful stewards. Let’s use our talents and resources wisely for God’s kingdom.

Paul Holland