A division Among Servants-Matthew 25:14-30

Q: What does the Bible say about being ready for Christ's return?

The Bible teaches that we must be ready for Christ's return because we do not know the day or hour of His coming. In Matthew 25, Jesus emphasizes the importance of being ready for His return, indicating that just as in the days of Noah, people were consumed with their daily lives and did not expect His judgment. He warns that whatever state we are in when He returns will determine our eternal fate. This call to be ready applies not just to His second coming but also to our own mortality, as we do not know when our time will come. Therefore, living in preparedness is crucial to our faith.

Q: Why is the parable of the talents important for Christians?

The parable of the talents teaches that Christians are to use the gifts and graces God has given them for His glory. In the parable of the talents found in Matthew 25:14-30, Jesus illustrates how we are to utilize the gifts and graces given to us by God. The two faithful servants invested what they received and multiplied it, receiving the same reward from the master as a result of their faithfulness. The slothful servant, however, buried his talent and faced judgment. This teaches that all believers are accountable for how they use what has been entrusted to them, be it spiritual gifts, abilities, or opportunities to serve. The emphasis is on faithful stewardship, recognizing that everything we have is a gift from God meant for His glory.

Q: How do we know that God's grace is sufficient for salvation?

God's grace is sufficient for salvation because it is through His mercy that we are saved, not by our works. According to Ephesians 2:8-9, we are saved by grace through faith, and this is not of ourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works that no one may boast. Tucked in the doctrine of salvation is the assurance that our salvation is wholly dependent on Christ's merit. The parable of the talents reinforces this as the faithful servants were not rewarded according to their performance but on their faithfulness to what was entrusted to them. Our salvation is rooted in God’s choice, love, and mercy, as emphasized in Titus 3:5, where Paul states we are saved according to His mercy through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit. This demonstrates that God’s grace truly is sufficient for salvation.

I can use this arm, it's just I'm trying not to. Believe me, I want to. We'll begin the message, we'll go to the Lord in prayer and ask for his grace on us. I know this, I need his grace, I need his power, I need his strength. Pray for me as I desire to preach this message to you. I pray it becomes effectual Powerful by the spirit of God and not the man. The man is nothing but a vessel. It's the message, not the man. I pray that God would apply his word to us.

Remember those that are sick, those that have difficulties. I'm thankful to be back with you. I want to make my apologies for Wednesday. I thought there might be an infection in the arm, so I had to wait it out and I tried to get it infected, but I sure missed it. It was very difficult to miss.

So, pray the Lord will bless the message this morning. Let's go to Him in prayer. Our gracious Father, we come before you asking for mercies this morning, tender mercies, kindnesses, unmerited favor. I pray this morning that you would give me liberty and unction and power of thy spirit to preach the word, declare it in love and plainness. I pray, Father, that you'd make it effectual to your people that the word would go out in power and demonstration of your spirit I pray for grace upon it that you would send it to the dead that they might hear and send it to the living that they might be comforted. I pray, Father, that you would bless it according to your grace.

May it all be for your glory and the furtherance of your gospel. We pray for those that are preaching the gospel in other places that you would do for them what we are asking you to do for us. We trust you will do it for your glory. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.

I take your Bibles, turn with me to Matthew chapter 25. Matthew chapter 25. My text will be found in verses 14 through verse 30. Now in these chapters in Matthew 24 and 25, our Lord is speaking concerning the coming again of the Son of Man. Remember they took Him to the temple and they showed Him all the things of the temple and He tells them, look, this is going to be destroyed. Judgment is coming upon the Jews, but there is a greater judgment coming. Our Lord speaks of His second coming.

The first time our Lord came, it was in a spirit of makeness, humility, like no other man has ever been humbled. The Lord Jesus Christ submitted himself to the will of God and was subject even to his creation, to man. He came in lowliness and offered himself as a lamb without spot, without blemish to God. You remember when they met him in the garden, how lowly he was.

They came unto him and he said, Whom seek ye? And they said, Jesus of Nazareth. And he said, I am. And what did they do? They fell backward and bowed themselves before him because he was God. And he confessed himself to be God. And he asked him the second time, he said, Whom seek ye? They said, Jesus of Nazareth. and they took him. Why? Because he humbled himself. He humbled himself even to the death of the cross. And our Lord Jesus Christ, He now is ascended to heaven. He sits on the throne of God even as we speak, ruling over all things.

Now the apostle Paul deals with this in Hebrews Chapter 2, when He said this, all things are put under His feet, but yet we don't see it. Can you look at this chaos and say, oh yeah, I see. You don't see. We don't see that all things are put under Him. Matter of fact, we fear often. We see things that take place, and we say, how is that that our Lord's sovereign and yet this happens? We don't see it. But our Lord in this text says this, one day you're going to see it, and not just you, everyone will see it.

When the Son of Man comes in His glory with His holy angels, He will not come in meekness, He will not come in humility, He will come in deity and sovereignty and He will judge all men after His own justice. He will come again and all men will be judged. You and I and every man will be judged by strict and holy justice.

Therefore He says this, be ready. This is the message Christ is speaking. Be ready. Why? Because you don't know when He's coming. Neither do I. No man does. And I'm not just talking about his second coming. You have no idea when he's coming in your death, do you? We don't know when we're going to die when he comes. Immediate judgment, isn't it? And whatever you are when he comes is whatever you will be in eternity. When he comes, you know what he says about his coming, he says, going to be like the days of Noah.

He said they were eating and they were drinking, they were giving in marriage, they had future plans. Why do you get married? You get married because you got future plans. And yet there was no future for them. This is how the Son of Man is coming. And so the message is be ready.

And now in chapter 25, there are three parables here that express the same thing. We went over this last time I was with you on the ten virgins. Five foolish and five wise. Here today we're going to see that there are three servants, two faithful, one slothful and wicked. And the last parable is the parable of the sheep and the goats. In each one of these God is making a divine distinction, a divine division. He divides the wise and the foolish virgins by what?

The oil. The oil was the spirit of God. Only those chosen of God and redeemed of God, the wise virgins, have the spirit of God. It gives them light and life. And the foolish virgins, they trusted their religion. They trusted in their own light. Today we're going to see the foolish, the servant, the wise, the faithful servants, and we're going to see the slothful servants. And then in the end you see the sheep. Now, who are these people? Well, they're everybody. The five foolish and the five wise virgins, the faithful servants and the slothful servants, and the sheep and the goats, they represent everyone in professing Christendom.

Everyone who makes a profession to believe. Can anybody do that? Can anybody make a profession? Yeah, anybody can do that. You can do it. You can make a profession. But there's a difference between making a profession and having it. I can profess to have a million dollars in the bank until you look at my bank account. Then you would know that's not true.

This is the idea of our Lord. He's making a divine distinction here. And this is not to look to our neighbor, but to ourselves. Who are we? Who am I? We know this, this is not all the elect of God because we know that all the elect of God shall be saved and none of them will perish. Our Lord said in John chapter 10, He said, You believe not because you're not of My sheep. Why do people not believe? Because they're not His elect.

He said, My sheep hear My voice and I know them and they follow Me. You got that? Those are necessary things if you're his sheep. My sheep, they hear my voice. And listen to this. Here's their hope. I know them. You are his sheep. Isn't that the comforting thing that he knows you? Because, man, you could lose your mind and not know anything. But if he knows you, that's altogether important. And then they do something else. They follow him. They believe him. They trust him. They follow him. And listen to what he gives them. I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

And so we saw the wise and foolish virgins. We know that's not all Christendom. That's just professing. That's professing Christendom. There are in professing Christendom true and wise virgins and foolish virgins, professors. And now, with this in mind, let's look at our parable. I read it to you just a minute ago, but I'm going to kind of briefly summarize it and go over it with you. Our Lord says this, that there was a king. In verse 14, for the kingdom of heaven, now he's talking again of all professing Christendom. Kingdom of heaven is like to a man traveling in a far country. They called his servants and delivered them his goods. Now, to one, he gives five talents. Now, I want you to understand what a talent is.

It's not an ability to sing. That's not what he's talking about. He's not talking about your talent shows. That's not what he's talking about. The word means measure of money. He gives unto this man five measures of money. That's what a talent is. It's not a specific sum. It's just a bag. It's a bag of money, and he gives him five.

He gives another servant two. And to this other servant, he gives one. And the Lord goes away, this king goes away, and his servants, the one that had five, he puts it to work. He takes it to the traders and he trades it wisely. And he comes back with what? Five more bags of money. The other guy, he has two, he puts it to the usury, he puts it to the work, it comes back, and he gets what? He has two extra. He's doubled. Both of these men have doubled what they had.

And then you got this other guy, he takes this money, and he digs a hole in the earth, and he puts it in the earth, and he covers it over. Well, the Lord the King comes back demanding of his servants, he's going to judge his servants. Now, the one that had five, he brings the other five. And he brings it all to the Lord and he gives it to him, he said, what you've given me five, here's other five.

And notice this is very important. He gives all of it to him. He didn't keep anything for himself. The one that had two did the same thing. He said, you gave me two. I give you two more here. It's all yours. And we see that's an important point. And it's also an important point to notice that they both received the same reward.

He said to the one that had 10, he said this, you've been faithful in just a little. I'm going to make you Lord over much, enter into the joy of the Lord, thou good and faithful servant. Now, what did he say the guy that had two? Did he say, well, you didn't do as good. Is that what he said? No. He gave him the same promise. He said this, You have been faithful in little. I will make you ruler over much. Come, enter into the joy of thy Lord. You see, they both received the same reward. They both received the same praise.

Then he comes to this last guy, the guy that buried it. The guy goes out there and he digs up the money and he takes it to his king. And this is what he said. He said, I knew you were a hard man. Reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not straw. What does that mean? It means that he thinks his master's, he knows his master's powerful. He knows his master is sovereign. But notice this, he's claiming that his master is a thief. He said, you take what don't belong to you. That's what he said. And he thought that would justify him, but you remember, now the Lord tells him, he uses his very argument of justification against him.

He said, well, you knew. You knew I was a hard man. You knew I was a man, a sovereign man. You knew I was a sovereign king, a just king, doing what I please, and yet you couldn't even put this money to the usury. He took that bag and gave it to the other guy, and he cast him out.

Yeah, what does all this mean? That's important. This is a parable. Not every part of a parable has a total meaning, but this is very important. It's the same principle as he used for the virgins. It's the same principle he's going to use for the sheep and the goats. He's using a divine division here of servants.

First of all, in this parable, who is the king? We know this is Christ. We know this is the Lord Jesus Christ. when he said the king traveled into a far country. Can you imagine a farther country than traveling from the king of glory to Earth to become a man? Behold the great condescension of our Lord, who is king, who is sovereign, who is God.

And yet he traveled into this country. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. Behold the condescension of our Lord, that he came not only in the flesh, but he came to suffer. He came to die. In that instance I told you a minute ago when he said, I am, and they fell backward and they took him. Remember, Peter cut off that servant's ear, and our Lord said, put up your sword. He said, it is for this hour, this thing I have come into the world for, to die. Our Lord Jesus Christ came to give himself an offering for sin.

And there he suffered the just for the unjust, that he might bring us, the unjust, to God. He had a purpose. His travels brought purpose and His purpose was to save His people from their sins. That was His purpose. Upon the cross He suffered for their sins, the sins of His people. He died under the justice of God for our ungodly deeds. But see now, He who came to earth from heaven has now returned. This is the glory of the gospel is that Christ is victorious. He did what he came to do. He didn't make salvation possible. This is the glory of the gospel. Any gospel that says salvation is possible.

They don't know him. They don't. They missed it. He didn't come to make it possible. He came to do it and he did it. And I know this because God raised him from the dead and set him on the throne of glory. He said, all power is given unto me in heaven and earth. Why? I have finished the work thou gavest me to do. John 17. One through four.

And see, now the witness of his disciples was that he ascended back where he was before. And now that he has ascended, what has he done? He has come to give His goods unto His servants. What He accomplished for us, He comes and He gives to His servants. He gives us the gift of grace by which we live and believe on Him.

Go to Ephesians chapter 4. Look at Ephesians chapter 4. Look at this. In verse 4, he says, there is one body. Isn't this amazing? You that believe. Listen to this. You're the body. You're the body. You're the body. One body. You got that? One body. We're one body. We're all His body. One Spirit. You have the same Spirit that I have. The Holy Spirit given to us. Even as we are called in, one hope of your calling. Don't you have just one hope? What's your hope? What's your anticipation after this life? What's your hope of being received? One hope.

It's Christ, isn't it? Look at this. One Lord. Isn't He your Lord, my Lord? One faith, the faith that I have, the same faith you have, gift of God's grace. One baptism, we were baptized into His death. One God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and listen, in you all, unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. So what grace you have in measure, is given to you. So when the Lord says He gives out these bags of money, He's talking about graces. The graces of God. The gifts of God.

And I know this. There are measures differing, isn't there? 2 and 5. Measures differing, 2 and 5. I've read many commentaries on this, and there's a lot of them that believe this is just talking about preachers of the gospel. And I can see that. I can see that very clearly. There are some of us only given two. Some of us have less than others who have been given. I've read some men that have been given great gifts of grace, great skills. Some have more, some have less.

But you know what we all as preaching the gospel have? We have to preach the gospel the same, the same gospel. I remember Spurgeon's grandfather said that, right? He said, my son may preach the gospel better than I do, but he doesn't have a better gospel. We all preach the same gospel.

This is our purpose. This is my purpose. This gift of the ministry of the gospel of God's grace is given unto me. To what? To declare it to you. So what do I do? I preach Christ at every opportunity. I preach Christ. We preach Christ and Him crucified. Why? Because there is none other name given among men whereby we must be saved. Do you understand that there's only one way of salvation? There's not many. I don't care what men say. I don't care what men think and what men feel about this. There is only one way. And that way is not a doctrine. It's not a system. It's not a set of rules. It's a person.

We preach Christ and Him crucified. And we preach it to only one group of people, sinners. Man, I hope I'm preaching to sinners this morning. Because you got one sinner preaching to another. Why? Because that's the only people He saves. He don't save good people. Isn't that something? Most people think He saves good people. No. He saves sinners. This is a faithful saying and worthy of every one of you to accept this. Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. They that are whole need not a position, but they that are sick.

Our Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 9 says, go and find out what this means. Listen to what He said, I'll have mercy and not sacrifice. You know what that means? Anybody know what that means? Go learn what that means. That means this, I'll have salvation by mercy and not works. That's what it means. Salvation is by mercy.

You know, the only group of people need mercy is sinners. They're the only ones. They're the only ones who need absolute free mercy. If you don't need free mercy, I ain't got no message for you. But I do have a message for those who need mercy. And I know this, if you never feel your need, you'll never come.

Man, there's so many people who don't feel their need. They don't have a need. They don't have it. I don't know. To some, the gospel is just like take it or leave it. It's like, you know, well, I can live without it. I can't. I can't. I have to have it. Why? Because I have to have Him. I am a sinner and there is no hope for me but at Him. And so all who believe in Him, listen, He says this, I didn't say it, they shall never perish. Whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.

Do you believe that? Man, I do. I do. You now see in this parable that the kingdom of God here represents not just preachers though. I don't want you to misunderstand that. This is everyone who professes here. Everyone. Everyone who professes to believe. Preachers included. Preachers included.

Now, the church in history has always been made up of these two people. It's true right now. The church is always made up of true believers and vain professors. It's always been this way. The tares will always grow up with the wheat. The sheep and the goats will always be intermixed in the church. Wise and foolish virgins together, professing to believe and wait for the Lord's coming. There's always this in the church.

There are many professors, they lean on their baptism, they've joined the church, had some emotional experience. I've seen many of that. I've seen a lot of emotional experiences, and I mean sincere emotional experiences. They have been in great difficulties, great troubles. They come into the church, and they weep, and they cry, and they make this profession, and they go into the baptismal waters, and they attend to the worship for months or days or years. And pretty soon, you don't see them again. Now why is that? John said they went out of us because they were not of us. It's always going to be a mixture.

Yet there are many true believers. That's good news. There are others who are true professors, washed in the blood, robed in the righteousness of Christ, and both are pictured in our text here. Now the true servants of God, The true servants of God are represented by these men. Go back to your text. The man that has five and the man that has two are representative of all true believers. And the last one is representative of vain professors.

So all who profess to believe in Christ are pictured here. You, listen to me. Anybody here professing to believe Christ, you're here. You're here. You're one of these three. Now some, again I tried to associate this, I know this is true of every believer. I think this is intended for you and me.

Every believer, every professing believer. And so it is with all true believers, these two who represent true believers, You'll notice the character of these men is that what they have received, they give it all back. So is true of every believer. Every believer who has received of God's grace and mercy, who lives and grows in the things of the Spirit, we always recognize this, all things are of God and for the glory of God. Everything we've ever done, is not for ourselves, but for the glory of God. So I ask you this morning, do you believe on Christ? Do you profess to believe? And I know this of everyone that is true, a true believer, every true believer will grow.

Now listen, both of these men put there what they were given to use. The man that had two and the man that had five, they did the same thing. They put what they had to use. And listen, there was growth. There was a benefit from it. The one that put forth five brought five more. The one that put forth two. What does this mean?

Everyone is a true believer is going to grow in the graces they are given. In whatever measure of grace you have, it'll grow. It'll grow. And we know that the measure of these talents given to us of God according to his grace, and so then it doesn't matter what gifts we have.

This is not the focal point. It's not the focal point to look around and say, well, man, I only have two. This guy has five. No, no, that's not the focal point. The greatness of the gift doesn't matter. The point is it must be used. It has to be used. It must be put into practice. And that we use every opportunity for the glory of our Lord.

And don't fail to see this, that the reward is always the same no matter what we do. No matter how much faith God gives us. No matter how much love God gives us. No matter how much dedication or zeal that we have of the Spirit of God. The reward for us is the same, isn't it?

It's the same. He said to both of these men, thou good and faithful servants. You've been faithful with little. You'll be rulers over much. Come and enter into the joy of thy Lord. They didn't receive separate rewards. They all were pronounced faithful. and entered into the joy of the earth.

The idea of rewards is a works religion lie. You see, they assume this, that the more you do, the greater your reward in heaven. That's carnal thinking. It's a lie that stems from false freewill works religion. as though somehow our works contribute to the glory of God.

And if our works contribute to the glory of God, then God must reward us above someone else. But remember, all merit-based rewards comes by the works of man, but the rewards of God are without merit. When he gave that man five, did the man deserve the five? It was a gift of grace. God bestowed that upon him. The guy that had two, it was a gift of God to him. And so it is with our salvation, isn't it? Go to Titus chapter 3. You that are believers, you that believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, you know this, that your salvation is by the gift of grace. Titus chapter 3 and verse 3. Paul said to Titus, he said, for we ourselves were sometimes foolish. Before, we were foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers' lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. That's what we were, isn't it? When the Lord came to you, isn't that what you were? That's what I was.

But after. that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward men appeared. Now how did it come? How did the love and kindness of God come to you? Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us. How? By the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which He shed on us abundantly through our Lord, through Jesus Christ, our Savior. That being justified by His grace, we should be made what? Heirs. Heirs according to what?

According to the hope of eternal life. Do you not see that the reward for both of these servants, though they had differing gifts, were the same? You know what the reward of every one of God's people is? It's the same. You and I are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. Now tell me what reward is greater than that? Is there any greater reward than that? Can you receive any higher than being an heir of God. Well, I'm an heir of God, but I get a bigger mansion.

That just shows the ignorance of works religion. We're heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. And so it is, when Jesus the Son of Man comes again, He will give all true and faithful servants their just reward. which we confess as this, His righteousness and His blood. Any basis of reward that comes to me is totally based upon His righteousness and His blood.

And I contribute what? Nothing. I contribute nothing. The guy with five, he didn't come up there and he had five, he got five more, and he puts out ten bags plus a quarter. No! Everything he had before and everything he gained was by the glory for the glory of his master. It belonged to his master. Therefore we give all that we are given and all that we have gained for the glory of God for it is God who worketh in you both to will and do. of His good pleasure. Is there anything you have done for the glory of God that you've done by yourself? Can you name anything? This morning I am preaching only by the grace and power of God. There is no strength in me without that. You can't sit there and you can't listen. You can't entertain it. You can't mull it over in your mind. You can't focus on this without Him.

We need Him for everything. Therefore, this will be the song in heaven, Thou art worthy to take the book and loose the seals thereof, for Thou was slain and has redeemed us to God out of every nation, kindred, tongue, tribe, and people. Thou has made us unto our God kings and priests. And we shall reign on the earth. Why?

All because of him. All because of him. And so just like these servants, whatever we have, we use and whatever we use and gain doesn't doesn't redound to any glory for ourselves. It all belongs to him. And so behold, the gift of God's grace to us. I want you to see this talent that He has given to you that believe. You that believe. Can you count the graces? Is it possible for you to count the blessing?

He chose you. Now why in the world would He do that? Why would He choose you? He said, I chose you because I loved you. Is there anything more valuable than being loved of our God, chosen of our God? And not only that, he sent his son to die in our stead. Our Lord Jesus Christ came to save us from our sins intentionally, on purpose.

He came to save the unworthy, the unwilling, And then thirdly, in the day of his power, he came and you were made willing. You know, there was one time I wasn't willing and all of a sudden I was. There was one time that I wanted to be willing and couldn't. And then one day I was and I could. Where did that come from?

That's a gift of his grace. That's the talents of his grace. And now He has given us life and faith and Christ and joy in our hearts. He has given us love for Christ. Do you love Him? Where'd that come from? Where'd that talent come from? Do you believe Him? Where'd that talent come from? Do you love one another? Where'd that talent come from?

It comes from Him. These are graces that He gives us. Graces. Every one of these graces that he gives us. Listen to what differentiates the true and faithful servant from the slothful is this. They put it to use. They put it to use. Love for Christ. And love for the brethren is not a theory. It's not a it's not a theory. No, God's people take what they're given and put it to use. They put it to use.

True believers will always grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. They will always grow. Now, how do they grow? What is this? In our parable, they take it and they trade it. They make trades with it. What is this? How do we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ? A lot of people say, well, you need to go back to the law. Forget those people. That's not true. You don't go from the cross back to Sinai. No. The way that God grows his people's afflictions, trials.

How do we really know we believe? except God put us through the greatest afflictions, the greatest difficulties, the greatest pains and hurts of this world can bring upon us, and yet, look, I'm still here. Why am I still here? Why have I not been dragged away? Even because God in grace has purpose that I should grow in faith and not forfeit it.

You see a man, two people. One person, he's afflicted. Another person over here is afflicted. One stays and one goes. What made the difference? One had the grace of God. He had nothing. Nothing more than his determination. But in the end, when Jesus Christ Jesus comes, we will be as these serpents servants and keep nothing for ourselves. Every true believer in that day will keep nothing for themselves. What all we have, we were given and all we have multiplied. We will confess this.

I am but an unprofitable servant. In other words, I didn't add anything to you. Every true and faithful servant recognizes they add nothing. to Christ's blood and righteousness. Nothing. Nothing I do. I desire to do those things that are good, those things that are right, those things that please Him, those things that honor Him. But in doing everything to honor Him, I have added nothing to Him. I've added nothing. I've added nothing to His righteousness, His redemption, His sanctification, or His wisdom. God made him to be my wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, redemption.

He's all of it. This is the conclusion of every true and faithful servant. We know it is God that worketh in you both the will and do of his good pleasure. All that we would search out our souls to see what kind of servant we are. Are we a servant made a servant by the grace and power of God through the blood and righteousness of Christ alone? Or have we just made ourselves a servant? Are we just pretending?

Have you been born of the Spirit of God or are you born of the will of the flesh? Have you been given the talent of true faith in Christ? Have you been faithful? to put the graces that God has given to usury? Have you grown in the grace and knowledge of Christ, grown in faith, grown in love? You put your fruit, your talents into usury, as true and faithful servants do.

Or are you like this last guy, this unfaithful servant, This unfaithful servant is a picture of all who just vainly profess to believe. Notice this last guy. He takes what he had, he digs a hole, and he puts it in the earth. This is a picture of everyone who is given only the natural abilities of the flesh and earthly religion. with no real experience of grace. They've had these talents of earthly and natural wisdom that belong to every man. And what does he do with what he knows? What does man do with what he knows?

He knows there's a God. I remember this. That famous atheist Hawkins, the crippled fellow that died. He made this statement a long time ago. I know this, that if there is a God, He's sovereign. He's right. That's true, isn't it? That understanding He had. Now what did He do with it? He buried it.

Men have a natural understanding of who God is. They have a natural understanding there is a God. They know He's all-powerful. They know He's sovereign. They know he's holy and demands justice. These things men know naturally. Now you can read that in Romans chapter 1 and all the way to chapter 3. All men have this natural knowledge. But what do men do with this knowledge? They do exactly what this guy does. They bury it. They bury it.

In Colossians chapter 2 and verse 20, Paul said, if you be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, from the law, that's what the rudiments of the world mean. If you're dead with Christ, what are you dead to? You're dead to the law. Why as though living in the world are you subject into ordinances? If you're dead to it, why do you try to practice it?

Touch not, taste not, handle not. which all things perish with the using, but after the commandments and doctrines of men, which things indeed have a show of wisdom in will-worship, in humility, in neglecting the body, and not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh."

What is Paul saying here? He's saying, look, some men have religion. They take what they know of God and they apply it to some religion. What's that religion? Touch not, taste not, handle not. ordinances, law, obey this and live, do this and live, which have a show, Paul said. You want to see a show? Watch religion. They'll put on a show for you.

Whole crowds raising their hands, crying and wailing and having all kinds of emotions and Oh, things. Oh, the Spirit of God. And they take a man and put him in some silly clothes, and he walks down the aisle with some smoke on, and he makes a big show. Some guy holds up a cracker and says, oh, the body of Christ. Eat it! And somebody, oh, I'm eating the body of Christ. Oh, what a show. He didn't even put on a show. But what is that? It's taking what you know of God and making it earthly, carnal, sensual. They believe that the outward effect of religion affects the inward man. It's nothing but a show.

It's the same thing here. This man buried it in the earth. You know the earth is cursed. He buried it in the very thing that's cursed. That's what men wrap their hope in. They wrap their hope in things of earth. They wrap their hope in the works of the flesh. They bury it.

Do you like this man? He received of the Lord the talent of the flesh and of the mind, but what he did with that is he did not sue for mercy. Be warned. The Lord will require you that have any understanding of God at all. Listen, God will require it of you. God will require it of you. And they'll be responsible for it. And if they will not obey the gospel, they'll suffer an eternal damnation. Now, do you have the gift of grace and life and faith in Christ, such as real believers, or are you like this man? What are you trusting in? What's your hope? Is it in your works or is it in Christ?

Now, you that believe in Christ, I want to give you some points about what it is to put this to usury. What does he mean by putting what we have to usury? Go to Ephesians 4 again. Go to Ephesians 4. I want you to take this to heart. If you really believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and salvation is by grace through Him alone, listen, this is what everyone that is a true and faithful servant does. This is not an outlier. This is not somebody that's just, you know, super, Exceptional. No, this is everyone who truly believes. First of all, everyone that truly believes desires to walk worthy of our calling.

Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 1, Therefore I therefore the prisoner of the Lord beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called. Now to walk worthy is to walk suitable of it. If you're children of light, how are you to walk? As children of light. Children of liberty, how are you to walk? As children of liberty. How are you to walk? You walk by faith. And you view only Christ as the object of that faith. That's how we walk. Walk worthy of that location. Where with your call, listen, how do you do that? Listen, with all lowliness.

Is that not reasonable? You that believe, is that not reasonable to walk lowly? Esteeming everyone else better than yourself. Is that not reasonable? Isn't that exactly what our Lord Jesus Christ did? Who himself was above everyone and yet he humbled himself. to walk in meekness with long-suffering, forbearing one another, gritting your teeth. Is that what it says?

How are we to forbear one another? Oh, man, I'm forbearing in love. You forbear for somebody that's decent to you? Do you forbear with somebody that's kind to you? No, you forbear with people that despise you. Are you long-suffering with people who are gentle? No, you're long-suffering with people that have offended you. Why? Because that's what Christ did for us. Just reasonable, isn't it? To forgive, isn't it reasonable? Isn't it, no matter what, is it not reasonable seeing what great evils we have done and He forgives us daily? Reasonable. You know what that is?

That's walking worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called. And everyone who has true faith desires that, longs for that, prays for that. The second thing the believer does as we put this to usury is this. We are established in the gospel and we won't move from it. Everyone who is a faithful servant is faithful to the gospel of Jesus Christ and we will not move from it.

Look at this in verse 14, chapter 4 of Ephesians. He says, that henceforth you be no more children tossed to and fro, carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the slight of men, cunning, craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, But speaking the truth, how? How do you speak this gospel to anybody? In love. Speak the truth in love that you may grow up unto Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ. Verse 21, If so be that ye have heard of him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus, what do we do?

We put off the former conversation of the old man. Which of you that believe do not desire to put this thing off? You want to keep this? You want to keep the old man? Is He precious to you? Our longing is to put Him off. And it's not a one-time act, it's daily, isn't it? Don't you have to keep putting that thing off?

He says, put on the new man, which is created after God in true holiness. This is what it means to put, to usury. is to take the graces of God and by the power of the Holy Spirit, apply them. Is that not reasonable? Tell me, is it unreasonable? I beseech you, therefore, by the mercies of God, present your bodies, not your theological minds, your bodies, a living sacrifice. Why should you do that? Holy and acceptable. Don't you get it? You've been made holy. You've been made acceptable.

Is it just reasonable to give it? Would it be reasonable for one of these servants to withhold one bag for himself? Not reasonable. But notice those who won't. Go back to your text. We'll close with this. This lawful servant, that's not what he does.

He takes what he knew of God and he buries it, he hides it. Notice what he says in verse 24. And he which received the one talon came and said, Lord, I knew that thou art a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, gathering where thou hast not strawed. And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talon in the earth.

So here's yours, here's what you gave me. You know what that is? It's your fault. Isn't this astounding, the the arrogancy of man to stand before God and blame him? Well, you chose the people and I wasn't one of them. So it's your fault. You know what? Look what the look what the Lord did here. He used his own words as judgment.

And the Lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not and gather where I have not strawed. Thou oughtest therefore to put my money to the exchangers that in my coming I should have received of my own with usury. You knew I was sovereign and you would not ask for mercy. You knew I was all powerful and you would not ask me for faith. Instead, you took what I gave you and you buried it, you put it away, you made it corruptible.

And God cast that man out into eternity where the scripture says there's weeping and gnashing of teeth. I always tell you this, gnashing of teeth has to do with regret. I think a preacher a long time ago said, the worm that doesn't die is regret. When Abraham said to that rich man in hell, he said, son, remember. And that man has been remembering for 2,000 years what great opportunities he was given, what great things he had. And the regret was he never took what he knew and applied it.

I know this, without the grace and power of God, you'll never apply it. You'll never believe. But I know this, God's gonna hold you accountable for it. How do I explain that? I don't have to. I just don't have to. When that day comes, you'll know. You'll know it was right.

But you that believe, may God give us grace and power of His Spirit to grow. You that believe, Let me ask you, do you want to believe less? Anybody want to believe less? Oh man, I'm just too faithful. I'm just too forgiving. I'll tell you what, I don't need any more of that. I'm too loving. And I'm too humble about it. Nobody ever says that in his heart. I'm not a faithful servant. I'm so thankful God has given us grace, and I don't care what measure of grace I have. I'm thankful for it. What measure of faith that I have? Love.

And I know this, that it will not grow unless he gives me grace to grow. And man, it ain't gonna grow without affliction. You can just mark that down. You're not gonna grow without affliction. How could we ever put love to usury if we never were offended? Could you put it to work if you never were offended? You must be offended to put it to work. So God's going to do that. Oh, he's going to do that. And man, he wings us from this world by that, doesn't he? So I ask you this morning, which servant are you? This is vitally important. Are you just a five-by-nine professor? Just take it, leave it, what?

You're a real servant of God. May God show us. I pray you will stand and be dismissed in prayer. Gracious Father, be so merciful to us. Oh, pour out kindness. Thank you for sending your son. Thank you for his death, his blood, his righteousness. Thank you for the grace and power of thy Spirit to give me life and faith. And I trust that only by the power of the Spirit that I'll keep it and that it'll grow. Bless your people. Bless their hearts. Bless their unity. Bless their love. Every grace that you've given. Forgive us our sins. cleanse us of our unfaithfulness. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.

A division Among Servants-Matthew 25:14-30

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about being ready for Christ's return?

Why is the parable of the talents important for Christians?

How do we know that God's grace is sufficient for salvation?

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A division Among Servants-Matthew 25:14-30

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about being ready for Christ's return?

Why is the parable of the talents important for Christians?

How do we know that God's grace is sufficient for salvation?

Sermon Transcript

About Fred Evans

Comments

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