To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 1:7closeRomans 1:7
7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (ESV)
closeRomans 1:7closeRomans 1:7
7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (ESV)
7 To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints:
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (ESV)
What a beautiful greeting that Paul gives to the church here at Rome. In fact, Paul began all of his letters with this same greeting – grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Perhaps it was just a customary greeting back in those days, but look at the words here. Paul is actually extending a greeting from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. God here is not merely wishing for us to have grace and peace in the same way we do when we wish someone a good day or good luck. No, God actually has the power to extend grace and peace to us, and in fact, he has already done so.
The ultimate expression of God’s grace comes in the form of His son, Jesus Christ, who died for our sins. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” Eph 2:8closeEphesians 2:8
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (ESV)
closeEphesians 2:8closeEphesians 2:8
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (ESV)
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (ESV)
. The word grace in the NT actually means “a gift that brings great joy”. While it is not always used in connection with salvation, it is definitely the best word to use in that context. What greater gift to bring joy to mankind than the gift of salvation and redemption from sin? The gift is even more incredible when we realize when it was given. Jesus Christ was sent to die for our sins while we were still enemies of God. “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” Eph 2:4-5closeEphesians 2:4-5
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— (ESV)
closeEphesians 2:4-5closeEphesians 2:4-5
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— (ESV)
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— (ESV)
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Rom 5:8closeRomans 5:8
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (ESV)
closeRomans 5:8closeRomans 5:8
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (ESV)
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (ESV)
The second half of the greeting is as amazing as the first. God gives us peace. This peace, which goes hand in hand with grace, is the removal of God’s wrath from our account. It is exclusively a peace between God and man and has nothing to do with man’s relationships with his fellow man. Because of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit given to us when we obey the gospel, the wall of sin that divides us from fellowship with the Father has been removed, and we can live at peace with Him.
We are going to talk about salt and grace. This is all about how God’s holiness and his graciousness spills over into our lives and makes itself obvious in the way we deal with each other. Let’s start with salt. Salt is used in cooking for preservative as well as for flavor. As much as we take it for granted, salt is an absolutely essential ingredient for the preservation of life, and if we did not have refrigeration, food storage could not be done without it. Jesus Christ views us in exactly the same way. “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.” Matt 5:13. Our job here is to preserve the earth as well as to flavor it. But exactly what does he mean by telling us we are “the salt of the earth”? We are the salt of the earth when we reflect God’s holiness in our own lives “But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.” Eph 5:3-5closeEphesians 5:3-5
3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. (ESV)
closeEphesians 5:3-5closeEphesians 5:3-5
3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. (ESV)
3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. (ESV)
. When we reflect God’s holiness, then we hold our personal lives accountable to God’s standards and values – not because we have to but because we want to.
It is apparent in today’s culture in America, we are seeing the results of the church not being the salt of the earth. We have lost our saltiness and the godless in this country and in all the world are running the show now. In fact, all of the problems in America that we are facing right now are a result of the loss of our moral base as a society. When this country was founded, the church was very salty, and as a result, the society was preserved. The godly and the godless alike lived more moral lives and held to higher standards. There was greater respect for life and property and honesty and integrity. I am not saying that society was without flaws then. All I’m saying is that everyone was held to a higher standard and those standards created an environment where liberty could flourish.
Today, the more godless we become, the more freedom we lose. The church is finding that it is no longer the salt of the earth and it is becoming more and more irrelevant as time goes by. The less salty we are, the more evil flourishes. The more evil flourishes, the more we have to hand over our freedoms in exchange for safety and protection. As a result, we are in danger of being thrown out and trampled underfoot.
The danger here is that people tend to become self-righteous rather than reflecting God’s righteousness. This is the part where we are garnished with grace. It is grace that makes us able to live with one another even though someone may or may not be living to exactly the same standards you think they ought to live to. Let me make a statement here, and it is one that I believe with all my heart. Everyone wants grace for themselves and justice for everyone else. Think about the woman caught in adultery. Those Pharisees thought they were standing up for the righteousness of God when they drug her in front of the Lord and asked if she should be condemned. They had two problems though. First, they were not seeking justice, but they were seeking to trip up Jesus and catch him in something they could charge him with. So, they had the wrong motivation. God’s holiness is never born out of wrong motivation, and our expression of holiness must come from a sincere desire to please God and not for show or to make a point. Second, they forgot to check themselves first. Jesus told them back on the Sermon on the Mount to get the plank out of their own eye before trying to point out the speck in someone else’s eye. In this instance, he dramatically makes that point by sitting there writing in the sand and making the simple statement, “He who is without sin, cast the first stone”. What could he have been writing? Perhaps it was the 10 commandments, or perhaps, seeing as he was God, it was a list of all of the deep personal sins of the men in the crowd who were ready to throw the stones. No matter, whatever it was, no one could claim to be without sin, except of course, Jesus himself, and soon the woman found that it was just Jesus and herself. “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” John 8:10-11closeJohn 8:10-11
10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”]] (ESV)
closeJohn 8:10-11closeJohn 8:10-11
10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”]] (ESV)
10 Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”]] (ESV)
. What grace! Jesus had every right to condemn her, and she knew it. He had every right to send her straight to hell, and yet he tells her that he does not condemn her. Oftentimes, I find myself thinking and acting like the Pharisees. I just want to make a point and I want someone to pay the price for what they’ve done to me. My prayer might as well be, “God strike them dead.” I forget that while I was still a sinner, Christ died for me. I forget the grace given to me. I forget that I cannot cast the first stone. I forget that my first obligation is to reflect God’s love.
Let me tell you a story. Matthew 18:21-35closeMatthew 18:21-35
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.
23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” (ESV)
closeMatthew 18:21-35closeMatthew 18:21-35
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.
23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” (ESV)
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.
23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” (ESV)
The man in this story owed a debt he could not repay. He owed 10,000 talents. Now a talent was worth about 20 years of a day laborer’s wages. He owed 10,000 x 20 years of labor. I used to say that was tantamount to the national debt, but these days the national debt exceeds 20,000 years of all the laborers’ wages in this country combined, and so, this is small in comparison. Regardless, it was a debt he could not repay. Could you imagine owing someone such a large sum of money knowing that one day he was going to call the loan and ask for it back? I don’t know about you, but I’d be a nervous wreck. I might even move to a remote place just so I couldn’t be found. Well this man did get called in, and he had to beg for his life. His begging paid off, but in an unexpected way. He didn’t just get more time, which was what he asked for, his debt was cancelled, forgiven, that’s it, you don’t owe it any more. This man is every one of us. We owed a debt, a sin debt. We offended God and there was nothing we could do about it. It was only through the grace of God that our debt too was cancelled, forgiven, and we no longer owe it.
The question is what is our response to that gift? Are we like the woman caught in adultery and we are completely humbled and turn our lives around to serve him? Or are we like this man demanding justice from everyone else without mercy even though we were shown tremendous mercy? In order for us to be like Jesus and live graceful lives, we have to have a large dose of humility. For the scripture says, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” Rom 12:3closeRomans 12:3
Gifts of Grace
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. (ESV)
closeRomans 12:3closeRomans 12:3
Gifts of Grace
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. (ESV)
Gifts of Grace
3 For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. (ESV)
, and “Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” Phil 2:3-4closePhilippians 2:3-4
3 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (ESV)
closePhilippians 2:3-4closePhilippians 2:3-4
3 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (ESV)
3 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. (ESV)
. Let’s not forget that it’s not our job to make people into our version of what a Christian should look like. It’s the Holy Spirit’s job to make people more like himself, and he does that mainly through his word. Yes, he uses us sometimes, but are primary responsibility is not to be the God police. We fail every time. We are much more successful if we look to our own holiness first, and, if we are close enough to someone, then we can call them out where they are failing. Not on our opinion, but on God’s word.
Having said all of that, it is important to remember that Grace does not overlook sin. In fact, “For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age.” Titus 2:11-12closeTitus 2:11-12
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, (ESV)
closeTitus 2:11-12closeTitus 2:11-12
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, (ESV)
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, (ESV)
. The important thing to remember here is that the intolerance of sin starts with your life. Grace teaches us (that’s each one of us regardless of his neighbor) to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions. Are you learning to say no to ungodliness and worldly passions? Is this grace being reflected in your life above all others? If not, why not? What are you holding on to? If you are, that’s great, but do you remember where you came from and how much grace you were shown while you were “working on it”? God wants us to reflect his grace to our brothers and sisters and just give them a break. No, we are not tolerant of sin, but we are able to love people and encourage them along their road. Of course, the best way to encourage someone to holy living is by them seeing you live a holy life and still being gracious to those around you.
You know, you show grace every day to those in your family. Your children, if it weren’t for your phenomenal love and great grace, would all be dead by now and you know it. I know mine would never have made it. Even now, when they are grown, they require my grace and love. It would seem to me that your church family deserves at least as much grace as you show your own children. So, when it comes to our brothers and sisters in the church, we should not overlook sin, but we had better get the plank out of our own eye first, we should be merciful, we should be humble, very humble, and we should be motivated by a personal desire to please God rather than a need to make a point or to look good in front of other self-righteous people.
We also need to remember grace when we are dealing with those outside of the church as well. How many times have we been confronted by one of those “dirty sinners” and have walked to the other side of the street in order to keep from having to speak to them. You know the ones I’m talking about, those homosexuals, drug users, punks with the pink hair and facial piercings, smelly people, rich people, and worst of all – black people…..ewwww!. (The preceding is not meant to at all imply that black people are dirty sinners; rather, this is an indictment of people’s attitudes towards those who are different than them.) “Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Cor 6:9-11close1 Corinthians 6:9-11
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (ESV)
close1 Corinthians 6:9-11close1 Corinthians 6:9-11
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (ESV)
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (ESV)
Paul has no problem reminding us of where we came from, perhaps because he too came from a place that he was not proud of. Sure, he had zeal for God and he had some personal righteousness, but in the end he found himself persecuting God himself, and that’s just a scary place to be. So, when we are dealing with those “worldly people” we need to remember that we too were once worldly and dirty sinners, and we needed to grace of God, and we need to ask ourselves who are we to judge who will and who won’t listen to the message of grace that we have. I don’t know about you, but as for myself I make that judgment far more than I’m comfortable with and end up with excuses why I really don’t need to witness to anyone. Shame on me. I was given a precious gift, and I should be willing to share it with everyone regardless of what I think of their personal sins. I still need to find humility and grace in my everyday living, no matter if I’m with my church family or in the world fraternizing with those who are just like I used to be, and I need to freely distribute the gift with which I have been entrusted.
Matthew 25:14-28closeMatthew 25:14-28
The Parable of the Talents
14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. (ESV)
closeMatthew 25:14-28closeMatthew 25:14-28
The Parable of the Talents
14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. (ESV)
The Parable of the Talents
14 “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. 15 To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. 16 He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them, and he made five talents more. 17 So also he who had the two talents made two talents more. 18 But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. 19 Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. 20 And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ 21 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 22 And he also who had the two talents came forward, saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ 23 His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 He also who had received the one talent came forward, saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, 25 so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours.’ 26 But his master answered him, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown and gather where I scattered no seed? 27 Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. 28 So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. (ESV)
Parable of the talents. I love to teach this parable. This is not a parable about money or “talent” or “if you don’t use it you will lose it”. No this is a parable about witnessing to people. The man who went on a journey is God. Those he entrusted his wealth to is us. And exactly what is the wealth of God? It is his grace as shown in the knowledge of his precious son. So, the master was gone a long time, and presumably those servants had time to do something with the great wealth he had given them. Sure enough, the one who had been given 5 talents had earned five more, the one who had been given 2 talents had earned 2 more and then there was the one who had been given 1 talent. He thought he was smart by burying the talent in the ground, at least that way it wouldn’t get stolen. How did the master feel about these servants. He praised the two who doubled their original investment, but he had very harsh words for the one who buried his talent. He called him a wicked and lazy servant. Why wicked and lazy? After all, he didn’t lose the money, he just didn’t gain anything with it. The master also ordered that that servant be thrown outside into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be anywhere where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Sounds perfectly horrid.
So you ask, how is this about witnessing? Well, talents are currency. They are money. They have value to those who use them, and therefore, they can be invested and increased. Well, what has value in the kingdom of God? People do. The wealth that God entrusted with us is the knowledge of Jesus Christ. We are to invest that wealth in people, and when we do, there will be an increase and God’s kingdom will grow. So, are you investing for God? Is the kingdom increasing because of your investment? Don’t be that servant who hides what was entrusted to him only to give it back with no yield. It will not be a happy day. Remember, you are not responsible for the yield only for the effort of investment. God will bring about the return.
In the end, God’s grace keeps us for the day of redemption in the form of the Holy Spirit. We don’t deserve it and we don’t earn it, we just get it, and because of God’s grace, we will rise.
Written by Diane O’Kelly
