The Parable of the Talents – Matthew 25:14-30
What a glorious section of the Bible to study! Let’s make a few observations. The three servants in this account are not mere servants, but bondservants. These were people who chose to remain with their master after their seven year period of service was over, obviously because at some level they understood that to be under this master’s care, working for him and living closely with him was good for them. These were not servants who were forced to remain with their master.
Matthew 18:1-4 “At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And calling to Him a child, He put him in the midst of them and said, ‘Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’”
In his book Good to Great, author Jim Collins “identified two specific character qualities shared by the CEOs of these good-to-great companies. The first was no surprise: These men and women possessed incredible professional will – they were driven, willing to endure anything to make their company a success. But the second trait these leaders had in common wasn’t something the researchers expected to find.
This study addresses the question, “Why be holy? Why live righteously, fighting for what is good and pure and excellent, giving yourself to fighting against sin of any and every kind, both within and without?” I thought of this the day after the I’ve Got A Name event (May 4) while driving to work. Having asked the question, I then began to answer it, looking at three verses that give THE compelling reason. Before going to that though, let’s see what other reasons there are for being holy.
Today we consider the issue of God’s severity, the fact that He hates sin and does not play games with it. As Christians we are more inclined to choose those things we like about Jesus and hold fast to them, yet set aside those more unpalatable aspects that He presents to us, and when we think and live this way, we belittle Him.
Luke 17:1-6 “And He said to His disciples, ‘Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin. Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him. The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ And the Lord said, ‘If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea, and it would obey you.’”
Last time we explored the issue of inner leprosy, the fact that all of us are sinful human beings at the core and therefore in need of God’s decisive, as well as ongoing cleansing. We saw that a big help in becoming the kind of person who loves righteousness and hates wickedness is by routinely washing in the water of the word, the Bible.
“Washing in the water of the Word. Do you feel and know yourself cleaner for being with Jesus? You should. Do you experience this through being with fellow believers? You should. Do you experience this in a worship service? You should.”
“The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it.” Proverbs 27:12
Psalm 24:3-6
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD, and who shall stand in His holy place?
4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false, and does not swear deceitfully.
5 He shall receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6 Such is the generation of those who seek God, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.”