Words to Hear :: By Dennis Huebshman
Matthew 25:20-23; “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.’ 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.’ And he who had the two talents came forward saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ 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.'” (ESV – all emphasis is mine)
About now, there are some who will say that this proves our Salvation is dependent on our works and deeds. It’s not the works that were done but the attitude that these faithful servants had toward their master. The master provided resources to the servants in order to give them an opportunity to honor him by putting the talents given to good use. Their goal was to show they appreciated the faith that was placed on them, and they had a strong desire to bring honor to him for that.
It’s as if the master had given them a “Great Commission” and then gave them space to see how they would respond. Our Savior has given us a “Great Commission” in Matthew 28:19-20; “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Jesus knew that each of His disciples were more capable in some areas than others and was asking them to get His word out through their individual abilities. Just as with us today, some are capable of spreading His word around the world, while others are more limited to their immediate surroundings. He was telling all of us that no matter what our personal range is, all who use what talents we have are following His commandment and are important to Him.
In Romans 12:4-8, Paul explains this concept well; “For as in one body, we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them; if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”
In 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, Paul expands on this; “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are variations of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another the ability to distinguish between Spirits; to another various kinds of tongues; and to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as He wills.”
In the Matthew 25 parable, verses 24-30 describe a servant who did not follow the will of the master.
“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; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I scattered no seed. 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. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast this worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
This may sound totally harsh and unreasonably cruel; however, this servant tried to lay the blame on his master by trying to seek an easy way out. Our Heavenly Father is faithful and just toward all who have received and accepted His Son as their Savior. The steps in Romans 10:9-13 are not difficult to follow, but some will still reject Jesus.
There are evangelical churches today that were Bible-based in the past. As false prophets started infiltrating pulpits, the true word of the Lord is being “adjusted” to say there are many ways to Salvation without Jesus. Some say Jesus was a good prophet but certainly not the Son of God, and therefore not God Himself. John 10:30 dispels this when Jesus said, “I and the Father are One.”
Words to tickle ears and put minds at ease about existing sin is the main agenda. Problem is, the words are leading souls to eternal damnation. Philip P. Bliss wrote “Wonderful Words of Life: in 1884. This carries a message that is positive and invites us to pass it on to others.
1.) Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life. Let me more of their beauty see, wonderful words of life; Words of life and beauty teach me faith and duty.
Ref.) Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life; Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life.
2.) Christ, the Blessed one, gives to all wonderful words of life; Sinner, list to the loving call, wonderful words of life; All so freely given, wooing us to Heaven. (ref)
3.) Sweetly echo the Gospel call, wonderful words of life; Offer pardon and peace to all, wonderful words of life; Jesus, only Savior, sanctify forever. (ref)
Consider what our Father asks of us in exchange for an eternity in Heaven with Him. First, we need to confess that we all are sinners and ask forgiveness. Next, we need to accept that Jesus lived a sinless life and shed His perfect blood for all who will call out to Him to be saved and that He is actually a true part of the Holy Trinity. Our requirement is to believe that Jesus died for us and was raised from the dead to conquer sin and death for all who will receive and accept Him forever.
There are no words or deeds or financial payments we can make to earn our Salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9). Also, as long as we are in these mortal human bodies, we will sin. God knew this would be the case and has provided a means of being forgiven in 1 John 1:8-10.
Finally, there is only one way to the Father, and that is through His Son Jesus. This is given in John 14:6 and Acts 4:12. God wants no one to fail, as stated in 2 Peter 3:9. However, all who refuse to receive and accept His Son will end up in the Lake of Fire forever (Revelation 20:11-15).
The Rapture could occur at any moment, which is evidenced by the increasing evil in the world. All who have truly called out to Jesus to be their Savior will be removed from this earth to keep us from the coming seven-year wrath. To decide to wait to make your reservation with the Savior could be the biggest mistake ever. Right now would not be too soon to call on Him.
All who believe they have sinned so greatly do not understand the power of the shed blood of our Savior. The only unforgivable sin today is to take your last breath without having Him in your heart. God will force no one to make that call; it’s completely up to each and every individual to do so of their own free will. We don’t know the day or hour, but everything that was prophesied, and the increased pace of evil today tells us it’s getting very close.
Jesus will accept all who call on Him all hours, day or night. Once the Rapture has taken place, it will still be possible to be saved, but the cost most likely will be martyrdom. Please consider carefully right now. Hope to see you at Home!
Maranatha!
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