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After we repent and receive Jesus Christ
as our Lord and Savior, we become, among other things, his servants.
At the end of the age
as servants we will stand before our Master. There will be an accounting
of what we have done or not done in response to his commands. Scripture
teaches that some of us will be judged to be “wicked servants” by
the Lord. What will befall such servants?
In
the parables of the kingdom of heaven taught in Matthew's gospel,
the term “wicked” is
applied on three different occasions to refer to the master’s
servants. On the first occasion, it was applied to the servant who
refused to
forgive his fellow servant.
Matthew
18:21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord,
how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me?
Up to
seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven
times.
23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted
to settle accounts with his servants…
…
32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You
wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because
you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow
servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master turned
him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back
all he owed.
35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each
of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”
Our
Master commands us to forgive our brother from our heart. If we disobey
his command, we will be turned “over to the jailers to
be tortured” until we pay back to the Lord what we owe him. Whatever
being "tortured by the jailers" actually encompasses we do not know
and do not want to find out for ourselves. Forgiving others is not
optional
for a servant of God.
The Parable of the Talents
Matthew
25:14 “Again, it [the kingdom of heaven] will be like
a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his
property to them. 15 To one he gave five talents of money, to another
two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability.
Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received the five talents
went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17 So
also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18 But the man
who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground
and hid his master’s money.
19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and
settled accounts with them. 20 The man who had received the five talents
brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted
me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’
21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!
You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge
of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
22 “The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he
said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained
two more.’
23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!
You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge
of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
The first two servants who had earned profit for their master were
praised and rewarded. But it was not so for the third servant.
24 “Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he
said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have
not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 So I was
afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is
what belongs to you.’
26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you
knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not
scattered seed? 27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit
with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it
back with interest.
…
30 …throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The
third servant was afraid of losing what the master had entrusted
to him, so he did not invest it. He failed to earn any profit for
his
master. It does not say here that he was engaged in any kind of sin.
But he was thrown into the darkness where there would be weeping
and gnashing
of teeth. Jesus' parable teaches us that this will happen to some servants
of God.
The parable of the servant who loved his life in the world
Matthew
24:42 “Therefore keep
watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
…
45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master
has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their
food at the proper time? 46 It will be good for that servant whose
master finds him doing so when he returns. 47 I tell you the truth,
he will put him in charge of all his possessions.
48
But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My
master is staying away a long time,’ 49 and he then begins to
beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50 The
master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him
and at an hour he is not aware of. 51 He will cut him to pieces and
assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth.
There
will be wicked servants who become complacent during the master’s
long absence. They begin to mistreat the other servants who are under
their authority. The love of money and the love of the world take root
in their hearts, and their work of feeding their master’s servants
suffers. They use some of the funds entrusted to them for feeding the
servants to enjoy life in the world instead---eating and drinking and
getting drunk just as unbelievers and hypocrites do. With fewer funds
available, he provides poor quality food to the master’s servants.
In
this parable we learn that there are servants of God in the Church
who indeed actually do this. They do not
realize how
close the Lord’s
return could be. They are drawn to the world and to the comforts it
offers. They take offerings from God’s people to finance a very
comfortable and even luxurious lifestyle. They justify it by saying
that their Father owns everything and loves them and wants to bless
them with earthly comfort.
They
feed God’s people a diet of sugary soft drinks---God loves
them and wants to bless them with “success” in this life.
The solid food of holiness and sacrificial obedience and self-control
is mostly withheld. If indeed it is offered, it is only as a carrot
to lead God’s people to more earthly blessings. It is not for
the sake of pleasing the Lord to maximize our heavenly reward.
Such servants of God have become friends of the world and love their
lives in this world. They are hirelings who care not for the sheep.
The Lord will send these wicked servants to the place reserved for
unbelievers and hypocrites where there will be weeping and gnashing
of teeth. This will happen to some of us who serve God in the Church
today.
Conclusion
We have learned in this study that there are three things which spell
disaster for servants of God.
Unforgiveness
Jesus’ command
to forgive one’s
brother is applicable to everyone who calls himself a disciple
of Jesus Christ. Those who will not or cannot forgive are judged
to be wicked in the
sight of God and will be “turned over to the jailers to be tortured.”
Fruitlessness due to fear
This
applies to disciples to whom are entrusted resources to be invested
for the kingdom of heaven. It would appear that many of not most disciples
of the Lord are entrusted by him with resources or talents of some
kind or another. If we produce good fruit for the Lord with these
resources, he
will be pleased and will put us in charge of many things. If we fail
to bear fruit because of fear of failure and end up doing nothing,
we will be judged to be wicked servants in the sight of God and thrown
outside into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing
of teeth.
Failure
to watch and to be ready for the Lord’s
return by becoming a friend of the world (James 4:4)
The
third parable is given for those to whom is entrusted the feeding
of servants of God, that is, other disciples.
In general, pastors
and ministers are those who provide spiritual food for God’s
sheep and teach them the Word of God. Those who fear the Lord and anticipate
his return will watch their lives and doctrine closely. Look how Paul
taught Timothy, a minister of the gospel discipled by Paul.
1 Timothy 4:16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in
them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
2 Timothy 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,
a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles
the word of truth.
But
some pastors and ministers do not take seriously the return of the
Lord. They enjoy their lives in
the world, eating
and drinking
and living as the unbelievers do. Often they will emphasize material
prosperity on earth in their teaching for God’s people as well
as for themselves personally. They violate the trust that the Lord
gives to pastors and ministers and servants of God.
2
Timothy 2:3 Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ
Jesus. 4 No one serving as a soldier
gets
involved in civilian affairs—he
wants to please his commanding officer. 5 Similarly, if anyone competes
as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless
he competes according to the rules. 6 The hardworking farmer should
be the first to receive a share of the crops.
1 Timothy 6:9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and
a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into
ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds
of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith
and pierced themselves with many griefs. 11 But you, man of God, flee
from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance
and gentleness.
These ministers will be judged to be wicked in the sight of God and
assigned a place with the unbelievers and hypocrites, where there will
be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
What
Scripture teaches us here stands in shocking contrast to the teachings
we usually get in church Sunday
after Sunday---teachings
which make us feel nice and warm and comfortable, and render us sleepy,
complacent, and unprepared for the Lord’s return.
Yes,
we are saved by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8). But faith without
works of obedience is dead
(James 2:17).
All believers must
forgive others as God has forgiven us through Christ Jesus. Those believers
who have resources must use them wisely and produce fruit for the Lord.
Those who are in full-time ministry will be judged by especially high
standards, and must watch their lives and teachings closely in anticipation
of the Lord’s return. If we fail to obey the Lord in these ways,
we will suffer in the next life.
Let us be sober in view of what Scripture teaches. Church tradition
cannot save us, but obedience to the Word of God will.
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