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We must be rigorous with ourselves. We must not imagine that our poor or nonexistent performance will be excused. In Matthew 24-25 we see the failure of all excuses before God.

The man who was given one talent and hid it in the ground explained that he had not done more because he knew his master’s nature too well: “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 went out and hid your talent (money) in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.” The servant did not actually know his master at all. The servant was only making an excuse. It was a foolish excuse, and it certainly did not fool his master. But many people do the same today. They use the theology of justification to excuse their failure to care for others. They use knowledge of predestination to excuse their failure to evangelize. They use perseverance as an excuse for being lazy.

The master told the servant that if he was right about his character, he should have worked even harder. If the master was hard, the servant should have labored even more to produce a profit for him. The servant was wicked because of his unjustified slander, and he was lazy, which was the real reason for his zero-growth performance. By that standard, what wicked people must there be in our Churches? How lazy must many of us be!

You can get away with giving excuses to other people – to your boss, your parents, your spouse, your pastor. But do not think you can get away with giving excuses to God. The apostle Paul wrote that in the day of God’s judgment “every mouth [will] be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.” There will not be a single protest when Jesus the Judge takes the bench.

There will be a surprise for many on the day of judgment – it will not be pleasant. Many will be startled, shaken, and distressed. The wicked servant thought he had done well. He must have been startled to hear the words, “Throw that worthless servant into the outer darkness…there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

This will be the end for many who in their lifetime called out, “Lord, Lord,” but did not do the things Jesus said. We would not dare to say this if the Lord had not said it first, but on His authority, we must say that many who worship in apparently Christian congregations and consider themselves good Christians will be confounded by Christ’s judgment.

This last point is very sobering. Jesus speaks of divisions, between the five wise and the five foolish virgins, between the faithful and wicked servants, between sheep and goats. But these are not for this life or for a few moments or years after death. They are forever. There is a gulf between heaven and hell, happiness and suffering, misery and the joy of the redeemed.

What a grim fate that is! Darkness, because it is a life without God, who is the source of all light. Outside, because it is without God, who is the Creator and center of all things. In that darkness there is no hope, no joy, no love, no laughter. In that outside world there is only weeping and gnashing of teeth forever. Do not go there. Repent of your sin, trust Christ as your Savior, and use your new life in Christ to work for Him now.

Maranatha!

(mar-uh-nath-uh – “Our Lord Comes”)

Pastor Steve can be reached at PastorSteve@MaranathaBibleChurch.org

In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25),  judgment is based on the use or misuse of the talents (money). Jesus is one with the apostle James, who said: “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2.14-17).

Usually James is contrasted with Paul at this point, but remember that Paul also said, “To those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil…but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good…For God shows no partiality”  (Romans 2.7-11).

Does that mean we are saved by works? No, but this passage does reveal the necessity of works following faith – if we are truly born again. There is an unbreakable connection between what we believe and what we do. We believe the Gospel because we have been born again, and those who have been born again will always and inevitably begin to live out the superior moral life of Christ within them. The new nature does not manifest itself fully all at once. But if we are justified, we will have it, and it will increasingly and inevitably express itself in faithful and loving service to our Master, Jesus Christ.

We are not justified by works. If we are trying to be justified by works, we are not Christians. But neither can we claim to be Christians if we do not have works. If we are not working for Christ, we are not justified.

There is an additional warning here. When Jesus spoke of the men who were given talents (money) by their master and who used them either wisely or not at all, he said that one was given more than the other and that one was given less. One had five talents; he used them to gain five more. The second had two talents; he used those to gain two more. The last servant was given one. He was judged, but his judgment was not for having failed to gain as much as the two who had been given more. He was judged for failing to use what he had, for hiding his valuable talent in the ground.

It is true, as this story teaches, that the people of God will work. They will use the talents God has given them, but they will not all do so in the same way or to the same observable degree. Thus, although we know that God will judge the performance or nonperformance of those deeds, it is not our prerogative to do so. We are not all-knowing, as God is, and we are certainly not as wise as He is. Who are we to say that someone else is insufficiently serving or even hiding his talent in the ground? He may not be doing what we are doing, but he may be doing something far greater, which only our own sin blinds us from observing. Remember that Paul said, “Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.”

Maranatha!

(mar-uh-nath-uh – “Our Lord Comes”)

Pastor Steve can be reached at PastorSteve@MaranathaBibleChurch.org

The first clear lesson from the three parables in Matthew 25 is that there will be a future day of reckoning for all people. That is obvious. Yet it must be stressed, if only because people usually think the opposite. Jesus spoke of judgment being obvious. It was not even open to debate. But the people I am describing consider God’s judgment as the most irrational and least anticipated thing in the world.

What do people think of when one speaks of dying? Most probably do not want to think of it at all. They are not certain what, if anything, lies beyond death’s door. But if they do speak about it, assuming that something does lie beyond this present life, they think of the afterlife in pleasant terms. At the very least they think of a continuation of life as we know it. If not that, it must be something considerably better. Very few consider that it may be worse. They cannot imagine the Almighty as a God of rigid judgment.

This attitude caused R. C. Sproul to speak of what he has called the doctrine of “justification by death.” “Protestants and Catholics used to argue over justification. Protestants said that justification is by faith alone. Catholics said that it is by faith plus works. But today many people seem to think that to get to heaven all one has to do is die. One is “justified” by death alone.”

On this matter our contemporaries are irrational, as they are on most other spiritual matters. This is an evil world. All sins are not judged in this world, nor are all good deeds rewarded. If this is a moral universe, if it is created and ruled by a moral God, then there must be a reckoning hereafter in which those scales are balanced. Evil must be punished.

In most theological volumes on eschatology (the last things), there are three great points of emphasis: the return of Christ, the resurrection of the body, and the final judgment. But of the three, the only one that is truly reasonable is the last. There is no reason why Jesus should return again. He came once and was rejected. If he should write us off and never give so much as a second thought to this planet, it would be understandable. It is the same with the resurrection: “Dust you are and to dust you will return” (Ge.3.19). If that is all there is, who can complain? We have had our lives. Why should we expect anything more? There is nothing logical in either of those two matters in and of themselves. But judgment? That is the most logical thing in the universe, and every story in this chapter cries out that there will most certainly be a final day of reckoning.

In the first case, it was when the bridegroom came. In the second case, it was when the “master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them” (Mt.25.19). In the third case, it is when “the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him” and the nations are gathered together before Him for His judgment.

Maranatha!

(mar-uh-nath-uh – “Our Lord Comes”) Pastor Steve can be reached at PastorSteve@MaranathaBibleChurch.org

The difference between the wise women and foolish women (Matthew 25) was revealed by the coming of the bridegroom. That is, it was revealed in the crisis moment. During the days before the wedding or the night leading up to the start of the feast, few would have noticed that five women had adequately prepared for the bridegroom’s coming and five had not. But suddenly the bridegroom came, and the difference was immediately obvious. The same will happen when Jesus Christ returns. Many who have considered themselves true children of God will be shown they are not, and many who have perhaps not even been regarded as His children will be revealed as believers.

How are you to know whether you are in one camp or the other? One answer is whether you are faithful in serving Jesus. Another is whether you are serving others because of your love for Jesus. If the return of the Lord Jesus Christ and the division it will cause will bring out the true condition of those who profess Christianity but are not actually born again, is it not also the case that their condition may be revealed by lesser but, nevertheless, real crisis experiences now? If this is so, you can anticipate the results of the final judgment by the way you react to the problems that come into your life day by day.

Here is how Andrew Fuller put it: “Nothing will more correctly reveal what is in a man than the coming upon him of some crushing and unlooked-for crisis. Let it be temporal ruin by the failure of his calculations or the disappointment of all his hopes; let it be the entrance of the death-angel into his home and the removal from it of his nearest and dearest earthly friend; let it be his own prostration by some serious illness which puts him face to face with his dissolution, and forthwith the extent of his resources is unfolded, and it is at once discovered both by others and by himself whether he is animated by unfailing faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and sustained by the grace of the Holy Spirit, or whether he has been deceiving himself, all the while relying on some other support.”

Look back upon the past and analyze your experiences at such testing times as these. We have all had them. We have all heard already, in some form or other, the midnight cry, “Behold, the bridegroom comes”; for in every such surprise as these, Jesus is coming to us. How did we meet Him then? Did our lamps go out? Or were we able to keep them burning brightly? If by any such event we discovered our utter helplessness, let us go to Christ now, that He may renew us by His Holy Spirit, and prepare us for that last solemn crisis when the archangel cries out over the grave, “Behold, the Bridegroom comes,” and everyone rises to stand before His Judgment seat.

Maranatha!

(mar-uh-nath-uh – “Our Lord Comes”) Pastor Steve can be reached at PastorSteve@MaranathaBibleChurch.org

“As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, ‘Tell us,’ they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?’ …Jesus answered: ‘Watch out that no one deceives you… then the end will come’ ” (Matthew 24).

Out of Matthew twenty-four and twenty-five come a diversity of eschatological schemes. The major divisions are known as premillennialism, postmillennialism, and amillennialism. Common to each one is the belief that certain things need to come to pass and then the end of the world and the final judgment. This is not the place to discuss all these views. But we will try to understand what Jesus was teaching in His final discourse recorded in this Gospel.

His return would be without warning, and the disciples needed to be concerned about being ready for it whenever it took place.

What does it mean to be ready? The setting of these chapters is the time leading up to Christ’s return. So we must conclude that there will always be people in the Church who have heard the Gospel invitation, have responded in some sense, and may even have some affection for Jesus, but who are not born again.

But what does it mean to be ready? Charles H. Spurgeon saw it as an inner change brought about by regeneration or new birth. He wrote, drawing on a good deal of Bible imagery: “A great change has to be wrought in you, far beyond any power of yours to accomplish, ere you can go in with Christ to the marriage. You must, first of all, be renewed in your nature, or you will not be ready. You must be washed from your sins, or you will not be ready. You must be justified in Christ’s righteousness, and you must put on His wedding dress, or else you will not be ready. You must be reconciled to God, you must be made like to God, or you will not be ready. Or [referring to the parable of the ten virgins] you must have a lamp, and that lamp must be fed with heavenly oil, and it must continue to burn brightly, or else you will not be ready. No child of darkness can go into that place of light. You must be brought out of nature’s darkness into God’s marvelous light, or else you will never be ready to go in with Christ to the marriage, and to be forever with him.”

Which brings us back to the pressing question: Are you ready? I am not asking, “Have you responded to a Gospel invitation? Have you joined a Church? Or do you believe in Jesus’ second coming?” I am asking, “Have you been born again? Have you believed on Jesus as your Savior from sin? Are you living for Jesus now? Are you truly ready, or are you among those who only seem to be prepared?”

Maranatha!

(mar-uh-nath-uh – “Our Lord Comes”) Pastor Steve can be reached at PastorSteve@MaranathaBibleChurch.org

The parable of the ten virgins in Matthew 25 is a masterpiece. It is realistic in its details and poignant in application, and the deeper a person explores it, the more profound its lessons become.

Jesus tells about ten young women who are invited to a marriage feast. Five are wise and five are foolish. The wise women show their wisdom by planning for the possible delay of the bridegroom. They take extra oil for their lamps so they will be ready when he comes. The foolish women neglect to do so. While the women wait, they all fall asleep. Suddenly a cry goes out that the bridegroom is coming. The wise get up and trim their lamps. The others recognize that they are out of oil and ask to borrow some. “No,” say the wise. “There may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.” The women who are unprepared start off for more oil, but while they are gone the bridegroom comes, and those who are ready go in with him to the feast. After a while the foolish virgins return and find the door shut.

“Open the door for us!” they cry.

But the bridegroom says, “I don’t know you.”

The Lord concludes, “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour [of my return].”

It is not difficult to see the story’s main point: Five were ready and five were not. But it is also worth seeing the ways in which the women are alike.

The first thing we notice is that all ten had been invited to the banquet. Each of these women had received an invitation and was anticipating a banquet when the bridegroom came. This feature singles out the people who have heard the Gospel invitation.

Secondly, all responded positively to the invitation. Some may have disregarded it or scorned it, as the townspeople did in one of Jesus’ other parables. But that was not the case with these women. They had received the invitation and had responded positively, which they demonstrated by waiting for the bridegroom’s appearance.

Next, all were part of the visible Church. They had joined the fellowship of those who were waiting for the Lord.

Fourth, they all had some affection and even love for the bridegroom. They were not indifferent participants. This was a happy occasion, and they were happy for the bridegroom.

Fifth, each confessed Jesus as their Lord. 

Sixth, all believed in and in some sense were waiting for Jesus’ second coming. This is all highly commendable. Here were people who had heard the Gospel invitation, responded to it, professed love for Christ, joined the Church, acknowledged Jesus as Lord, and were now waiting for Christ’s return. Could anything be more desirable?

Finally, all ten virgins became drowsy and fell asleep when the bridegroom’s coming was delayed. Unbelievers sleep, but so do the elect at times. But suddenly the bridegroom came, and immediately the similarities vanished and the critical difference emerged. Five were ready and five were unprepared.

Maranatha!

(mar-uh-nath-uh – “Our Lord Comes”) Pastor Steve can be reached at PastorSteve@MaranathaBibleChurch.org