The Parable of the Talents
Matthew 25:
14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.
15 And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey. Each servant was given according to his several ability. This means each one was given that which he was able to handle according to his ability, gifts and talent. This could also be stated as to how the person had been gifted or in what way he is talented. This is important to remember.
16Then he that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. This man doubled what he had been given.
17 And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. Once again this servant doubled what he was given.
18 But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord's money. This one hid what he had received, no man could see it and it was buried and useless for gain or for any kind of use. God expects us to show gain in spreading His glory and grace. The servant buried the talent and never planned to use it. This means no other human was shown the gift of God and therefore could not learn or grow from it.
19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
20 And so he that had received five talents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside them five talents more.
21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
22 He also that had received two talents came and said, Lord, thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have gained two other talents beside them.
23 His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
24 Then he which had received the one talent came and said, Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not strawed:
25 And I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine. This man is proud of returning only what was given to him. This man did not gain the master a single thing. It may have been better to try and lose the one talent than to never have tried at all.
26 His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed not, and gather where I have not strawed: Why is the lord calling this man slothful and wicked? There can be many reasons but we are dealing with a master that believes a gift should not be wasted. 27 Thou oughtest therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
28 Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him which hath ten talents. Here is the answer and this answer is an indication of what Jesus expects from Christians. God gives everyone a gift and every gift may not be the same but the gift that God bestows upon you He expects you to use it to gain or gather others to Him. If you sit in that pew every church gathering and never use the gift or “talent” God gave you to bring an increase to God (let others hear about the salvation of Jesus) you are lazy and wicked. Lazy because you did not use your “talent” or gift for the glory of God and wicked because you are hiding what God blessed you with and therefore you must not be a true Christian because you do not love others enough to help lead them to Christ. You are given a gift that you can use for God’s glory and He expects you to use it.
29 For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. Self-explanatory. Forsake the gift God gives you and God will take it away therefore use your talents for God or you may lose every gift God has given you.
30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Be prepared everyone because you are about to be stunned in your shoes. Do you believe this is not talking about you? It may not be but I think many will change their minds when they read what follows. The wicked and slothful servant is and example of the people that state openly that they believe Christ is their savior and that he died on the cross for remission of their sins BUT sit on that gift and never work for God, never fight for a Christians right to pray, never fight against wicked laws, never demonstrate against unjust or corrupt government, never attempt to stop those things that Satan is obviously causing and never ever allow others to see God’s gift to them. This life is your chance to bring loved ones with you into Heaven so use this chance now before it is too late!
When was the last time you stood up and boldly told someone that they were living a life outside the will of God? When was the last time you took time out of you day to picket a governmental building or office because that building removed or restricted the mention of God? When was the last time you boldly said you LOVE GOD without being embarrassed? If you are embarrassed of Jesus He will be ashamed of you.
The point I am making is that if you are NOT just paying lip service to God then you will speak against anything that is outside the will of God, not just sit on your seat and be as useless as the hidden talent. God knows your heart and a heart that is not with God is already with Satan. The only way to truly be a Christian is to LOVE GOD! This parable is about those that will think they are destined for Heaven but will find themselves in the outer darkness with Satan and THAT is the reason for the wailing and gnashing of teeth. They discover themselves cast away from God. Am I saying that God’s salvation has failed? Heaven Forbid, NO!!
There are many that think “once saved always saved” and after that there is nothing they can do that will cause them to be condemned. This is true in a way. Jesus died on the cross for the remission of our sins so that those that LOVE Him and follow Him may have everlasting life. Jesus will never fail you even as God will never forsake you however there is a big but here. You have free will and with that free will you can decide to drift away from the will of God and into your own will which will take you into Satan’s will. I am here to tell you up front. There will be no one in Heaven that straddle the fence on earth. You are either with God or against God. Against God you go to Hell, period. Allow me to refer to another study I have done.
What is the difference between a sin and living in sin?
Living in sin could also be stated as living outside the will of God.
When we make a mistake or become tempted and give into a sin it is a mistake. This person stumbled. When our life is continually in a state of sin we are living outside the will of God. Our lifestyle is out idol and our god. Lets look at:
1 Corinthians
9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
As we know God forgives all sins and if so why will these people NOT inherit the kingdom of God? There is a huge difference between committing a sin and living outside the will of God. The King James Version of the Holy Bible makes no distinction as to who these people are, in other words the Bible does not say if they are Christian or non Christian. It just says these people will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Since Paul is talking to the church of Corinth we can safely assume he is directing this to Christians.
These people can inherit the Kingdom of Heaven IF they repent and return to the will of God. Those that truly repent will give up these things for God because they love God.
The following are two examples of living in sin; ergo living outside the will of God:
A drunkard is obviously one who becomes drunk on a regular basis as a lifestyle, not someone that takes a drink once a week. What is a fornicator?
The Strong’s Concordance defines it as:
1) a man (or woman) who prostitutes his body to another's lust for hire
2) a male prostitute
3) a man who indulges in unlawful sexual intercourse, a fornicator
It is from the Greek word pornos, which is where we get the word pornography. So a fornicator is someone that uses his or her body for illicit sex, has unlawful sex and according to many biblical scholars (since it was not known at the time) indulges in pornography. What is illicit sex or unlawful sexual intercourse? That is having sex outside of marriage, sex with close relatives, adultery, unnatural sex such as with animals, anal sex, homosexuality etc. Sodom and Gomorrah were not destroyed because everyone there was having sex with their spouses in a normal healthy way. Where do you think we got the word sodomy? The word sodomy came from all these things and in particular anal sex.
Just like the drunkard a person that may make a mistake and engage in fornication commits a sin but a fornicator is one that lives regularly in this sin and will not give it up.
The bottom line is anyone who indulges in the list above (and this includes many other lifestyles that are outside the will of God) is not truly saved or has given up their salvation. Christ did not give up on you; you gave up on yourself and surrendered yourself to Satan. We are to emulate Christ Jesus as close as humanly possible in order to receive our inheritance in Heaven. Allow me to quote Hebrews 10:26
Hewbrews 10:26
26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
This is plain and simple. Once you know God’s will and commands and refuse to surrender those things of the flesh for God’s love you have condemned yourself. There will be “no more sacrifice for sins”
As a side note: Claiming to be saved and living outside the will of God is a contradiction. It is an insult to Jesus. If you are truly saved your desire is to please God. You love God more than your temptations. You can fool a church into believing you are following Jesus but you cannot deceive God. You own will is what determines your fate. Which do you love more, your life in the will of God or the will of your flesh? The one you love most is your god and is also the one you will serve.
