SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 3/13/2024 9:11 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-3 “The Reckoning We Face”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Matthew
25:19-27
Message of the verses: “19 "Now after
a long time the master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them.
20 "The one who had received the
five talents came up and brought five more talents, saying, ‘Master, you
entrusted five talents to me. See, I have gained five more talents.’ 21 “His
master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave. You were faithful with
a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of
your master.’ 22 "Also the one who had received the two talents
came up and said, ‘Master, you entrusted two talents to me. See, I have gained
two more talents.’ 23 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful
slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many
things; enter into the joy of your master.’ 24 “And the one also who had
received the one talent came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man,
reaping where you did not sow and gathering where you scattered no seed.
25 ‘And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you
have what is yours.’ 26 “But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked,
lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I
scattered no seed. 27 ‘Then you ought to have put my money in the bank,
and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.”
I mentioned in the last SD that I want to begin this SD by looking at the second slave, this slave made the same report as the first slave. Now this slave only had two talents, but the results were the same as he doubled the amount he was entrusted with to four talents. Now the master’s response to the second slave was also identical: Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.”
Now we have to move onto looking at the third slave, and the report about him is not good at all as he did not present the master with earnings but with an critical and self-serving excuse. This man did nothing with what he was entrusted with and he says the following to his master: “Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scatted no seed. And I was afraid, and went away and hid your talent in the ground; see, you have what is yours.”
MacArthur writes “Like the other two, that slave was
identified as belonging to the master (see v. 14), representative of his
belonging to Christ’s church before the second coming. But in two distinct ways he proved that his
identification with Christ was superficial and did not involve genuine faith or
regeneration.
“First of all, he produced absolutely nothing with the
talent he had been given and did not even make an attempt to use it for his
master’s benefit and profit.
“As already mentioned, this slave does not represent an
atheist or even an agnostic, because he recognized the master as his legitimate
owner and no doubt made a pretense of honoring the master while he was away. He
did not misuse his talent on immoral and selfish pursuits like the prodigal son
or embezzle it like the unmerciful servant of Matthew 18. He simply disregarded the stewardship he had
been given.
“In much the same way, unbelieving church members like in
the environment of God’s redeemed community and enjoy exposure to the teaching
of His word and the fellowship of His people.
But in spite of their spiritual privilege, they make no positive
response to the gospel and therefore can render no fruitful service.
“Second, this slave demonstrated his counterfeit
allegiance by deprecating his master’s character, accusing him of being a hard
man, reaping where he did not sow, and gathering where he had scattered mp
seed. He changed his owner with being
unmerciful and dishonest.
“That slave represents the professing Christian whose
limited knowledge of God leads him to conclude that He is distant, uncaring,
unjust, and undependable. Instead of
judging themselves in light of God’s inerrant Word, such people judge God in
the light of their own perverted perceptions.
They not only justify themselves but do so at God’s expense.”
There surely is more to say about this third slave, but I
will continue looking at this slave in the next SD.
3/13/2024 9:34 AM
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