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We’re all familiar with the five, two and one talent men but there is an implication in the text that there exists a one and one-half talent man. He is the man who instead of burying his money, like the one talent man, turned his money over to a bank so his master would at least receive interest.
I suppose this might be considered a minimal level of turn acceptability to the master but... probably not. Let’s consider a few things.
- The one and one-half talent man did not have confidence in his own ability so he shifted his responsibility to someone else. He feared his master.
- The five and two talent men doubled their investments, which would be a 100% return. They worked hard to please their master. They loved the opportunity to please him.
- At a bank one would be lucky to get a 3% return. Probably not a return the master would be happy with.
- If the master just wanted a 3% return he could have put the money in the bank himself.
- The one and one-half talent man probably suffered a fate similar to that of the one talent man. They both feared their master.
God has high expectations for his people. He has made a considerable investment in us and blessed us with many blessings and abilities. He expects a high rate of return on his investment. Don’t be afraid of God. Fear can be incapacitating and encumbering. Love God and believe in his love for you and you will be able to do many things.
When I was growing up there was a great emphasis on the New Testament and a de-emphasis on the Old Testament, because as I was taught… we live under the New Testament not the Old. A manifestation of that teaching was that a lot of Christians (including myself) just carried New Testaments.
Here’s what I know now… you cannot have a full and deep understanding of the New Testament without a full and deep understanding of the Old Testament… you just can’t.
Remember this, the early church did most of its study out of the Old Testament. When you see a book like the letter to the Romans it is primarily written to a Roman (non-Jewish) audience and yet it is rich in Old Testament references which the Romans would have been very familiar with. Why? Because the basis of their faith was built upon the Old Testament and its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
If we want to practice New Testament Christianity then spend much time studying the Old Testament because it will bring you to a fuller deeper understanding of Jesus Christ and the New Testament… and your faith will be stronger.
Eph. 6:10-18.
This section of scripture is an encouragement to Christians to be strong. We have to be strong because we are in a battle with a very strong foe… Satan himself
Our preparation for this battle involves armoring ourselves. We cannot win against Satan without armor. It takes a special kind of armor to fight Satan. He is unaffected by Napalm and Kevlar. The Christian soldier’s armor consists of truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation and the word of God. The glue that holds all this together is our communication with God in prayer.
With this kind of armor the Christian soldier is always victorious and Satan is always defeated.
Unfortunately many Christians will be killed by Satan because they failed to prepare themselves for battle. Sometimes Christians think… God will take care of me he won’t let Satan kill me. Yes, God will help us. He helps us by identifying an upcoming battle, by identifying who the enemy is and by telling us how to defeat him.
God could easily exterminate Satan but his plan is to have an all-volunteer army of valiant warriors who love God so much that they don't have any room left to fear Satan and can stand strongly against him. Prepare yourself to fight for God and against Satan.
The Gospel of Mark records this about the “Lord’s Supper”….
And as they were eating, he took bread, and when he had blessed, he broke it, and gave to them, and said, Take ye: this is my body. And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave to them: and they all drank of it. And he said unto them, this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Verily I say unto you, I shall no more drink of the fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.
Here we find the basis for the Lord’s Supper that we take when we assemble on Sundays. It is marvelous in its simplicity… the bread represents the body of Jesus the cup his blood that establishes his covenant. From other texts we find out about when and where we take it… On Sundays and when the people of Christ are assembled together. The supper is taken weekly to remind us of Jesus Christ. In addition, from 1 Corinthians we learn it can be done properly or improperly.
I was baptized into Christ when I was about 14 years old. Since that time I’ll bet that I haven’t missed but a handful of Sunday morning services and therefore haven’t missed the Lord’s Supper more than about a handful of times. It is deeply ingrained in me to not only take the Lord’s Supper but to remember Jesus while doing so. I have “remembered Jesus” most of my life.
Something else has happened to me over the years. Whenever (not only on Sundays) I eat unleavened bread or drink grape juice I remember Jesus. I don’t know if that is an intended consequence of Jesus’ instruction or an unintended consequence and I guess it doesn’t matter… I find myself remembering Jesus all the time.
Jesus understood this about his people… they could forget about him, and so he set several things in place so that would not happen. One of those things was associating a type of food (bread) for his body and a type of drink (fruit of the vine) for his blood… the Lord’s Supper. Do not neglect this valuable and powerful tool by neglecting to assemble with your fellow Christians.
I was listening to the radio the other day and the host was having a discussion with a Catholic priest who made the comment that all men sin every day. That’s not the first time I’ve heard that sentiment stated.
I guess the problem that I have with that idea is that as Christians we are supposed to be transforming ourselves into Jesus Christ. Jesus never ever sinned… not once and we’re supposed to be just like him.
I would think that a Christian should be able to go one day without sin. In fact, that should be our goal each and every day to live the upcoming day with absolutely no sin. And then we should be able to add another day without sin and then another and another until sin becomes a very minor aspect of our life.
I think I understand why some people say we sin every day. They are expressing a type of meekness and unworthiness before God. For me at the end of the day I want to be able to review my actions and hopefully find that I have not sinned and jump for joy at that achievement and for the joy of finding myself more and more like Jesus Christ. Because when I can do that God is also jumping for joy.
Exodus 13:2 contains an interesting concept… the firstborn male child who is born to a woman who has never had a child before belongs to Jehovah God. Whether the child is animal or human, he belongs to God.
So when God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac on an altar God was just reclaiming what was already his.
When the barren Hannah prayed to God and vowed if she was given a son that she would dedicate him to God was merely giving to God what was already his (and not buying him back).
The Jews of course were required to buy back their firstborn sons (Numbers 3:45) from their owner… God.
In contrast to this is the custom of Moloch worshippers to kill their own sons.
“The ancients would heat this idol up with fire until it was glowing. Then they would take their newborn babies, place them on the arms of the idol, and watch them burn to death.”
Imagine then a God who owns all the first born sons born into the world to not only give up his ownership but to take his own first born son who was born of a virgin and sacrifice him for the benefit of humanity.
A God who sacrifices the most valuable thing he has for the benefit of humanity demonstrates absolute love and is worthy of our appreciation and reverence. God is our example of sacrifice and as such demonstrates what we must become… a people born of sacrifice who live sacrificial lives.
As shepherds of a flock Elders have responsibility for the care of individual Christians and the collectivity of Christians… the church.
Ephesians 4 clearly states that Elders are to help individual Christians grow to full spiritual maturity… they are to resemble Jesus Christ. That is accomplished by helping individuals to fully understand God, by teaching them to eliminate sin in their lives and by encouraging them to put the needs of others before their own. The purpose of this process is to attract others to Jesus Christ by the power of a transformed life.
John 17 also clearly states that the unified relationship between Christians is the primary evidence to humanity of the deity of Jesus Christ. In fact, the church (the collectivity of Christians) not only testifies to humanity but also to the spirit world (Eph. 3:10) the wisdom of God in sending his son to the world he created.
So Elders work to help Christians not only get along well together but to build relationships that unify them in every sense of the word. They do this by removing members whose purpose seems to be to divide the flock (Acts 20), by addressing sin in members (1 Cor. 5) that damages the image of the church, by mitigating problems between members and by encouraging members to express through deeds their love for each other.
God has given Elders/Shepherds a huge responsibility and in my opinion will hold them accountable for it.
