Luke 16:10-15 ESV
“One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in that which is another's, who will give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
“The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. And he said to them, ‘You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.’”
So, what’s the lesson here for us? If we practice something a little, we will practice it a lot? What seems to be the case is that if we show faithfulness in small matters then we will also in large matters. And this sounds as though it is related to our character, for faithfulness goes to our character and to what is stored up in our hearts. So if we are faithful people, at heart, and in character, then we will be faithful in little or much, because that is who we are, in character and in practice.
And the same applies to those who are dishonest, for again this goes to their character and to what is stored up in their hearts. If they will lie and cheat over little things, they will lie and cheat over big things, too. Someone who is a habitual liar cannot be trusted. Even their confessions can be lies.
So, if those who are dishonest are not faithful with the things and the riches of this world, then how can they be trusted with the true riches of God’s grace and salvation from sin? They cannot be trusted. For they are unfaithful and dishonest in worldly matters, and so they will continue on that vein. So, does this do away with the power of God to change people, and to turn them from darkness to the light, and from the power of Satan to God? No! But I do believe it speaks to the necessity of a heart transformation of the Spirit of God for grace to be applied to their lives.
For there are many people professing faith in Jesus Christ, who are claiming God’s grace and forgiveness and salvation for their lives while they continue in deliberate and habitual sin, in dishonest and unfaithful practices. And this is because they brought the same heart and character into their “faith” relationship with Jesus Christ, and so they never died with Christ to sin, and so they were never raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God. They remained the same.
And the point of it all is that no one can serve two masters, for if he loves one and is devoted to that one he can’t also love and be devoted to the other. So, if he loves wealth and power and idolatry and dishonesty and unfaithfulness, he is not going to love God and humility, surrender, submission, honesty, morality, faithfulness, and the worship of God as his only God. He will follow after the one he truly loves, and that will be apparent by the choices he makes and how he lives.
For lip service only is not service to God, or to anyone else, for that matter. If all one does is promise faithfulness, but that person lives in unfaithfulness, then what his lips profess and what his actions do are in contradiction, one to the other. It is like the man who says he wants to be married to his wife but then he continues in idolatry and adultery. It is not a marriage if one partner is living in adultery against the other. So the one you truly love is the one you serve with your life, not the one you give lip service to.
Now the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, ridiculed Jesus, but he chided them for justifying themselves before men, and he let them know that God knows their hearts. And there are people today professing faith in Jesus Christ justifying themselves and their actions, too, by claiming that God’s grace covers it all, or that they are ignorant, when they are not. They find lots of ways to prove that they can continue living to the flesh and still have salvation from sin, but it doesn’t wash against the truth of God’s Word.
For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. And this is so true in so many different respects, and sadly is very true regarding much of what goes on in these institutional market-driven “churches” under the name of God and Christ and Christianity and the gospel and grace. For God truly does know what is in our hearts. So, people can perform for an audience, and can even be very convincing, but the Lord looks at what is in the heart. And from out of the heart can come all sorts of evil, even among those professing faith in Jesus Christ.
[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
For Our Nation
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
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