Category: Weekly

“You cannot serve God and mammon.” Lk 16:13

I’ve recently been meditating on the parable of the unjust steward in Lk 16:1-13. If you remember, when the master found out his steward was wasting his goods, he told him to get things in order because he was losing his job. The steward was immediately thrown into a panic about what to do. He decided he would cheat his master further by cutting the debts owed him by some of his master’s debtors. The purpose of this act was so that the debtors would then welcome the unjust steward into their homes when his master kicked him out.

A point of confusion for some is that the master commended the unjust steward in Lk 16:8 because the steward had acted shrewdly. Are we then to assume the steward had done a good thing? Absolutely not! He had been dishonest for his own gain. Is that good in God’s eyes? Of course not, but Jesus points out at the end of v. 8 that the master of the steward revealed that “the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light.” In other words, the steward was pretty smart in the world’s eyes. Sure, he had to lie and cheat a little, but the world doesn’t have a problem with that as long as they make a dollar or two in the process. Sadly, I’ve met a few who claim the name of Christ that believe the same way!

Next, Jesus said in v. 9, “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home.” As believers, with our hearts set on an eternity with Christ, it’s easy to assume that “an everlasting home” is heaven, but don’t forget–hell can just as easily be described in that fashion! The unjust steward had done exactly what v. 9 says. He made friends of his master’s debtors by unrighteous riches (not the true riches that God gives), and when that steward and his money failed, these debtors welcomed him into their homes. They had sold their souls together, agreeing with one another in the sin of cheating the master. Rom 1:32 says the wicked know their ungodly deeds are worthy of God’s judgment, but they not “only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.” They will enter their eternal home together.

Regardless of your view of the parable, Christ is very clear as to its point. He explains the lesson His was teaching immediately after telling the story in v. 10-13:

He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own? No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.

The steward had not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon–namely the lesser riches of the world–and so was not worthy of the true, eternal riches of God. The children of the kingdom set their affections on things above, not on the things of this earth, because they want Christ above all else (Col 3:1-2). The children of the world think godliness is a useful tool only to get gain while the righteous understand that godliness itself with contentment–that is truly knowing God–is great gain! (1 Ti 6:5-6) Here’s the bottom line. You can’t have a heart for earthly riches AND for God. That’s one too many masters. If you serve mammon, you, like the unjust steward, will make relationships that only benefit you. You’re at the center of it all. Those that serve God make relationships because they want to honor Him. That means they put others, not themselves, first because that is the pattern of Christ who “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant…” (Ph 2:7)

Jamie

Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God, just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.
1 Corinthians 10:32,33

I read a statement in Ken Boa’s Conformed To His Image the other day that has stuck with me. He said, “Many believers are not willing to go across the street for their unsaved friends. Unless evangelism is a priority in our lives, it is unlikely that it will even be a part of our lives.” Is it? Are we dealing with others as eternal souls with a concern for their eternal state, or are we caught up in the rat race of life?

My pastor and brother, Gene Breed, said recently that “Christianity is a life of emptiness.” He didn’t mean that Christianity leaves you feeling unfulfilled. On the contrary, true fulfillment is only found in Christ! Rather, he meant that to live as Christ lived means you must empty yourself for the good of those around you. That’s exactly what our text above is talking about. Paul makes that clear as he discusses evangelism in the the previous chapter in 1 Cor 9:19:

“For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more…”

Without the heart of a servant, we will not declare the Gospel of peace that the dying souls around us so desparately need. The word “servant” in this verse is a bit watered down in the English. In the Greek, it is literally “slave.” Doesn’t that take this thought to a whole new level? Doesn’t that sound like a bit more than casual attention to these things? It’s not an obligation because our brother makes clear that he is “free from all men,” but it is a 24/7, willing submission to all men. It means continually laying our lives aside for the good of others. Will it guarantee success? No, Paul says “that I might win,” but it does mean that it is how true evangelism works. It is the proper way to do it, and it is the pattern of Christ.

Mk 10:42-45
But Jesus called them to Himself and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers over the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever of you desires to be first shall be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

Jamie

Jn 1:12,13
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

We’ve previously considered the three ways identified in our text above that we are NOT born into God’s kingdom; but, perhaps the most important point to our text is how we are born again. We are born of God. That’s great news! This work is a work of the unstoppable God! Why would we want it any other way? What if my heritage isn’t too prestigious? That’s okay, it’s not of blood! What if I have failed in my flesh time and time again? Perhaps my life could best be characterized as ungodly or immoral, and, like the prodigal son, I’ve wasted all I’ve had fulfilling the lusts of my flesh. That’s okay, it’s not of the will of the flesh! You say, “But I’m just not that smart. My mind is a place of constant turmoil and failure. I’ll decide today I’m going to do better, and by tomorrow, I’m back into the same things.” That’s okay, it’s not of the will of man! It is of God!!! It’s time to throw up your hands! It’s time to turn it over to the One with the power to do what you cannot. Cry out for His mercy! Cry out like Peter did when he realized he was sinking: “Lord, save me!” God will put a new creation in you. He’ll birth you from above. He’ll do such a good work that the flesh and the mind will be brought into submission to Him. Cry out to Him. If He performs a work in you, it will last and carry you into eternity:

Ph 1:6 “…being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ…”

No matter your disadvantage, nothing can stop Him. God is able!

John 6:37 “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.”

God has blessed us above what we deserve. He has done for us that which we never could, and it was no small feat. I pray we would celebrate every day, not just certain times of the year, the next few words following our main text above: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” (Jn 1:14) For God to become flesh required Him to be made very low, but in doing so, He has raised His children to heights we could never have attained otherwise. May we glorify Him this day and everyday because He is worthy!

2 Cor 5:21: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Jamie

Jn 1:12,13
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

We’ve been looking at the verse above to understand the three ways that the Lord reveals a man is NOT born into the kingdom of God.  How needful this concept is for us to effectively evangelize!  We’ve already seen we are not born by bloodline into this family nor are we born throught the works of our flesh.  We will consider the third and final point today, namely:

3) Nor of the will of man

When I first read this phrase, it seemed very much like the preceeding one.  How does “the will of the flesh” differ from “the will of man”?  The Lord used the following passage clear things up in my mind.  2 Pet 1:16,20,21 says:

“For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty…knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.”

This passage reveals clearly that the Bible is not a collection of carefully crafted stories invented by the imagination of men, but the word of God was given by direct inspiration of the Holy Ghost.  Scripture is NOT a series of “cunningly devised fables” created by “the will of man”; thus, the phrase “the will of man” is connected to man’s intellect, reasoning, and decision making–the things that man thinks up in his mind.  Comparing this passage to our text in Jn 1:13 shows us that we did not become children of God through human reasoning and thought!  We didn’t simply decide one day to be a better person.  Salvation is not attained through “the power of positive thinking!”

One of the great heresies of our day has been preachers pressuring men into “making a decision for Jesus” and then assuring them that they are eternally secure!  I sat in a funeral one time where the preacher asked everyone to close their eyes, and then he said, “Raise your hand if you know you’d go to hell if you died this instant”  Apparently, some hands went up because his next question was, “Now, how many of you want to go to hell?”  Well, who in their right mind does?  Of course, all the hands went down.  “Now,” he continued, “how many of you want Jesus to keep you from going there?”  “Look at that!” he exclaimed.  “Four people were just saved!  It’s that easy!”  I couldn’t believe it!  Who has the right to tell anyone that he or she is definitely saved simply because they said a prayer or made a decision at that instant in their mind?!!!  Only God can do that!  Only God looks into the heart of man and sees what no one else can!  One thing I know about man, because I am one, is that anything man decides, he can undecide!  Yes, it’s true that if a man believes on the Lord Jesus, he will be saved (Ac 16:31), but belief is far more than a simple decision of man’s intellect.  It’s a heart, mind, and soul experience (Mk 12:30) that only God can validate.  That’s why Paul’s advice to the professing Christians of Corinth was to: “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves.” (2 Co 13:5)

I’m thankful that my eternal security is not based on my reasoning and decision making.  I didn’t become a child of God by my will nor the will of any other man.  As Lk 10:22 reveals, no matter how smart we are in the eyes of man, we can’t even know God by our own ability: “no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.”  Was it first our work or the Lord’s?  It was His!  Does it get any clearer than Rom 9:16?  “So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy.”  God initiated this work!  We didn’t decide it.  God did!!!  We love Him why?  Because He first loved us! (1 Jn 4:19) Thank the Lord He has now birthed me into His kingdom and is conforming my will to His.  “Now may the God of peace…make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen” (Heb 13:20,21)

Jamie

Jn 1:12,13
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Last time, we began looking at the text above. Our text reveals three specific ways the new birth does NOT occur, the first of which we’ve already considered, namely that we are not born of blood into the kingdom of God. Today, we’ll look at the second way in which this birth does not happen:

2) Nor of the will of the flesh

Do men really think you can become a child of God by the will of the flesh? Do you know what the flesh is by definition? It is the nature of man apart from the influence of God! It is the body and soul without a spirit made alive to God. What can the flesh do? Just listen to the horrible list of the works of the flesh in Gal 5:19-21:

“Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

Does anything in that list sound like something that would make God decide to adopt us?!! These things are an abomination to Him! Some might say, “But what if in my flesh I instead did those things that God said to do? What if I lived by His law and rule?” Gal 2:16 answers that question! “…knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.” Further, Titus 3:5 reminds us that it was “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit…”

In Rom 7:18-19, the Apostle Paul took an honest assessment of his flesh and came to this conclusion: “For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.” How can a man possibly be born into the kingdom of God by the will of the flesh if Paul said after he was saved that the will of his flesh was still coming up short and committing sin?

Of course, we understand that he is not saying in this text that we shouldn’t strive against sin? There are too many verses telling us to strive, resist, fight, etc. The problem is when we are confident in our ability! Too many people pick one or the other. That is, either it’s all up to me or it’s all up to God. In reality, we need to strive as if it depends on us while continually crying out to God, confessing we can’t make it unless God does it in us and through us! He works it in, and we work it out according to Ph 2:12,13: “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.” Only AFTER this work of God in me can I walk in a manner pleasing to God (Gal 2:20). To say we’re born by the will of the flesh is to get the cart before the horse! God originates this new life!

Jamie