Sermon #75 Series:
Matthew
Title: THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS
Text: Matthew 25:14-30
Reading: Office:
Ron Wood Office:
Bob Poncer
Subject: The Necessity of Faithfulness
Date: Tuesday Evening - March 5, 1996
Tape # S-32
Introduction:
Our subject tonight is The Parable of the Talents. Let’ read
Matthew 25, verses 14 through 30 together.
This parable, like so many of our
Lord’s parables clearly teaches us that in this world the church and kingdom of
God is a mixed multitude. There are many among the professed people of God,
many who have been baptized in the name of Christ, many who are very confident
that they have a saving interest in Christ who do not know Christ at all. In
the parable of the ten virgins, five were wise and five foolish. Here, among
those who claim to be the people of God and the servants of Christ, two are
represented as being faithful, the other is described as wicked and slothful.
But both parables are intended to remind us that among all the multitudes who
profess to be the people of God, there are but few who shall enter into the
kingdom of heaven. The warnings of Scripture in this regard are abundant both
in number and in clarity.
·
Matthew 7:21-23
·
Matthew 13:18-23
·
Matthew 22:14
·
Luke 13:23-25
·
Luke 17:32-33
·
II Corinthians 13:5
Without
question, the parable is applicable to those who are pastors, preachers, and
teachers in the church of God. Some have greater talents and greater spheres of
usefulness than others, according to the decree of God and by the gift of
Christ. Yet, all who are God’s servants are faithful in the place of their
calling and in the use of the talents trusted to them. Be sure you do not miss this: The servant who was faithful over
two talents received the same reward and entered into the same joy as the
servant who was faithful over five (vv. 20-23). The man to whom two talents
were given was not expected to do the same thing as the man to whom five were
given; but both were expected to do what they could with what they had.
Illustration:
“She hath done what she could” (Mark
14:8).
However, it
would be a great mistake to apply the parable to none but those who are
responsible to teach and preach the gospel of Christ. This parable speaks to us
all. May God the Holy Spirit graciously speak to us all by it.
Proposition: In the day of judgment we shall be held
accountable to God for every blessing, benefit, and privilege he has given us
in this world.
I want to
show you seven lessons I have drawn from this parable. As you read it and
meditate upon it, I am sure you will find more; but these seven lessons will, I
trust, give you much to consider. May God the Holy Spirit graciously minister
to your souls’ needs by the things I have to say to you tonight. Hold your
Bibles open at Matthew 24:14-30; and hear The
Parable of the Talents.
I. First, this parable shows us how readily
religious men and women wrest the Scriptures to their own destruction (vv. 24-25).
The wicked
servant described in this parable twisted the Master’s sovereignty into a
doctrine that represented him as an unjust tyrant, and sought to excuse his
disobedience and sin by blaming God for it. That is exactly what Adam did in
the garden. He said to God, the real problem here is “the woman thou gavest me.”
Many,
attempting to justify doctrines that are clearly contrary to the message of the
Bible, turn to this very passage and wrest the Scriptures to their own
destruction. They would have us to
believe that this parable teaches that...
·
God’s grace and
salvation may be taken away from one who truly has been saved.
·
Believers, by
diligently improving God’s gifts of grace, earn for themselves a greater degree
of acceptance with God and a greater reward and eternal happiness in heaven.
A. We do not
build our doctrine upon parables.
Doctrine is
built upon the plain statements of Holy Scripture, not upon parables,
illustrations, and obscure texts. Any honest man will build his doctrine not by
piecing verses and phrases together, but by the plain statements of Holy
Scripture.
B. The clear,
obvious message of Holy Scripture is this: “Salvation
is of the Lord!” (Jonah 2:9).
·
By Grace Alone (Eph.
2:8; Tit. 3:5)
·
Through Faith Alone
(Rom. 3:28, 31; 4:16)
·
In Christ Alone (Rom.
3:24-26; I Cor. 1:30-31)
C. Wherever
there appears to be a conflict between the obvious and the obscure, always
interpret the obscure by the obvious.
Only
dishonest men will ignore the obvious, plain statements of Holy Scripture and
interpret the Scriptures by pointing to imaginary proof texts, found by
diligently searching a concordance to dig them out of a little known rule of
grammar in the Hebrew or Greek text. Such self-serving teachers are not to be followed or even heard. They cannot be
reasoned with because they will not bow to the authority of the Word of God. Their authority is the traditions of men,
held forth in creeds, confessions, catechisms, liturgy, and historic church
dogma. Our authority is the Word of God.
·
Isaiah 8:20
·
II Timothy 3:16-17
II. Second, we are here taught that the Lord
Jesus Christ is the sovereign Master of all things; and that all men are his
servants (vv. 14).
Notice that
in the parable our Lord Jesus calmly speaks of his death and all the sorrow and
suffering he must endure to save us, as a well planned, long journey, a journey
which he was determined to take. And he describes himself as the sovereign
Lord, Master, Owner, and Possessor of all things.
·
The servants are his.
The bad as well as the good (II Pet. 2:4)
·
The goods are his.
·
The kingdom is his.
III. Third, this parable teaches us that all
men have received certain talents from the Lord, with which to serve him (v. 15).
A. Anything
given to us by which we may glorify God is a talent given to us to use for him
The word
talent here does not refer to special abilities, but to any ability or
opportunity by which we may glorify our God. Our gifts, our money, our health,
our strength, our time, our knowledge, our senses, our memory, our affections,
our privileges, even our families, all are talents loaned to us by God. And we are responsible to use them all for
God.
B. All these
talents are given to us by the Lord Jesus Christ, not according to our ability,
but according to his ability.
The words, “according to his several ability,” do
not refer to the servants’ ability
but to the Master’s ability. The talents he gives determine our ability
·
Psalm 68:18-19
·
Ephesians 4:8-11
IV. Fourth, our Lord shows us that many who
profess to be his servants terribly abuse the talents he gives them (v. 18).
This man
represents many in the visible church. They do not use their talents for evil
They are not adulterers, murderers, or riotous people. They simply hide their
talents. Rather than using the opportunities God has given them to know,
worship, serve, and glorify him, they neglect them. Does this man represent
you? He represents anyone who...
·
Has a Bible, but does
not read it.
·
Has opportunity to
hear the Word of God, but chooses not to.
·
Uses his powers,
abilities, and talents for sensual pleasure rather than the glory of God.
If this man’s behavior is representative of you, then
Daniel’s word’s to Belshazzar must be addressed to you, too. “The God in whose hand thy breath is, and
whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified” (Dan. 5:23). Daily, you
rob God, using what he has given you to honor him for yourself.
V. Fifth, we are again taught that, when
our Lord comes again, there will be a great day of reckoning with God (v. 19.
·
VI. Sixth, this parable shows us that in the day of judgment all true
believers receive the same joyful, abundant reward from their Master (vv. 21-23).
VII. Seventh, our Lord once more shows us that, in that great and
terrible day of reckoning, every unprofitable servant will be cast away and
condemned by the Son of God (vv. 26-30).
Application:
In that great and terrible day,
every condemned soul will acknowledge that his damnation is fully deserved, You
will be judged by the things that you now know, but will not obey. “Thou knewest!”
We
are all the stewards of God. Let us be found
faithful (I Cor. 4:2)