Matthew 25:20-23; “And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.’ And he who had the two talents came forward saying, ‘Master, you delivered to me two talents; here I have made two talents more.’ His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.'” (ESV – all emphasis is mine)

About now, there are some who will say that this proves our Salvation is dependent on our works and deeds. It’s not the works that were done but the attitude that these faithful servants had toward their master. The master provided resources to the servants in order to give them an opportunity to honor him by putting the talents given to good use. Their goal was to show they appreciated the faith that was placed on them, and they had a strong desire to bring honor to him for that.

It’s as if the master had given them a “Great Commission” and then gave them space to see how they would respond. Our Savior has given us a “Great Commission” in Matthew 28:19-20; “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Jesus knew that each of His disciples were more capable in some areas than others and was asking them to get His word out through their individual abilities. Just as with us today, some are capable of spreading His word around the world, while others are more limited to their immediate surroundings. He was telling all of us that no matter what our personal range is, all who use what talents we have are following His commandment and are important to Him.

In Romans 12:4-8, Paul explains this concept well; “For as in one body, we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them; if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.”

In 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, Paul expands on this; “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are variations of service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another the ability to distinguish between Spirits; to another various kinds of tongues; and to another the interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as He wills.”

In the Matthew 25 parable, verses 24-30 describe a servant who did not follow the will of the master.

“He also who had received the one talent came forward saying, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed; so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours.’ But his master answered, ‘You wicked and slothful servant! You knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I scattered no seed. Then you ought to have invested my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received what was my own with interest. So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. And cast this worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

This may sound totally harsh and unreasonably cruel; however, this servant tried to lay the blame on his master by trying to seek an easy way out. Our Heavenly Father is faithful and just toward all who have received and accepted His Son as their Savior. The steps in Romans 10:9-13 are not difficult to follow, but some will still reject Jesus.

There are evangelical churches today that were Bible-based in the past. As false prophets started infiltrating pulpits, the true word of the Lord is being “adjusted” to say there are many ways to Salvation without Jesus. Some say Jesus was a good prophet but certainly not the Son of God, and therefore not God Himself. John 10:30 dispels this when Jesus said, “I and the Father are One.”

Words to tickle ears and put minds at ease about existing sin is the main agenda. Problem is, the words are leading souls to eternal damnation. Philip P. Bliss wrote “Wonderful Words of Life: in 1884. This carries a message that is positive and invites us to pass it on to others.

1.) Sing them over again to me, wonderful words of life. Let me more of their beauty see, wonderful words of life; Words of life and beauty teach me faith and duty.

Ref.) Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life; Beautiful words, wonderful words, wonderful words of life.

2.) Christ, the Blessed one, gives to all wonderful words of life; Sinner, list to the loving call, wonderful words of life; All so freely given, wooing us to Heaven. (ref)

3.) Sweetly echo the Gospel call, wonderful words of life; Offer pardon and peace to all, wonderful words of life; Jesus, only Savior, sanctify forever. (ref)

Consider what our Father asks of us in exchange for an eternity in Heaven with Him. First, we need to confess that we all are sinners and ask forgiveness. Next, we need to accept that Jesus lived a sinless life and shed His perfect blood for all who will call out to Him to be saved and that He is actually a true part of the Holy Trinity. Our requirement is to believe that Jesus died for us and was raised from the dead to conquer sin and death for all who will receive and accept Him forever.

There are no words or deeds or financial payments we can make to earn our Salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9). Also, as long as we are in these mortal human bodies, we will sin. God knew this would be the case and has provided a means of being forgiven in 1 John 1:8-10.

Finally, there is only one way to the Father, and that is through His Son Jesus. This is given in John 14:6 and Acts 4:12. God wants no one to fail, as stated in 2 Peter 3:9. However, all who refuse to receive and accept His Son will end up in the Lake of Fire forever (Revelation 20:11-15).

The Rapture could occur at any moment, which is evidenced by the increasing evil in the world. All who have truly called out to Jesus to be their Savior will be removed from this earth to keep us from the coming seven-year wrath. To decide to wait to make your reservation with the Savior could be the biggest mistake ever. Right now would not be too soon to call on Him.

All who believe they have sinned so greatly do not understand the power of the shed blood of our Savior. The only unforgivable sin today is to take your last breath without having Him in your heart. God will force no one to make that call; it’s completely up to each and every individual to do so of their own free will. We don’t know the day or hour, but everything that was prophesied, and the increased pace of evil today tells us it’s getting very close.

Jesus will accept all who call on Him all hours, day or night. Once the Rapture has taken place, it will still be possible to be saved, but the cost most likely will be martyrdom. Please consider carefully right now. Hope to see you at Home!

Maranatha!

huebshman46@gmail.com

Psalm 14:3, Psalm 53:1-3, John 14:6, Isaiah 53:6, Acts 4:12, Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Acts 16:11

Summary: Salvation does not originate with us. We cannot redeem ourselves because our sinful nature does not want to acknowledge that God alone is the Author and Provider of our salvation, as written in the Scriptures.

The Scriptures make it abundantly clear that we are given a set amount of time on this earth and then face the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). No one, from prince to pauper, will be exempt. We will all give an account of our lives to the Lord Jesus Christ (Luke 12:13-21; John 5:28-29; 1 Corinthians 3:11-15, 5:20: Philippians 2:9-11).

For the true believer who has placed their faith in Christ alone for salvation (Acts 4:12; Romans 6:23, 10:9-10, 13), the Bible says that we are no longer under condemnation for our sins (Romans 8:1), and we are freed from the wrath of God (1 Thessalonians 1:10,2:16; Revelation 14:9) that will pour upon all who reject His offer of salvation (Luke 14:18; Acts 28:27; Hebrews 2:3, 12:25). The Bible, the source of authentic truth (John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21), has never been shy or secretive concerning this fact.

The trouble is that this is rarely proclaimed in the pulpits of America and the majority of the world who would rather have their ears tickled, their pride affirmed, and their egos stroked (2 Timothy 4:3-4). This, along with countless other devices, is being used by the devil and his cohorts to keep people away from the authentic, biblical message of salvation.

The criminal acts by devious individuals have stolen the hearts and minds of millions who will find themselves standing before Almighty God one day and hearing the terrifying words of condemnation that will send them to an eternal hell forever (Matthew 7:21-23, 25:41; Revelation 20:11-15). The world does not want to hear or even think about this, but it is the truth. And as a minister of the Gospel who will be held accountable before the LORD for the welfare of His flock (Ezekiel 3:17-19; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; 2 Timothy 4:1-5; James 3:1-2; 1 Peter 5:2-4), I must stand firm on the Word of God and teach what it says about our condition and the ONLY way that God has sovereignly ordained for us to escape from it. For anyone who wants the truth, I want to present a salient, uncompromising message dealing with the aspects of authentic, Christ-centered salvation.

The first aspect of authentic salvation is that we have NO ability or way of redeeming ourselves in our own strength. You may get upset with that fact, but your opinion and feelings have nothing to do with it. The smiling “Colgate Boys” on TV pushing the narrative of “I am blessed, I am highly favored; I am a champion,” and other self-centered drivel neglect and hate the biblical truth that we are fallen, rebellious sinners doomed to an eternal hell for turning away from God in Eden and pursuing evil (Genesis 3; Psalm 14:1-3, 51:1-3; Isaiah 64:6; Micah 7:2; Romans 1:18-32, 3:10-18, 23; 1 John 18, 5:19) instead. These verses have not been changed to fit in with the times or whims of a fickle society that arrogantly thinks God owes them something or that He needs to provide other ways of saving us.

Almighty God, who has all things under His control (Colossians 1:16-18) and who holds our lives in His hands (James 4:14-17), will NOT have us somehow think that we know better than Him when it comes to the course of our lives. He has ways of humbling both people and nations when necessary. This applied to His chosen people, the Jews. All throughout Scripture, He told them that if they remained faithful to Him, He would watch over and protect them from their enemies and bless them as a nation. Instead, what we learn is that they had periods of obedience but far more episodes of rebellion that culminated in abominable practices, such as child sacrifice. God punished them by driving them into exile and captivity (2 Chronicles 36:15-23) by foreign empires such as Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome.

Nations that reject the LORD will face His wrath and judgment. America is no exception. Ruth Graham, the wife of Billy Graham, once said that if God does not judge us for our sins, He might have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah. Think on that.

It is only by the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ that we have hope, true peace, protection from His wrath, and absolute salvation the world cannot provide or equate. The apostle Paul, formerly an ardent foe of the Gospel, received this sovereign grace (Acts 9:1-6, 15-16; 1 Timothy 1:12-17) and for the rest of his life never got over the fact that Jesus used him in the spread of the Gospel. In his letters to the churches, which make up a third of the New Testament, he made it clear that this same salvation is available for everyone and that no one is exempt from receiving eternal life from the Lord Jesus Christ if they repent and believe in Him.

Since Jesus is both God and man, He alone was able to bear the responsibility and consequences of rescuing us from our sins and condemnation. The Scriptures teach that Jesus was the perfect sacrificial lamb who took away our sins once and for all (Isaiah 53:4-7; John 1:29, 3:16, 8:36, 14:6, 19:30; Acts 4:12, 16:31; Romans 5:6-11, 8:1, 10:9-10, 23; 1 Corinthians 5:7; Hebrews 2:2-3, 7:25). No other religious figure can make that claim. Their tombs still hold their remains. Only one tomb is empty because Jesus Christ rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and will return soon to make all things new, as He promised.

We deserve death and hell, but look at what we are given instead. In place of eternal death, we are the recipients of undeserved mercy. When we come to Christ, we are rescued from the penalty and condemnation of sin forever. We are saved from the judgment we deserve for our rebellion, along with the eternal consequences of that rebellion (Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 20:11-15). The Scriptures teach that the saving grace Christ provides for us is eternal (Hebrews 5:9). When we trust in Christ alone for salvation, it is a permanent promise, and because of that, He gives us the eternality of heaven, eternal fellowship with Him and the saints who placed their faith in Him over the course of history, along with the eternality of authentic joy, peace, love, freedom, and security.

Now, let me say a few words to those of you who have taken the time to read this message and the biblical truth from which it derives. You are now faced with a decision that will have eternal consequences. Do you accept the free offer of salvation made possible by Jesus Christ alone and receive forgiveness for your sins and an eternal peace that no one can take away, or will you scoff and ridicule what has been presented and go back to your present way of life?

I never “sugar-coat” any message I present, and this one is no exception. To reject the grace of God is to condemn yourself to a literal, horrible, and eternal existence in a very real hell. God’s Word has not changed. His truth does not change, and His conditions for salvation have not changed. The question is whether you will change the direction in which your life is going and instead come to Jesus for rest, comfort, and certain peace that you will never have in this present world. Thus ends the lesson.

donaldwhitchard@outlook.com

www.realtiycityreverend.com