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Jesus told a parable about a nobleman who went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return. He gave 10 minas to 10 slaves and told them to “Do business with this until I come back.” When he returned he ordered the slaves to come to him and to report back to him what they did with the minas he gave to them (see Luke 19:11-15).
When we believe in Jesus Christ with God-honoring faith in him, which comes from God, and which is not of our own doing, he grants us with salvation from sin and with eternal life with God. And he bestows on us spiritual gifts and ministries which he intends for us to participate in for his purposes and for his glory. And he instructs us in the ways of the Lord and with regard to his purpose for us, that we must die with him to sin and now follow him in walks of obedience to his commands, in holy living.
And one day he is going to return, and we are going to have to give an account for what we did with what he gave us. And if we followed him in obedience, and we did as he said for us to do, in practice, and if we put sin to death, by the Spirit, and no longer made sin our practice, we will be rewarded with salvation from sin and eternal life with God. But if sin is what we practiced, and not obedience to the Lord, and if we lived to please the flesh, and not God, we will not inherit eternal life with God.
But this parable isn’t just about when Jesus will return and we will be judged by him according to our works. For in the parable, the servants who were faithful to their master in putting what he gave them to good use, to where it increased, they were given more by their master. And they were given even greater responsibilities. So it is with us. If we put to good use what we are given by the Lord, by doing with what we are given what is the will of God, and what is pleasing to him, then he will give us more to do for him.
But if we are lazy and slothful, and selfish and prideful, and if we are only thinking of ourselves, and what we want to do with our lives, and so we neglect to submit to God’s will and purpose for our lives, and so we do not obey him, in practice, and so we continue living in sin, and so we neglect to put to good use the talents and the gifts he has provided for us, which we are to share with others, then what we have had provided for us will be taken away from us, and in the end we will not inherit eternal life with God.
So, we cannot just profess faith in Jesus and then keep on living in sin and not in walks of obedience to our Lord, and then expect to receive salvation from sin and eternal life with God. And we cannot expect to receive anything from the Lord if we take what he has provided already and we just bury it in the ground, and we do not make good use of what we have been given. For Jesus died to put our sins to death with him so we will now die to sin and live for him in walks of obedience to his commands, in holy living.
So, we need to take this to heart. Here is a summary of Romans 6:1-23:
By God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness in walks of obedience to his commands. Thus, we are no longer to allow sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience is what we obey, it results in sanctification and its end is eternal life with God.
And here is a summary of Luke 9:23-26 and Matthew 7:21-23:
For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
Caution: This link may contain ads
Because You Have Been Faithful
An Original Work / April 27, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
“The first appeared, saying, ‘Master, your mina has made ten minas more.’ And he said to him, ‘Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.’ The second came, saying, ‘Your mina, master, has made five minas.’ And he said to him also, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ Another came, saying, ‘Master, here is your mina, which I kept put away in a handkerchief; for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man; you take up what you did not lay down and reap what you did not sow.’ He *said to him, ‘By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am an exacting man, taking up what I did not lay down and reaping what I did not sow? Then why did you not put my money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?’ Then he said to the bystanders, ‘Take the mina away from him and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ And they said to him, ‘Master, he has ten minas already.’ I tell you that to everyone who has, more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence.” (Luke 19:16-27 NASB1995)
When we believe in Jesus Christ with God-honoring faith in him, which comes from God, and which is not of our own doing, he grants us with salvation from sin and with eternal life with God. And he bestows on us spiritual gifts and ministries which he intends for us to participate in for his purposes and for his glory. And he instructs us in the ways of the Lord and with regard to his purpose for us, that we must die with him to sin and now follow him in walks of obedience to his commands, in holy living.
And one day he is going to return, and we are going to have to give an account for what we did with what he gave us. And if we followed him in obedience, and we did as he said for us to do, in practice, and if we put sin to death, by the Spirit, and no longer made sin our practice, we will be rewarded with salvation from sin and eternal life with God. But if sin is what we practiced, and not obedience to the Lord, and if we lived to please the flesh, and not God, we will not inherit eternal life with God.
But this parable isn’t just about when Jesus will return and we will be judged by him according to our works. For in the parable, the servants who were faithful to their master in putting what he gave them to good use, to where it increased, they were given more by their master. And they were given even greater responsibilities. So it is with us. If we put to good use what we are given by the Lord, by doing with what we are given what is the will of God, and what is pleasing to him, then he will give us more to do for him.
But if we are lazy and slothful, and selfish and prideful, and if we are only thinking of ourselves, and what we want to do with our lives, and so we neglect to submit to God’s will and purpose for our lives, and so we do not obey him, in practice, and so we continue living in sin, and so we neglect to put to good use the talents and the gifts he has provided for us, which we are to share with others, then what we have had provided for us will be taken away from us, and in the end we will not inherit eternal life with God.
So, we cannot just profess faith in Jesus and then keep on living in sin and not in walks of obedience to our Lord, and then expect to receive salvation from sin and eternal life with God. And we cannot expect to receive anything from the Lord if we take what he has provided already and we just bury it in the ground, and we do not make good use of what we have been given. For Jesus died to put our sins to death with him so we will now die to sin and live for him in walks of obedience to his commands, in holy living.
So, we need to take this to heart. Here is a summary of Romans 6:1-23:
By God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness in walks of obedience to his commands. Thus, we are no longer to allow sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience is what we obey, it results in sanctification and its end is eternal life with God.
And here is a summary of Luke 9:23-26 and Matthew 7:21-23:
For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
Caution: This link may contain ads
Because You Have Been Faithful
An Original Work / April 27, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
