83
K i n g ’ s
B u s i n e s s
T h e
February 1931
th e com ing again o f Jesu s C hrist. W hen th a t hope grew dim an d late r disappeared, th e re came exactly such a degeneracy am ong leaders o f the p rofessing church as is h ere described. In stead of fastin g an d pray er, th e re w as gluttony and drunkenness. In stead o f fellow ship in love tow ard o th e r servants, th ere w as cruel oppression o f subordinates by the hierarchy. V . 46. In a day when he expecteth not.' O u r L o rd has ta u g h t us th a t the. ex a ct d ate of H is re tu rn can n o t be told. H is servants should alw ays be expecting H im . T h e false stew ard w ill have a te r rible surprise. Appoint his portion. T h a t portion can m ean only etern al death. V . 47. Knew his lord’s will. .This is a p icture o f a careless stew ard, b u t one w ho did not, perhaps,' go to th e extrem e o f th e one ju s t described. Beaten with many stripes. T h e penalty w as v ery se vere, bu t it w as less th a n etern al death. V . 48. He that knew not. Such an one has n o t sinned ag ain st fu ll lig h t; but, having rejected som e light, he becomes w o rth y o f stripes. In his case, th e re w ill be few stripes, fo r God does n o t punish th e ig n o ra n t as severly as H e punishes those w ho are deliberately w icked. Much is given . . . much be required. O u r L o rd had spoken o f th ree g rad es o f sin an d of th ree degrees o f punishm ent. R esponsi bility in every case w as according to light. * * * L esson Q uestions V . 16. W h a t is a parab le? W h a t in cident called fo rth th e parable (cf. v. 13) ? W h a t is said about the rich m an? Is he accused o f h aving obtained his goods u n law fully? V . 17. W ith w hom did th e m an take counsel? S hould he have asked advice o f G od? D oes G od have a rig h t to in te rfe re w ith all o u r plans ? W h a t w as d isturbing this m an? U n d er w h a t con ditions m ay it be perfectly rig h t and safe to own m uch goods?- : Y V . 18. W h a t did th e rich m an decide to do? D id he decide w isely? V. 19. H av e w e a rig h t to say “my soul” in an absolute sense? D o w e be long to ourselves, o r do w e belong to God? W h a t w ro n g idea of th e fu tu re did the m an have? W h a t w ro n g philosophy of life controlled him ? Can any one ever be happy w ho follow s such a course of life? V: 20. W h a t did G od call the m an? W h a t did H e say about his soul? H as God the rig h t to req u ire again th e souls w hich H e has given? C an any one take m uch goods w ith him to heaven? V . 21. F o r w hom h ad this m an been laying up tre a su re ? W h ere had he stored his goods? W h ere m ig h t he have laid up tre a su re (M att. 6 :2 0 )? V . 41. W h o w as the spokesm an o f th e disciples? W h a t had Jesu s been saying th a t called fo rth his question (cf. vs. 35- 37) ? W h a t prom ises to servants had C hrist given ? V . 42. W h a t is a stew ard ? Does the L o rd Jesus give every disciple some stew ardship ? In w h a t w ay can C hristian stew ards “ feed th e church o f th e L o rd ” (A cts 2 0 :2 8 )? V . 43. A t w h a t tim e w ill stew ards be called to account? W ill fa ith fu l stew ards be “blessed” ? * V . 44. W h a t rew a rd fo r fidelity is prom ised? W ill w e ever w ish to be freed from the privilege an d th e responsibility o f service (cf. Rev. 2 2 :3 )? D oes God
considering. H e did n o t consult G od’s interests n o r th e in terests o f any o f his fellow m en. What shall I do? Som e one has said th a t he w ould have show n real w isdom if his question had been,
Work for Each of Us Our Master has taken His journey To a country that’s far away, And has left us the care of the •vineyard, To work for Him day by day. There’s only one thing should concern us, To find just the task that is ours; And then, having found it, to do it With all our God-given powers. Our Master is coming most surely, To reckon with every one; Shall we then count our toil or our sorrbw I f His sentence be, “Well done”? —A.A.A,
“W h a t shall I re n d er to th e L o rd fo r all H is benefits ?” B u t h i s thou g h ts an d p l a n s began an d ended in h im self. Bestow my fruits. P ro sp erity th a t comes to those
w ho b rin g th e ir tithes to th e storehouse (c f. M ai. 3 :10) is perfectly safe. B ut th a t pro sp erity w hich causes th e soul to fo rg e t God alw ays leads to ruin. V. 18. This will I do. T he prom inence o f th e personal pronoun is significant. H e says, “I w ill,” as if no pow er in earth o r heaven can stop him . G reed h a d so com pletely obsessed him th a t he could th in k o f n othing b u t the accum ulation o f m ore w ealth. M any have follow ed in his footsteps (c f. Eccl. 5 :1 0 ). V . 19. I will say to my soul. H e claim ed th a t his soul also belonged to h im self and n o t to God w ho h a d given it. A ccording to C ram er, soul in this p as sage denotes “life in the distinctness _of individual existence.” S peaking in sim plest term s, then, it m eans th a t th e m an talked to him self. Laid up for many years. L ike m any another fool, he acted as if th ere w ere no u n certain ty or in secu ri ty about his fu tu re fo r y ears to come. Take thine ease. H e re is a fool’s philoso phy of life, w hich m ay be summ ed up in th ree simple w o rd s : leisure, lux u ry , and laughter. O r, p u ttin g it a little different ly : do w h a t you like, have w h a t you like, and enjoy w h at you like. II. The Fool Branded and Upbraided ( 20 , 21 ). V . 20. But God said. God alw ays has th e last w ord. H e cannot be ignored or defied, w ith im pugnity. Thou foolish one. I t is a m atter of little m om ent if a m an is called a fool by an o th er m an. B ut w hen God says, “T h o u foolish one,” the v erd ict is alarm ing. H e know s the h e a rt; H e know s the fu tu re. H e w ill b rin g ev ery m an to account. This night is thy soul required. H e had im agined th a t his soul w as his own. H e w as rudely aw ak ened by the announcem ent th a t God, who h ad loaned the soul to him , req u ired it back. H e w ould have to render account fo r his m isuse o f his soul’s pow ers. Whose shall they be? H is goods surely w ere n o t his own, fo r he could n o t carry them w ith him . H av in g m ade no attem pt to lay up treasu res in heaven w hile h e lived, he entered eternity a pauper (cf. P sa. 3 9 :6 ). V . 21. Layeth up treasure for himself. T reasu res w hich are m erely h o ard ed fo r one’s own pleasure and gratification b rin g disaster and judgm ent. I t is possible, on th e o th er hand, to exchange th e w ealth o f earth fo r heaven’s treasu res (cf. M att. 6 :2 0 ; 19:21). Is not rich toward _ God. T h is m ay signify to be rich in spiritual goods. O r, p erhaps better, it re fe rs to the laying uo of tre a su re in the presence o f God. “H e w ho giveth to the poor lendeth to the L o rd .” II I. Wise and Foolish Stewards (41-48). V . 41. Speakest thou this parable unto us? T h e M aster h ad given som e general w arnings against anxiety about m aterial things, follow ed by inju n ctio n s to p re pare fo r th e com ing kingdom . T h en fol low ed this special w arn in g to P e te r and
the tw elve. P e te r w as doubtless the spokesm an fo r the apostles. T h e L o rd had spoken o f g re a t rew ard s to be given to H is serv an ts w hen H e should come in glory. P e te r inquired w heth er these re w ards w ere fo r the tw elve particularly, or fo r all o f C hrist’s follow ers (cf. M att. 19:27). V. 42. Faithful and wise- steward. P e te r’s question did not receive a d irect answ er. T h e lesson concerns every fa ith ful an d w ise stew ard. A stew ard is h ere th o u g h t o f as a rep resentative o f an ab sent lord. D u rin g th e in terv al o f the lo rd ’s absence, these stew ards w ere placed in charge o f fellow servants. U pon th e re tu rn o f th e lord, th e w o rth y stew ard w ould be discovered, and w ould be given la rg e r responsibility. T h e r e f o r e , in C hrist’s answ er, th e re is no p artiality show n tow ard P e te r o r tow ard any o th er individual. A ll aw ard s w ill be on the basis o f justice. E v ery C hristian stew a rd ’s obligation is “to feed th e c h u rch o f th e L o rd ” (A cts 20:28). V . 43. Blessed is that servant. If fo u n d “so doing,” th a t is, carefully doing his duty in his assigned task, a special blessing w ill aw ait him a t the com ing o f C hrist. V . 44. Set him over all that he hath. W hen one is, fa ith fu l in a few things, th e re is bestow ed upon him th e ho n o r o f having m any responsibilities e n tru sted to his care. T h ere w ill never be an occasion in all etern ity w hen the C hristian serv an t w ill cease to serve (R ev. 2 2 :3 ). V . 45. I f that servant shall say. T he L o rd notes w h at such a serv an t says “in his h eart,” as w ell as w h a t is on his lips. D esires and m otives determ ine th e course o f action. My lord delayeth. In other w ords, if the L o rd Jesus ta rrie s longer th a n is expected, H is stew ard m ay fo rg e t th a t he is but a serv an t and m ay begin to act as if he w ere m aster of all his L o rd ’s possessions. Begin to beat the menservants. L ong w aitin g causes the decline if no t th e collapse o f faith. I n stead o f love fo r th e absent L<5rd, every fo rm o f n a tu ra l passion controls the life. C hurch h isto ry discloses th a t th e early church w as kept aglow w ith th e hope o f
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