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The Cornerstone
This is the Stone which was rejected by you builders, which has become the Chief Conerstone." Acts 4:11
Pulbished to Support the Work of the West End Church of Christ, Richmond, Virginia
Volume 7 * Number 6* February 11, 2007
Living Sacrifices
In the Old Testament, an Israelite who sinned would offer the life of an animal in exchange for his transgression. That sacrifice often did not come without cost. The lamb was to be the best lamb from their flock. without spot or blemish. It was not to be the sinners worst lamb that would not even be missed. It was a sacrifice, and that, the innocent for the guilty.
A sacrifice is when I forfeit something I consider of great value in consideration of one who has greater value or claim. Thus the valued best lamb was offered unto God. But in Romans 12:1 Paul teaches that our lives are the very sacrifice to be given unto God. "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service"
Every one of us place a great deal of value upon our lives. In truth it is the greatest thing we possess that we can forfeit on behalf of another. (John 15:13) In consideration of God, we are called upon to present our bodies as a living sacrifice unto Him. That means on a daily bases we are to be holy. We are to prove the will of God and surrender our lives to His perfect will. (Romans 12:2)
Christians are called upon to forfeit their lives unto God Whom we consider to be of greater value and worthy of all our efforts. "A Living Sacrifice"
This sacrifice is our reasonable service.
Stacy Crim
Well Done Good And Faithful Servant
Allan E. McNabb
Jesus tells two parables that record a master, saying to his servants, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
Parable of the Talents
In the parable of the talents, a master called three slaves and gave them talents to trade with, each according to his ability (Matt. 25:14-30). (A talent is worth fifteen years’ wages of a laborer.)
The five-talent slave traded with his talents, and made another five talents. The two-talent slave traded with his talents, and made another two talents. The one-talent slave hid his talent in the ground, and didn’t even try to make a profit.
When the master returned from his journey, he rewarded the five-talent and two-talent slaves, and punished the one-talent slave.
To the faithful slaves, the master said, "Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord" (Matt. 25:21, 23).
But to the unfaithful slave, the master said, "You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest" (Matt. 25:25-28).
Parable of the Minas
In the parable of the minas, a nobleman called ten slaves and gave them one mina each, to do business until he returned (Lk. 19:11-27). (A mina is equal to one hundred days’ wages of a laborer.)
When the nobleman returned, the slaves gave account of what they gained by trading. To the faithful slaves he said, "Well done, good servant. . . ." But to the unfaithful slave he said, "Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. . . ."
God Doesn’t Require Us To Work Beyond Our Ability
A lesson we learn from these parables is that God requires us to work according to our ability — not beyond our ability.
The church is composed of members with different abilities (1 Cor. 12). In Paul’s analogy, one member is a hand, another is a foot, and another is an ear. God doesn’t expect the hand to do the work of the ear, and He doesn’t expect the ear to do the work of the hand. He requires each member of Christ’s body to work according to his own ability.
God doesn’t require us to do things beyond our ability. He doesn’t expect young Christians to work like they’ve been Christians fifty years, and He doesn’t expect elderly Christians to work like they’re still middle age. He doesn’t expect Christians to preach who don’t have the ability to preach, and He doesn’t expect Christians to build church buildings who don’t have the ability to build.
Indeed, we are striving to improve as Christians. But if judgment was today, a preacher who couldn’t swing a hammer well enough to build a church building, wouldn’t go to hell simply based on his mechanical ineptness and incompetence.
God Requires Us To Work According To Our Ability
Just like the lazy and unfaithful slaves in the parable of the talents and the parable of the minas, God will not accept anything less than our best service.
God requires us to do our best, and will accept nothing less. In the two parables above, the faithful slaves worked according to their ability, but the unfaithful slaves did not. It didn’t matter what ability they possessed, only that they worked according to their ability.
Much Given, Much Required
This brings me to one of the scariest thoughts of our generation, living in the bounty of our modern age. Jesus says, "From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more" (Lk. 12:48).
The Lord has blessed us more than the ancients of earth. Our middle class homes would have been royal mansions to first century Christians. And our cars, computers, and cell phones are technological marvels no early Christian could dream of possessing.
Most importantly, don’t forget about the Bible that’s easily accessible in print, a blessing humans didn’t enjoy till a few hundred years ago. And think about our comfortable church buildings, padded pews, handsome song books, and colorful PowerPoint presentations, that Christians didn’t enjoy till recently.
The Lord has blessed us more than the ancients of earth, giving us riches early Christians could never hope to receive.
What do you think judgment is going to be like, knowing God will require more, because He has given us more?
You Can Expect to Hear, Well Done. . . .
Here upon the earth, God entrusts us with physical and spiritual blessings. Because we use His blessings to the best of our ability, God will entrust us with greater riches in heaven.
Like the faithful servants in the parable of the talents, the Lord will say to you one day, "Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your Lord."
Reasons for Hope
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