Given and Trusted By Grace Through Faith, Not Works
Luke 19:15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business.
Luke 19:16 The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’
Luke 19:17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’
Luke 19:18 And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’
Luke 19:19 And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’
Luke 19:20 Then another came, saying, ’Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief;
Luke 19:21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’
Luke 19:22 He said to him, ’I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow?
The scriptures are full of God’s grace. It is one of the things that sets Christianity apart in the ignorant summary that “all religions are the same.” Mythologies and religions are all full of duty, laws, rules, and good and evil, but only Christianity is stuffed full of confident grace and mercy.
I say confident because instead of unpredictable and vain-hope for mercy, the Bible promises “whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Ephesians 2 says “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”
We can have confidence and trust in the grace of God.
But at the same time, there are just enough parables from Jesus and cautionary tales from the Old Testament that give us a little pressure. In this parable, those stewards that were left in charge of the Master’s money had an obligation. They had requirements. They had works.
I think the supposed contradiction is because Jesus talks to all kinds of different people at different times. If your life was so miserable, lost, and hard that the only good deed you could ever do was to not kick a kitten once, then that work showed your salvation.
But if you are so blessed by God that you’ve never known hunger or pain and you only write a check to some anonymous non-profit industry to keep your guilt happy, I fear for your soul. Everything that God gives us, from our luxury to our forgiveness, is given to bring Him glory.
It’s all about Him being blessed, not us.
So let’s be faithful in the little things we’ve been given. Let’s work on the stuff God has put in our hands. Not out of fear, but out of joy. It’s incredible that He not only saved us by grace, but that He’d equip and enlist us too.
##
–
You can get the Daily Bible Readings to your inbox via email every day by subscribing on our home page. Join the discussion online on Facebook or Twitter.