It's not the beginning, but it's a start
To help paint the picture- the name of my church is Faith Assembly. I cannot tell you what kind of church it is, other than that it is a Christian church that believes what the Bible says is true.
Bible study is every Wednesday at 7pm. It entails a verse by verse study on the word of God. Since I've been going, we've been studying Matthew. I do not know which book will be next.
I've learned that there are many assumptions about what the Bible says, even more so about what Jesus says. Taking the book of Matthew at face value has been humbling and enlightening.
If this Bible Study had been anything other than a simple and honest examination of the Word of God I'd have walked out on the first night.
I was raised in the Church and turned from it. God didn't matter. I mattered. God might not even exist for all I knew, I had my life to live with my goals and desires. Why should I care about God? I knew what the Bible said and it didn't matter to me.
I was wrong.
Thankfully, I've been forgiven for my sins. Jesus was crucified and resurrected to allow for that. The next step is working on my faith, so that my salvation will have meaning. Part of that is learning the word of God, and that's why I go to Bible Study.
I am more than willing to talk about any and all of this if you ask. I realize I might be skipping parts in the story.
Anyway, tonight we talked about the parable of the talents, as found in Matthew chapter 25. If you've been raised around Christianity, you're likely familiar with the story: A master is going away on a journey, and he approaches three men. To the first, he gives five talents, to the second, he gives two, and to the last, he gives one. (It can be noted that a talent was worth a thousand dollars).
When he returns, the first two men, who were given five and two talents respectively, have doubled what they were given, and are rewarded for being faithful servants. Even though one had more than the other, each gave 100% of what they had, and that's what mattered.
To the last, who was given one talent, he'd buried it in a hole. He'd done nothing with what he'd been given. He was cast out to a place where there'd be weeping and gnashing of teeth (hell).
Jesus taught in parables to convey the truth in a way that not everyone would understand. One function of this is for people to seek understanding from the Holy Spirit, so it can be given to them.
One meaning overlooked in this parable is that the man who did nothing with his talent was cast into hell. When people accept salvation but don't prove their faith with what they do and how they live, (their deeds, behavior, lifestyles, choices, etc), then their salvation was never real.
It's a warning to Christians who deem themselves saved but aren't using their lives to prove their faith. It's a warning to me as a Christian that if I don't use my life to prove my faith, I'll be judged harshly, and cast into hell. I'd much rather be told "Well done, faithful servant"
Even that much is skipping ahead. The beauty of the book of Matthew is that it builds a foundation, and then builds on that even further, and then finishes with the promise of Chirst's return.
It has lot to do with bearing fruit with your life as a Christian. More on that later.
Have a blessed day.
