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Scripture Reading: Matt. 24:48-51; 25:24-31
I. The danger:
А. Beating our fellow slaves — mistreating fellow believers — Matt. 24:49a.
B. Eating and drinking with the drunken — keeping company with people who are drunken with worldly things — v. 49b.
C. Hiding our gift in the earth — 25:25:
1. Being passive, not active, for the Lord’s service.
2. Merely keeping the Lord’s gift, neither losing it nor gaining a profit by using it.
II. The loss:
А. To be cut off from the Lord at His coming back — to be separated from the Lord in His coming glory — 24:51:
1. To be chastened dispensationally.
2. In weeping and gnashing of teeth.
B. To lose our gift — 25:28-29.
C. To be cast out into the darkness outside of the Lord’s coming glory — v. 30; 8:12.
In this lesson we want to see the danger and loss of not using our gift. The previous lesson tells us that we all have a gift. Now this lesson warns us that if we do not use our gift, this is dangerous, and this will be a loss. All these points are covered in detail in Messages 63 through 66 of Life-study of Matthew.
The greatest problem today with the Christians is that most of them do not use their gift. I would say that over ninety percent of the genuine Christians today neglect their gift. Of course, this is absolutely due to Catholicism and Protestantism. Because of these two big organizations with their hierarchy and clergy-laity system, most of the believers’ gifts and functions have been annulled. They do not use their gifts, and they do not realize that this is a serious mistake that will cause a great loss to them. I feel that we need such a lesson to warn all the saints among us and to stir up their heart to use their gifts.
We must stress the burden of the previous lesson to the saints once again. We need to see that all the members of the Body of Christ are gifted (Rom. 12:6a). In the parables in Matthew 24 and 25, the Lord indicated that every one of His believers has a gift. He did not give the ground for any of His believers to be excused from functioning. All believers are gifted persons.
Matthew 25 tells us that some have five talents, some have two talents, and others have one talent. At the very least, we are the one-talented ones. A saint cannot say that he has not received a talent. We have to strongly stress this one thing. We have to convince every saint among us that they cannot say that they do not have any gift and cannot do anything. This is a lie. According to the biblical truth, every believer has a gift. You may have the smallest gift, but you still have a gift. Everyone is talented; everyone is gifted.
Of course, Ephesians 4:11 speaks of the apostles, prophets, evangelists, and shepherds and teachers. The gifted persons mentioned here are those who have been endued with a special gift. But verse 7 says, “To each one of us grace was given according to the measure of the gift of Christ.” Each one includes every member of the Body of Christ, each of whom has received a general gift. This shows that everyone is a gifted person and is responsible to use his gift. The Brethren did not like to use the title elders, so they used the term responsible. This is a wrong term because every believer is responsible. Who is not a responsible brother or sister? We have to be careful not to use the term responsible, because all of us are gifted and are responsible before the Lord to use our gifts for the building up of the Body of Christ.
Matthew 24 speaks of the evil slave who “says in his heart, My master delays, and begins to beat his fellow slaves” (vv. 48-49a). When we mistreat a fellow believer by criticizing, opposing, or despising him, in the eyes of the Lord, that is to beat him. We have to say a strong word here. We can easily fall into this danger without any kind of realization. We can fall into criticizing the brothers and sisters. Sometimes we may oppose or despise some of the saints. Perhaps we would even fight against them. This is to beat the Lord’s slaves, who are our fellow slaves.
Matthew 24:49b says that this evil slave “eats and drinks with the drunken.” The Lord’s word in Matthew 24 is a parable. Since it is a parable, it must be interpreted. To eat and drink with the drunken is to keep company with worldly people, who are drunk with worldly things. They are drunk with their worldly enjoyment. This is the danger of not using our gift. Once we become a person who keeps company with worldly people, we would not be faithful to the Lord in using the gift He gives us, so we fall into danger.
In Matthew 25:25 the slothful slave said to his master, “I was afraid and went off and hid your talent in the earth; behold, you have what is yours.” To be afraid is negative. We should, rather, be positive and aggressive in using the Lord’s gift. To go off and hide the Lord’s talent in the earth is too passive. We should be active in the Lord’s work. If we hide our gift, we do not need to do anything. To be passive and not active for the Lord’s service means that we are hiding our gift and not using it.
Merely to keep the Lord’s gift and not lose it is not sufficient; we must gain a profit by using it. In this lesson we do not need to get into the full interpretation of this parable, because we can ask the saints to read some of the Life-study messages in Matthew. But we must stress to them that to hide our gift in the earth is not to use it. The earth refers to the worldly things. As long as we do not use our gift, we are hiding it.
We have to point out these three dangers: mistreating fellow believers, keeping company with worldly people, and not using our gift to do the Lord’s service. We have to point out that many are hiding their gift, not using their gift, because they do not serve.
When the Lord comes back, He will come in glory. In other words, He will be clothed in His glory. The unfaithful ones who did not use their gifts will be cut off from His glory at His coming back (24:51). They will have no share in His coming glory. For a full interpretation of this, we need to read the appropriate Life-study messages on Matthew.
To be cut off from the coming glory of the Lord is a dispensational chastisement.
The ones who are chastised will be in weeping and gnashing of teeth. Weeping indicates regret, and gnashing of teeth indicates self-blame. We do not know what this chastisement will be like, but we know that it will be a suffering.
Matthew 25:28 and 29 say, “Take away therefore the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents. For to everyone who has, more shall be given, and he shall abound; but from him who does not have, even that which he has shall be taken away from him.” These verses show that we can lose our gift because of our slothfulness. If we do not use our talent, the Lord will take it back from us when He comes back, and we will lose our gift. If we do not use our gift, this means that we waste it.
The outer darkness is the darkness outside the Lord’s coming glory in the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens (v. 30; 8:12). To be cast out into the outer darkness is not to perish; it is to be dealt with dispensationally, to be disqualified from participating in the enjoyment of the kingdom during the millennium, for not having lived by Christ an overcoming life. In the millennium the overcoming believers will be with Christ in the bright glory of the kingdom (Col. 3:4), whereas the defeated believers will suffer discipline in outer darkness.
When we stress these points, some of the saints may be curious about what outer darkness is. We should simply tell them that we have never been there, so we really cannot say what is there, but we surely know that this is not a good place to be. This kind of darkness is not for the ones who will suffer eternal perdition. Those ones will spend eternity in the lake of fire. The outer darkness outside of the Lord’s glory is neither the lake of fire nor the section of torment in Hades where all the perished sinners are (23, Luke 16:26a, 28). It is a place of dispensational punishment for the defeated believers.
Some may say that this kind of teaching damages God’s complete salvation. We should tell them that we have received the Lord’s complete salvation, and we believe in it. We also believe that if we are not faithful to the Lord today, He may chastise us. If the Lord chastises us in this age, this chastisement does not damage His complete salvation. Since this is the case, how could His chastisement in the next age damage His complete salvation? It is illogical to say this.
The Lord told us that when He returns, He will chastise His unfaithful servants (12:46-48). This is not our word. This is the Lord’s word. We have to be faithful in teaching the Lord’s word. We cannot cut off any verses. We have to present all the aspects of the Lord’s word to the saints. It is wise to take heed to the Lord’s warning (21:34-36). We need to impress the saints to take heed to the facts in the Bible.
Because we have been regenerated by the Lord, we are gifted. The Lord has given us at least one talent, at least one spiritual gift. If we do not use this gift faithfully, we cannot be in the place that the apostle Paul will be at the Lord’s return. A saved person will not suffer eternally in the lake of fire. To say this is an insult to the Lord’s redemption and salvation. But a saved believer may suffer some dispensational chastisement in outer darkness. He may be cut off from the Lord’s presence in the manifestation of His kingdom. By that time the Lord’s presence will be His glory. Thus, the defeated believers will have no share of the Lord’s glory in the millennial kingdom.
This is not only scriptural but also logical. If we are living and walking in darkness today, how can we expect to participate in the Lord’s bright glory in the next age? If we live in darkness today, we will be chastised in outer darkness in the next age. In this lesson we need to speak a practical word to the saints. We admit that we all have been saved and have received a gift from the Lord. But do we use His gift? Are we faithful? In this lesson we need to preach the gospel to the saved ones. This may help some of the brothers and sisters and stir them up to have a real hunger to serve the Lord. We all need to serve the Lord.
This word concerning the danger and loss of not using our gift is the word of our King. The Bible is not composed of only John 3:16 and Ephesians 2:8, which says that we are saved by grace. The Bible also includes Matthew 24 and 25, and we cannot neglect or put aside this portion. Fundamental Christianity shares the truth of John 3:16 and Ephesians 2:8, but they do not go on to share the truth revealed in Matthew 24 and 25. This is the teaching directly out of the mouth of the Lord Jesus. We cannot deny that we are slaves of the Lord, and each slave of the Lord has been given a talent. Now the problem is how we use this talent. We have to warn the saints that there is the danger and loss of not using our gift.
