"...proving that this is very Christ." _ Acts 9:22
"...proving that this is very Christ." _ Acts 9:22

FEBRUARY 1ST

THE WRITE-OFF OF THE UNJUST STEWARD


Reading:  Luke Chapter 16:1-17

16:1 And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods.

 16:2 And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.

 16:3 Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.

 16:4 I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.

 16: 5 So he called every one of his lord's debtors [unto him], and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?

 16:6 And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty.

 16:7 Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. 

 16:8 And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.

 16:9 And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.

 16:10 He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.

 16:11 If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true [riches]?

 16:12 And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?

 16:13 No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

 16:14 And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.

 16:15 And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.

 16:16 The law and the prophets [were] until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.

 16:17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.

 

     The instruction in the above parable contains enough richness in Christ to deliver mankind from the present evil of this world system.  All is needed is a pure heart that loves and desires Him.  More than morality is at stake here.  Rather, the very hope of glory is encoded herein.  While God’s wisdom is hidden from the world’s wise and prudent, babes in Christ may see a  marvelous truth.  In this parable, a steward was called to give an account of his master’s goods.  Goods speak to his master’s wealth, property and prosperity.   Verse three above bares the heart of this steward.  His concern was not in restoration but rather in losing his position.  His first mistake was to confer with himself!   When a person speaks within himself, there will be an immediate, temporal answer from the Adamic nature of his heart.  As evident in the very next verse, he said, "I am resolved what to do..."  Self has no input in the affairs of the Spirit.  If Jesus is speaking a parable, there is an eternal and living significance in it for us.  Let us see what the carnal response was to this spiritual dilemma.

 

     I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. What the carnal and unjust steward could not see was that the habitation he was attempting to secure is everlasting.  In verse nine above Jesus said, "And I say unto you, make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations." To make friends with the world is far more costly than is apparent.  To seek refuge in the world is spiritual suicide.  There has to be a trade-off in the world’s system.  The world’s system or the harlot system is one of merchandizing.  Its end is utter destruction as seen in Chapter 18 of the Book of Revelation.  There one will find the "souls of men" are among the commodities in that system, and when that system falls, so does all that is in it.    That is why  Jesus called it an everlasting habitation.

Continued

 

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