Sound doctrine producing fear – parable of the minas, part 2; John 16:6; Luk 19:12-27.

Title: Sound doctrine producing fear - parable of the minas, part 2; John 16:6; LUK 19:12-27.

 

 

Luke 19:12 He said therefore, "A certain nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself, and then return.

 

Luke 19:13 "And he called ten of his slaves, and gave them ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business with this until I come back.'

 

For the time that He is gone He desires believers to invest what they were each given at salvation (40 things) into the PPOG.

 

Luke 19:14 "But his citizens hated him, and sent a delegation after him, saying, 'We do not want this man to reign over us.'

 

Luke 19:15 "And it came about that when he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered that these slaves, to whom he had given the money, be called to him in order that he might know what business they had done.

 

Luke 19:16 "And the first appeared, saying, 'Master, your mina has made ten minas more.'

 

Luke 19:17 "And he said to him, 'Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, be in authority over ten cities.'

 

This shows the king’s incredible generosity.

 

Luke 19:18 "And the second came, saying, 'Your mina, master, has made five minas.'

 

Luke 19:19 "And he said to him also, 'And you are to be over five cities.'

 

Volition makes for inequality. After salvation equality no longer exists due to different decisions made by believers.

 

Luke 19:20 "And another came, saying, 'Master, behold your mina, which I kept put away in a handkerchief;

 

Luke 19:21 for I was afraid of you, because you are an exacting man; you take up what you did not lay down, and reap what you did not sow.'

 

He states the power of the king. He can take anything he wants. And that is certainly true of TLJC, however, what this man does not know, or has failed to learn, is that this King is righteous, just, loving, and gracious.

 

Hearing doctrine from the wrong perspective - how is this going to affect me - leads to a false understanding of doctrine and therefore false doctrine.

 

Doctrine leads to occupation with Christ. If it leads to more occupation with self then the believer has taken a wrong angle, a wrong perspective, and he has therefore heard the truth and in his OSN controlled soul twisted the doctrine within himself into false doctrine, and for this reason he doesn’t invest.

 

In any investment there is the fear of losing, unless you are investing in a plan designed by the perfect, just, and righteous God.

 

This is a fear we don’t often refer to. It is the fear of the plan of God. The fear results from contemplating the loss of self, the loss of neural pathways that have fed me pseudo-happiness, the loss of certain relationships that I think are beneficial and profitable, the loss of whatever confronts the believer under the command to lose your life [soul priorities] that you may find it.

 

Fear of the plan of God in the believer results from hearing doctrine from a wrong perspective under the belief that the old nature should be protected for its perceived profit.

 

 

 

 

James 4:13

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow, we shall go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit."

 

Phil 4:17

Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. [this is the profit of giving away?]

 

Some interpret this as a way to accuse the church of laziness, and while that may apply in a secondary way, it is not the root cause of doing nothing with the 40 things imputed at salvation. The cause is fear of loss. In this type of mind there is a fear of having lost what the king gave and then having nothing to give him when he returned. Fear of loss is what is in view.

 

If I put on the new man I have to lay aside the old man. If I retain affection to the old man and the old way of life the idea of what my state may be without it causes much fear and so I do nothing with what I’ve been giving and keep on living in what I had. I’m not talking about sin or immorality or legalism per se, although they are the result, rather I’m talking about the root cause of fear of loss.

 

A believer could hear a thousand testimonies from those who have truly gained from living the spiritual life by means of the Spirit and still fear because he hasn’t experienced it himself, and he may never experience it because he’s too afraid to attempt it.

Remember the challenge:

 

ROM 8:12-13

So then, brethren, we are under obligation [debtor - given one mina], not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh - for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live [profit]

 

Luke 19:22 "He said to him, 'By your own words I will judge you, you worthless slave. Did you know that I am an exacting man, taking up what I did not lay down, and reaping what I did not sow?

 

 “his own words” - the King is powerful to do all, and He may not be righteous, just, loving, and gracious.

 

For our King one need look no farther than the cross on Cavalry.

 

Perceived loss is only turned into perceived gain when doctrine is united with faith under the filling of God the Holy Spirit.

 

Luke 19:23 'Then why did you not put the money in the bank, and having come, I would have collected it with interest?'

 

Interesting here is that charging interest was against the Mosaic Law and so the Jews before the time of the Maccabeus were unfamiliar with coin exchanges for interest or profit. However, after this time, around 160-150 BC, temple coinage was used and changed from foreign currency for a price. This was all done on a table, which is where the word “bank” comes from.

 

We know that twice Jesus went into the temple and through over the tables or banks of the money changers. So therefore He is not condoning this practice but is asking a simple question of a slave who had been given something of value and was afraid of losing it, “Why didn’t you at least deposit it in the temple with the money changers for a small fee or profit?”

 

Officially a bank was not organized until in Italy in 1587, but since 2000 BC even the Babylonians were holding money for others at a price, about one sixtieth of the amount (1.6% interest). The safest place to store that money was in the temple. Even in times of war people were too afraid to go in to certain rooms of the temple since they believed they would infer the wrath of the gods.

 

In Israel the temple was the safest place to store money. The Jews had written accounts of men going into the holy of holies and dying. They knew that the high priest could die at any moment if he didn’t do everything properly on the Day of Atonement. Only a Levitical priest could go into the inner court. The temple in Jerusalem became the bank of Jerusalem for certain people and money exchanges there offered a small profit to those who deposited it.  

 

The point is that this third man wouldn’t even venture into the temple and if he did he wouldn’t dare invest in it. Ignoring the corruption of the Jerusalem Temple in the time of Christ, the analogy is clear.

 

The believer who is afraid to invest in the plan of God for fear of loss of what he thinks is profit is one who will not invest his time in teachability under the pastor that God has assigned him.

 

Put it in the bank could be rendered - go into the temple and give doctrine a hearing.

 

And as such, he will suffer loss at the JSOC.

 

Luke 19:24 "And he said to the bystanders, 'Take the mina away from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.'

 

Luke 19:25 "And they said to him, 'Master, he has ten minas already.'

 

1 Cor 3:15

If any man's work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire.

 

I personally believe that this refers to angels who are amazed. They are not saying this to stand up for injustice, but in amazement at the grace of God. [they only worked one hour]

 

But then, as always, comes the truth ...

 

Luke 19:26 "I tell you, that to everyone who has shall more be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.

 

He doesn’t lose eternal life, as 1Cor 3:15 makes clear, but he does lose the inheritance that was given him in EP.

 

EPH 1:3-4

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.

 

Now we have a change from the slaves to the citizens who are enemies of the King. They are Jewish unbelievers in context, through the same fate is for all unbelievers.

 

Luke 19:27 "But these enemies of mine [citizens of verse 14], who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence."

 

Does God reap where He did not sow? Is He exacting? Does He take up what He did not lay down? Sure, He is Sovereign. He can do whatever a Sovereign can, however, He can only do so in accordance with justice and righteousness [integrity].

 

Offered the gift of eternal life, offered grace, the self centered person may think - “What does God want from me and what will He do to me?”

 

You see, fear has replaced the strength that comes from confidence in having EL. The disciples are offered victory and all they can think of is how they are going to get by without Christ.

 

How will I get by without the things [religion; psychology; culture; taboos; etc.] that I have relied on in the past?

 

What will my family and my friends think if I don’t go to our church anymore? Fear, grief, fear, worry, fear, anxiety all because the grace that drips from the sound doctrines of the Bible is viewed from the perspective of, “How will this affect me?”
 

Therefore, this night they will not be persuaded to reject this so called truth as the lie that it is. What seems like a catastrophe is the ultimate victory of the universe - the cross of Christ. Jesus has taught them this and they misinterpreted the truth because of their perspective.

 

5. When truth is metabolized only on the basis of how it affects the believer, this false perspective produces false doctrine that has been metabolized by the OSN.

 

6. MAS’s and false doctrine can only be displaced by Bible doctrine metabolized daily by the Spirit and under the humility of teachability.

 

The humility is the understanding that doctrine has been given to glorify Christ and the Father and it has not been given to change your life in the way that you would like to see.

 

Ps 115:1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us,

But to Thy name give glory

Because of Thy lovingkindness, because of Thy truth.

 

“lovingkindness” - checed = strength, steadfastness, and love; all three together define this word. [and not any one alone or two]

 

JER 4:1 "If you will return, O Israel," declares the Lord,

"Then you should return to Me.

And if you will put away your detested things from My presence [idols], And will not waver,

 

JER 4:2 And you will swear,'As the Lord lives,'

In truth, in justice, and in righteousness;

Then the nations will bless themselves in Him,

And in Him they will glory."

 

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

 

Are you still beholding His glory, or have you in some way taken doctrine and are trying to bend it to your own glory? This is something that we must always be careful of not doing.