I’m not really the type to bet on things, but I’m willing to bet that you’ve heard the word hypocrite or hypocrisy in relation to the Christian church. Maybe you’ve even heard the excuse of someone not going to church because everyone there is a hypocrite. I’ll admit it: I’ve said that. I’ve made that excuse to not go to church. But who does God say are hypocrites?
Take a moment to read Matthew 24:45-51. This is where we’re digging in today – the parable of the faithful and unfaithful servant (some translations call the unfaithful servant wicked). It’s yet another parable that holds so much about God’s goodness and faithfulness. Now, saying that, you might think I have a few screws loose. Most people read or hear this passage from Matthew and feel a touch of uncertainty and a bit of fear. That was me for a long time.
I would read this passage and start questioning my faithfulness to God. I worried time and time again that I would be caught doing the wrong thing at just the right time… that Jesus would come back during one of the many times that I was falling flat on my face. And I would be cut to pieces (flogged severely) and sent to Hell. What security does that mindset afford? Would you feel secure in your salvation? Do you feel secure in your salvation?
The best place to start is by breaking this passage down to really understand it. This parable has always left me inspecting myself instead of looking at Jesus. But Jesus doesn’t instruct us to rely on our own efforts – our own faithfulness. He is always pointing us to Himself and our Father.
This parable isn’t about two servants, but two different types of servants. Both of them have the same task, but both have a very different approach. One of them acts on what they know the Master would want, and the other decides to take advantage of the Master not being around. Neither one of them did anything to earn their starting position of servant. And the same is true for you.
You never earned God’s favor, love, or mercy but it was given to you by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9). You didn’t earn His grace either! This parable shows that any action that flows out of a person, whether faithful or unfaithful, is a reflection of trust and relationship – or the lack of. Did you know that biblical faithfulness is not sinless perfection? Sinless perfection is a burden we allow others to convince us to carry… or we place on ourselves.
Abraham, the Father of our Faith, was considered righteous because he believed (Genesis 15:6). The times that he lied about his wife (Genesis 12, Genesis 20:2-12), the fact that his wife was his half-sister (Deuteronomy 27:22), and trying to do things his own way on his own timeline (Genesis 16) did nothing to change his identity. His identity was Righteous because he believed God.
If you believe God – if you’ve accepted Jesus’ sacrifice for you – then you are a Child of God. You belong in the house. You are considered a faithful servant. I know… that’s a pretty bold statement. I don’t know the things you’ve done, but if you knew the things I’ve done, then most wouldn’t consider me a faithful servant. If you’re struggling with that one, make sure to keep reading. (Keep reading anyway)
The faithful servant takes care of the household. Not only does the faithful servant feed the household, but he does so at the proper time. He gives what’s needed when it’s needed – as if he knows what the Master would want. An example of this might be best explained with another parable. Jump over and take a look at the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32).
Do you think the son would have come to his senses when he did if someone decided they needed to do a good deed and help him out? Or maybe instead they think about helping him out of the pigsty but they recognize that the Holy Spirit is telling them not to, so they don’t? The Holy Spirit does, at times, have us not give because there is a greater purpose… But He is always on time and His plans are for good (Jeremiah 29:11).
Let’s take a look at the other type of servant in our passage for today. This one is considered wicked. This is not the faithful servant who became wicked. This was the type of servant who had no regard for the Master. His actions of mistreating the others in the house were wicked but notice that he was labeled wicked before any of those actions were mentioned. He was considered wicked because of what was in his heart.
The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.” Isaiah 29:13 NIV
His fruit – beating the other servants, partying, and losing control of his senses – were simply an outward expression of what was inside. He didn’t value or trust the Master, and he had no regard for the household, or those who were in it. He was cruel. He was selfish. Instead of taking care of what the Master valued, the wicked servant treated it with contempt.
Then the Master returns. This is where so many of us start shaking in our flip flops. We start examining ourselves to see if we’re worthy. Am I a wicked servant? We start second-guessing our worth, we start looking at all of the ways we failed or failed to act. Does God see me as a wicked servant? We start to wonder if we’re going to be considered a hypocrite.
The faithful servant doesn’t transform into the wicked servant upon the arrival of the Master. The faithful servant is found to be faithful, and the wicked servant is found to be wicked. The Master’s return exposes the heart that the servant had all along. The return of the Master is simply an unveiling of what was hidden by outward appearances.
A hypocrite isn’t a believer who’s failed and repented, but rather a religious pretender. It’s a word that describes someone who has never been changed inwardly but wears a facade of faithful devotion. The wicked servant isn’t a struggling believer. It’s a person who merely went through the motions and pretended to be genuine.
This parable isn’t about losing salvation. It’s a warning about false profession. There is security in your salvation! All too often, religion uses this parable to shift our confidence away from Jesus’ finished work and has us inspecting our work-in-progress failings. If you have accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you have been sealed with the Holy Spirit and belong to God. Period.
Something a fellow blogger once reminded me of is that the security of our salvation is not found in our ability to hold on to Jesus, but in His ability to hold on to us. The 1 lamb that the Shepherd left the 99 for didn’t clean itself up and climb up onto the shoulders of the Shepherd. The Shepherd did the stinky, heavy lifting. The Father of the prodigal son didn’t wait for a knock at the door but ran out to meet his son… and then covered him with a robe, put shoes on his feet, and a ring of authority on his finger – all before bathtime (and he had just come from a pigsty).
Jesus did it all – we simply have to accept Him. As we accept His gift of salvation, we will learn more and more that His heart is for us and those around us. As we grow in our relationship with God, we will truly bear His image and do things that He wants us to do and in the time He has for us to do them.
No, the parable of the Faithful and Unfaithful Servant is not about believers losing their salvation. The faithful servant shows us what it looks like to trust Jesus while the unfaithful servant demonstrates what it looks like to wear the mask of religion. We can stand in confident expectation for our Lord’s return. On that day, anyone who belongs to Jesus will stand before God clothed in His righteousness because of what He accomplished on our behalf.