This is the Truth Network. Did Jesus use this wise, foolish motif in other passages in the New Testament besides the parable of the Ten Virgins? And If you did, What did he mean by wise and foolish? Was he referring to Christians and non-Christians? Or was he referring to Christians alone?
Well, stay with us, listen, and learn. You're listening to Until He Comes, a blend of prophetic and practical biblical studies with Dr. Greg Hinnant, author of The Second Coming of Christ, His Appearing, His Return, Our Preparation. And now, author and teacher Greg Hinnant. Welcome to the broadcast.
I'm excited to continue our study. Of the parable of the ten virgins or bridesmaids in Matthew 25, verses 1.
Now in our previous lesson, We establish the fact that these bridesmaids represent Christians, not Jews. And we gave other evidence from the New Testament of this wedding marriage motif used by both Paul, John and Jesus.
Now, we want to continue our study by asking this question today: if the bridesmaids are Christians, Why are ten used instead of one bride? In other words, if Jesus wanted to tell us a story about his relationship to his church, why didn't he just tell us a story about a bridegroom and a bride? That would have been simpler. Instead, he chose to tell us about the bridesmaids. Why?
Well, first of all, the bridesmaids were those closest to, most like, The bride herself. Typically they would have been young girls who were virgins, yet to be married. But the real reason is Is Jesus new then as he does today as I speak to you through this broadcast and this podcast? That the church is not spiritually homogeneous. That is, we're not all of the same spiritual condition.
Now, Among those who are born again, yes, we are all of the same righteousness. It is not our righteousness. It's Christ's righteousness imputed to us.
So we're all saved by the same identical grace of God and given the righteousness of Christ. Yes, I agree heartily. We're all saved alike. No exceptions. But, on the other hand, after our rebirth, After we receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and seek the Lord and become a God seeker, we will find.
that not all Christians, sadly, tragically, Are of the same spiritual mindset.
Some are serious, some are not.
Some go on to become disciples, others just simply Well, exist. They attend church. metabol Religiously? But they're not interested in change. They want to live their life.
They've got salvation now, so that's good, and they'll just wait for the kingdom. They don't understand really what's going on because The purpose of being saved is that we begin a constant process of growth, an unending process of growth. It won't end until we're in His presence. The Holy Spirit. leads this process.
The ministry aids the Holy Spirit in teaching us the Word and guiding and counseling us. And this period arranges circumstances in our lives to be tested. And when we respond in submissive trust and obedience, we grow spiritually, we develop into the image. of the Son of God, bit by bit, day by day, test by test, teaching by teaching. But many Christians aren't interested in that.
So if you go into any church of the land, I promise you. If you ask the pastor, Pastor, are all your people zealous for the Lord? He's going to tell you quickly. No. It's a sad fact, but that's what he's going to tell you.
If he's honest. And he'll say, this couple over here, that couple, this family, this individual, that young man, that young lady. This older woman, they're all sold out for Jesus. They're saved by the grace of God and they made themselves serious disciples. But over here we have this couple and that family and that individual, this young man, that older lady, they just come occasionally, or maybe they even come every time, but they're not interested in growth.
They never come to Bible study. They don't attend prayer meetings. They never fast. They're not enthusiastic about their worship and their worship only here in church, not at home. I tried to counsel them, but they are not interested in growing.
That's what the pastor is going to tell you.
So, therefore, what I'm saying to you, my friend, is every church in the world. has a wise remnant In the midst of of sadly foolish Christians. Oh. This is tragic. But that is the condition of the church today.
So Jesus. In his foreseeing wisdom. in his prescience He knew that at the time of his return, the church would not be spiritually homogeneous. All would be saved by the same grace, yes. And enjoy the same salvation, yes.
But Not all. would be disciples. Not all would be serious. Not all would be wise.
Now let's ask the next question. Did Jesus use this wise, foolish motif? which he mentioned four times in this parable of the ten bridemaids. Did he use this motif in other New Testament texts? And why are we asking this?
To establish that, yes, Jesus used this to represent Christians in other texts as well, not just in this parable. alone.
So our first example will be Matthew 7. Versus 24. They're 27. Let's read them. Therefore, whosoever heareth these things of mine now note this is at the end of the Sermon on the Mount.
Jesus has just issued the most amazing Portion of truth ever spoken and ever heard People there were deeply impressed by what he had said. but he attaches this addendum this extra passage to the body of his sermon. And he's going to talk about how we react to his teaching, how we respond to truth. My friend, you're in church every Sunday and you're not listening to Jesus in the flesh, but you're listening to Jesus through your pastor or the teachers that are ministering there, the elders. as they deliver the word of God to you.
Because the whole Bible is, in a sense, the Word of Christ. There is only one God, three persons and one God, and all scripture is given by inspiration. of the Holy Spirit. Paul taught in Second Timothy three So, therefore, when you're hearing the Word of God being preached or taught and expounded to you, you are hearing from Jesus again. As he spoke, on the shores of the Galilee.
to the multitudes. In this occasion described in Matthew 7, 24, Through 29. Let's read this again. Therefore, Whosoever hears these things of mine, And do with them. That is, seriously, puts them into practice.
Realize this that this truth is not just an interesting sermon, it is life instruction. He goes on to say, I will liken him unto a wise man. And I'm going to say a wise Christian because non-Christians are not listening to the sayings of Jesus. He says, I will liken him unto a wise man who built his house upon a rock. Friend, are you building your house on the rock of doing the Word of God?
Again, let me let me clarify this. The rock is not merely hearing the word, it's doing the word.
So, are you doing the word? Are you building? Your eternal character in Christ. Today If not, why? Who or what is hindering you?
Face it, deal with it. Confess and forsake any sin and get back to the path of obedience and building your house. on the side rock. of obedience to Christ's teaching. He goes on to say, And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew Sounds like a hurricane to me.
I'm from North Carolina. We have hurricanes blow through here. Almost every year, And he says, and it beat upon that house. That is, great pressure was applied to the character of this Christian who heard the word and did it. Let's see what happens.
and it fell not. For it was founded upon a rock.
So Jesus is saying: if you listen to my teachings and seriously put them into practice every day as you have opportunity, you're building your house on a rock. And when The storms of life bear down and beat down on your house of character. You will stand. You may shake. But you'll stand.
Be afraid at times, but you'll remember then what time I am afraid I will trust in thee, and you will stand. You know, you may be under a beating right now. Satan may be unloading his wrath upon you because you're a God seeker. You're getting up every morning and spending time with Christ and the Word, worshiping Him, praising Him. You're becoming a man and woman of prayer.
You're praying about every need, and you're praying to the Lord when you don't have needs because you want a fellowship with Him, you're talking to Him through the day. Oh, you're building your house on the rock.
So the devil's going to try to. storm you until you're moved. But as David said in Psalm 62, you have said to the Lord, I shall not be moved. I shall not be greatly moved. And indeed, You are persisting.
Keep your foot on Yeah. path. Jesus goes on to say, And everyone that hears these things of mine and doeth them not, ah, we have the opposite condition. of those in this same house. These persons also are listening to the saints of Christ.
They're in church. But they're not doing them. They don't realize this is life instruction and that it is imperative that they respond. To the instruction and change their lives every day. Change the way they think, change their attitudes, change their life habits, change.
their mission in life, how they see it. Change their performance in life from slothfulness to diligence. Change their response to test where they learn to accept them and endure them in trust and obedience rather than reject them and fight their way through and say everything is the devil.
So this second crowd though They're not doing the Word of God, and he says, shall be likened unto a foolish man. There's your term, foolish, foolish. Which built his house upon the sand he certainly wasn't foreseeing. If you built your house on the sand in North Carolina on our beaches, you are a foolish man. And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house.
Now, notice. The same pressure was applied to the house of the foolish man. as was applied to the house of the wise man. Not a different pleas uh pressure. No, no.
The same pressure.
Now let's see what happens to this house. Jesus said, And it fell. It is collapsed. Fell in on itself. and great was the fall of it.
Why?
Because other people are watching us. And my friend, when you and I fail as a Christian, others see it. and they come dissolution with the Christ. we have professed. And why has this happened?
It's because we've been foolish Christians and not wise. We've not taken Jesus seriously. We have not taken preparation for his coming, seriously. We've not understood that when we stand before Christ, we will be judged for our works after salvation, our works in Christ. If we believed that, we would be so busy.
about seeking God. Christ would fill our minds every day. His word would be in our words and on our lips. and then our imagination. This month, for a gift of any amount, receive Dr.
Hinnant's book, Gold Tried in the Fire. It is filled with spiritually rich biblical teachings, tested truths for trying times that will help you buy the gold tried in the fire Jesus challenged us to obtain in Revelation 3.18. This book will change your life. For a gift of $60 or more, we'll send you the complete four-volume Hinnant End Times Prophecy Collection, The Second Coming of Christ, The Tribulation Story, Revelation Notes, a verse-by-verse commentary on Revelation, and the Day of the Lord commentary, which interprets all Old Testament prophecies and foreshadowings of the end times. And if you are a Logos Bible software user, you may purchase all four of these books from the Logos.
Online bookstore. You may give your gift today by visiting the donation page at greghinnantministries.org or sending your checks to Greg Hinnant Ministries, P.O. Box 788 High Point, North Carolina, 27260. Or by calling 336-882-1645.
Now, again, Dr. Hinnant. And we would feed on the word of God like a starving man finding his. First meal. After a long period.
of near starvation. And so when Jesus ended these things, Verse 28 says, And it came to pass when Jesus had ended these things, the people were astonished at his doctrine. For he taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes. The scribes would quote, This and that rabbi to support their position, Hillel or Shami. And others But not Jesus.
He spoke With authority because he was the ultimate and is the ultimate authority. Friend, is he the ultimate authority in your life? Is he the one who has the last word on what you do or do not do? Or or is his word just An interesting religious hobby to you.
Now's the time to repent, if that's the case. and get very serious about Practicing the word of God, you're listening to in every sermon, on every radio broadcast, like this one. You're hearing the Word of God. Oh, through lips of clay, yes, but It is the very word of the very God.
So Jesus in Matthew 7, 24 through 29 is clearly teaching the same wise and foolish motif. And he said, I will repeat, he said both groups heard the word of God. And I say to you, the disbelieving Jews are not hearing the word of God. That is, they're not hearing it in the faith in Yeshua. Oh, yes, they study the Old Testament very diligently.
But they're not studying Jesus' things. Only Christians are doing that.
Now Let's go further. Let's see if there are other texts in which Jesus used this same wise and foolish. motif to warn Christians about the way we live. Matthew twenty four, Verses 45 to 51. This is in The Spiritual Readiness Warning section of the Olivet Discourse.
Jesus began to issue these warnings in chapter twenty-four Verse thirty-two, beginning to talk about the fig tree. And it's spurt of growth. And he continues these warnings all the way through Matthew 25, verse 13. And we could really say through verse 30, because that includes the parable of the talents.
So in this section where Jesus is attaching spiritual readiness warnings to his prophecy of his return, We find this in Matthew 24, 25. Who then is a faithful and wise? servant.
Now here Jesus is linking wisdom to faithfulness He said, Who is a faithful and wise servant? whom his Lord has made ruler over his household to give them meat in due season. That is, this servant was charged by the steward of the estate or the owner of the estate, one or the other, to feed the employees daily. This was a responsible position. He had to obtain the food, prepare the food, and then deliver it.
So who is this faithful and wise servant who is in charge of, shall we say, estate food services? Blessed is that servant Jesus. bestows his approval. Whom his Lord, when he comes, shall find so doing, that is, faithfully discharging his responsibility. And again.
He calls him Not only faithful. But wise. Friend, it is wise to be faithful. Are you faithful today? in your duties, in your relationships as a father or a mother.
or husband or wife, or perhaps as a child, Or Are you faithful? in your job. in your ministry. In whatever work God has put into your hand to do and gifted you to do, are you faithful in that work? That is dutiful.
Steady. Trustworthy, and loyal. If not, today is the day to become faithful and wise. And Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, or truly I am telling you now, that he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
So for the faithful and wise steward, There is a promotion coming. And I would say to you: if you're walking in the wisdom and faithfulness of Christ, there is a promotion coming. To what position? I don't know. but God will say to you, As Jesus said, parabolically in Luke chapter 14.
Friend, Come up. higher. You've been faithful at a lower level of duty.
Now I'm going to promote you to a new task, a new job, a new position, a new and larger responsibility. Either in the natural world or in the kingdom work of the church, and both are important. Yeah. It is the tithes and offerings Of the congregants of the body of Christ who have natural jobs using natural gifts. that provides the income that is necessary in this world.
for the church to do its work, missionaries to do their work, ministers of every kind and stripe to do. their work.
So, Jesus says there's a promotion coming.
Now, he's going to talk about the obverse side of this equation, but and if. but introduces a contrast. But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My Lord delays his coming, all right? In this contrast, he calls one servant faithful and wise. That's our key word that we're looking at.
The other evil. Shall we say? Shall we assume, shall we infer? That the evil servant is both unfaithful and unwise, or Foolish. Foolish.
Yes. If you're unfaithful, you're evil. If you're. foolish as a Christian. You're living evilly.
You're not living. as you should. You're not living righteously. Many people receive the righteousness of Christ, but they don't subsequently consistently live righteously. Oh, this is the tragedy today.
They're called Christians who are carnal, or Paul calls them yet carnal. In 1 Corinthians, he's very clear. That many of the Corinthians to whom he wrote, and they were both born again and spirit baptized, because he talks about the gifts of the Spirit operating among them. Yet many of them were in his terms yet or still Carnal. What is a carnal Christian?
A carnal Christian is one who simply has never gone on to live consistently the spiritual life. The life of closeness to Christ, trust and obedience to Him. and faithfulness. in their duties. A wise life of taking their fellowship.
with Christ seriously. Realizing they've been giving an awesome Relationship with the Son of God, and they want to do something with that, they want to take that talent. And develop it for Christ and kingdom, not because they're trying to earn their salvation, but because they love Jesus. And they love him because they realize he loved them first. Does that describe you, my friend?
If so, you are faithful and wise. If not, Let me warn you, Carnal Christianity is evil Christianity. Don't remain as you are. Respond to this message today. Begin to repent of all sin in your life.
until it's gone. Confess it to the Lord. He said in 1 John 1.9, he said to the apostle, If we confess our sin, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness.
So, continuing, Jesus is describing the obverse side of the equation here. But, and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My Lord delays his coming.
So, here we see the root cause. of unfaithfulness. the thought that Jesus is delaying is coming. And shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and to eat and drink with the drunken, when we succumb. To doubt in the coming of the Lord.
It will not be long before we begin to smite our fellow servants. That is, Live indifferently to other Christians and other people and stop caring whether we offend them or not. Speak to them and deal with them roughly in any way we feel like it. And then eat and drink with the drunkards. Oh, this this implies Going among the unbelievers.
Eating with them, drinking with them at the bar, carousing with them. in illicit sexual activity and God knows our generation is filled with that. Eating and drinking with the drunken. Yes, immorality is clearly implied because when one is drunk, That's when. Immorality takes hold.
And people give themselves to the lust of the flesh.
So we see here that Doubt in the coming of the Lord leads to irreverent living. Not living in the fear of God. Not caring how we live, not caring how we treat people, not caring whether we indulge. or discipline ourselves. Jesus goes on to issue this warning: the Lord of that servant, that is that evil servant, who is not faithful and not wise.
not God fearing, shall come at a day when He looks not for Him. and in an hour in which he's not aware, and shall cut him asunder, And appoint his portion with the hypocrites, or that is, he will be severely punished. And Given a portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Friends, Because this is in the context of Jesus' return.
And it happens, it is said immediately before the parable of the ten bridesmaids. I say this warning. is to carnal Christians that if you continue in carnality, You will be given a portion with the hypocrites. That will be equal to a severe beating. which he describes.
Cut him asunder. What is that portion with the hypocrites? You will be left behind when Jesus appears, and you will suffer. the tribulation period, at least for three and a half years. By the grace of God, that will still be a chance for you to surrender your life to Him, live as you should have lived before the rapture.
And grow in righteousness and be conformed to the image of Christ. But now, my friend, is the time to do that. Don't wait. Don't be. Unfaithful and foolish.
Be wise. and faithfully.
Now, in our next episode, we will continue this discussion. And we will see other locations in which Jesus has used this wise and foolish motif. And also add to that, as we've just discussed, what these warnings mean, all the implications, and what wise and foolish mean in their totality. in this context. If this message has blessed you, tell your friends and please consider helping us stay on the air by sending your tax-deductible donation to Greg Hennett Ministries.
Also, remember, you may download the Until He Comes podcast from your preferred podcast app. May you walk closely with Christ and trust and obey Him in your daily tests of faith and patience until He Comes. This is the Truth Network. Yeah.
