Rather than seeing the master as a usurer (LOL!) see him as God (as intended by Jesus.)

God is reliant on us to each make our own selves available to sow on His behalf and to scatter seed on His behalf. The wicked servant doesn’t do anything because he is afraid. Fear is the enemy of faith. He does nothing. He doesn’t even do as little as put the talent in the bank to earn interest. He buries it. (see “this little light of mine” reference above)

The bottom line that the Word is always ultimately hinging on is our willingness to take action, be in action, moving in faith, seeking, asking, knocking, doing God’s Will and doing His Word. Jesus said “Follow Me!” He was always moving, going, doing, risking, believing.

Just my 2 cents.

My understanding of this subject falls horribly short of what it needs to be to ‘be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you’. The journey that led me here took a while already, but I feel as though I’m missing something. During the past couple of thousand years there probably were scores of people who actually fully comprehended this parable and its eternal implications, but for some reason their work keeps eluding me. So I implore you, if there is anyone, please point me in the right direction (some passage in scripture, some saint from the past or present, anything).

You see, no matter where I look, EVERY time the complicated parts of this parable come up for debate, the discussion grinds to a halt or becomes fuzzy, or a teacher just stops right when I think he’s getting to the good part. So, up front I want to state that with asking the more difficult questions, I really don’t want to offend anybody, It’s just the way God wired me, even if during my explorations I look into off the wall ideas or I insult your collective intelligence by making things much more difficult than they actually are, making a fool of myself in the process (forgive me, that happens to me sometimes). But when I read this parable and think only about the things the Holy Spirit omits for example, I can’t but wonder, like Bob did: “… why the parable didn’t contain a steward who lost some of the investment”. It indeed does not seem realistic when projected onto the average Christian life. That kind of thought to me is like a splinter in my mind. It just has to be resolved.

Having said that, let me deploy my problem space. One thing though: As with everybody, I bring some (possibly faulty) presuppositions to the table when exploring solutions. For instance, in the case that this parable is actually about the Kingdom of Heaven, and the ‘man travelling into a far country’ is identified as Jesus, I pre-suppose that this parable is actually about the Bema Seat Judgment (2 Cor. 5:10, 1 Cor. 3:11-15, 1 John 2:28, James 5:9).

This little post of Mike earlier is actually a great start for getting through to the more difficult aspects. Your salvation as an actual temporal event, as opposed to also being predestined in an eternal sense, (see Romans 8:29+ among others) is compared in scripture to being born again. Since you cannot be un-born as a physical person, this concept at least suggests that you can indeed not be un-born as a believer (i.e. lose your salvation). Your salvation is also described as becoming a new (direct) creation as a brother / sister of Jesus and so a future fellow heir of Christ’s inheritance (Ephesians). Since this ‘new creation’ is wholly God’s doing (lucky for us) through Jesus’ sacrifice, it would be bordering on blasphemy to suggest you can undo that new creation.

So with respect to this parable, salvation can’t be ‘lost’. And if the third servant wasn’t saved in the first place, there is also a problem: what is he doing at the Bema Seat Judgment? (And if this isn’t the Bema Seat Judgment, why are there believers receiving rewards here?) Furthermore, how does anybody attending this judgment end up in the Skotos To Exoteron, the ‘outer darkness’? All other passages that deal with the Bema Seat Judgment indicate or even explicitly state that rewards (sometimes called ‘crowns’) can be lost, but during this judgment you are never in danger of losing your salvation (1 Cor. 3:11-15 hammers this home)! One explanation is that Skotos To Exoteron is someplace different from Ge’enna and / or Limneh Pur Kaiomenen Theion, the ‘Lake of Fire Burning with Sulphur’. Somebody’s probably written a thesis on that already, so if anybody knows, don’t hold back, I’d like to explore it (good academic exercise).

Furthermore, the ‘man travelling into a far country’ seems to condone what your KJV calls ‘usury’. In my native language, the term used to translate this Greek word ‘tokO’ has some negative connotations even for many secular people and even before the banking crisis of the last couple of years. It is associated with loan sharks and the like. The concept seems to cover the same semantic entity that God forbids as a practice for the Jews during the mosaic eon (Leviticus). But that really is a semantics thing, and I’m by no means an expert.

Faced with these issues, I have to admit it becomes increasingly difficult to stick to making this parable about entering into the Kingdom of Heaven, i.e. the Bema Seat Judgment, because at that point in time, nobody is supposed to be thrown out. All ‘servants’ present at that judgment, enter! To me it feels like through this interpretation we bend the meaning of the text toward this explanation. When that happens, I know something is wrong. It might still be about the Kingdom of Heaven in some way, but it plainly contradicts what can happen to an unfaithful servant at the Bema Seat Judgment. So things don’t quite add up, it doesn’t fit 100%. I don’t like that.

So to Norris Hall I say: way to think out of the box! His idea, in terms of worldview and assumptions (something we all inevitably bring into these types of discussions) seems very Catholic in nature. It is discussed here in greater detail:

http://www.lwwdc.org/Talents.htm

To me, a protestant, it seems foreign and a little off the wall. But if there is one thing I’ve learned, is that for God to move past my presuppositions, I need to keep an open mind. This little box of protestantism sometimes puts walls in your mind, borders that you are unable to cross because of the structure of your belief system. I don’t want the Holy Spirit to be limited by that when he’s teaching me something. Saying that doesn’t make me doctrinally promiscuous, don’t get me wrong. But the Bible tells us there is only one Teacher, and I want to be his student.

The meaning of this parable in terms of our ultimate destiny transcends the possible socio-political implications, since they are but ‘earthly’, and therefore trivial compared to what is eternal. But if there are no eternal implications, I’m chasing a ghost. So what if this parable is not about the Bema Seat Judgment and what if it is also not a socio-political treatise or essay? I’m drawing a blank here. The most insightful interpretation I’ve come across emphasizes that the outer darkness is the proverbial gutter where society’s outcasts end up. And according to the parable that comes right after this one (sheep & goat), that is also where the church should be operating, in the domain of the wretched, the poor, the sick and the destitute. Check out this rather refreshing article:

http://paulswritings.wordpress.com/2007/08/10/howard-wrong-on-parable-of-the-talents/

Anyway, if anybody has anything to say about this, I still feel that the punch line eludes me. Let me know if you got something!

Much philadelphia to all of you!
- Sander

First, I hope Kevin reads this again sometime. I don’t believe you lost your salvation because you made your mistakes. You sinned and Jesus paid the price for all sins past, present and future. You also are repentant, realizing that isn’t the way to live. Don’t be afraid. Jesus loves you so much. He overcame the world. Now, just focus on Him.

I think the parable is more about the Kingdom than about money or talents and personal giftedness. If you read the whole chapter, it is about the Kingdom. The chapter first describes the bridesmaids, both foolish and wise. Then it goes on to talk about the talents.

If the talents are the Kingdom, and some go out in faith and sew it. Some have listened to the Word by hiding it away and not doing anything with it, Maybe they are not saved. They could never get beyond thinking that God is a harsh and punishing God.

There is always wisdom in managing money well, and yes, have some faith and take some chances as opposed to burying the talents! Without faith it is impossible to please God.

And Norris Hall, I hope you find Jesus’ wisdom someday. I have never considered that this was meant for us to consider that the servant is the righteous one!

In Christ

Edward Hankins
Christian Financial Brotherhood
(503) 828-1387