Luke 16:10-18

(Luke 16:10-18)

 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. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? 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.  And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him.  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. The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.  And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.  Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrieth another, committeth adultery: and whosoever marrieth her that is put away from her husband committeth adultery.

 

In Luke 16:8-9, an unrighteous steward is introduced, and someone accused the rich that the unrighteous steward used the wealth of the rich to accumulate his own property unjustly and take the property of others. He unjustly accumulates wealth by receiving excessive interest on the wealth of the rich man lent to others and taking part of it. When the owner learned of this, he asked to settle the transaction in order to end the transaction with the unrighteous steward. When the unrighteous steward was fired, he expected nothing to do afterward, so he came up with the trick, but in order to be seen later by those who owe it to the owner, the owner's debt is forgiven. But when he sees this situation, the rich man praises him.

 

By the way, the rich wants the debts of those who owe him to go away. God is praising the unrighteous steward. Jesus came to this world to redeem sinners. He came to relieve the debts of repentant sinners. What the unrighteous steward did is in line with what Jesus did. But what does God's word “make friends with unrighteous wealth” mean, and what does it mean “when unrighteous wealth is gone, they will receive you as an eternal dwelling place”? 『Unrighteous wealth』 means sin.

However, he said, "Make friends with unrighteous wealth." Because he leads me to an eternal dwelling place (heaven). Just as Jesus, the friend of unrighteous wealth, died in the form of a sinner on the cross, so also unrighteous wealth (iniquity) died. Evil is greed, and sin is the result of greed. To be loyal to unrighteous wealth is to die on the cross with Jesus. ``Forgiving the master's debts'' is the same concept as forgiving sins. Taking up one's cross is linked to forgiveness.

In 1 John 2:9-11, "He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. The same is said in 1 John 3:14-17 and 1 John 4:20-21.『 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?  And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. 』

Here, the word that a believer serves God and wealth is a person who loves himself more while saying that he serves God. So, Jesus told me to deny himself. The Pharisees who think that keeping the law can be justified are those who fall into their own righteousness. So, if a believer does not give up his righteousness, he cannot enter heaven. The Pharisees sought to show their righteousness and wanted to be praised before the people. However, Jesus is saying, "What is exalted among men is hated before God." Even Jesus says that he believes in God, expressing that those who advocate their righteousness are committing spiritual adultery. It was said that the law and the prophets were until the days of John. So, it is a word to abandon your heart to achieve righteousness with the law and meet Christ. When you find Christ hidden in the law, you soon realize that you are a sinner.

 

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