Matthew 25 Devotional Bible Study

 

Are You Ready for the Party?

The return of Christ is supposed to be a celebration, a spontaneous celebration in which He surprises everyone with His sudden coming. Those who are ready for Him will be giddy with joy. But those who are not ready will find themselves missing the party.

 

We have to be ready. We need to be living to please the Lord every day because we don't know when we'll run out of time before either we die or He returns.

 

We can't rely on someone else' faith to save us, just like the five unfortunate virgins couldn't rely on using someone else's oil. We need to make our faith our own and live every day living our lives in accordance with what we say we believe.

 

It's not enough just to say that we believe in Christ, just like it wasn't enough for the virgins to have a lamp. We need to be living our faith and keeping our lives full of service to Christ, not letting our faith become empty like a useless oil lamp.

 

 

To Serve the King, You Have to Know Him

1. The king in the Parable of the Talents gave each servant a different amount according to their ability.

 

God gives each of us opportunities according to our abilities. He knows us, and He knows what each of us can handle. He doesn't task us with more than what we can actually perform, but He does challenge us to grow and reach for our ultimate potential in the tasks He sets before us.

 

2. Two servants were successful, one didn't even try.

 

I think the two servants are rewarded not because they were successful in doubling their investments, but because they performed to the best of their ability. The king gave the third servant a task, but he refused to attempt it. What task, what calling, has God given you? Are you pursuing it with all you've got, or are you trying to ignore it and put it off?

 

3. The third servant didn't know the king.

 

When the king returns, the third servant accuses him of being hard and greedy and says he was afraid of him. The king takes offense at this, saying sarcastically, "So you knew I was like that, huh?" If the third servant had really known the king's character, he would have known that the king was a generous man, as shown with the first two servants, and wouldn't have been afraid to attempt the performance of his task.

 

Do you know God? Have you taken time to really get to know His character? If so, then have the courage to do what He has called you to.

 

 

Don’t Be a Goat

Christians will be judged by how well we have put our faith into action. It's not enough just to say we believe in Christ. We must act on that belief. We must prove our faith by what we do.

 

Are you giving practical help to fellow Christians? Jesus makes it clear that this parable is about Christians helping other Christians because He says those being helped are His brothers and sisters, and that when you serve them, you are serving Him. His Spirit is living inside of each of them, and so, helping them is helping Him as well.

 

When you see a Christian in need physically, or jailed for their faith, do you act as though it isn't your problem, or do you do what you can to alleviate and comfort them? That's the difference between being a sheep and a goat.