May 21 2025

Wednesday May 21

Luke 19:11-27 – Will You Be Ashamed At His Coming?

20 Then another came, saying, 'Master, here is your mina, which I have kept put away in a handkerchief. 21 For I feared you, because you are an austere man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.' 22 And he said to him, 'Out of your own mouth I will judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an austere man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. 23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?' 24 And he said to those who stood by, 'Take the mina from him, and give it to him who has ten minas.' 25 (But they said to him, 'Master, he has ten minas.') 26 For I say to you, that to everyone who has will be given; and from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 27 But bring here those enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, and slay them before me.' "

1 John 2:28 "And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming."

In Luke chapter 19, we have learned that Jesus loves sinners. He has come to seek and save that which was lost. He comes as a Savior to save sinners. Secondly in verses 11-17, we see that as a Master, Jesus is going to come one day and make us give an account of what we have done with what he has given to us. What has he given us? He has given us Himself, the Gospel, the Holy Spirit, and the Word of God so that we can share the good news with the world around us.

He tells the parable of the nobleman and the 10 servants to whom he gives a mina each. The first one comes back and says, "Here is the mina with 10 more minas; I gained 10 more." The master says, "Oh, you're a faithful servant. I'm going to make you a ruler over 10 cities." The second one comes back and says, "I made five more." The master says, "Oh, you've been a faithful servant. I'll give you rulership over five cities." But then the one servant who kept the one mina says, "Oh, I knew you were a stern master, so I hid it in the ground, and here it is; I give it back to you." The master says, "I'm judging you out of your own mouth. You should have at least put it in the bank, and then when I came, I could have had it with some interest." This servant did not get rewarded; in fact, what he had was taken from him and given to the man who had 10 minas.

I believe what the Lord is clearly teaching us here is that one day He is coming again. He is a Master who will come and reward his faithful servants one day. In Romans 14 Paul teaches that we will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. “… For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written: "As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God." So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.” (Romans 14:10-12) Don't waste your time judging one another, trying to figure out who's right and who's wrong. Serve the Lord; he is Lord of all. Whether we live or die, we live unto the Lord, and one day we will stand before his judgment seat, and each one of us will give an account of himself to the Lord.

1 Corinthians 3:5-15 teach basically the same thing, telling us we will give an account for each work we've done. There are works that abide and those that don't in the fire of judgment at the judgment seat of Christ. I believe this judgment takes place at the end of the tribulation period, just before the millennial reign of Christ. There the rewards will be passed out to those who've been faithful to serve the Lord and reign with Him. If we suffer with Him, we will reign with Him in His millennial 1,000-year reign, as He sits upon the throne of David in Jerusalem and rules over the earth. We come back with Him to rule and reign, and the reward will be determined by our performance now. (2 Timothy 2:12; Revelation 19:11-16).

But not just by what we do, though, because the scripture teaches every work will be judged, whether it's good or bad, whether it's gold, silver, or precious stones, or whether it's wood, hay, and stubble. In other words, what we do or don't do for Christ and through Christ alone. Remember in John 15 Jesus said, "Without me, you can do nothing." Our motives for our service will be judged at that time, and we'll be rewarded accordingly. We all have been given the one mina, the Word of God, and we can determine, by the grace of God through the power of the Holy Spirit abiding in us, to serve faithfully. I love what 1 John 2:28 says: "Abide in me, little children." It says, "If you abide in Him, you will be confident and not be ashamed at His coming." We're to “study to show ourselves approved unto God, workmen that need not be ashamed” (2 Timothy 3:15).

Many of us will stand at the judgment seat of Christ and be ashamed! I believe many Christians think that if they're saved, they will go to heaven, and everyone will be happy all the time. But my friend, there will be a time of accounting when we stand at the judgment seat of Christ, and every work will be judged. Read 2 Corinthians 5:7-11. It says we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and there it also says, “…knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men”. Paul knew and talked about that judgment seat.

So, we need to understand what Jesus is teaching here in Luke 19. He says, "Listen, you need to make sure you serve me faithfully now, and serve me with the right motive, and your reward will be great in heaven."

And my friend, in the Millennial reign of Christ on earth, you will also rule and reign with him. Please take time  to look the above verses up.

God bless!