Holy Bible Chapter Luke 16:1-13

In this parable there are four characters, namely the Rich man, Steward, Debtors and the Mammon. These characters can be related to God as Rich man, Minister of God as Steward, Unbelievers as Debtors and Satan as Unrighteous Mammon.

And there are some other people in that house of the rich man who have complained that the steward was wasting the goods of his master’s house.

Now this Steward was wasting the goods of the rich man. And wasting of goods by him is not about the inability of the man but that he was being unfaithful in performing his duties. And this was brought to the notice of his master. The master asked to give an explanation about this to the steward but, since the accusation was a true one, he did not try to give an account of his wrong doing, thereby accepting the accusation to be as true. He very much knew that he cannot win favor back or fool his master with his tricks any more. 

This made him to explore other possibilities to survive when after he is thrown out of the stewardship. As a part of exploration he sees himself begging and he obviously did not want to do that. Then he sees himself hiding his face deep inside the mud out of shame for he did not find anyone to support him and rather ridiculed for his actions, and this he did not want to happen at any cost. Then he hatches a plan to woo the debtors, because they are not the friends of the rich man. And at the same time can do favor to him if he helps them. 

When he approached the debtors, they welcomed him and acted according to his plans to change the original bills of debts with the false values. These debtors who were till then only poor, but were not the lawbreakers became part takers of sin with the steward, and both the steward and the debtors combined together to cheat the rich man. They are selfish. Steward and debtors alike are unfaithful to the rich man. Nobody wants their unfaithful deeds to come to light, so they conceal it and maintain friendship to keep it concealed. 

This is how the world is living. Rich and poor alike are combining together to make an unlawful deeds contrary to the truth by having an agreement among them and to support each other in order to survive in this world as they are. 

Coming back to the parable. The master is observing the steward do all these and he commended steward for his far-seeing and act of intelligence. Though the master applauds the steward, he does not retain him in the stewardship.

Why is it like that?

Let us try to understand this by reading Luke 16:10-12 

Jesus says,

“He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust in what is least is unjust also in much. Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?”

In this parable the steward is placed in a highly respected position. He has the authority over all of the matters concerning the rich man's house. He lacks nothing. Everything is provided by the house for his comfortable living. Inspite of all the good life that he is enjoying in the rich man's house, he is not doing his duties with the same sincerity. He is relaxing himself too much to let the goods be wasted. 

Now when the master asked the steward to show his work, he kept quiet and did something that showed the kind of a person he was. The steward took the help of the finances to make friends for himself outside the house. Money was of least value to the rich man, but he had even bigger things which were of more valuable and important. Therefore the master was convinced beyond doubt that the steward was in fact being unfaithful to him. After finding what the steward did, the master though he applauds him for his shrewdness did not retain him due to his unfaithfulness. 

The steward is very intelligent and also well-educated to attain such a position and is worthy of having such an office, but due to his unfaithfulness he was thrown out that position. 

That is the reason Jesus compares the faithfulness to the saltiness of a person. If there is no saltiness in the grains of the salt, what benefit is that going to give the food? Same is a person who is not having faithfulness in him. He is not going to benefit anyone and especially to the Kingdom of God.

We know that money has a greater power in providing comforts to people in this world. But it is the least valued in the kingdom of God. And it is also a litmus paper to test the faithfulness of the servants of God. 

Jesus through this parable is telling that if one is not faithful in the matters of money, then it is sure that the person will fail in other matters as well. Even Iscariot Judah for the sake of 30 shekels of money handed over Jesus to the Roman soldiers and he failed to continue in Jesus Christ's ministry of Good News. 

If we really want to know how much our faith is, we need to introspect ourselves; we need to look at our finance management. Our dealings should be always fair and just when it comes to MONEY. 

Suppose a shopkeeper might return more than required balance to a buyer and the shopkeeper is unaware of it. What will a faithful buyer do? He will definitely return the extra amount to the shopkeeper. Whereas an unfaithful man will silently move away as though he did not notice it. There can be many more examples given to illustrate different kinds of unfaithful acts regarding money. Children cheating parents, rich exploiting the poor, bribery, robbery, unwanted expenditure on lavish life styles, etc. can be regarded as unfaithful acts in handling money that is given by God for our needs and to share our things with the needy. 

Everybody is being tested. Even the poor are tested by God in matters of money. No poor man is supposed to take that extra balance given by the shopkeeper mistakenly. And the shopkeeper is always welcome to give that extra money willingly to help the poor. There is so much of happiness in doing good than doing what is bad. 

And if a penny is found in our pockets that is not ours, let us give away four folds to the one we cheated so that we may receive salvation.

Luke 19:8-9 Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, ‘Look, Lord, I give half of my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.” And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham;

Therefore if we recognize our sins and repent and do the act of faith in Lord Jesus Christ, we will be saved and become a son of Abraham in accordance to faith to be able to claim the promises of God given to Abraham.

Let us keep our hands open towards Heaven so that we might receive more. And when we receive, let us use it for our needs and for the poor and after that save it wisely for the benefit of all, so that we might have open hands to receive again from God. 

Prayer:

Blessed be the Name of the Almighty God and Lord Jesus Christ.

Dear God Almighty and our Lord Jesus Christ Please give us the discerning minds so that we do not remain unfaithful and that we might repent and receive Salvation today.

In Jesus Holy name we pray.

Amen.

How can we be sure of God’s Salvation and what is the proof of it that we have received it?

Romans 10:9-10 If declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

To all those who believe in Christ as their savior, they have the Salvation through Christ. This is a great provision that God Almighty has provided to all those who believe in His Son Jesus Christ because none of our works are counted other than believing in heart and confessing with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and that God has raised Jesus Christ from the dead that are taken into account when we are being justified and are saved.

But after being justified and saved we need to see the changes in our life. The life within us will change as a consequence of our salvation. This is our great God who will help us to change from within us. First of all we will come out of that debased minds (Romans 1:18-32) that we were having before we had the salvation. 

When we are out of this debased mind, our eyes will be opened and we will be able to see those things within us that are good and bad. We can understand that how our own actions are hurting us more than anyone else.

Luke 11:35-36 Be careful, then that the light within you is not darkness. So if your body is full of light, and no part of it in darkness, you will be radiant, as though a lamp were shining on you.

Once we start looking within our self with the light that God had shone on us, we will be able to remove all that is not correct and make room for other good things to be placed in their places. We will be able to replace Hatred with Love, Fear with Courage and Boldness, Selfishness with Generosity, Wickedness with Morality, Proudness with Humility, Prayerlessness with Prayerfulness, Disobedience to Parents with Obedience to Parents, etc. These all changes within us will bring great Peace of Mind that will elevate our being. We will feel more loved and cared for our own self and know the Love of God, and how much He loves us. This is the beginning of our good works through faith in Christ that we start doing good to ourselves first and then do good to our neighbors. After we know how much God loves us, we will be filled with awe and cry and weep and repent and seek His forgiveness. When we are forgiven, His Peace rests on us.

Jesus said “Love your neighbor as yourself” meaning we must be able to love ourselves first and then love others that much. When we will love ourselves more, we will be able to love others more as well. When we truly love ourselves, we will clean ourselves inside out. 

Jesus Christ says to Pharisees in Luke 11:39 “Now you Pharisees make the outside of cup and dish clean, but your inward part is full of greed and wickedness.

It is very much important for each one of us as Children of God to know which are unclean and bad for us. Our Holy Bible is full of verses that teach us how to live a life of Righteousness. Reading and meditating on the Word of God will definitely help us identify the grey areas of our life and the Holy Spirit will help and guide us in cleaning those areas by shining the Light of God. New Testament Bible is a great help to know about Righteousness and Unrighteousness. The Spirit of God has been poured unto the great men of God and they were able to pen it down so that we might receive His grace in abundance. 

And when we are clean from within, God is willing to pour His Spirit unto us also and use us as His vessels. Now when one is filled with His Holy Spirit he is ready to do greater things and bring glory to God.

These are the works of faith, the Good Works in us that we do when filled with Holy Spirit and it always brings glory to God and our Lord Jesus Christ. It is not we but He who is in us working these Good Works. Through His wisdom and understanding we are able to do good and bring peace into the lives of the needy. Good works will always bring peace to us and our surroundings. This peace is given by God and our Lord Jesus Christ. This Peace is the proof of the Salvation we received. 

Praise be to our God and Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Jesus Christ died for all of the mankind’s sins that do not lead to death. 

1 John 5:17 All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death. 

This is grace that we have in Jesus Christ that our sins are not leading us unto death and that Jesus Christ has saved us from the outcome of our sins. 

God’s grace is that we will have the peace of mind in all situations and that we will have Eternal life. 

John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 

We must ask to our self whether we have received or not this peace that Jesus gave.

When we look at the everyday News and read about the wars between different countries, it has become a common thing and it is like most of us are least bothered about it and are living a selfish life. It is a pity that humans have become so insensitive to the world around them. No one is bothered about his or her neighbor, and is so self-occupied that he or she is always pursuing after their own dreams. Most of us are at ease in the world but they are heading to a very dangerous place. Nobody knows when a bomb will be landing on their heads. People who are watching are in constant fear about the developments in the world politics. 

Why is restlessness increasing in the world on everyday bases? Is anybody really bothered to know the root cause of all the chaos in the world? There are people, who are trying their best to bring peace in the world, but they are still not able to do that and the world is heading for a major crisis. 

What will be the end of this world? Who is going to stop the world from being destroyed completely along with human race? 

Is this the result of man's actions or something else? Are there any other forces that are controlling the world? What if this is the result of man's actions and if so, which of the actions have led to such a result? 

As I am trying to look for the answers for all these questions and more, I find that the world is heading to a life that is full of suffering. 

But there is a section of society that will be not under suffering but under the grace of God. 

Most of the Christians believe that grace is freely available and so everyone is under the grace no matter what they are doing. But this is a misconception and it is better for every Christian to know that Christ grace is free but not cheap. I mean to have His grace we must be righteous in sight of God. Our works are not going to make us righteous but our faith in God is accounted as righteousness. 

Let me just show from the Holy Bible the root causes of this growing unrest in the world. 

And how we can be not one among those not under the grace of God. 

John 16:9 Of Sin, because they do not believe in Me; 

John 8:24 Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins. 

This sin is the one which leads unto death and is committed by rejecting the truth spoken by Holy Spirit through His Word that is Holy Bible or through the word of His disciples who are filled with Holy Spirit. 

When we do not believe in Christ, we are not going to have the promises of God in our life. This is because all things were created through Him, by Him and to Him. So the promises of God have come through Him only. 

There are blessings and cursings and we can access them through righteousness and unrighteousness respectively. 

Now all unrighteousness is sin. And there is not one righteous man other than Jesus Christ who is righteous and has fulfilled the law. 

So to not be counted among the unrighteous in the sight of God, Jesus pleads on behalf of those who believes in Him. His blood covers our sins and we are washed by His blood to become righteous in the sight of God. This grace that we are able to access through faith in Christ is free and is precious one. 

From the verses John 16:9 and John 8:24 it is understood that the grace is not available to each and every one without prerequisite. To support this, we have the verse Romans 5:2. 

Romans 5:2. Through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 

Grace is freely available, but it’s not available to everyone but to those who believe in Christ. It is freely available to all those who believe in Christ and they access by faith into His grace. We need not do anything but have faith in Him to be in His grace. 

To explain this more clearly I would like to give an example of how some people have tried to climb Mount Everest and have lost their lives from lack of air they can breathe. Is not air freely available? Yes it is, but it has a place in the atmosphere set by God and people have to stay in that zone of atmosphere to breath freely. 

James 2:17 thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.) 

Therefore whoever wants grace must have faith and a faith that has works. Meaning we need to have such works to our credit in which we are able to show the love of Christ. 

Now whoever is not under this grace is under the Law and there is punishment to all those who are under the Law, whether its Moses Law, or the Law written on hearts for Jews and Gentiles respectively. 

Romans Chapters 1-5 are very clear in explaining it. 

Romans 1:18-32 

(Romans 1: 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 

19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,) 

This verse clearly states that we are able to see the wrath of God revealed by the things that God does in these peoples who are as in according to verse 18, and they are suppressing the truth. So when truth is being told to us, we need to open our minds and hearts and receive it instead of suppressing it. 

(Romans 1: 28-32 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.) 

Therefore now in this generation it is God’s wrath shown in the form and is understood when God gives them debased minds. So we must know that in this world God is taking control of all things and is punishing (with debased minds) those who reject Him. Many people reject God in their hearts and only praise Him with their lips. Those who say I am a Christian are not Christians in heart but outwardly only. Paul says circumcision is of heart and not physical circumcision that God sees. 

Therefore all Christians must understand that when Jesus said believe in me, means we must believe in Him and do as He commanded and as the Word says. 

(John 14:12 most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.) 

Jesus is saying this because when He goes to the father He sends the Holy Spirit. And a Holy Spirit filled person will always do the will of the Father. 

Jesus also says in (John 14:15 If you love Me, keep my commandments.) 

Thus we have to keep His commandments to show our love for Christ and then only we will have both the Father and Son come to us (John 14:23). 

This is grace that we have them in our live. Without Christ there is no grace in our life. 

In simple. Belief in Christ => Love in Christ => Faith in Christ => Grace in Christ. 

Romans 8:1 says those who are in Christ are not condemned. And also says walks according to Spirit and not according to flesh. 

So those who are not in Christ are under condemnation and they walk according to flesh. 

We see in many churches that the women who come to church do not cover their heads. It is the hardening of their hearts towards the Word that God has given. They are also approaching the table like that. Women are supposed to cover their heads as a submission to God. Those women who are not covering can go for a haircut similar to man as told in the 1 Corinthians 11.

In 1 Corinthians 11:13 the Bible says, is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 

So the statement is clear about not being proper and is not fitting for a godly woman to have her head uncovered in the presence of the Lord. 

We often speak and discuss about Christ being head of Man, Man being head of Woman and Head of Christ is God. But have we read (1 Corinthians 11:10 For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.) 

What is this because of the angels? As I try to understand this verse, it seems that when angels come to punish the ungodly, this symbol of authority will be a symbol which will let the angel pass over the woman who has covered her head to honor her master. 

And the verse which says,( 1 Cor 11:16 But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God.) 

And verse (Romans 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting.) 

It is very scary to find that very little of us are without this debased mind in the world. Almost everyone but few are in their right minds. So when this world is filled with debased minds that think themselves to be wise but are foolish hearted cannot be heading to a peaceful world. 

Finally if we truly want our small world that is our home to be filled with Peace from God, we need to acknowledge God in our knowledge and give Him His due place in our hearts, so that God might give us the stable minds to have a happy Family and Home. 

Prayer: 

Dear God Almighty and our Lord Jesus Christ thank You for the Word that You have given us. May your light shine on our lives and give us the understand to believe and obey You and to follow Your commandments. May Your peace be upon us. We thank You for who you are. All glory to You alone.

In Jesus name we pray. 

Amen.