This episode spells out the appropriate reaction of Christians who realize the enormity of mercy extended to them in the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. All Christians are acquitted from a gigantic debt that they could not pay. "The wages of sin is death," and Christ paid those wages. As we progressively understand the severity of the debt and the eternal death in hell that we all justly deserve, we gain proper perspective on how to live our remaining days. Paul says in Romans 6:13 that "we are alive from the dead." Gratitude over being the recipients of God's indescribable gift motivates us to re-present our members as instruments of righteousness in honor of the God who graciously pardoned us and gave us life. So we gladly unite ourselves with Christ in the likeness of His death, putting to death the deeds of the flesh (Rom. 8:13), so that we may also walk in the newness of His life, His resurrected life. We live for the will and pleasure of God as grateful servants in the army of the Lord.
Alive from the Dead
This episode describes sanctification as BOTH dying to sin and being alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:11) Self-mortification without living for God is depressing and self-centered. The whole reason behind putting to death the deeds of the flesh is making ourselves more available as servants of God. This episode provides my testimony how God dramatically showed me in a dream that I was wasting my life, since I wasn't really living FOR God. When we unite ourselves to Christ in the likeness of His death (self-mortification), the ultimate intention should be availability for the will of God. "Being alive to God in Christ Jesus" is tantamount to living for the will of God. "Living for" requires resurrection power, which God amply supplies, enabling us to walk in the newness of life.
Short-term Pain can’t Compare
This episode further explains the process of self-mortification in which believers know and consider themselves "dead to sin," based on the historical fact that the "old was self was crucified with Christ." (Rom. 6:6) The natural application of the death of Christ to Christian life is rejection and even mortification of the flesh's desire to manifest itself. While the old self was in fact crucified with Christ, this sin nature is still with us, and can even rule us, if we don't consider ourselves dead to sin. For this reason, Christians are called to "bear their cross," and consider themselves "dead to sin," even as the flesh is screaming to express itself, resulting in short-term pain. Consider Christ's command to those struggling with sexual temptation..."gouge out your eye and throw it far from you." (Mt. 18:9) This mortification of the flesh is not however an end in itself, but a necessary condition if we would walk in the newness of life. The whole goal of Christian sanctification is not the destruction of desire, but its reorientation and subjection to the will of God. We consequently present our members as instruments of righteousness. (Romans 8:13)
Just Make it Simple
This episode focuses on the singular objective that should consume every believer: doing the will of God. This is what should occur in salvation according to 1 Peter 4:1-2, in which Christians identify with what Christ has done for them at Calvary, and then proceed to "arm" themselves with the same purpose, which is "to live for the will of God." Application of this simple but profound description of the Christian life would inoculate believers from unnecessary heartaches and wasted time, as we constantly look to Christ as the model. We arm ourselves with the purpose of Christ when we align our will with the Father's, echoing "I have come to do Your will" (Christ's words in Heb. 10:9) Very critically, believers are called not to live for the lusts of MEN, suggesting that believers don't just practice self-denial with respect to their own lusts, but they also refuse to cooperate with other people's self-centered desires.
Serving God and “sin issues”
This episode places sin issues in their proper perspective in light of the ultimate goal of service to God. Young believers often disqualify themselves for ministry and public service to God because they genuinely feel unworthy based on struggles with sin. While some of these considerations are valid, "victory" over sin must be subordinated to a higher purpose. Romans 13:14 provides the correct approach: "put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh in regards to its lusts." As the believer identifies with Christ and sees himself through heaven's eyes, desire to become the hands and feet of Christ limits the expression of sin and undermines the "lusts of deceit." Prioritization of the endgame of service to God helps believers progress in sanctification.
What true repentance looks like
This episode develops the application of true and false repentance based on the parable of the talents, highlighting the Biblical expectation that true believers will not be perpetual infants who see salvation singularly in terms of forgiveness of sins. "Peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" is the secure foundation of Christ's work that every believer is expected to build on with 'gold, silver, and precious stone." False repentance never advances beyond preoccupation with sin issues to serve the living God.
Fake Salvation: a look at the wicked, lazy “servant”
This episode focuses on the wicked, lazy servant in the parable of the talents, providing a stark warning that true repentance is marked by service to God bearing fruit. Salvation that doesn't bring forth fruit in keeping with repentance is tantamount to burying the talent of salvation in the ground. The attitude of the evil servant never changes with respect to God: he flatters himself about his superficial salvation experience which is all about forgiveness of sins, but service to the Master is not in view, who is apparently unreasonable for expecting him to sow without seed. This contention contradicts everything the Scripture says about God who provides bountiful gifts, His own Son chief among them. The wicked lazy servant is around the gospel and pays lip service to knowing Christ, but never knew HIm.
Self-centered “salvation”
This episode applies the parable of the talents to the ultimate goal of repentance from dead works which is service to God. The servants with 5 and 2 talents had a proper perspective of salvation, which was to bear fruit pleasing to the master. "Trading" involves wins and losses: a perfect description of the Christian life where we still sin. The servant who is God-oriented is open to at least trying to bring his master profit. The wicked, lazy servant has a distorted view of salvation: God is somehow unfair for expecting a return since He hasn't given him seed to sow with. The servant who buried his talent in the ground is completely self-centered and doesn't even consider service to God as the reason for salvation.