AM March 27th Luke 16

March 27^th         Luke 16             How to get a welcome in the Kingdom

1: And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. 2: And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. 3: Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. 4: I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. 5: So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? 6: And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. 7: Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. 8: And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. 9: And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. 10: 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. 11: If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? 12: And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own? 13: 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. 14: And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided him. 15: 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.

Christ gives the parable of the steward who realising that his time was coming to an end used his position to make friends when he was on the way down so that when he reached the bottom he would still have people who would help him. Christ commends him. Not for his unjust treatment but for his wisdom. Christ said that, ‘the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. Christ then explains that it is possible to use money in such a way that when the money runs out you will have friends who will receive you into their homes forever. Then Christ goes on to say that god will reward the righteous man with greater responsibility. Then Christ says that no one can have two masters at the same time. His obligation cannot be to two masters. Only one of them will have his true loyalty. When the Pharisees heard this they thought that what he say of really stupid. However Christ said that you justify yourselves before men but it is God that you are really answerable to and that what is considered to be great by men is an abomination before God.