Who Is The "Unprofitable Servant"?

Mr. M

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Matthew 25:
29
For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance;
but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.

30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.
 

Gregory Thompson

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Matthew 25:
29
For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance;
but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.

30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Those who do not have the Holy Spirit cannot produce fruit, so even if a seed investment is planted - there is no profit.
 
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Jamdoc

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Those who do not have the Holy Spirit cannot produce fruit, so even if a seed investment is planted - there is no profit.
That's a better way of interpreting than I've heard before. I'd always very fearfully thought that, if someone's just really not very good with people so no matter how much they try to witness they don't produce fruit that they'd be rejected.
I was just thinking what if someone gets saved and then slips into a coma, and never comes out. They wouldn't produce much fruit and so would be "unprofitable", and I had fear that, under that parable, was Jesus saying He'd throw them away and burn them, because He didn't give them much to work with and they were unable to bear fruit?
 
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Gregory Thompson

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That's a better way of interpreting than I've heard before. I'd always very fearfully thought that, if someone's just really not very good with people so no matter how much they try to witness they don't produce fruit that they'd be rejected.
I was just thinking what if someone gets saved and then slips into a coma, and never comes out. They wouldn't produce much fruit and so would be "unprofitable", and I had fear that, under that parable, was Jesus saying He'd throw them away and burn them, because He didn't give them much to work with and they were unable to bear fruit?
The Holy Spirit works through us, we are a vessel.

If someone is in a coma in a hospital, the Holy Spirit can work through them just by them being present.
 
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Mr. M

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Matthew 25:
29
For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance;
but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.

30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 13:
10
And the disciples came and said to Him, Why do You speak to them in parables?
11 He answered and said to them, Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever
does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they
do not hear, nor do they understand.

The disciples were always seeking explanations for the parables themselves. Therefore, they were
not chosen because of some special ability to comprehend these teachings. They, like us, would need
the Holy Spirit to guide them into all Truth. To access the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, we
must know Him, His Voice and ask. Not rely on our own abilities, but receive from heaven what we need
to be an active part of the body. I have come to realize that it is not given for me to know everything,
because my sufficiency is not of myself, but in being a part of the body of Christ. Others have a gift,
a word of knowledge, wisdom, or understanding for me. We are partakers of the gift, of the benefit.
The unprofitable servant had a small gift, but he neglected to use it, and lost it.
 
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Jamdoc

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Matthew 13:
10
And the disciples came and said to Him, Why do You speak to them in parables?
11 He answered and said to them, Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever
does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they
do not hear, nor do they understand.

The disciples were always seeking explanations for the parables themselves. Therefore, they were
not chosen because of some special ability to comprehend these teachings. They, like us, would need
the Holy Spirit to guide them into all Truth. To access the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, we
must know Him, His Voice and ask. Not rely on our own abilities, but receive from heaven what we need
to be an active part of the body. I have come to realize that it is not given for me to know everything,
because my sufficiency is not of myself, but in being a part of the body of Christ. Others have a gift,
a word of knowledge, wisdom, or understanding for me. We are partakers of the gift, of the benefit.
The unprofitable servant had a small gift, but he neglected to use it, and lost it.

God concealing knowledge from us is part of His glory, that only He knows everything.
Proverbs 25:2
It is a charge for us to love knowledge and seek it, but to understand that even though we seek, some things will remain hidden in accordance to His will for us to know.
 
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RDKirk

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Those who do not have the Holy Spirit cannot produce fruit, so even if a seed investment is planted - there is no profit.

Those who do not have the Holy Spirit are not servants in the Master's house in the first place, so this passage does not apply to them.

This passage, and others such as Jesus' words on fruitfulness and pruning, refer to those who are within the Master's holdings.
 
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RDKirk

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That's a better way of interpreting than I've heard before. I'd always very fearfully thought that, if someone's just really not very good with people so no matter how much they try to witness they don't produce fruit that they'd be rejected.
I was just thinking what if someone gets saved and then slips into a coma, and never comes out. They wouldn't produce much fruit and so would be "unprofitable", and I had fear that, under that parable, was Jesus saying He'd throw them away and burn them, because He didn't give them much to work with and they were unable to bear fruit?

Ephesians 2:10, ESV: "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."

We each do have a "to-do" list that God wrote for us before He created the universe. Don't worry about others and possible futures.

If you are able today, then while it is still today, be concerned that you are about God's to-do list for you.
 
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Danthemailman

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In regards to the parable of the unprofitable servant, the fact that he is called "wicked" and "lazy" and an "unprofitable" servant (Matthew 25:26-30) who is "cast out into outer darkness," certainly indicates that he was not a true disciple of the master. The idea of this illustrative parable is that all true believers will produce fruit in varying degrees. Again, all genuine believers are fruitful, but not all are equally fruitful. (Matthew 13:23) Those who produce no results at all are not truly converted.

The first two servants deposited their talents with the bankers (Matthew 25:27) but the third servant buried his talent in the ground. (Matthew 25:25) The third servant had been given a talent according to his ability and the opportunity to believe and bear fruit in accordance, but chose to reject it. This man's characterization of the master maligns him as "reaping and gathering what he had no right to claim as his own." This wicked so-called servant does not represent a genuine believer and it's obvious that he had no true knowledge of the master. Two of these servants were children of God, but not the third. Children of God are not cast out into outer darkness.

The fact that this man is called a "servant" does not necessarily mean that he was saved. *The children of Israel were called "servants," but they were not all saved.

Leviticus 25:55 - For the children of Israel are servants to Me; they are My servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Nehemiah 1:6 - please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned.

Isaiah 43:10 - “You (Israel vs. 1) are My witnesses,” says the Lord, And My servant whom I have chosen..
 
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RDKirk

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In regards to the parable of the unprofitable servant, the fact that he is called "wicked" and "lazy" and an "unprofitable" servant (Matthew 25:26-30) who is "cast out into outer darkness," certainly indicates that he was not a true disciple of the master. The idea of this illustrative parable is that all true believers will produce fruit in varying degrees. Again, all genuine believers are fruitful, but not all are equally fruitful. (Matthew 13:23) Those who produce no results at all are not truly converted.

The first two servants deposited their talents with the bankers (Matthew 25:27) but the third servant buried his talent in the ground. (Matthew 25:25) The third servant had been given a talent according to his ability and the opportunity to believe and bear fruit in accordance, but chose to reject it. This man's characterization of the master maligns him as "reaping and gathering what he had no right to claim as his own." This wicked so-called servant does not represent a genuine believer and it's obvious that he had no true knowledge of the master. Two of these servants were children of God, but not the third. Children of God are not cast out into outer darkness.

The fact that this man is called a "servant" does not necessarily mean that he was saved. *The children of Israel were called "servants," but they were not all saved.

Leviticus 25:55 - For the children of Israel are servants to Me; they are My servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Nehemiah 1:6 - please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned.

Isaiah 43:10 - “You (Israel vs. 1) are My witnesses,” says the Lord, And My servant whom I have chosen..

How could he have been given any of the Master's resources if he were not really one of the Master's servants? Does the Master not know who works for Him?

This gets very quickly into the debate over OSAS, Calvinism, and other things that have never been resolved in online discussions.

But the demand to be conscientious and diligent in one's involvement in the mission of Christ and the welfare of the Body is continuous through scripture. It's not something anyone can be complacent about.

One point that would echo, though, is that the Master gives His servants resources and has expectations of them that are commensurate with their abilities. People don't give proper consideration to that two-talent servant. He was probably glad to have gotten only two talents to handle because that's what he was able to handle successfully. Five talents probably would have kept him awake at nights.
 
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Danthemailman

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How could he have been given any of the Master's resources if he were not really one of the Master's servants? Does the Master not know who works for Him?

This gets very quickly into the debate over OSAS, Calvinism, and other things that have never been resolved in online discussions.

But the demand to be conscientious and diligent in one's involvement in the mission of Christ and the welfare of the Body is continuous through scripture. It's not something anyone can be complacent about.

One point that would echo, though, is that the Master gives His servants resources and has expectations of them that are commensurate with their abilities. People don't give proper consideration to that two-talent servant. He was probably glad to have gotten only two talents to handle because that's what he was able to handle successfully. Five talents probably would have kept him awake at nights.
Once again, the children of Israel were called "servants," but they were not all saved.

Leviticus 25:55 - For the children of Israel are servants to Me; they are My servants whom I brought out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.

Nehemiah 1:6 - please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned.

Isaiah 43:10 - “You (Israel vs. 1) are My witnesses,” says the Lord, And My servant whom I have chosen..

This parable does get brought up a lot by those who are anti-OSAS and try to say the third servant must have been saved, but I find that argument inconclusive, for reasons I explained in post #9.
 
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Mr. M

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How could he have been given any of the Master's resources if he were not really one of the Master's servants? Does the Master not know who works for Him?

This gets very quickly into the debate over OSAS, Calvinism, and other things that have never been resolved in online discussions.

But the demand to be conscientious and diligent in one's involvement in the mission of Christ and the welfare of the Body is continuous through scripture. It's not something anyone can be complacent about.

One point that would echo, though, is that the Master gives His servants resources and has expectations of them that are commensurate with their abilities. People don't give proper consideration to that two-talent servant. He was probably glad to have gotten only two talents to handle because that's what he was able to handle successfully. Five talents probably would have kept him awake at nights.
Matthew 24:45. Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his master made ruler over his household, to give them food in due season?

This statement from the previous chapter seems to speak of the responsibility of gaining maturity,
to care for the servants who are not yet capable. Of stewardship over not only resources, but souls
in immaturity.
 
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Matthew 25:
29
For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance;
but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.

30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.

I believe the unprofitable servant is any Christian who is fruitless for God's kingdom (When they had plenty of opportunities to be fruitful for our Lord). Some say that this is proof that they were never saved. But that is a large leap of assumption that ignores Scripture. John 15 talks about if we do not abide in the vine, and be fruitful, we can be cast off like a branch and burned. Jesus says He is the vine and we are the branches. We cannot be a branch attached to the vine if we are fake nominal pretending believers or believers who do not have a true faith. Branches are cut off from the vine are suggesting that they are a part of Christ (i.e. the vine).

Those who say that the servant who was unprofitable was just a pretending believer, or a nominal shallow believer does not truly believe we have to be profitable (i.e. to do good works) as a part of salvation. They do not think one has to be fruitful or do good works at all as a part of God's plan of salvation. They believe they are saved solely by a belief alone on Jesus and not in anything that they did. So they can be disobedient to God, and do nothing for Him, and still be saved. Oh, sure, they may say at one point that if they do not do good works, they were never converted or saved, but they do not think these works plays a part in salvation (Which is contradictory).

We learn in Matthew 7:23 that one can do good works and still be told by Jesus to depart from Him because they worked iniquity (or sin), too. So it is more than just doing good works (i.e. being profitable for God). It is living truly a holy life and puttng away mortal sin out of our lives. We have to confess our sins to the Lord and overcoming the evil (or sins) in this world. If not, we are not going to make it. For Hebrews 12:14 says that without holiness, no man shall see the Lord.
 
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RDKirk

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A person who gets talent from God and buries it and don’t use it for anything good.

I would point out, as well, that the concern of the unprofitable servant is that he was so afraid of doing the wrong thing that he didn't do anything at all.
 
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Mr. M

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I would point out, as well, that the concern of the unprofitable servant is that he was so afraid of doing the wrong thing that he didn't do anything at all.
Or even worse, his lack of action was based on self-interest.
Psalm 15:
1 Lord, who may abide in Your tabernacle?
Who may dwell in Your holy hill?
2 He who walks uprightly,
And works righteousness,
And speaks the truth in his heart;
3 He who does not backbite with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor does he take up a reproach against his friend;
4 In whose eyes a vile person is despised,
But he honors those who fear the Lord;
He who swears to his own hurt and does not change;
5 He who does not put out his money at usury,
Nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be moved.
 
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Gregory Thompson

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Those who do not have the Holy Spirit are not servants in the Master's house in the first place, so this passage does not apply to them.

This passage, and others such as Jesus' words on fruitfulness and pruning, refer to those who are within the Master's holdings.
Those who have the Holy Spirit are called as sons.

Servants are do not have a permanent place in the household.
 
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RDKirk

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Those who have the Holy Spirit are called as sons.

Servants are do not have a permanent place in the household.

I know what scripture you're reference.

However...

I guess, then, Paul considered himself temporary help. And I guess, then, none of Jesus' parables about servants have relevance to Christians.
 
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Gregory Thompson

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I know what scripture you're reference.

However...

I guess, then, Paul considered himself temporary help. And I guess, then, none of Jesus' parables about servants have relevance to Christians.
Those brought up to believe they would inherit the kingdom of God but were not born again, sounds like weeping and gnashing of teeth to me.

Wheat and the Tares, this speaks of the church. Those born again, those not.
 
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I would point out, as well, that the concern of the unprofitable servant is that he was so afraid of doing the wrong thing that he didn't do anything at all.

I think the reason was really that the person was lazy (slothful), as said in this:

"But his lord answered him, 'You wicked and slothful servant. You knew that I reap where I didn't sow, and gather where I didn't scatter.
Matt. 25:26

The fear part seems to be just excuses and a lie. If he would really have feared, he would have done something with it and not dared to bury it.
 
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