Romans 11:22 says, "Behold the kindness and severity of God." We see the kindness and severity of God to two faithful servants and one wicked and lazy servant. Read or listen to this material from Your Finances God’s Way to see the relationship to money.

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We see the kindness and severity of God (Romans 11:22) to two faithful servants and one wicked and lazy servant.

Table of ContentsThe Master’s Kindness To The Faithful ServantsBringing God JoyExperiencing God’s JoyThe Master’s Severity to the Unfaithful ServantPeople Can Be Wicked Because of What They Don’t DoThe Master Expects SomethingAre We Saved by Works?Faithful Versus Unfaithful ServantsUse or Possibly Lose What God’s Given YouBelievers and Unbelievers Experience the Kindness and Severity of GodFootnotes

Before I became a Christian, I believed in God. I wasn’t an atheist, but I hadn’t heard the gospel, repented of my sins, and put my faith in Jesus Christ. At that time, if you had asked me about God, I would’ve told you how good, gracious, loving, and kind He is. But I would not have told you how severe, holy, just, and righteous He is. When we describe God with some of His attributes but leave out others, we create a false god, or idol.

Instead, we must do what Romans 11:22 commands and “note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you.” We see the kindness and severity of God on full display in the parable of the talents as He deals with the three servants. Let’s consider the first two servants, who were recipients of God’s kindness, and then the third servant, who was a recipient of His severity.

The Master’s Kindness To The Faithful Servants

Because the first two servants had been “faithful over a few things,” it would make sense for the master to make them rulers over a few things. Instead, he said he would “make [them] ruler over many things.” God is gracious. We will receive more from Him than we’ve done for Him.

It should encourage us that the master was pleased with the servants even though they had been “faithful [only] over a few things.” If we thought we had to be faithful over many things to please the Lord, we might feel like failures. Instead, God is pleased with faithfulness over only a few things if that’s all He’s given us.

In addition, the “few things” needn’t be big. In Matthew 10:42, Jesus said, “Whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.” Talk about being faithful over little! What’s littler than giving someone a cup of water? With God, even the smallest acts will be rewarded. When the master said, “I will make you ruler over many things,” he promoted those men. They went from being servants to rulers. The reward for serving the Lord is greater service in the future.

Bringing God Joy

I’m sure that when we have marriages that reflect Christ and the church when we raise children in fear and admonition of the Lord, and when children obey their parents, it brings God joy. However, there’s one thing in Scripture that seems to bring God more joy than anything else: people being saved. In Luke 15 are three well-known parables about salvation, and joy is the theme of each. In the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin, Jesus said,

When he has found [the lost sheep], he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, “Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!” I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance…When she has found [the lost coin], she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, “Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!” Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents (verses 5-7, 9-10).

There’s joy in heaven not just over the salvation of hundreds or thousands but “over one sinner.” And though the joy is in heaven, it’s “in the presence of the angels.” Who is in the presence of the angels? God! This is His joy. The parable of the prodigal son takes a different approach. Instead of using the words joy or rejoicing, it shows the Father’s joy at the lost son’s repentance:

The father said to his servants, “Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” And they began to be merry. Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing (verses 22-25).

This is great joy! We should keep in mind how our salvation makes the Lord feel. If ever we start to feel like we’re just one of many Christians and, therefore, insignificant to the Lord, we should turn to Luke 15 and read these parables.

Experiencing God’s Joy

Not only does our salvation bring the Master joy, but we also get to share this joy with Him. In the parable of the talents, we might expect the master to say to the first and second servants, “Enter into heaven,” or “Enter into the joy of heaven,” but they were invited to “enter into the joy of your lord” (Matthew 25:21 and 23). He invited the faithful servants to share in his joy with him. His joy is part of their reward, and God’s joy will be part of our reward. The Bible mentions five crowns that are available to us as rewards: the imperishable crown (1 Corinthians 9:24-25), the crown of rejoicing (1 Thessalonians 2:19), the crown of righteousness (2 Timothy 4:8), the crown of glory (1 Peter 5:4), and the crown of life (Revelation 2:10). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus repeatedly talked about rewards; the word occurs nine times between Matthew 5:11 and 7:17.112 As a pastor, one of the more common questions I’ve been asked is, “What do these rewards look like?” The parable of the talents reveals that at least part of our reward is sharing in the Lord’s joy with Him.

The Master’s Severity to the Unfaithful Servant

In the same way the first two servants reveal the master’s goodness, the third reveals his severity. We might not like to think about God’s severity. Some people even criticize it, saying something like, “What kind of God would…?” and then they list things they believe make God look bad: “…keep people out of heaven,” “…send people to hell,” “…punish them.” The answer is, “The kind of God you should fear and serve!” Few places in Scripture demonstrate the need to do so more than the master’s dealing with the third servant.

The master was on a hot streak with the first two servants, but with the third servant, we see the truth of Proverbs 20:6: “Most men will proclaim each his own goodness, but who can find a faithful man?” This verse makes two points: First, it is easy to talk about being faithful. Second, it is hard to find faithful people.

The Great White Throne Judgment that unbelievers will face is a sentencing more than a trial, but if an unbeliever could defend himself, imagine if he said something like, “I didn’t serve You because I knew You were a God who judges people.” This is an absurd defense because if he knew God judged people, then he had more reason to obey. But this is close to the excuse given by the third servant:

He who had received the one talent came and said, “Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.”

But his lord answered and said to him, “You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest” (Matthew 25:24-29).

The master put a hole in the servant’s logic. If he knew the master was “a hard man,” he should’ve taken his stewardship more seriously. The servant’s words backfired and sealed his fate. While the master’s joy was evident with the previous two servants, the third servant witnessed the opposite: indignation. Why? Part of the reason is contained in the words “you knew.” The servant knew the master was severe but was unfaithful anyway.

The servant made two strong accusations. First, he said the master was cruel and expected more from his servants than he should: He was “a hard man.” Second, he said the master took what didn’t belong to him, reaping where he hadn’t sown and gathering where he hadn’t scattered. In response, the master repeated the words that were true of him (“I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed”) but left out the words that weren’t true—“a hard man.” Up to this point, the master’s behavior showed him to be gracious and fair. He had given the servants the amounts they could handle and rewarded their efforts. But he did expect a return on his investment, and the application for us is that God gives us money and expects us to be faithful stewards who produce a return on His investment, which means using it for His glory.

We have the same expectations when we invest our own money. Imagine giving money to an investment manager. You hope that you will receive more than you gave him. It would be ridiculous if the investment manager said, “You’re such a difficult investor; I didn’t invest your money for you. Here—take back what you gave me.” You would be frustrated and might even say something like the master said: “You could have at least invested it in a savings account so that I would receive some interest!”

People Can Be Wicked Because of What They Don’t Do