Accepted for What?

When the gospel was first preached Peter concluded that Jesus of Nazareth was both “Lord and Christ.” The Greek word for Lord could just as easily be translated master. How often do you think of Jesus as your Master?

When the New Testament was written, the word ‘lord’ was often used as a sign of respect, similar to the way we use the word ‘sir.’ Yet, the followers of Jesus undoubtedly intended more than ‘sir’ when they called Him, “Lord.” They considered Jesus to be their Master.

The Apostle Paul referred to himself and his missionary companions as bond-servants of Jesus. Paul called Timothy a bond-servant of Christ and applied it forward to all who teach and preach. In their letters, James, Peter, and Jude all introduced themselves as bond-servants of Jesus. In the book of Revelation not only does John regard himself a bond-servant of Jesus, but also Moses and God’s angels. In fact, all saints are considered bond-servants of Christ. The bond-servant exchanges his will for the will of the Master. The servant’s single aim is to glorify his Master by doing His will.

The unglorified position of the slave was the focus of last week’s article. Jesus described a slave that served his Master without thanks, without an expected reward. He received only the acceptance of his Master.

In the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30) slaves are shown in a different light. A master puts three of his servants in charge of a large sum of money, each given an amount appropriate to their ability. As is true of all slaves, they were expected to carry out their master’s will. In the parable, the will of the master is not stated explicitly. Yet, it is clear that they were each expected to put the money to use to make more money for the master.

In the parable, Jesus revealed how the slaves handled their assignments. Two of the slaves did according to the master’s will. They put the money to use and gained more money for their master. And what did they receive?

The master returned to settle accounts with the slaves. The first slave was entrusted with five talents (a very large sum of money), and he gained five more for the master. (Notice that it was for the master, not himself. He did not receive a percentage of the profits, a commission, or even a bonus. He did not even receive thanks.) The master then said, “Well done, good and faithful slave.” Though not a word of gratitude, it was genuine acceptance.

The slave who was entrusted with one talent was afraid and hid the money so that he could return it to his master upon his return. It is true that nothing was lost, but nothing was gained. The master expected gain. So, his words to this slave were strong: “You wicked, lazy slave!”

Three things then happened:

• The man with one talent had his talent taken away. (It was not his money to begin with.)
• The man with one talent was rejected and cast away from the master.
• The man with ten talents was given the talent from the unfaithful slave. (None of the money was his; not the original five, not the profit of five, and not the one from the unfaithful slave.)

The master approved of the man with ten talents and gave him one more talent, that is, more responsibility. (What were you expecting?!)

The master did say something more to the two faithful slaves. He invited them: “Enter into the joy of your master.”

When we learn that the only thing that matters is to glorify and please our Master, we will understand the treasure of entering the joy of our Master.

Mark Stinnett

July 19, 2026

No Thanks

We love stories that revolve around someone who is underappreciated and then makes a comeback. A charming and generous but underappreciated man falls on hard times and is on the brink of suicide. Just in the nick of time his family and friends come to support him. Happy ending; all is well. An underappreciated lawman or doctor or coach or civic leader comes to a point of exhaustion, ready to give in, ready to give up. Then they dig deep within and try a little harder, just one more day. Circumstances change and they are rewarded for their inner strength and tenacity.

Not all stories of the underappreciated turn out so well. The underappreciated butler endures the ungrateful family he serves and in retaliation carefully launches a plan to steal the family’s wealth. The underappreciated policeman or government worker devotes a lifetime of service, but in the end lashes out violently against the system that has undervalued him.

There is within all of us a sense of justice or fairness. It comes from a belief that there should be balance in life. If a crime is committed, the criminal should be punished in a way that balances with (fits) the crime. (The Old Testament law of “an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth” follows that kind of reasoning.)

When a person goes to work, he ought to be paid a fair wage. When a product is sold, it ought to be for a fair price. When you do a favor for a friend, he promises, “I owe you one,” a verbal gesture for a future equitable favor.

Of course, there are occasions in which we do not expect the favor to be returned. When a parent does something for his/her child fair payment is not expected. And yet, a parent can feel underappreciated when there is no thanks. Most of us expect appreciation, if in no other way, then by simple, heartfelt gratitude. And yet, Jesus told of a time when a person would not be shown gratitude?

“Which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come immediately and sit down to eat’? But will he not say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink’? He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’ ” 

—Luke 17:7-10

Does this teaching seem odd to you?

Are you disappointed with its ending?

The master was not expected to give thanks to the servant because the slave was there to serve the master. When the slave did as the slave was expected he was accepted because all expectations were met. Yet, the slave receive no thanks, no bonus, no reward. Still yet, there were no inequities. Neither owed the other.

Jesus did not leave this teaching open to interpretation. He revealed the application to all who listened/read: We who are servants of Jesus ought to see ourselves as unworthy slaves. Our task is to fulfill our Master’s will. We may find satisfaction in knowing that we have done our Master’s will and received His acceptance.

We might not know what motivated this teaching. But it is especially applicable to those who whine and complain when they don’t receive attention for the service they offer in the Lord.

As a humble servant, give all glory to the Master.

Mark Stinnett

July 12, 2026

Reacting to Guilt

People have different ways of dealing with their ugly past. Some believe that they must go and apologize to all those who were hurt by their past poor choices. Others think they must do something to ‘make it up to’ the ones they’ve hurt. Still others imagine that a life devoted to good works will somehow offset the dark deeds of their past.

These are good responses, but they are ultimately only reactions that may temporarily pacify one’s guilt. Yes, that is the focus...guilt!

The problem with guilt is that there is no ‘undo.’ A person simply cannot reverse life and undo the past. An apology is a kind and relevant gesture, yet it does not take away the wrong done. Serving someone you've hurt is a kind gesture, but it does not erase the hurt. A life of service is admirable, but the past remains.

I think we intuitively understand this, and it frustrates us.

Think about the apostle Paul...before he was an apostle, when he was known as Saul. He had great zeal for God, but it was misplaced; he was a persecutor of Christians. God capitalized on Saul’s zeal thorough a blinding confrontation. Saul was on a trip to the city of Damascus. He held papers from the Jewish leaders authorizing him to search out anyone “belonging to the Way” so he could imprison them.

A light from heaven flashed around Saul (blinding him), and a voice said, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” Saul inquired, “Who are You, Lord?” The voice came back, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.”

In the course of three days Saul was allowed to think things over and he made a complete turnaround giving his allegiance to Jesus Christ. He regained his sight and from then on, he “proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, ‘He is the Son of God.’” (Read his conversion story in Acts 9.)

How did Saul/Paul deal with his past...the persecutions…his guilt!? Here are three things he did not do that would be endorsed by many today:

• He might have made some personal apologies, but he did not go on a crusade to apologize to everyone he had hurt.
• He did not try to ‘make it up to’ the church for all his persecutions.
• He did not devote himself to making ___X___ number of conversions.

Paul did not try to pacify his guilt. He turned to Jesus and received forgiveness...from God. Then, he simply devoted himself to God.

King David had it right in his beautiful confession and plea to God after having committed adultery and murder: “Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight.”

David had taken advantage of Bathsheba by committing adultery with her. He had her husband killed to cover up their sin. He had shamed Israel. Paul had physically harmed Christians, had terrified the church of God, and undoubtedly persuaded some to avoid Christianity. And yet, both David and Paul first sinned against God. Bathsheba and her husband were not the standard of holiness. Christians are not the standard of righteousness. God is holy; He is righteous. All sin is first against God.

Paul summed up his quest after having become a Christian: “I want to know Christ.” His was not a quest to undo or repair the past, but to move forward. He knew, just as you and I know, there is no ‘undo.’

For that reason, our only response is to fall at the feet of Jesus and plead for mercy. Once we have received God’s forgiveness thorough the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, we then devote our lives to Christ: “I want to know Christ!”

Mark Stinnett

October 26, 2025

A Crown of Humility

Not in our century and not in our country, a man once rose up from an evening meal, removed his outer cloak and wrapped a towel around his waist. He filled a basin with water and one by one washed the feet of each guest, drying their feet with the towel. Oddly, this man was also a guest. No, he was more than a guest. The other guests were his closest followers, and he was their teacher.

Had an onlooker peeked inside, he would not have gasped at the obvious reversal of roles. He would have seen an ordinary-looking man washing the feet of ordinary-looking guests according to the custom of the day. Yet, the disciples knew that the foot-washer, Jesus, was no ordinary man. They had witnessed His miracles, had listened to His teachings, had been given authority by Him. Even so, not everything about Jesus fit their expectations.

They called him Lord and Teacher. Yet He washed their feet. There were twelve men who had supper with Jesus, twelve pairs of feet…

… Judas, Thaddeus, Simon,

… James the Lesser, Bartholomew,

… Matthew, Thomas, Philip,

… John, James, Andrew, Peter.

One would betray him; 

     one would openly deny him; 

          all would run away.

_____________________

Do not misunderstand. Jesus was not downtrodden, worn out, or depressed. He had not been beaten by the enemy. He had not been demoted. He was not a broken shell of a man who was now resigning himself to his pitiful lot in life as a house servant.

He was the Messiah, the anointed one, Son of David: the coming King. He was Deity in the flesh. And without removing his identity and without removing his role, He clothed himself with humility and became a servant.

Did anyone in that room understand what had happened?

Was anyone moved by this act of humility?

Was anyone just a little embarrassed?

Divine Royalty stooped to the ground to perform the task of an insignificant servant.

He calls his disciples today to follow in his footsteps, to humble themselves as servants.

_____________________

No one is asked to remove his/her role in life as husband/father, wife/mother, elder, deacon, preacher, CEO, president, director, foreman, owner, employer, student, teacher, laborer, or any other role. However, the call IS to stoop down and, without removing your role, clothe yourself with humility, and imitate the Master.

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

--Philippians 2:4-8

Our King crowned Himself with humility. What is your response to our Teacher, our Master?

Mark Stinnett

July 14, 2024

Submissive Master

As a gesture of team spirit and cooperation our new principal invited each teacher to his office so he could get to know us. (I was a 7th grade math teacher.) After asking a series of questions to get to know me, his final question was, “What is the job of a principal?”

Without hesitation I answered: “The best principal is a servant to his teachers. It is his job to ensure that the teachers can teach.” (That was what my first principal believed and modeled.)

As you might imagine, my principal’s face did not light up with joy. In fact, he looked puzzled and then reframed the question. I guess I had not answered correctly.

Sometimes we react the same way to difficult statements in Scripture. You can guess the kinds of teachings I’m thinking about, such as extending forgiveness, being submissive, or showing mercy to that kind of person. Like my principle, we sometimes act puzzled as if we do not understand. Could it be because we don’t like what the Scriptures say?

The Apostle Paul wrote:

Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. 

--Ephesians 5:21

We embrace the imperative in the prohibitions: Do not commit adultery, do not steal, and do not lie; but somehow the imperative to submit to one another does not seem to carry the same weight. Have we ignored this verse? Have we reworked the words until it has little impact?

The word ‘submit’ means to ‘stand in rank under another.’ It is a word applied to servants and is not a popular idea in any group.

Submit to God? Yes!
Submit to Christ? Yes!
These imperatives are fitting.

But, submit to one another!? Difficult!

If we are to submit to others we must look beyond ourselves. We must see people as souls for whom Christ died, regardless of personality.

Paul revealed that “...our struggle is not against flesh and blood...” but against spiritual forces (Ephesians 6:12). Applied to me, I must recognize that no matter how difficult it is to get along with you, you are not the enemy!

So, how can I follow this imperative, “Submit”?

I must adopt the right attitude by submitting to my fellow Christians “out of reverence for Christ.” In other words, I am first submitting to Christ as my Master.

And did you notice the title, ‘Submissive Master’? It is a contradiction of terms. Masters do not submit. Yet, when we follow God’s instruction and submit to one another, we are imitating Christ. We are walking in the steps of Jesus just as he demonstrated submission while on earth. Do you remember how Jesus responded to God in the garden of Gethsemane?

“...not My will, but Yours be done.”

— Luke 22:42

He then died on the cross…
     ...in my place,
     ...in your place.

By this selfless act of love he declared:
     "You are more important than I."

Only with the same attitude can we ever learn to submit to one another.

Mark Stinnett

June 23, 2024

Who Helped You?

He glared straight at me as he publicly thanked individuals in the congregation by name for visiting him while in the hospital. I had not visited him, no doubt the reason for the glare-stare.

I know that I was supposed to be embarrassed, after all, I was the preacher and preachers are supposed to visit everyone in the hospital. The trouble was, his public ‘show of gratitude’ was the first I had heard of his trip to the hospital.

Have we misunderstood how the church functions? I would have to shout, “Yes!”

I personally think preachers are largely to blame. Many preachers, not all, but many really like being in the spotlight. They want to be the sage-on-the-stage Bible-answer-man, leader and promoter of all programs, building supervisor, Sunday School superintendent, church counselor, music man, information gateway, and the keeper of the calendar. (Perhaps I exaggerate, but you get the point.)

Without exaggeration, a spotlight on the preacher fosters an unhealthy view of the church and a skewed view of the role and responsibility of the members of the church.

When a check is sent from our congregation to support a missionary or assist fellow Christians in a disaster, we ALL participate. Even if none of us are able to leave town to help, we participate through our finances.

The Apostle Paul expressed joy for the Christians in Philippi for their “participation in the gospel.” They had not accompanied him to the mission field, but had sent him some sort of assistance, probably financial. It is worth noting that he credited the entire church for their assistance. ALL had participated.

If you needed someone to give you a ride, you wouldn’t expect everyone to give you a ride. Let’s take it a step further. What if the preacher was not the one who helped you; what if it was not one of the elders, or one of the deacons? Does it count only if someone ‘official’ gave you the ride? (That’s silly, but you get the point.)

Paul described the way the different members of the church function in the context of spiritual gifts. He said that the Spirit of God distributed spiritual gifts according to God’s will. He went on to use the human body as an illustration saying that the foot is no less a part of the body just because it does not function as a hand. Likewise, the ear is no less a part of the body just because it is not an eye. 

My friend was upset with me for not visiting him, yet several others had visited. That was as silly as my injured hand feeling neglected because my ear did not tend to it.

Here are two things Paul wanted us to know about the way the body of Christ functions:

God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired.
Now you are Christ’s body, and individually members of it.
—1 Corinthians 12:18, 27 (NASB95)

We must understand that when any fellow Christian helps us in a time of need, it is Christ extending assistance through His body, the church. While it is proper to show gratitude to an individual, don’t just thank the ‘hand’ that helped you, thank the head of the body, Jesus Christ in whom we are all connected.

And when you are the helper, remember, it is Christ providing help through you (unless you covet the spotlight). So, give Jesus the credit.

We’re in this together; keep focus on Jesus.

Mark Stinnett

September 29, 2019

Would You Give Someone a Drink?

Not everyone can go overseas as a missionary. Not everyone can give up a career to preach. Not everyone is equipped to teach. Christians are not able to serve in the same way.

Some Christians serve in a visible way when we all assemble for worship or Bible study. Others serve in ways that are mostly invisible to fellow Christians.

We are not all created with the same abilities and interests. In fact, our individual abilities change over time. So, what is a Christian to do?

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

Before the first disciple of Christ was called, God had already planned for his people to do good works. In fact, we are crafted by God for the purpose of good works. Good works are seen as a direct result of having been saved by the grace of God. In addition, the Bible tells us that we formerly walked in “trespasses and sins,” but are now expected to walk in good works. He is moving us from a life of selfishness to a life of selflessness.

So, what is a Christian supposed to do?

Do we really need to ask? Do you remember the man who wanted to justify himself when Jesus taught “Love your neighbor as yourself”? Are we tempted to ‘justify’ ourselves by asking, “And what good works are we to do?”

Jesus made a remarkable statement about discipleship that relates to this question:

"And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you he shall not lose his reward."
—Matthew 10:42

To give something in the name of a disciple is, by extension, giving in the name of the disciple’s teacher. Prior to this verse Jesus had explained that “He who receives you [His disciple], receives Me and he who receives Me, receives Him who sent Me [God].”

From time to time my wife and I have reflected on couples we know who have had a profound influence on us. When thinking about these few couples we agree, “We want to be like them.” We see their godly example, their good works, their tireless service, their devotion to God and His word.

There are things we have done to specifically follow ‘their’ example. ‘They’ are our motivation. In short, we have done things “in the name of a disciple” of Jesus. So, even though we may be thinking of our ‘example couples,’ it all goes back to Christ. When we follow their example, we are following Christ because they are following Christ.

Now, back to Matthew 10:42...why give a cup of cold water?

Perhaps it is as simple as this: Someone needs a drink.

May God open our eyes to the needs of people and give us the courage and motivation to fill those needs by engaging in good works. Ultimately, our service is all to His glory.

Mark Stinnett