The Wise and Foolish Virgins

Matthew 25:1-13

¹ “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. ³ Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, ⁴ but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. ⁵ But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
⁶ “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ ⁷ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.
¹¹ “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ ¹² But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
¹³ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

I have been pondering this topic of the race for many months now and I see how many things in the Bible tie into it. If you want to read my post on The Race, click the link. Paul compared our Christian life to a race. He said he was pressing on to win the race and receive the prize. Later in his life, he said he had fought the good fight, he had finished the race, and he knew the prize was awaiting him. He told us in Hebrews 12 how to run that race, how not to get tripped up.

This is important because I know that a lot of Christians don't view their lives as a race. Rather they view Christianity as a ticket to heaven, a "Get Out of Jail Free" card, and that is the extent of their relationship with God. They hear about God's saving grace and sit back and don't ever find out anything else about Him and His plan. They sit around and don't ever do anything, telling themselves and others that they aren't saved by works (which is true). They don't ever take the time to enter into relationship with God, they don't even know him. They are like a bride that had a wedding, but doesn't want to live with the groom.

I heard something recently that was great -

"Between conversion and resurrection is discipleship."

Salvation is not the end, it is the beginning. How is your race going? Are you a disciple or a convert? Are you moving forward or regressing? I don't believe you can remain stationary in this race.

That is why I want to bring up this parable of the virgins. This story tells us of the consequences of running the race well, or not running well.

The general belief is that the wise virgins are Christians, but the foolish are not. I don't agree. Another view is that they are all Christians, but the wise virgins are the ones that get raptured, the foolish ones do not. Again, I don't agree. There are just too many things in the Bible that indicate that the WHOLE church is raptured. And that is a topic for another post.

I believe that all 10 are Christians. First, because they are virgins, they are pure. When we get saved, we are made new, pure, clean. We are made the righteousness of Christ (II Corinthians 5:21). We didn't deserve or earn our salvation (Ephesians 2:8).

Next, notice that all 10 virgins have oil in their lamps. Oil in the Bible represents the Holy Spirit. They would not have the Holy Spirit if they were not saved. Now most who read this (and I did before, too) assume that the foolish virgins didn't have any oil (because of verse 3), but notice in verse 4 that the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. The vessel was apparently a separate container, so that they could keep their lamp full. And this is confirmed in verse 8 when the foolish say their lamps are going out. This tells me they did have oil at one time, but no reserves. Their lamps were lit, but they were going out. So they all started out with oil. They are all Christians that started out filled with the Holy Spirit.

Why did 5 of them get into the wedding and 5 did not? And what is the wedding? Revelation 19 tells of the marriage supper of the Lamb and the wife that has made herself ready. Verse 9 says, "Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!" I take this to mean there is really a literal wedding and marriage feast. And so only those that have made themselves ready get to enter. How do we make ourselves ready?

By keeping our lamps full of oil. This is walking in the Spirit (Romans 8:6, Galatians 5:16-26). Obeying the voice of the Spirit. Yielding in everything to the Spirit. Less of me, more of Him. This is a day-by-day, moment-by-moment decision. We don't just decide one day and then every day after that we are set. Again, it's not about starting, it's about finishing. There are many, many examples in the Bible of people that didn't finish well--Samson, Gideon, King Saul, Solomon, to name a few. These are to show us how NOT to live. (Romans 15:4)

Revelation 19:8 tells us that the bride is dressed in fine linen, clean and bright, and that linen is the righteous acts of the saints. So, you can't just sit still, you have to act! That is the only way you move forward in this race.

But...

You cannot just make up your own acts. This is what got Abraham in trouble. He had a son of his own will, Ishmael. That was not God's plan. Romans 14:23--whatever is not from faith is sin. What is faith? Faith is responding to God's grace. Is your action a response to God's grace, or is it an action to gain something from God, to get God to move? This is how you determine if it is of the flesh or of the Spirit. If it's in response, it's of the Spirit. If it is to gain, to make God pity you and do something for you, it is of the flesh. These works of the flesh will be burned up (I Corinthians 3:5-17). To obey is better than sacrifice (I Samuel. 15:22). You must be filling up with God's Word in order to know what His Spirit is asking of you. Remember my post on fruit? It fits perfectly with this post, click here to read.

Now, this does not mean that some of us attain perfection. Remember what Paul said in Philippians 3:12, "I have not achieved perfection." This is THE apostle Paul talking here. He wrote two-thirds of the New Testament, but he said he had not achieved perfection?!? None of us ever will. But notice his next statement, "I press on to possess that perfection." None of us will be complete and perfect until Christ comes back (Philippians 1:6). But we press on. This includes repenting when we fail (I John 1:9).

This is where it is helpful to know the difference between spirit, soul, and body. Our spirits are complete, they are made perfect. It is our soul that takes a lifetime to be regenerated, transformed, and sanctified. Our bodies on the other hand will be made perfect, in an instant, when Christ returns.

So those that sit around and say you're not saved by works, you are right. But that is justification and that is your ticket to heaven. However, your sanctification takes an effort on your part. It is the Holy Spirit that does the work, but you have to yield to it. This seems to determine whether you get in to that wedding feast or not.

Now is your chance. It's never too late. You can start moving forward in this race. You can fill up with oil. You can be ready for when the bridegroom comes!

So then, is this wedding one of the prizes that Paul referred to? Could it be one of the rewards? I don't know. This brings up an interesting question that may rattle you a bit. If you are like me, you have been taught your whole life that if you are a Christian you are part of the Body of Christ and the Bride of Christ. But Revelation 19 and this Parable of the Virgins seems to indicate otherwise. But don't listen to me, dig in and be like a Berean--search the scriptures daily to see if these things are so (Acts 17:11).

A Lesson in Agriculture

I gave my kids a lesson in agriculture this morning. I thought I would share it with you.

Do you want fruit? You will first need some seed.


Plant the seed into good soil.

Then water it.
Your plant will also need a good source of light.
Finally, you need time. Lots of it. Your plant will not grow overnight and will not bear fruit overnight. The amount of time needed depends on what you planted, say tomatoes, melons, or apples, for example. Tomatoes can bear fruit in 90 days, melons take at least 100, and apples can take a few years. But your hard work and patience has paid off and you will reap the rewards--your fruit!
Sound simple? What happens if you leave one of those ingredients out of the formula? You will not get fruit. Simple enough. If you don't plant a seed, you don't get fruit. If you don't have good soil, you will not get fruit. If you don't water, you will not get fruit. If you plant a seed in fantastic soil and water it everyday, but leave it in an unlit closet--you won't get fruit! If you do all the right things, yet don't give the plant enough time, you won't get to enjoy the fruit!

Let's put this into a spiritual context. What is fruit? Fruit is our works, our obedience, our good choices. You want to bear fruit spiritually?

First you will need to plant a seed--God's Word. (Luke 8:11)
Plant it into good soil--your heart. (Luke 8:11-15) We could go on a tangent here about the condition of the heart being right, but I will save that for another time.

Water it regularly--water is God's Word and the Holy Spirit. (Hint--once a week isn't enough!) (Ephesians 5:26 & John 7:38-39)
Expose it to a good source of light--that is also God's Word and the Holy Spirit. John 8:12 speaks of Jesus as the light, but John 1:1 tells us Jesus is the Word. Psalm 119:105 tells us the Word is light. The oil in the Parable of the Virgins (Matthew 25) is a picture of the Holy Spirit, the source of light in our life. John 14:26 tells us that the Holy Spirt will teach us all things. Afterall, it only makes sense that the author of the Scriptures would be the One to explain them. (II Timothy 3:16)Finally, you need time--that is patience. (Luke 8:15) Spiritual fruit doesn't come overnight, it comes in its season (Psalm 1:3). Never give up, no matter how long it takes.

Alas--fruit! There is a lot of emphasis on fruit and rightly so! But we HAVE to know HOW to get that fruit. We can't go to the spiritual store and buy the fruit. We can't take anyone else's fruit. We can't just make up our own fruit (not sure how one would do that, but I do see people make up their own works that were not directed by God--remember Abraham and Hagar!). Oh, and that fruit--you do want it, because Jesus said in John 15 that every branch that does not bear fruit will be taken away! But notice that He tells us just a few verses down (vs. 5) that we can do nothing without Him. We must never forget that--it is through His power!

I hope you see a pattern here--want fruit? You need the Word, planted in your heart, sprinkled with more Word, illuminated with more Word, and patience. Word, Word, Word.

I tried to keep this as simple as I could, since it was for my kids. I know there are more aspects to the parable of the sower. I went over this and then asked them, "okay, how do you make right choices (this is the fruit)?" The first response was, "make good choices." I said, "that's the fruit. How do you get the fruit?" The answer was, "prayer?" People, it takes repetition. So, we went over this list again. Word, Word, Word. Yes, prayer is a part. You can ask God to reveal things to you, to give you wisdom, and He will through His Holy Spirit, but it will be in proportion to how much you feed on His Word. So, I asked them again, this time they got it. They said, "plant a seed in good ground, water it, give it light, and be patient." Can we adults get this, too? It may take a few times of going over it, even for us. I sincerely hope you do get this as it is vital!

Why Did God Save You?

Why did God save you? Or rather, what did He save you for? Have you ever thought about it? There are general answers and specific answers, and this is beyond the basic answer of, "God is love, God saved me because He loved me."

Let's think about this a different way.

Why did you marry your husband? Why did he marry you? Was it so you could keep his house clean? Was it so that he could keep your car running right? Or move heavy objects around the house? How about opening those tough jars? Why did you have kids? Was it so there would be extra hands to help around the house? NO.

Relationship is primary. We married our spouses because we enjoyed spending time with them. We had kids to have more people in our family, to spend time with.

Marriage is the picture of our relationship with God, the church is called the Bride of Christ. See Ephesians 5. God wanted a family, that is why He saved you. See Galatians 4. He wants to spend time with you. He knows all about you, He wants you to know all about Him.

Let's flip this around--what if I never have time for my husband or kids because I’m too busy serving them. I'm doing the laundry, the dishes, the cooking, but never stop to spend any time with them. There’s not much relationship, is there? Many in the church are doing just that. They are in up to their eyeballs with service, but never make time for relationship with God. God wants Marys and Marthas, but Mary comes first. Read about Mary & Martha in Luke 10.

God wants to be your all in all. He wants to be the most important thing in your life. He will not take second place.

So, how do we spend time developing that relationship? Will it grow with a once a week meeting? (i.e. church) How would your marriage do, if you sat down to spend time together just once a week? How well would you know your children, and they get to know you, if you only saw them once a week?

Spend time with God in conversation. That can be prayer, He talks back through His Word and sometimes a still small voice. That voice needs confirming, most often through His Word, sometimes through experiences. I have a friend that wanted to bless a practical stranger, at the gym where she works out. She asked God to show her what flavor of ice cream to buy this girl, so that she would know God's love. She distinctly heard the word strawberry. She would never have thought of that on her own, my friend is a big-time chocolate lover. She bought the ice cream and sure enough, strawberry was this girl's favorite flavor. This opened the door for my friend to tell this girl how much God loves her, He loves even the little things about us, He cares about what flavor ice cream we like. This is an example of hearing from God that could not be confirmed directly in His Word, but was confirmed in a sure way.

Now on the topic of prayer--what is it? Again, back to the easily understood picture of the family. Do you get together to spend quality time with your husband and then run down a list of things you want from him? Things you want him to do? Does he take you out on a date night and then proceed to tell you he has a big meeting in the morning and needs his shirt ironed, and lunch packed? Or do you sit and complain to him of your miseries? "I’m not paid enough, I can’t ever catch up on the laundry, the kids are wearing me out!" Do you sit down with your kids and go through a list of what is to be expected of them? NO! You spend time with your spouse and kids getting to know them, talking about your dreams, ambitions, goals, sharing fun experiences together. There are times for requests, but this isn’t our primary communication! It should be the same with God. We spend time in His Word, getting to know Him. Not out of our sense of obligation to Him, not to be worthy, but to be in relationship. Not to complain, not to run down our list of wants, but to get to know Him more. And the more we know, the more we trust.

What other ways can we communicate with God? Through worship. We were created for His pleasure. Rev. 4:11 KJV Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. This is not a forte of mine, I am not a gushy person. When I want to worship, I open the Psalms. I do sometimes listen to worship music, but I am very, very picky that the lyrics be scriptural—and a lot aren’t.

Study of His Word The Bible is God's Word, it is God speaking to us. You want God to talk to you more? Read more. He's given us 66 books that reveal Himself to us. All we have to do is open it up and we can hear from Him anytime. The Jews believe that study is the highest form of worship. Us Westerners think of learning and study as a chore, and we think it ends when we finish school. In the Jewish Talmud, the term education was synonymous with "heavenly work." Yes, it is work. You have to work at your marriage. You have to work at being a good parent. If we don't put in any effort, then we don't really love.

Action We cannot simply think in our hearts that we love God and we cannot simply say with out mouths that we love God. There must be some proof. It costs us nothing to say it. Notice Revelation 2:5 says to get back to the first work. Relationship is work. Our marriage’s won’t work if we just tell our spouse’s we love them, but never show them. Our kid’s will not feel our love if it is never backed up with action.

God proved His love to us, by His action. We prove our love to Him, by our action.

And this is where the motives of our heart are very important. Are we sitting down to pray and read our Bibles to check religion off of our “To Do” list? Are we trying to earn God’s favor? We must have pure hearts when we come before Him, for He knows our thoughts afterall. See Hebrews 4:12 and John 4:24.

What about service? Aren't we supposed to be doing a job for the Lord? I'm glad you asked. The answer is yes, but it must be in proper priority, and with the proper motivation of heart. If all God wanted was servants, He didn't need to create mankind, He could have stopped with the angels. Remember the story of Mary and Martha from Luke 10. We are to be Marys first (sitting at the feet of Jesus, learning and worshipping), then Marthas (serving). Again, I bring up the comparison of the family. Husbands, wives, and children all have duties in the home, but we discussed previously how if service was all they did, the relationships in the family would break down. Service is a form of worship, but if we don’t have these other things in place—prayer and study time, service doesn’t mean anything. I Samuel 15:22 – to obey is better than sacrifice. We cannot just make up things to do that are in service to God. We must be doing things out of obedience. Romans 14:23b—whatever is not from faith is sin. So, if God didn’t tell us to do it, it is not from faith, it is not out of obedience, EVEN if it is a good thing, then it is sin. Did we hear God tell us to do such and such? Are we sure that is God’s will for us? How do we know? We only hear from God if we are spending time with Him, regularly. We can sacrifice all day long, all year long, all our lives, but when we stand before the Lord, He says, “I never asked you to do any of those things.” See I Corinthians 3—those works will be burned up in the fire. See also the Parable of the Virgins in Matthew 25. The virgins (Christians) that didn’t keep their lamps continually full of oil (the Holy Spirit) did not get to go in to the wedding (see Revelation 19:7-9). Revelation 19:8 tells us that the wedding garment is the righteous acts of the saints, but are these acts we just come up with on our own? I don’t believe so. Back to I Samuel 15:22—obedience is supreme, how are we to obey if we never take the time to listen to what God is telling us? Therefore time for prayer and study is key.

Revelation 2:1-7

“To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”’

Let's get back to our first love. Let's repent and do the first works.

A Word of Warning

Warning: If you start reading the Bible regularly to your children, they will start using it on you!

For a little background, I have a 5-year old daughter that is very perceptive. She's also very verbal and is not afraid of saying what is on her mind.

We read a chapter from the Bible to our children (ages 5 and 11), each night at the dinner table. We just finished up reading the book of Ephesians, from the New Living Translation. This translation has proved wonderful for reading to children. Any time in the past that we tried to read from any of the epistles, we had to stop, it was so far above their heads. We switched over to the New Living Translation recently. We have read through all of Acts and Ephesians thus far.

So then, we read the last chapter of Ephesians, which is the 6th one, the night before last. If you will recall, Ephesians 6 has some specific instruction for children and parents.

We were eating chicken noodle soup for dinner last night. Sometimes I make it with egg noodles from the store (we'll call those curly noodles), and sometimes I make homemade. My daughter noticed the homemade noodles in her bowl and said, "Mom, why didn't you use the curly noodles? I like the curly noodles better!" I say, "Well, tonight we're having homemade noodles." Daughter's response--"But the Bible says that parents are supposed to make their children happy!"

What?!?

I burst out laughing! This is apparently what my daughter got out of Ephesians 6:4.

Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat
them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from
the Lord.

We had to explain the difference between provoking someone to wrath (the word used in the KJV) and keeping someone happy at all costs. There were examples given, such as Veruca Salt.

So, let that be a warning to you, that if you read the Bible to your children, they may turn it back around on you. Hopefully, there will be many laughs involved, as in our case.