Behold the Kindness and Severity of God - Romans 11:22 & Luke 19:20-27

Romans 11:22 says, “Behold the kindness and severity of God,” which is illustrated in this parable. The faithful servants experience the master’s kindness. They were commended, put in charge of cities, and will spend eternity in heaven. The unfaithful servant was rebuked, called wicked, and his mina was taken from him and given to someone else. And this is nothing compared to what the master’s enemies experienced: they were brought before him, slaughtered, and will spend eternity in hell.

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00:00 Behold the Kindness and Severity of God
08:06 Lesson One: We all fail, but the sin is not trying.
16:52 Lesson Two: Knowing God is severe makes us more accountable.
24:20 Lesson Three: God expects something.
27:45 Lesson Four: People can be wicked because of what they don’t do.
33:03 Lesson Five: Use or possibly lose what God has given you.
46:54 Lesson Six: Believers experience God’s kindness and unbelievers experience his severity.

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 “Behold the kindness and 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 Kindness of God to 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 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 things. 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 when we have marriages that reflect Christ and the church, when we raise children in the fear and admonition of the Lord, and when children obey their parents, it brings God joy. Although there’s one thing in Scripture that seems to bring God more joy than anything else, and that’s 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 ninetynine 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...

Read the rest of the blog post: https://www.scottlapierre.org/behold-the-kindness-and-severity-of-god/