If righteous deeds dont lead to salvation then what does this parable mean?

Question

The Parable of the Talents
14"Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15To one he gave five talents[a] of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master's money.
19"After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. 20The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.'

21"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

22"The man with the two talents also came. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.'

23"His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

24"Then the man who had received the one talent came. 'Master,' he said, 'I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.'

26"His master replied, 'You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? 27Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

28" 'Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 30And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'

theology major, how can you say that righteousness has nothing to do with salvation? if I were you i would demand my money back!

Answer 1

Read the next section:

Mat 25:31 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
Mat 25:32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
Mat 25:33 He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.
Mat 25:34 Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
Mat 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;
Mat 25:36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you took care of Me; I was in prison and you visited Me.'
Mat 25:37 "Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink?
Mat 25:38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or without clothes and clothe You?
Mat 25:39 When did we see You sick, or in prison, and visit You?'
Mat 25:40 "And the King will answer them, 'I assure you: Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.'
Mat 25:41 Then He will also say to those on the left, 'Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels!
Mat 25:42 For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink;
Mat 25:43 I was a stranger and you didn't take Me in; I was naked and you didn't clothe Me, sick and in prison and you didn't take care of Me.'
Mat 25:44 "Then they too will answer, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or without clothes, or sick, or in prison, and not help You?'
Mat 25:45 "Then He will answer them, 'I assure you: Whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me either.'
Mat 25:46 "And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

He is telling us that we need to use the "talents", gifts and blessings He has given us to bless others. He is telling us not to squander or hide our gifts but to put them out there to be used. In doing this, we will bless others, bless God and enable Him to bless us.

Answer 2

The righteous deed do not get you into heaven. But they are an external indication of whether or not you love God. Look at the parable again. Why did the last servant hide the talent? Because he thought the master was mean. He did not have the same goal as the master.

Answer 3

This parable clearly outlines the issue of sanctification, but not Righteousness. Righteousness is something we recieve the moment we put our faith and trust in Jesus as our savior, sanctification is the progressive growing of lives after which we have been granted eternal life. The Bile says our works are as filthy rags it also says that salviation is thrue faith alone not by works lest any man should boast. you see , if we could earn our salvation than Jesus wouldnt have needed to come in the firstplace. The Problem is tht we have sinned and broken God's Law (Ten Commandments). For example, have you ever lied? Have you ever stolen something? ever looked with lust? Ever used Gods name in vain? If you have said yes, your guilty of breaking four of the Ten Commandments, the Bible says you will be found guilty and end up in hell. The good news is that Jesus christ suffered and died to take the punishment you deserve. if you will repent (turn from sin) and trust Jesus as your lord and savior, God will forgive you and grant you everlasting life.

Answer 4

It is a parable of snactification, not salvation. Sanctification is about righteousness, which has nothing to do with salvation. it's like the faith described in the book of James. Faith in Christ is a yes/no faith, but faith in God as a provider and authority works kinda on a sliding scale.

Answer 5

The point of the parable is to do good with what God has given you. Personal responsility. It all corresponds to the kingdom, which was what Jesus was offering, not Heaven.

Answer 6

The third servant had no faith in his master, and as such was afraid and did nothing. Good works come through faith.

Answer 7

one interprotation of the text is to do good with what God entrusted to you. you should ask a preacher about this i would not take a reliable answer from all these people.

Answer 8

THe first two answers work for me.

Answer 9

You can earn your way to heaven it's just the hard way. i couldn't do it myself so I needed a Savior.