Our Savior once taught, as He often did, in the presence of certain Pharisees. These men were experts in their understanding of the Scriptures and they were the first to boast of their superior spiritual zeal. When Jesus at another time described the hypothetical prayer of a Pharisee congratulating himself for being better than everyone else, nobody spoke up to suggest Jesus was exaggerating (Luke 18). Everyone knew that a Pharisee’s favorite topic was their own piety. However, the claim to love God so often on the tips of their tongues, was sadly a reality far from their hearts (Matt 23:27).
To help the Pharisees understand the true state of their souls, Jesus presented a simple principle: “no servant can serve two masters (Luke 16:13).” Interestingly, Jesus here uses a word that uniquely refers to a household servant or slave. Certain servants or slaves could be assigned different tasks under different masters, but a household servant was different. A household servant could only serve the interests of one household. It was a position of loyalty and commitment. This is underscored in Jesus’ follow-up teaching. When presented with two masters, how does a house-servant reveal his true place of belonging? Is it to the one who can produce a legal document compelling the servant’s obedience? Is it to the one who commands the most fear from the servant? Or is it the one who promises the most benefits?
None of the above. When confronted with two masters, Jesus said the contrast to look for is the contrast between love and hate, devotion and despising. We cannot serve two households because we cannot love two households. There cannot be devotion to opposite sides of warring factions. For the pharisees, their true master was money because money was their true love (Luke 16:14). Thus, despite what they said with their words, their lives were characterized by greed, theft, manipulation, and opulence. Their lives betrayed their loves, and their loves betrayed their master.
A similar principle is at work in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. Paul identifies the sinful patterns of behavior that betray ungodly love proving an inheritance in a household outside the kingdom of God. Paul is not addressing those grieved by sin and still in the heat of battle to put sin to death. Christians, of all men, should be most compassionate and patient with others in the battle against the flesh. What Paul is addressing is those who declare one allegiance with their lips and another with their lives. We cannot claim to love God and simultaneously justify a lifestyle lived in opposition to His will.
To the Pharisees of His day, and to self-deceived hypocrites today, Jesus says:
“You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God (Luke 16:15).” It is simply antithetical to the Christian life to engage in the justification of sin before the eyes of the world rather than to subject our lives to the standard of what is right in His eyes.
“But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail (Luke 16:17).” For those who love God, they will also love every last letter of His law – down to the smallest stroke. And their lives will show it.