Luke 12:45
But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;
The verse pictures a servant who inwardly concludes his master will be long in returning and then turns to abusing his fellow servants while giving himself to self-indulgent eating, drinking and excess. That expectation of delay is cherished in the heart, uttered in words and shown in conduct, so that one may profess to look for a soon return while living as if it were far off. The master will yet come on a day not looked for and at an hour not known, punish that servant severely and appoint him his portion with the unfaithful and unbelieving. The long interval since the promise was given is no proof it has failed, for the coming is certain and is held back only by merciful forbearance until the warning has reached all nations, tongues and peoples. It therefore forbids excusing neglect, selfish use of entrusted goods and indifference to perishing souls by the thought of delay, and calls instead for daily watchfulness, faithful stewardship and earnest warning to persuade all to repent and be ready.
The Unfaithful Servant Described
The servant inwardly assumes his master is delayed and then turns to mistreating fellow menservants and maidens while giving himself to eating and drinking, indulgence, excess and drunkenness. That neglect and unfaithfulness stands in contrast to the constant readiness required while awaiting the return, and belongs to a description of the last events of earth's history. It describes those who ridicule the nearness of the coming of the Son of man, say His coming is far off and do not desire to see Him, quieting sinners and backsliders instead of warning them to prepare.
The belief that the master delays is held in the heart, spoken aloud, and expressed in conduct. A professed servant may still speak of a soon return while acting as though it is far off, with careless self-indulgent conduct revealing unbelief in the coming. Costly worldly homes built by those who preach a soon coming exemplify this inconsistency, denying the warning message in daily life and harming spirituality and usefulness. Such waning faith and failure to watch dulls alertness to the signs of the times.
The passage belongs to teaching on watchfulness for the Lord's return and faithful use of what belongs to God. To think in the heart or show by works that the coming is delayed is to sleep on guard in the closing scenes of earth's history, when prophecy is fast fulfilling and the hours of probation are fast passing, with not a moment to lose. In that setting the warning connects directly to the danger of using the Lord's goods for selfish or unnecessary purposes rather than supporting His work.
The master will return on a day the servant does not expect and at an hour he does not know, punish him severely, and assign him a place with unbelievers and hypocrites. Neglect of assigned duty brings the reward of an unfaithful steward. In its application to stewardship, those entrusted with wealth are unfaithful when they use it for extravagance and personal gratification instead of serving God and helping those in need, while the Owner will investigate how entrusted goods were used and those proved faithful will receive His reward.
Such abusive and drunken conduct follows the principles of Satan's agents rather than Christ's way, for Christ's followers deny self, take up the cross and follow Him. Its methods include withholding compassion by coolly telling the needy and destitute to be warmed and clothed instead of helping them, a course that misrepresents Christ, as in coolly dismissing a brother in need. It also includes misusing influence against known warnings, as in leading people to Battle Creek despite warnings, which is charged as unfaithful stewardship.
Christ's Coming Not Delayed
The long delay since the coming was foretold is no reason to conclude that the promise has failed, for the coming is certain and will not fall beyond the time when the message has been carried to all nations and tongues and peoples. What looks like delay is forbearance toward the wicked, given as part of a merciful plan to save souls, so those who wait must keep cooperating with God and must not live as though the coming will not occur. They are to wait for the vision and continue the work until that worldwide proclamation is complete.
Opposing repeated attempts to fix definite dates for the return does not mean denying that Christ will come or ceasing to long for His appearing. Merely entertaining the thought of delay does not by itself make a servant unfaithful; the evil lies in using that thought to justify harmful conduct toward others and self-indulgent excess. Date-setting itself is dangerous because the dates pass and their failure weakens faith and fosters unbelief. After the great test of 1843 and 1844, to keep setting dates deceives both self and others, since the time of trouble must come before Christ's coming.
Yet teaching that every date set for the Lord to come would pass because the time of trouble must first come is itself saying in the heart that the Lord delays His coming. The warning therefore cuts both ways: against presuming to fix the time, and against turning the necessity of intervening events into an excuse for putting the coming far off.
The saying in the heart is indifference to one's true standing before God and failure to prepare for the crisis, held inwardly, spoken aloud, and expressed in conduct. It reveals waning faith in the soon return, abandoned watchfulness, and dullness to the signs of the times. That spirit does not remain private but spreads, imbuing others with the same indifference until they catch it and act likewise. It quiets sinners and backsliders instead of warning them to prepare, and is seen when ministers and professed Christians declare the coming far off or thousands of years away while showing no desire for His appearing. Such thinking must not be expressed or acted upon in any way that weakens the confidence of others, but believers are to wait patiently for His appearing.
Dismissing the soon return in this way leaves people unprepared, while the prospect of the coming calls them to readiness and to meet Him with joy. In the last days students of God's Word will reject the attitude of delay and will be prepared to meet the Bridegroom like the wise virgins with oil in their vessels, watching and ready.
Watchful Faithful Living
To think in the heart or to show by works that Christ's coming is delayed is forbidden, for that inward decision abandons watchfulness and is sleeping on guard in the closing scenes of earth's history when prophecy is fast fulfilling and the hours of probation are fast passing with not a moment to lose. It is to grow tame and listless in His service, striving without putting the whole heart into it, becoming crazed, benumbed and paralyzed by worldly temptations instead of fixing the eye on Christ the only hope. Selfish, worldly conduct reveals that unbelief in the heart, and such a servant is unfaithful and shares the judgment of hypocrites and unbelievers. Faithfulness instead calls for daily prayer and watchfulness, for supreme love to God and to those for whom Christ died, for bringing eternity into reckoning and living for God every day, and for not only claiming to believe the truth but living and practicing it with earnest, wholehearted religious interest.
God has made His people stewards of His grace, truth and goods to carry the means of life without delay to fellow men perishing for lack of knowledge, and every person is a steward who does not know when life closes and the Lord will come saying, Give an account of thy stewardship. Unfaithfulness is losing sight of that trust, working against God, neglecting assigned work and the warnings and light received, and hindering others from receiving knowledge. It is using the entrusted stores, wealth and the Lord's goods for self and selfish gain, for selfish or unnecessary purposes rather than supporting His work, for extravagance and personal gratification and adornment at the cost of a soul. It is forgetting starving sufferers and leaving them to die, using Heaven's blessings in the service of self instead of diffusing light, which God regards as robbery and writes in His record, while the Owner will investigate how entrusted goods were used and will reward those proved faithful.
The warning applies especially to those blessed with great light and to people in responsible positions who prove unfaithful stewards. While ungodliness spreads under a show of Christianity and sanctification they hinder others from receiving knowledge and will face judgment and be held accountable unless their lives change. This includes unsanctified ministers who claim to believe the truth but are not sanctified by it, who will likewise say the Lord delays His coming unless their lives change. Such an unfaithful servant is spiritually asleep and absorbed in personal interests and worldly temptations, forgetting God and His work instead of acting urgently to help others.
Concrete forms of this unfaithfulness include using the Lord's goods for selfish or unnecessary purposes rather than supporting His work. Costly, worldly homes of people who preach that Christ is soon coming exemplify acting as though the coming is delayed, denying the warning message in daily life and harming the church's spirituality and usefulness. Claiming to look for His appearing while drinking with worldly and drunken companions dishonors God and shows disregard for the warning to avoid that company. Withholding compassion by coolly telling the needy and destitute to be warmed and clothed instead of helping them misrepresents Christ in treating a brother in this way. Neglecting the duty to warn and appeal to people while time remains short is the course of one spiritually asleep and absorbed in personal interests.
Instead the message of Christ's soon return must sound forth in earnest words of warning, persuading men and women everywhere to repent and flee from the wrath to come and arousing them to immediate preparation, telling the unconcerned to seek the Lord while He may be found. His coming is certain and will not be past the time when the message has been carried to all nations, tongues and peoples, for God's forbearance toward the wicked is part of His merciful plan to save souls, so those who expect Him must not stop cooperating with God or live as though He will not come. Believers are to wait patiently for His appearing and keep cooperating until the vision comes, hurrying the gospel of the kingdom to all parts of the earth and to all peoples, tongues and nations. This is done by divesting of all selfishness, refusing waste on self and adornment at the cost of a soul, ceasing from self-serving, opening the Bible to awaken perishing souls ready to die, and proclaiming the forgotten truths of the Bible that will win souls to Christ, with every soul becoming a missionary and with ministers and lay members going forth into the ripening fields and upholding one another in the harvest instead of leaving burdens they refuse to lift until they fall. Such thinking about delay must not be expressed or acted on in ways that weaken others' confidence in His return.