The Good Oil

Send us Fan MailI listened the Luther on this and it made sense…..  The Lord …… compares it (the Christian community - us) to ten virgins. Five are wise, five foolish.  The foolish virgins are those Christians who give the appearance and impression of being godly. They want to be good evangelicals (Lutherans) and are able to say much about these things. They praise the Word and say: “Yes, it is a splendid thing. This is what it means. It cannot possibly be otherwise according to the Scripture, etc.” Paul speaks of these people in 1 Cor. 4:20: “The kingdom of God is not in only talk, but in power.” It consists not in speech, but in life; not in words, but in works. Although they are able to say much about many things, they are in reality unwise virgins who only have the lamps or the vessel, that is, the external equipment, and they behave according to their nature, as Matthew writes (7:22), saying, “Lord, Lord!” The mouth is there, but the heart is far away (Matt. 15:8).  The oil is not in the lamp, that is, faith is not in the heart.