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Morning Message Text: Mathew 25: 1-13
The Parable of the Ten Virgins
1 “At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.
2 Five of them were foolish and five were wise.
3 The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them.
4 The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps.
5 The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.
6 “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’
7 “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps.
8 The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’
9 “ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’
10 “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.
11 “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’
12 “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’
13 “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.
Morning Message:
I waited until Wednesday to prepare the message this week. I really wasn’t thinking about how I might feel after the election results Tuesday night. I usually let those things roll of my back and move on to more important things in life. I spent some extra time in prayer. God clearly said to me, just do what I have called you to do. What should I preach Lord? And the answer came quickly as I read the text in Matthew, “Go back to the beginning to the message that you know is the most important and only one that really matters.” What do you think that message is? I said, “Lord, It seems like I have preached this a million times, but maybe one more time won’t hurt.”
This quote popped up on my phone and I saved it; now I understand why. “Satan is not opposed to good morals. He’s opposed to Jesus Christ.” Listen to that again because I think that most Christians miss this completely. “Satan is not opposed to good morals. He’s opposed to Jesus Christ.”
Satan doesn’t care if you’re a “good person.” He doesn’t care if you volunteer at the food bank, recycle your trash, and help old ladies cross the street. He doesn’t care if you’re kind, generous, and well-liked by everyone in your community. He cares that you don’t bow the knee to Jesus.
Here’s the deception that’s damning millions: Satan has convinced people that morality equals spirituality. That being a “good person” is the same as being a Christian. That if you just live right, treat people well, and avoid the “big sins,” you’re acceptable to God. This is a lie straight from the pit of hell. The Pharisees had impeccable morals. They followed the law meticulously. They were respected, disciplined, and religiously devoted. Do you remember what Jesus called them? Children of the devil. Why? Not because their morals were bad. Because their morals replaced Christ. Satan’s greatest trick isn’t making bad people worse. It’s making good people think they don’t need a Savior.
Think about it: The atheist who feeds the homeless thinks he’s good enough without God. The Buddhist who meditates and practices compassion thinks she’s enlightened without Christ. The Muslim who prays five times daily thinks he’s righteous without Jesus. The moral Christian who goes to church, pays his tithe, and avoids scandal thinks he’s saved without surrender. All of them are headed to the same place, eternal separation from God. Why? Because morality doesn’t save. Jesus saves. “For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2: 8-9.
Let me give you an example of how people, who might be trying to do the right thing, can actually mislead others. I am very suspicious of those who come on TV and invite you to pray with them by downloading an app. Something in my soul always says beware, and I am not always sure why. I watched one day last week as an actor came on TV and invited people to join him in prayer on Hallo, an online AI-native assessment and language platform. Then he misquoted the most famous Bible verse. He said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him might not perish but have eternal life.” Do you see the problem?
Satan loves moral people who reject Jesus. They’re his best advertisement for the lie that you can earn your way to heaven. They’re living proof that you can: Be kind without Christ. Be generous without God. Be disciplined without the Holy Spirit. Be respected without redemption and still be lost.
The most dangerous people in hell won’t be the murderers and rapists. They will be the moral, upstanding citizens who thought their goodness was good enough. Their morals became their idol. Their goodness became their god. And Satan will smile because he accomplished his goal: Keep them from Jesus. Here’s what most Christians don’t understand: Satan doesn’t need to make you do bad things. He just needs to keep you from doing the ONE thing that matters, surrendering to Christ. If he can get you to: Trust your morals instead of Christ’s sacrifice. Rely on your goodness instead of God’s grace. Believe in your works instead of Jesus’ finished work. He’s won.
Let me simplify today’s scripture about the ten virgins. There are many messages that you can take from this parable, but this one point is seldom preached. Oil in the Bible is a symbol of the Holy Spirit The five wise virgins represent those who have the Holy Spirit (true Christians); the five foolish virgins are those who have not truly been saved. Believers cannot impart the Spirit (share the oil) to unbelievers—each person must receive salvation for himself or herself before it is to late. When is it too late? After Jesus comes back or when you die. It would take zero faith to accept Jesus once He returns. The Lord of the house is not being rude when he denies entrance to the foolish virgins; he assumes those who really want to join in the festivities will come prepared. How can we prepare? By accepting Jesus as our Lord and Savior.
Listen to what scripture says. “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him,” (John 3:36). Listen. Not the murderer who repents and believes in Christ. Not the thief who turns to Jesus on the cross. Not the prostitute who washes Jesus’ feet with her tears because she has given her heart to him, but the moral, religious person who rejects Christ is damned. That’s why Satan loves morality without Jesus. It sends people to hell with a smile on their face, convinced they were good enough.
Stop trusting your morals. Start trusting Jesus. Your goodness won’t save you. Your works won’t redeem you. Your morality won’t justify you. Only the blood of Jesus Christ can wash away your sins and make you acceptable to a holy God. Everything else is just a distraction from the one thing that actually matters.
In Christ’s Love and Peace,
Pastor Bob
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