Parable of the Ten Virgins

Driving home: For the meaning of a parable is not found in finding some significance in every detail of the parable any more than when the preacher gives an illustration, you are to find the thrust of his illustration by a hidden mean…

Martin uses the analogy of a preacher's illustration to explain that the meaning of a parable is not found in every detail, but in its central thrust, preventing misinterpretation of the parable's elements.

And judgment and eternal destruction for the ungodly. Now, in that setting, our Lord says, then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins. Having spent these few minutes to put the parable in its proper setting, so that in attempting to extract from the parable the message of God, we will not get bogged down with what is the trimming of the lance, what does it mean to go by, and all of the rest. For the meaning of a parable is not found in finding some significance in every detail of the parable any more than when the preacher gives an illustration, you are to find the thrust of ...

7:05 - 8:28 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The third fact, that oil distinguished the wise from the foolish, symbolizes the presence or absence of the indwelling Holy Spirit, which constitutes saving religion and is…

Martin recounts seeing a carved dove over a baptismal font, expressing his revulsion at the idea that the Holy Spirit is sacramentally present in the water, arguing against the notion of sacramental regeneration.

The spirit is not given sacramentally. Oh if only the spirit would be given. Through the sacraments how simple our task as ministers would be. I almost retched when I went into a church and saw over the baptismal font the carved figure of a dove the symbol of the Holy Spirit as though the Holy Ghost was there in the baptismal font.

30:28 - 30:49 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The fourth fact, that only the wise entered the marriage feast, signifies that only true Christians, those indwelt by the Spirit, will enter the presence of Christ and the glories…

The elaborate wedding feast in the parable is described as a 'little figure' of the glories God has prepared for the wise, emphasizing the immense blessings of heaven.

And it was only the wise who went in with him and they went in with him to all the privileges that he'd prepared for them. This elaborate wedding feast into which hundreds of dollars had been poured and hours of planning and preparation is but a lot. It is but a lot. It is but a lot.

35:37 - 35:55 Read in full sermon

The point: Constantly remind yourself that you are trafficking in eternal issues, and that heaven and hell are the ultimate destinations.

Martin uses the metaphor of 'a tick in the clock of eternity' to describe the brevity of human life and even millennia of human history, underscoring the ultimate importance of eternal destinations (heaven and hell).

In a few short years, time will have taken its toll upon every one of us.

37:00 - 37:04 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And heaven and hell is where every one of us is going to land forever.

Martin asks the congregation if they can 'hear the door' being shut, making the finality of exclusion from heaven vivid and impactful.

You can almost hear the door, can't you? And the door was shut!

37:45 - 37:49 Read in full sermon

The point: Recognize that mockery or indifference to the gospel will be shattered by Christ's voice at His return, leading to desperate, but too late, pleas.

Martin describes encountering individuals who respond to the gospel with mockery or indifference, using this as an example of the folly that will be shattered by Christ's voice at judgment.

When I look into the face of the man or woman who says as much, I'm a preacher, come off it now. Don't you know I'm no kid?

40:26 - 40:33 Read in full sermon

The point: Be watchful and consciously awake to the great issues at stake, living with an awareness of Christ's imminent return.

The command to 'watch' is likened to a soldier at his post during warfare, highlighting the conscious, deliberate wakefulness and awareness of great issues at stake that Christians should possess.

It brings into its orbit the whole concept of conscious, deliberate wakefulness, feeling, feeling something of the awareness of the great issues at stake as a soldier sits at his post in time of warfare, feeling something of the frightening responsibility that is his to protect the ammunition or the persons of his fellow soldiers while enemies lurk unseen in the darkness. So our Lord says, we're dealing with issues of tremendous moment and concern. Watch therefore, for ye know not the day. Nor the hour.

45:31 - 46:10 Read in full sermon