Our Duty and God's Grace: Understanding the Servant-Master Relationship

2. Luke 17:7-10 (NIV) –“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? 8 Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? 9 Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

3. The word translated as “servant” is doulon from the Greek word doulos, meaning slave or bondservant

4. “What does God owe us • and what do we owe God?”

5. A servant serves his master • Luke 17:7 (NIV) -“Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat?’” • Luke 17:8 (NIV) - “Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink?’”

6. The master is not indebted to the servant • Luke 17:9 (NIV) -“Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?” • The word ‘thank’ comes from the word charis, which is where we get the word grace

7. The master is not indebted to the servant • Luke 17:9 (NIV) -“Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?” • What Jesus is asking is, “Does the Master owe the servant any favors (grace) because of his service?”

8. We are unworthy servants • Luke 17:10 (NIV) – “So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

9. We must depend on God • Mark 10:42-45 (NIV) – “Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’”

10. We must depend on God • Mark 10:42-45 (NIV) – “Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’”

11. We must depend on God • Isaiah 25:6-8 (NIV) – “On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine--the best of meats and the finest of wines. On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth.”

12. The delight of duty • Psalm 40:8 (NIV) – “I delight to do your will, O my God.” • As sons and daughters, serve your Father diligently…do everything He tells you to do