Introduction-

Matt. 25:1-13

Lessons to be Learned

1. This parable, instructs us to be ready, when Jesus returns to this earth .as sudden and unexpected . We have to be born again. John 3:3; and grow in Christlikeness. II Cor. 3:18. Titus 2:11-14.

2. We do not know the day nor the hour of our Lord’s return:“Therefore stay alert, because you do not know the day or the hour” (Matthew 25:13

3. This indicates that the Lord’s coming will distinguish one group of people from another ). The one group enters in with our Lord, to enjoy fellowship with Him. The other group is kept out, and assigned to eternal torment.

4. This indicates that this distinction between believers and unbelievers, between those who will enter the kingdom of heaven and those who will be confined in hell, may not be apparent until the coming of Christ.

5. We are initially surprised that the five wise virgins will not share their oil with the foolish virgins.

- that the saved cannot share what they have in Christ with the lost

6. Once our Lord returns, there is neither the time nor the opportunity for the five foolish virgins to change their course of unbelief: Either in death (Heb. 9:6) or at the second coming for those who are alive.

7. Jesus is warning us that there will be a number of people who look like Christians, who associate with Christians, and who even think they are Christians, who will be shocked to learn that they are not saved at the return of our Lord..

8. Put yourselves to the test to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize regarding yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you, unless, indeed, you fail the test! (2 Corinthians 13:5)

9. First, men don’t believe the warning signs.

Must we wait until the coming of our Lord to learn, much to our dismay, that we were not really saved? God gave us assurances if we are really His children.

” My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; no one will snatch them from my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one can snatch them from my Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one” (John 10:27-30).

“ And when you heard the word of truth (the gospel of your salvation)”when you believed in Christ, you were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of his glory “

There are a number of manifestations of our new life in Christ “ vital signs, if you would “ that reassure us that we are His children, who have been plucked from the path to eternal destruction (hell) and have been placed on the path to heaven.

1. Those who have come to a saving faith have entered into a radically new and different way of life.

2. Those who are Christians no longer fear death, as they once did as unbelievers: Heb. 2:14-15.

3. Those who are Christians have a hunger for God’s Word: Mat. 4:4

4. Those who are Christians now see spiritual truths, to which they were blind as unbelievers:

5. Those who are Christians have the internal witness of the Spirit: I John 5:11-13.

6. Those who are Christians desire to know Christ more intimately:

7. Those who are Christians are happy to leave this life behind, and yearn for the day when Christ returns:

Challenge:

My friend, do these things which characterize Christians characterize you? Do you have these “vital signs” of spiritual life? If not, then confess your sin and trust in what Jesus did for you on the cross of Calvary. He bore your punishment, and He offers you His righteousness and eternal life. Don’t wait until it is too late to acknowledge that you have no oil (are not saved).

Trust Him now.