Luke 16:13

For who would doubt that faith undergoes a daily process of obliteration by unbelieving intercourse? "Evil confabulations corrupt good morals; " how much more fellowship of life, and indivisible intimacy! Any and every believing woman must of necessity obey God. And how can she serve two lords -the Lord, and her husband-a Gentile to boot? For in obeying a Gentile she will carry out Gentile practices,-personal attractiveness, dressing of the head, worldly elegancies, baser blandishments, the very secrets even of matrimony tainted: not, as among the saints, where the duties of the sex are discharged with honour (shown) to the very necessity (which makes them incumbent), with modesty and temperance, as beneath the eyes of God.

I am informed, however, that Nicolaus never had relations with any woman other than the wife he married, and that of his children his daughters remained virgins to their old age, and his son remained uncorrupted. In view of this it was an act of suppression of passion when he brought before the apostles the wife on whose account he was jealous. He taught what it meant to "abuse the flesh" by restraining the distracting passions. For, as the Lord commanded, he did not wish to serve two masters, pleasure and God. It is said that Matthias also taught that one should fight the flesh and abuse it, never allowing it to give way to licentious pleasure, so that the soul might grow by faith and knowledge.

Now the Lord declares, "No servant can serve two masters." If we desire, then, to serve both God and mammon, it will be unprofitable for us. "For what will it profit if a man gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" This world …

Thus then Christ taught those who abound in riches, earnestly to love the friendship of the poor, and to have treasure in heaven. But He knew the sloth of the human mind, how that they who court riches bestow no work of charity upon the needy.

"No servant can serve two masters," not because there are two, but the Lord is One. Although there are those who serve mammon, he still does not possess any rights to sovereignty, but they impose on themselves the chains of slavery. Power is not just, but slavery is unjust.

Thus then hitherto He has taught us how faithfully we ought to dispose of our wealth. But because the management of our wealth according to God is no otherwise obtained than by the indifference of a mind unaffected towards riches, He adds, No man can serve two masters.

No one can serve two masters - serve, etc. After the invitation to piety from the consideration of the reward to be obtained and the faithfulness to be preserved, here thirdly he invites from the consideration of duplicity to be avoided, because piety toward God …

Up to this point the Lord has been teaching us how one must faithfully manage wealth. For it is another's, not ours; we are stewards, not lords and masters. And since the management of wealth according to God's will is accomplished in no other way …

No servant can serve two masters. Because it is not possible to love both transitory and eternal things at the same time. For if we love eternity, we possess all temporal things in use, not in affection.

For either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. These words must be carefully considered. For who these two masters are, he subsequently explains by saying:

You cannot serve God and mammon. Let the greedy hear this, let him who is called by the name Christian hear that it is not possible to serve mammon, that is, riches, and Christ simultaneously. And yet he did not say: He who has riches, …

(ex Hier.) Let then the covetous hear this, that we can not at the same time serve Christ and riches; and yet He said not, "Who has riches," but, who serves riches; for ho who is the servant of riches, watches them as a servant; but he who has shaken off the yoke of servitude, dispenses them as a master; but he who serves mammon, verily serves him who is set over those earthly things as the reward of his iniquity, and is called the prince of this world. (John 12:31, 2 Cor. 4:4.)

); and the contempt which the Pharisees put upon the doctrine Christ preached to them, for which he sharply reproved them, adding some other weighty sayings,

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No servant can serve two masters,.... See Gill on Mat 6:24.

So divided are their interests that their services can never be compounded. If therefore we be determined to serve God, we must disclaim and abjure the service of the world. We are here told what entertainment this doctrine of Christ met with among the Pharisees, and what rebuke he gave them.

Now if we be unfaithful in the less, if we use the things of this world to other purposes than those for which they were given us, it may justly be feared that we should be so in the gifts of God's grace, that we should receive them also in vain, and therefore they will be denied us: He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much.

No servant can serve two masters - The heart will be either wholly taken up with God, or wholly engrossed with the world. See on Mat 6:24 (note).

can serve--be entirely at the command of; and this is true even where the services are not opposed. hate . . . love--showing that the two here intended are in uncompromising hostility to each other: an awfully searching principle!

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The truth here propounded by our Lord appears, at first sight — too obvious to admit of being disputed. And yet the very attempt which is here declared to be useless, is constantly being made by many in the matter of their souls. Thousands on every side are continually trying to do that very thing which Christ pronounces to be impossible. They are endeavoring to be friends of the world, and friends of God — at the same time. Their consciences are so far enlightened — that they feel they must have some religion.

The truth here propounded by our Lord appears, at first sight — too obvious to admit of being disputed. And yet the very attempt which is here declared to be useless, is constantly being made by many in the matter of their souls. Thousands on every side are continually trying to do that very thing which Christ pronounces to be impossible. They are endeavoring to be friends of the world, and friends of God — at the same time. Their consciences are so far enlightened — that they feel they must have some religion. But their affections are so chained down to earthly things — that they never come up to the mark of being true Christians. And hence they live in a state of constant discomfort. They have too much religion to be happy in the world — and they have too much of the world in their hearts to be happy in their religion. In short, they waste their time in laboring to do that which cannot be done. They are striving to serve both God and mammon! He who desires to be a happy Christian, will do well to ponder our Lord's sayings in these verses. There is perhaps no point on which the experience of all God's saints is more uniform than this, that decision is the secret of comfort in Christ's service. It is the half-hearted Christian who brings up an evil report of the good land. The more thoroughly we give ourselves to Christ — the more sensibly shall we feel within, "the peace of God which surpasses all understanding." (Philippians 4:7.) The more entirely we live, not to ourselves, but to Him who died for us — the more powerfully shall we realize what it is to have "joy and peace in believing." (Romans 15:13.) If it is worthwhile to serve Christ at all — then let us serve Him with all our heart, and soul, and mind and strength. Life, eternal life, after all — is the matter at stake, no less than happiness.