What Does It Mean to Be An “Unprofitable Servant”?

“…when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants. We have done what was our duty to do.’” (Luke 17:5-10)

When Jesus said that we are unprofitable servants, He did not mean that our service is of no value. Jesus frequently called His disciples to be productive. Rather, He meant that we gain no “bonus points” or merit from our service.

In the Middle Ages, a pernicious view sprang up that held that Christian ns not only can gain a certain kind of merit by the works that they perform, but they can even perform “works of supererogation”—works that are so meritorious, so valuable, that they are above and beyond what God requires from His people. The church taught that the excess merit from these works of supererogation was deposited in what was known as “the treasury of merit,” and from there it could be distributed to people in purgatory who were lacking in merit. This idea was behind the whole controversy over indulgences in the sixteenth century, and it was a major point of dispute between Protestants and Roman Catholics. It all boiled down to the concept that it is possible for believers to perform works that are above and beyond the call of duty. Keep reading

"Voluntary Works besides, over and above, God's Commandments, which they call Works of Supererogation, cannot be taught without arrogancy and impiety: for by them men do declare, that they do not only render unto God as much as they are bound to do, but that they do more for his sake, than of bounden duty is required: whereas Christ saith plainly When ye have done all that are commanded to you, say, We are unprofitable servants." (Article XIV)