The Kingdom of God, Then: Session 7 – Faithful Stewards

Notes:

Faithful Stewards    See Session Slides Here

Matt.25:14-30. Jesus told this parable to illustrate stewardship. There are three aspects of stewardship:

 1) Ability

  • Matt.25:14-15. The rich man gave to his servants talents, abilities. Grace = God-given ability.
  • They are His goods. He owns everything. He is El Elyon, the Possessor of heaven and earth, Psa.24:1; Psa.50:12.
  • God entrusts His goods to us. This is stewardship. We are stewards of everything we have, 1 Cor.4:7.
  • The character of stewardship is that we possess but do not own. There is less pressure in managing than owning. God never gave us the capacity for ownership. Anything we try to own ends up owning us.
  • Stewardship is our dignity, Psa.8:4-6. When we try to function in ownership we lose our sense of dignity.
  • The desire for ownership usually leads to slavery. This is what happened to Adam, resulting in the transfer of the dominion of the earth from Adam to Satan, and the exchange of his status from steward to slave.
  • When Christ shed His blood, He redeemed us from slavery and gave to us the status of sons of God and stewards, not only of earth, but also of His kingdom on earth, 1 Cor.6:19-20;  2 Cor.5:15.
  • Yet, a steward is more than a servant and manager. We are also heirs of God, together with Christ. We share in the riches and blessings of the household and are also included in the vision of the household.
  • The subject of stewardship figured highly in Jesus’ teachings. 17 of 36 parables concern stewardship. The image of stewardship is also used to depict the nature of Christian ministry throughout the NT epistles.
  • This parable shows that God is sovereign in the way He distributes His goods.
  • Some are one talent people, others 2, others 5 talents. To whom much is given, much will be required.

2) Responsibility

  • Responsibility is our response to the ability entrusted to us.
  • The Bible does not speak of the rights of a believer, but the responsibilities.
  • This is not about servitude, but privilege. We are not motivated by guilt or fear but identity.
  • Stewardship, then, has to do with the way we view God and the way we see ourselves. It has the power to shape and mould our understanding of the way we will live our lives. We see it is an awesome thing to be included with Him in the great responsibilities of managing His property and His kingdom.
  • We are workers together with God! Our dignity and worth flows from an appreciation of our identity.
  • The first two servants understood this. The third didn’t. He was motivated by, a) Fear. The only thing that will conquer fear is faith. To be faithful is to be full of faith. It takes faith to give away what God has given to us. Yet, the more we will give away the more it will be multiplied, Lk.6:38. Use it or lose it; b) Misunderstanding. The man with one talent probably thought he would be expected to return the same as others. But to whom much is given, much will be required. We are only responsible for what we have, not what we don’t have; c) Laziness. ‘Grace does not make us licensed loiterers’ (Spurgeon). Stewardship is not a passive thing. It requires action. Let us work while it is day. We have eternity to rest, Rev.14:13.
  • Success is measured by faithfulness, 1 Cor.4:1-2. God’s work is accomplished when His servants faithfully manage resources, fulfill responsibilities, keep promises, carry out commitments, finish tasks, etc.

3) Accountability

  • The men who made use of their talents were commended for faithfulness, Matt25:20-23.
  • ‘So then each of us shall give account of himself to God’ (Rom.14:12).
  • Anyone who teaches that this parable is about salvation has not even got the foundation right! Salvation is by faith; reward according to faithfulness. God places the gift before the unsaved; but He places the reward before the saved. The Lord is eager to reward, ‘And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work’ (Rev.22:12).