How Jesus Wants You to Use Money, Part 4 | How to be a Faithful Steward

Luke 16:9-13

True Christians are stewards. We’re saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone. Our faith is accompanied by good works. Our faith is accompanied by an actual execution of a stewardship in real time, something that can be seen. So if there is no stewardship, but only the use of wealth for personal pleasure, if there is no stewardship, but only a squandering of what doesn’t even belong to you, but it belongs to God and is given to you, trusted to you.

Then ultimately if there’s none of that, ultimately, there’s no true discipleship. There’s no Christianity at all. There’s no eternal life. You’re not obedient to Jesus’ command in verse 9, Luke 16:9 to “Make friends for yourselves by means of wealth.” Then look, you’re not a steward of his, you’re no disciple of his and you’re not heading to Heaven as your eternal home. If that’s you, if I, do I tell you bad news right now, I’m telling you bad news that leads to good news, because if we can identify that, you can see it as unrighteousness and sin that can be repented of, and you can put your faith in him.

Every true Christian is a steward of God’s gifts. Every true Christian senses the need to exercise his or her stewardship. In fact, as I speak this and I know there are so many of you true Christians, you’re hearing this and your heart warms to it. Your heart is excited about stewardship, about pleasing him with your life. You’re excited, we’re not worried about standing before the judgment seat of Christ, 2 Corinthians 5:10, “To give an account for the things in the body, whether good or bad.” You’re, you’re excited to go before the judgment seat of Christ and talk to him and say, “Ah, this is what I did with what you gave.” Every Christian senses this.

So the only question then is this matter of faithfulness, degrees of faithfulness, what that means for the life to come. But the chief concern in conducting our stewardship is faithfulness, be faithful. Be faithful. Question then, that comes to mind, should come to mind, is like, well, okay, well, whoa, wait, wait, wait, timeout, before I run to the bar of you know, bema seat of Christ, 2 Corinthians 5:10. Excited. How do I know whether I’m being faithful? I mean, what does that look like? Thanks for asking. Look back at verse 9. What does he say, “I tell you make friends for yourselves by means of unrighteous wealth. So when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.”

We said last week, verse 9 is parallel to verse 4 and the elements of each verse are parallel to one another. So go back and see what that unjust steward did in the parable, verse 4, “So that when he’s removed, people may receive him into their houses.” After he loses his job. What did he do? We saw in verses 5-7 in the parable, the unrighteous steward gave each of his master’s renters a 500 denarii discount, a very generous gift, didn’t he? He not only succeeded in his very clever plan to make friends for the sake of future employment, for the sake of future friendship being so generous, same time, he gained a great reputation for his master for being so generous.

You say, wait a minute, but he gave away his masters’ money, not his own money. Anyone can be generous with money that doesn’t belong to him. And I say, exactly. You got it. That is the point. You say, but his master would have been irritated over how his reputation was improved in the community with this unexpected generosity of his, he didn’t even know he was doing. I say, right, again, you’re getting it.

Plant this thought deepen in your mind that all the money that comes into your life via a paycheck, or a gift, or because of interest, or dividends, or investments or any money that comes into you. You can always keep in mind that that money is not your money. Anyone can give away money that’s not his right? It’s not your money, it’s God’s.

You can be extremely generous, can’t you? If it’s God’s money and not yours, then you can feel very free to give it away. You can feel very free to invest it in kingdom work. God doesn’t mind that one bit. I’ve got it on good authority. Now an earthly landowner and earthly business owner, he’s in business to make money so just want to warn you don’t go out and spend your employer’s money that way, as you see fit, for kingdom purposes or whatever.

But your highest master, your father in heaven, he rejoices in generosity. His heart is generous, it’s kind, he loves to give. So Jesus even said in Sermon on the Mount, “If you do good and if you lend expecting nothing in return.” What will you be? Sons of the Most High, you’ll be putting the character of your heavenly Father on display in generosity.

The extra funds that God brings into your life, God wants you to spend it. He wants you to spend it. Yeah, sometimes on yourself and enjoying the good things he’s given. But he also wants you to spend it on others. He also wants you to spend it on needs, people who have needs, he loves it when you spend, “Not letting your left hand know what your right hands doing.” Do it in private, do it in secret. Let, just bless people. He loves you to be generous. He loves you to take, plan and take money, extra funds and invest that back into Kingdom work to see the gospel go forth that friends might be made for eternity.

So to be generous with this earthly unrighteous wealth presupposes a few things, doesn’t it? Most basic is that you have to have money in order to be generous with money. Some people have no money to spend because they squander it, frankly. They’re like the unrighteous steward in the parable. They don’t have anything left because they keep spending it, blowing it on bubblegum and such. Other people, or the adult equivalent of bubble gum, whatever it is.

Other people simply feel like they don’t have enough money to give to others, don’t have enough to share, but it’s really just covering over a stingy heart. It’s really covering over a self-centered heart or let’s add this, it’s covering over an anxious, worried heart because you’re worried about finances.

What did Jesus say? “Don’t be anxious about what you eat, or drink or what you put on.” Don’t do that. Most of us if we’re honest, we can see that we do have a little extra. Even if it’s just a very little, we have extra. We’re able to share with others, we really are. I got a few cross references about thinking about your finances. If you can just follow along and turn some pages and keep up with, start in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 28. Ephesians 4:28, Paul, Paul is speaking here to a whole series of different kinds of sins that need to be repented of and one of them is about people who steal, people who are thieves.

And Paul tells in Ephesians 4:28, these repentant former thieves, he tells him how to repent, he says, labor. Labor that is the word kopiao which means to work hard enough that you become physical weary, work hard enough that you sweat a bit, exert yourself, strive, struggle, tire yourself out. So Paul says, “Labor doing honest work with your own hands so that you may have something to share with anyone in need.” So how does the thief workout his repentance? Not just getting a job, not just getting a job and having extra money, not just taking care of all the bills and everything in his life. He still isn’t repentant, not until he replaces that covetous, greedy heart with a heart of generosity. Generous heart, so you can share with someone in need.

You’re going to share with someone in need, what does it mean? It means you’re looking out for those who are, have needs right? It means you’re connected into the church, it means you’re connected and you know, you know people, you know their situation, you know them well enough to know where they’re struggling, where it hurts. And you come and apply a little, a little balm of a little extra money here and there because you want to help them, you want to bless them. Got to know people in order to do that right? Can’t be disconnected, aloof, on the fringe. Help people in need.

Turn over just a few books, over to 1 Thessalonians, in 1 Thessalonians, Paul is actually rebuking certain people, he’s telling certain people in the church to stop being lazy, stop being idle, to stop using their theology as a cover for their indolence and laziness. They’d used, interesting, they use Paul’s teaching on Christ imminent return as a reason to quit their jobs in preparation for his return. Like worldly employment isn’t important anymore, because I’m going to heaven. Like any minute now. You know, he’s coming back. So they sounded oh so pious, in all their reasons for not working. They had all these righteous reasons for doing all the wrong things. In reality, they just love the idea they no longer had to work.

Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and Christ still had not returned. They became mendicants. What’s that? They’re beggars. They became ministers of mooching, refusing to work and for, all for righteous reasons, they were saddling others in the church with their laziness. So in 1 Thessalonians 4:11, Paul commands the church there to “Aspire to live quietly and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands as we instructed you.” Well that’s a novel idea, Christian, make it your aspiration, make it your chief ambition to live a quiet life. Mind your own affairs, mind your business, and work with your hands as we instructed you.

In this Thessalonian church, which really was a model church, excellent church, but there were some who didn’t listen to this exhortation, in 1 Thessalonians. So turn a couple pages to 2 Thessalonians. Paul writes to them again and he deals with these lazy, indolent people within the body, becomes more insistent, if you look at 2 Thessalonians 3 and well, I mean, the whole section from verse 6 all the way to verse 15. That’s one section, “We command you brothers in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,” verse 6, “That you keep away from any brother who’s walking in idleness, and not according to the tradition you’ve received from us.” So he’s dealing with the same group of people, but here you can see him expanding this teaching like, hey, you didn’t get it the first time. Maybe, maybe I wasn’t clear enough. Let me give you a few more verses.

So in verse 10, skip ahead, he says, “For even when we were with you, we would give you this command, if anyone is not willing to work let him not eat.” The section we skipped is showing Paul and his, his fellow workers as working really, really hard and not taking an income from the church. So he, his fellow workers worked, he gave them an example to imitate. “So if anyone’s not willing to work, let him not eat for we hear,” Verse 11. “Some among you walk in idleness not busy at work, but busy bodies, so such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly,” There’s that same language again, “And to earn their own living.” Look, if we’re going to conduct our stewardship in generosity, everyone needs to pull his own weight. Everyone needs to earn his own living, and not be a burden to other people.

Look at 1 Timothy 5:8, you’re in 2 Thessalonians, turn a few pages to your right, 1 Timothy 5:8, “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, especially the members of his own household.” What does it say there? “He has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” So listen, if we’re going to be, if we’re gonna, if we’re gonna to take up this mantle of faithfulness in our stewardship, if we’re gonna to be generous in our stewardship, which is what it is to be faithful, we got to work hard, we got to work really hard, provide for yourselves, provide for your families, take care of your responsibilities, but don’t stop there. So many people say, it’s just me and my family and that’s it. I just circle the wagons around my family and that’s all I do. No, to be faithful means you look beyond your household, you’re looking for those in need.

You want to be generous to those outside of your house as well. It’s not righteous to think only of yourself and only of your family. It is righteous, to be generous to others. That is faithfulness. Generosity means you need to be wise, you need to build wealth, you need to be on the active lookout for needs and for opportunities. What is a need? A need is what we refer to in Ephesians 4:28. Work hard so you can have something to share with someone in need, someone who is in, in want and lacking, can’t pay the bills, needs food on the table.

Also look though for opportunity, that’s a whole ‘nother level. If you go back to Ephesians 4, you were there earlier, just go back to, so you got to get there very quick, it’s still warm. Go back to Ephesians not 4, but 5, Ephesians 5, and we’re thinking about not just addressing needs with our generosity, but also addressing opportunities with our generosity.

Ephesians 5 and verse 15. Paul says there, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time.” That expression there, it’s redeeming the time exagorazo, agor, agora refers to the marketplace. So this is a commercial term. So he’s talking about redeeming the time, that he, that means to buy back the time, buy back, so buy back time, “Because the days are evil.” So think about your opportunities. The days are evil, the time is short, you have opportunities in front of you for the kingdom. Use the opportunities you have.

How do we do that? Go back to the end of 1 Timothy, you were just in 1 Timothy again, that spots warm too, so just go right back there. End of 1 Timothy, Paul is telling Timothy at the end of that wonderful letter. He’s talking about how to instruct the wealthy in the use of their wealth. In what Jesus calls unrighteous mammon, money, we’ve all learned from Jesus in Luke and here, you’re going to hear some very familiar language in what Paul says to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:17. Timothy, tell them this “As for the rich in this present age,” notice the word there, “Charge them not to be haughty.”

Young Pastor Timothy, probably in his 30s, walk up to that wealthiest dude in the church. The guy who’s built everything up from the ground up. He’s invested for longer than Timothy has been alive as a pastor, walk up to him, Timothy, charge him not to be haughty. He has a proud nerve in his body, that will test it, won’t it? Young little pastor coming up to him, charging him, charge him not to be haughty. Charge him not to set his hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. What are the rich to do? They are to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future. So that they may take hold of that which is truly life.

This is exactly what Jesus is saying about stewardship in Luke 16. Don’t waste money, don’t squander stewardship. Look to Jesus, look to the one who is the son, faithful over his father’s house. Follow him, obey him, do good, be rich in good works. Be generous, be ready to share, if you’re going to be generous and ready to share that means you have to take care of your household first, you have to see that your own needs are attended to, that you’re not a burden to anybody else and you’re earning enough to make a little more and save and put away and then you’re ready to share.

You’re ready to be generous to those in need and you’re ready to take advantage of opportunities for the gospel, for the kingdom, when they come, pounce on them. You can take hold like he says here, “Take hold of that which is truly life.” We will be faithful and we will be generous, when we’re mindful and here’s the third and final point. You can go back to Luke 16; we’ll be faithful and generous when we are mindful. Third point, mindful of the master of our stewardship. Number three, the master of our stewardship. So the manner of our stewardship is going to be worked out in direct proportion to our love for, talks about ability, “No servant is able to serve two masters.”

Jesus is denying there, the possibility that, that can be done, “for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he’ll be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot,” There’s that verb again, unable to “Serve God and money.” The measure of faithfulness is in your stewardship and it’s in direct proportion to your master to the one you serve as Lord. If you serve money, literally the verb there is douleuo, so it’s enslaved to money. If you are enslaved to money douleuo is used twice in this verse means just simply to serve as a slave, to be owned by something. So if you’re in, owned by money and your heart is owned by money, whether through greed and covetousness, or whether it’s through worry or whether it’s through a miserly, stingily, stingy heart.

If you’re owned by money, you’re unfaithful in your stewardship, but if God is your master, if you’re owned by him, you’re going to be devoted to him in love. You’re going to be faithful in your stewardship, you’re gonna be righteously motivated, the man of your stewardship is going to be faithful and generous. That’s the issue. Who do we line up under? What do we line up under? Who’s our Lord?

Notice there are several contrast there in verse 13. First notice the contrast between two kinds of disciples, the true and the false. You can’t see it so much in the English translation, but the word for servant there is, oiketes. So it contrasts with oikonomos, in the parable. The steward, the unjust steward was an unjust oikonomos. But here, Jesus talks about oiketes. So the words are related, but Jesus distinguishing the servant here, as one who is truly a member of the household.

It’s different from the oikonomos in the parable. The oikonomos in the parable was not a member of the household. Remember, he was a free man. He wasn’t owned, he was a man for hire, oiketes belongs to his master as a slave. That means he is a member of the household, he’s under the master’s care, provision, protection, he’s dearly loved. The oikonomos by contrast, was a free man. He’s hired himself out to the master, it’s his services that are contracted for, so the relationship is contractual. The connection between them is the thin connection of money. What is it that marks the difference between them? Second contrast, between the two affections in the heart. Notice the hatred versus the love, the devotion versus the despising. When it comes to affections, when it comes to the heart’s devotion, there is no middle ground whatsoever.

You can’t love God and money. You can’t be devoted to God and money. You can’t serve God and money. They’re mutually exclusive. And you say, well, I’ve been pretty well straddling a fence all my life. I tell you what, put a little pressure on your life. And when push comes to shove, it will force the decision. Who do you trust? What do you love? What do you, what do you devoted to? What do you actually despise?

Thirdly, notice the contrast between two masters, God versus money. More literally the contrast is between God and mammonah, the, the living and true God and the, and money which is nothing more than a dumb idol. We all recognize the same trees that we use to produce paper for money, we also used to make toilet paper. It’s all paper. That people love money, steal money, hoard money, gather money, stingy about money, points to a very serious distortion in the heart called greed. Covetous desire is such a warped, spiritual longing, because nothing in this life, nothing in the created Earth can satisfy the longing of our hearts which is eternal. Only the eternal can satisfy what God has put us, put within us, which is an eternal longing. Only God can satisfy.

You try to satisfy with anything else on this earth whatever money can buy, can’t be done. This brings us, go back to Luke 16. That brings us to a final contrast here. Luke 16:13, Jesus contrasts two disciples, two affections, two masters and then finally, Luke 16:13, notice the contrast between two enslavements. Serving God versus serving money, true disciples with true affections who serve the true Master. They are those who in this 1 Thessalonians 1:9 describes, have “Turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” If that’s you, it’s me. So let’s use the we, first person plural we, have been set free from the futility, and the enslavement and the misery of all idolatry in Christ.

And being set free. Our eyes are now opened. We’re not like those blinded, dull hearted people in, in Isaiah 44, who are bowing down to blocks of wood, bowing down to toilet paper. We’re not led astray, our eyes have been open and our hearts have been freed. And we’re now rejoicing in the true and the living God. Only God, we realize now, is worthy of our devotion. God and God alone causes us to wonder. God and God alone is the one who evokes all of our praise. God and God alone draws our hearts upward to worship, draws out our affection, demands our love and we’re happy to repay with love and gratitude and praise, serving God and God alone. That is freedom.

Serving money, that’s slavery. Again, Jesus says, “You cannot love God and money.” You cannot be devoted to God and money. You cannot serve God and money. They are mutually exclusive. You are enslaved to one or you’re enslaved to the other, but not both. You belong to one or you belong to the other. Not both. And yet as J.C. Ryle says, “Thousands of people are constantly trying to do the things which Christ says are impossible.” He goes on to say “They try to be friends with the world and friends of God at the same time. Their consciences are enlightened to the extent that they want to have some religion. But their affections are chained down to earthly things that they never show that they are true Christians. This results in their living in a state of unhappiness, they have too much religion to be happy in this world, and they have too much of the world in their hearts, to be happy with religion.” So true.

Those enslaved to money or any created thing, but, for that matter, anything, those enslaved to family, those enslaved to reputation, those enslaved to opinion, those enslaved to the fear of man, those enslaved to worry, those enslaved to money, fill it all in. Above all people, they are the most miserable people in the world. Only God is worthy of our service and our love and our devotion and discipleship. He commands our consciences. He holds us accountable for how we use what’s in our wallets and beloved, his only beloved son, his begotten son, he’s come to teach us, to exercise stewardship following his perfect, faithful example. He, the king of heaven, with all the treasury of heaven at his back, he pours it all out.

“Fear not little flock, it’s Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” So Jesus teaches us to exercise stewardship. Following his perfect example, his faithful example, his generosity. That I should be quick to add here, that when we’re less faithful than we should be, that’s all of us. Less faithful than we should be, when we fail, when we sin, I mean none of us is going to render a perfect account for our stewardship like Jesus did, so what does that mean? It means, we have another opportunity to sit back and glory in the gospel, to rest in his perfect redemption, because of his obedience, because of his perfect faithfulness, because of his magnanimous generosity to us, by the grace of God, his perfect stewardship has been imputed to us and we’re covered in it.

So when God looks at us do you know whose stewardship he sees? Not my failing, faltering one, he sees Christ’s stewardship. I’m covered in him, I’m covered in his righteousness, which means I’m covered in his faithfulness, which means I’m covered in his perfection, which means I’m covered in his stewardship. Charles Spurgeon encouraged us to live now in such a way as to render a good account of our stewardship to God.

He says, “We need to rest in Christ more confidently. Love God more earnestly, serve your generation more intensely, live while you live, play not at living, but live in real earnest and let it never be said of you that you trod so lightly on the sands of time, that you left no impress there. Make your mark upon your age, and fill your appointed place as God shall help you that when you’re gathered to your fathers, you may not be forgotten, but the church may remember you because in her midst, there are children born to God through your means.”

Man, that is a good word. Be encouraged Christian, there is still time, even if you look back at a past life of squandering. So to the prodigal, all he had was squandering in his past, all he had was wastefulness. I mean, if you’re at that very bottom of the barrel, look, there’s time to turn around, there’s time to repent. This life is a test of our stewardship and the reward of our earthly stewardship is going to be meted out in spades in the life to come. So, serve, give, be generous, be faithful, live life to the fullest. Live while you really live. Embrace the privilege of your stewardship. Let’s pray.

Our Father, we’re so grateful to you because you have sent us the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. He is the one who is God in the flesh. And so in him, we see you Father, this is your heart. This is your encouragement to us, that we can be your stewards, being your stewards, from the smallest of us to the greatest of us. That means we have a, a place in this world that is greater than the mightiest ruler, the most powerful warrior than the most wise philosopher. We are children of the living God and stewards of the resources of heaven.

Father, please remind us of our stewardship day, after day, after day and let us be like Jesus. Thinking daily, moment by moment about rendering unto you a good account of our stewardship. Let us rejoice in it. Let us count everything that you’ve given as a gift. Let us enjoy and then bring others into the enjoyment as well, that you may be praised for your goodness, your generosity, and your grace. All in the name of Jesus Christ we pray, amen.