[ ] 8/1/2021 #1391

A FAITHFUL STEWARD
Luke 16:1-13

INTRODUCTION: Are you a good money manager? As the children of God, we are stewards of
that which is material. We own nothing in this world except our sins. We are accountable to God
for how we use His goods. What do you believe your spiritual score is as God's steward? Are you
an honest and trustworthy steward of His possessions?

I. CORRUPT STEWARD
A. HE WAS A SQUANDERER. (v. 1)
This steward probably was a free man and not a slave. As a steward, he was trusted to carry out
his master's business. The steward would manage the master's land, crops, and resources. He
would have the right and the power to act as the administrator of the estate on the behalf of the
rich owner.

The corrupt steward wasted his master's goods. Someone made the master aware of what his
steward was doing. The steward proved he was irresponsible. The master charged the manager
with squandering his money. Jesus' parable makes it clear that the steward was unrighteous and
unfaithful. The master confronted the steward about the claim of wasteful management. He was
required to give an account of his stewardship. This apparently did not go very well because the
steward lost his job.

Warren Wiersbe said, "The most important thing about a steward is that he serves his master
faithfully. (1 Corinthians 4:2) When he looks at the riches around him, the steward must
remember that they belong to his master, not to him personally and that they must be used in a
way that will please and profit the master."

God created the entire universe, which includes every man and woman. In Genesis 1:28, God gave
man dominion over His creation. Everything belongs to God. We are just stewards of that which is
His. As Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:7, "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we
can carry nothing out." Each of us will give an account to God. We are to be faithful managers of
all that belongs to the Lord. This includes our lives as well as all of our material blessings. Charles
Spurgeon once said that each of us would have to give an account of our stewardship regarding
our time, our talents, our substance, and our influence. Those of us who are saved will never be
judged for our sins. Jesus paid for all my sins in full. The Bible does declare in 2 Corinthians 5:10,
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due
him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad." This judgment is for Christians.
Yes, even as Christians we are all facing judgment for our stewardship.

B. HE WAS VERY SHREWD.

The steward lost his job for being a crook. As the steward considered his situation, he thought
about what he needed to do. He just lost his office job. He says he cannot dig. He is too proud to
be a beggar. Matthew Henry said, "It does not appear that he is either old or lame; but the truth
is, he is lazy. His cannot is a will not; it is not a natural but a moral disability that he labours
under."

The unrighteous steward thinks of his future. The steward's plan would help him establish
friendships with some of his master's customers. In his shrewd strategy, they would receive him
into their homes. He gets busy contacting every one of his master's debtors. It must have been
more than the two mentioned in our text. By reducing what the debtors were required to pay his
master, he put them under obligation to him. He reduced what each debtor owed his boss. One of
the debtor's owed about 900 gallons of olive oil. The amount was reduced to 400 gallons. The
other man owed 1,000 bushels of wheat. The shrewd steward reduced it to 800 bushels.
The person referred to as “the lord” in verse 8 is the steward’s employer and not God. The rich
man was impressed at the shrewdness of the unrighteous steward; however, he was not putting
his approval on the unjust steward robbing him of his money. It is possible that the rich man
became wealthy through such methods of deception. Although the steward was a crook, he was
concerned about making provision for his own future.

II. CHRIST'S SAYINGS (v. 9, 10)

A. WORD ABOUT FRIENDS. (v. 9)
Jesus called His disciples friends. They became His friends when He saved them. In heaven, they
are still His friends. People we win to Christ are our friends now and will be our friends in heaven.
When the things of this world come to an end, those who we blessed with our worldly resources
will be our eternal friends. Just think of being greeted in heaven by those who were saved because
you gave them a gospel tract. Consider meeting people from around the world who came to Christ
because you prepared an Operation Child shoebox. The person who gives another a cup of cold
water in Jesus' name will receive a reward.

Money is not evil; however, the Bible teaches that the love of money is the root of all evil. Money
can be spent on things that are either good or bad. It can be spent on wicked and sinful things, or
it can be spent on things that will advance the kingdom of God. The useless and wicked things will
be consumed in the judgment fires of hell. People who invest their money in spiritual things are
wise. When we invest money in ministering to others and spreading the gospel, souls will be
saved. Heavenly rewards are awaiting these faithful stewards who spend their money wisely and
according to God's will.

In our text, Jesus is telling us to use our money and other resources in ways that will help us in
eternity. We should use money and other material things in such a way as to win souls for Christ
and thus form friendships that will endure throughout eternity. John MacArthur states, "This is a
wonderful and a gracious gift by God to us, a gift that transcends this world. You can use your
money (now) to make friends who will receive you into heavenly dwellings, eternal dwellings. This
is the foundation of our Christian giving."

The unjust steward used his master's money in an attempt to buy earthly friends and benefit
himself in the future. We must keep in mind that Jesus was not putting his approval upon such
sinful behavior as the crooked steward. The Lord was using this parable to teach His disciples a
spiritual lesson. They needed to learn how to use material things for future spiritual benefit. As
believers, we can use the material wealth of our heavenly Father to ensure us of a heavenly
reward. We can meet in heaven those who were saved because of our giving and prayers. Instead
of hoarding material possessions, we can put those possessions to work for the Lord.

B. WORD ABOUT FAITHFULNESS. (v. 10)

Jesus said in Luke 16:10, "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he
that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much." The unrighteous steward squandered and
cheated his master and used the money for selfish gain. If we are honest, many of us are probably
guilty of being swindlers of our Master's money.

In verses 10 and 11, Jesus makes it plain that mammon or money is of least value. The word
mammon means riches, treasure, or material possessions. Jesus said in Mark 8:3, "For what shall
it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" God requires faithfulness.
Since God owns everything, our handling of all that is His is a test of our faithfulness. Jesus never
passed an offering plate. Tithing is restricted giving. Jesus wants the complete giving of ourselves
to Him; however, you find those who are not even faithful in the area of tithing much less the
giving of everything to Him. Jesus said in verse 11, "If therefore ye have not been faithful in the
unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?"

"Every faculty you have, your power of thinking or of moving your limbs from moment to
moment, is given you by God. If you devoted every moment of your whole life exclusively to His
service, you could not give Him anything that was not in a sense His own already."  C. S. Lewis,
Mere Christianity

III. CHRISTIAN STEWARDSHIP

A. FAITH OF A CHRISTIAN STEWARD.
Christians are to have a different worldview from the unsaved. Our view starts in Genesis 1:1. "In
the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." We read in Psalm 24:1, "The earth is the
LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." As the Creator, God has
absolute rights of ownership over all things concerning us. Genesis declares this truth. Christians
by faith accept this truth. Christians have been spiritually born into the kingdom of God. Our
spiritual birth required faith in Christ as Savior and Lord. His Lordship over our lives requires our
stewardship.

"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have
of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your
body, and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)

The Bible tells us that we are to live by faith and not by sight. Hebrews 11:6 states: "But without
faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he
is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Stewardship includes more than managing our
finances and faithfully giving our tithes and offerings. Stewardship is a way of life lived by faith in
God who calls us to obedience to His Word and His will in all areas of our lives. We are all
stewards of the resources, abilities, and opportunities that God has entrusted to our care.

B. FAITHFULNESS OF A CHRISTIAN STEWARD.

Jesus sees our managing of that which is His. He also knows our motives. Jesus watched one day
as the rich men placed their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow casting in
her two small copper coins. The rich men gave out of their abundance. In their giving, they were
trying to impress others.

This woman gave because she loved God. She cast in all the living that she had. When we give a
portion of our money or our tithes, are we giving more like the rich men or like the poor widow?
She trusted God and God could trust her. Her possessions on earth were few, but her treasures in
heaven are great.

Someone has said, "The reward for faithful tithing in the Old Testament was material wealth; the
reward for faithful stewardship in the present age is spiritual riches." A righteous steward who
uses His resources according to God's will can expect heavenly rewards.

LESSONS FOR LIFE:

1. Money will not buy you heaven, but the righteous use of money will give you eternal rewards.
2. Your material wealth will one day perish, but your eternal treasures are secure in heaven.
3. Jesus said you cannot serve two masters. Who is your master? Is it God or your possessions?
4. We are not to love the world. Do you love the world or God the most? Your management of
God's sources reveals the truth about what or whom you love.