Title: The Unfaithful Steward
Scripture Reading: Luke 16:1-13
And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my Lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. So he called every one of his Lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my Lord? And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. And the Lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. 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. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
Matthew 26:58: ‘But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest’s palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end.’
Show picture of the High Priest Palace.
- Accountability of a steward
Luke 16:2 says, ‘ And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward.’
Christianity is an initial decision of faith and repentance followed by a lifestyle of faith and repentance.
The phrase ‘Give an account of your stewardship’ are words that everyone will hear, both sinner and saint.
Charles Spurgeon once noted that each of us will have to give account of our stewardship regarding our time, our talents, our substance, and our influence
The stewardship issue accountability was directed at the High Priest, Pharisees and Sanhedrin and of course the disciples of Christ. For each of us, our stewardship will one day come to an end and they have to give an account:
- The preacher’s voice, mental faculties, and strength will not last forever.
- My wealth in this world may not last even in this lifetime ofmine.
- A mother’s stewardship over her children changes and diminishes greatly
The dishonest steward is a good example on several points:
Firstly, he knew he would be called to account for his life and he took that seriously
Secondly, he took advantage of this present position to arrange a comfortable future.
- We are ‘Oikonomos’
The Greek term for stewards is ‘oikonomos’ and could refer to:
- A person hired to manage an estate
- An administrator or steward
- A treasurer
If have very little mammon in this world, my father in heaven will compensate me greatly in heaven.
- Faithful in least is faithful in much
Luke 16:10 says, ‘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’.
In this word of Jesus, money is considered to be one of the least of things.
If one is false and unfaithful in everyday life, it doesn’t matter even if they know how to project a Christian image; they are also false and unfaithful in the spiritual life
The true riches here refers to mammon and of course spiritual riches. Also if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon (money), who will commit to your trust the true riches?
From this portion of scripture Jesus is implying two truths:
- Jesus seems to refer to the fact that all our riches belong to God and we must see that we are managing His resources (if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s – implying that another man is YHWH). Faithfulness in this will result in blessing that is our own (who will give you what is your own)
- God is testing men by giving them money, that He may know how far to trust them in the Mart of the New Jerusalem.
- No one can be faithful to more than one master
Luke 16:13 says, ‘ No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.’
Jesus has the master and slave relationship in view. A slave can’t belong to two masters at the same time.
What is Jesus saying here?
Firstly Jesus states that serving two masters is a simple impossibility. If you think that you are successfully serving two masters, you are deceived. One can have both money and God but one cannot serve both money and God.
Secondly, certainly Jesus spoke about the heart here. Many people would say they love God, but their service of money shows that in fact they do not.
How can we tell Who or What we serve? One way is by this principle: You will sacrifice for your God. If you will sacrifice for the sake of money, but will not sacrifice for the sake of Jesus, don’t deceive yourself: money is your God.
- When God is served Mammon is used beneficently
But when God is served, Mammon is used beneficently. When Mammon is served the claims of God is ignored. Money possessing a man is the direst curse, for it hardens his heart and paralyzes his noblest powers. The money of a God possessed man is a blessing, for it becomes the means of his expressing his sympathy with his fellows
James 1:17: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.”
When God teaches us that our security is in him and not in our bank account, that allows us to be free from fear. Such fearlessness enables us to put our lives and resources on the line for Jesus.
