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Sunday – March 24, 2019 Gospel of Luke – Luke 16:1-13 “To Commend a Crook” Part 2

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Sunday – March 24, 2019

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Word On Worship – Sunday – March 24, 2019

Luke 16:9-11
And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness, so that when it fails, they will receive you into the eternal dwellings. He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. Therefore, if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?

Did Jesus praise the steward for his shrewdness? We can easily see that the master praised his steward’s shrewdness and we can even understand why he would do so. But would Jesus join with the master in his praise of this man’s shrewdness? The answer is unequivocally NO! In my understanding of the Scripture, this answer is clear, though sadly many Christian leaders have accepted it, choosing rather to see this parable as teaching Christians to be more shrewd, especially in the way we handle money.

The word “shrewd” or “shrewdly” is found twice in the parable, but not in the Lord’s interpretation and application of it. Never does Jesus imply or state that Christians should be shrewd in any way that the “unrighteous” steward has been shrewd. The application found in our Lord’s interpretation of the parable is FAITHFULNESS- not shrewdness. Faithfulness and shrewdness, in this text, are diametrically opposed. The steward “had to” be shrewd because he had been unfaithful. Disciples who are faithful do not need to be shrewd.

Jesus carries over from the parable of the unjust steward, a parallel to what Christians should practice. The unjust steward saw that his days were numbered, and that he would not be able to take his master’s money with him. He then began to use his master’s money in such a way as to make friends, because they would outlast his master’s money. He used his master’s money to make friends. Christians should act similarly, but not the same.

We, like the unjust steward, are stewards of all that God has given us. We do not own anything, but we are given custody of certain resources by God for a time. We need to understand that our Lord’s return is at hand (or our own death will arrive first), and we will neither take money nor possessions with us. Money will not last, but we will last for all eternity. The way to use money so that it will last forever is to “make friends” of men, who will gratefully receive us in heaven. I know of no other application of this more important than evangelism. By using our money in ways that manifest Christ to men and which draw men to Christ in faith, we “make friends,” we invest in men’s souls, so that they will await us in heaven. Thus, though money will not last, investments in men’s souls will last. In this way, we can imitate, in a measure, the unjust steward. He at least can see that friends outlast money.

Sunday – March 17, 2019 Gospel of Luke – Luke 16:1-13 “To Commend a Crook” Part 1

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Sunday – March 17, 2019

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Word On Worship – Sunday – March 17, 2019

Luke 16:10-11
He who is faithful in a very little thing is faithful also in much; and he who is unrighteous in a very little thing is unrighteous also in much. Therefore, if you have not been faithful in the use of unrighteous wealth, who will entrust the true riches to you?

Implicit in Jesus’ teaching, both here and elsewhere, is that God owns everything and we are stewards or managers of what He has entrusted to us. We are stewards of our time, our abilities, and our possessions and money. In the parable, the steward was squandering his master’s possessions. There is much debate over whether his action of reducing the bills of his master’s debtors was illegal or legal. Some argue that his master had cleverly violated the Jewish laws against charging interest, and that the steward was rectifying the situation and putting the master in the awkward position of going along with the adjusted bills or else openly being guilty of charging interest. Others say that the steward was stealing from his master. We can’t know for sure, but it seems to me that the steward was not doing anything illegal or the master would have prosecuted him.

And yet, while staying within the letter of the law and acting within the authority given to him, the steward was not acting in his master’s best interests, but in his own. Even though the master lost a lot of money through the steward’s actions, he grudgingly had to praise him for his shrewdness. But the fact is, although shrewd, the steward was still unrighteous or unfaithful because he was using his master’s money for his own selfish ends, not for the master’s profit.

One of the key concepts of being a steward is that the steward does not own what the master or owner has entrusted to him. He merely manages it for the owner’s purposes. If the steward begins to act as if he owns it, spending the owner’s resources for his personal betterment rather than for the owner’s benefit, he is an unrighteous, not a faithful, steward. The principle of stewardship is a fundamental concept of Christian living. When you keep it in focus, it radically affects how you live. Paul says, “It is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy,”  (1 Cor. 4:2). To be faithful as a steward, you must keep in mind at all times that you do not own your money; God does. You do not own your car; God does. You do not own your house; God does. You do not own your own life; God does. To forget or ignore God’s purposes and to live as if what we have is ours to use for our purposes is to abuse our stewardship by being unfaithful.

God has promised that what is hidden behind the curtain is so much better than what you can see now that there is no comparison. “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9). The question is, will you believe God and live by faith in His promises? Will you give up temporal riches that you will lose anyway by investing them in His kingdom, with His promise that you will inherit eternal riches that you will never lose? It’s a sure-fire way to get rich—truly rich!