Latest / Reformed Thinking / Biblical Principles of Stewardship

Transcript

Biblical Principles of Stewardship · Reformed Thinking

0:00
Welcome to reformed thinking. This is the deep dive.
0:03
Glad you could join us. This is where we take the
0:05
materials you've been studying, your notes, articles, maybe even
0:08
transcripts like we have today, and we really try to unpack them
0:11
together. Yeah, the goal is to help you
0:13
pull out those key insights, you know, the main takeaways,
0:16
without getting bogged down in absolutely everything, just
0:19
enough to make it clear and useful.
0:21
Exactly. And today we're diving into a
0:24
topic that's, well, it's right at the heart of Christian
0:27
living, biblical principles of stewardship.
0:30
That's right. We've got a good set of sources
0:31
here, notes, some excerpts, part of the transcript, and our our
0:37
mission, if you will, is to work through these and get a really
0:40
practical handle on what it means to be a good steward,
0:43
biblically speaking. The sources kind of guide us
0:45
from the start. They post to two central Quons
0:48
that frame this whole discussion.
0:50
First one is are you poorly managing any of the resources
0:53
God has given you? Direct question.
0:55
Yeah, and the second is in what areas can you become even more
0:59
useful to your master? And that word useful, it really
1:02
stands out in the notes, doesn't it?
1:03
They mentioned how it pops up and fill him on and it gets you
1:06
thinking about being like a useful employee for God.
1:10
Right. So it's not just ticking boxes
1:13
or being generally responsible, it's about managing what God's
1:16
entrusted to us in a way that actually helps His purposes and
1:20
makes this useful to Him. Precisely.
1:22
It's about aligning everything we do with the resources He
1:24
gives us with the aims of the One who actually owns it all.
1:28
So let's jump into those core principles.
1:31
The sources start with what they call a good steward's mind.
1:34
OK, the mind of a steward. So the absolute starting point,
1:37
the bedrock principle according to these sources, is this God
1:40
owns everything. That's it.
1:42
Simple to say, but huge implications.
1:45
We aren't the ultimate owners, we're managers, stewards,
1:48
looking after what belongs entirely to God.
1:50
And the sources get specific about what this everything
1:53
covers. They start big with the earth
1:55
itself and, well, everything in it.
1:57
They point us to Psalm 50, verse 10.
1:59
Yeah, Psalm 50.10 says for every beast of the forest is mine the
2:03
cattle on 1000 hills, a clear declaration of his ownership
2:09
over creation. And the sources add a little
2:11
nuance here. It's easy to read that and
2:13
think, OK, the cattle on those hills.
2:15
But they remind us God didn't just claim the cattle.
2:19
He made the hills they stand on. And he made the cattle too.
2:22
Right, so even if your cows were on hill #1001, they'd still be
2:26
his. He created it all.
2:28
It's his by creator, right? And that Creator Right gets even
2:31
more personal. It extends to our own physical
2:33
bodies. This is a big one in the
2:35
materials. Your body belongs to God.
2:37
Two reasons given. First, like we just said,
2:39
creation. God made you.
2:41
He has creator rights. And the second reason
2:43
specifically for Christians is what the source is called
2:45
redemptive ownership, because you were bought with a price.
2:48
Exactly, they quote First Corinthians 6.1920.
2:52
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy
2:54
Spirit within you, whom you have from God?
2:57
You are not your own for you were bought with a price, so
3:00
glorify God in your body. So if you're a believer, your
3:03
body is his twice over. You could say by creation and by
3:07
redemption you are truly not your own.
3:10
Now, this ownership idea, it often runs up against how we
3:13
feel about our stuff, right? Our material possessions.
3:16
That's where we tend to feel. This is mine.
3:18
Oh definitely. I worked hard for this paycheck.
3:21
I bought this car, I paid the mortgage.
3:24
It feels like ownership. It does, but the sources offer a
3:27
corrective. They say yes you worked, Yes you
3:30
bought it, but who gave you the ability to work?
3:32
Who provided the resources in the 1st place?
3:35
It's God who gives material possessions.
3:37
They bring in that prayer of David in First Chronicles 29.
3:41
The people gave generously for the temple, and David says to
3:44
God, both riches and honor come from you.
3:47
And he even says the gold and silver they just gave was, well,
3:50
it was already God's anyway. It's a powerful perspective
3:53
shift. The source of it all is God, and
3:55
the materials directly challenge the idea that our wealth comes
3:58
just from our own effort. They point to Deuteronomy 8.
4:01
Verses 17 and 18 it warns Beware, lest you say in your
4:05
heart, My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this
4:08
wealth. And then right after, you shall
4:11
remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you ability
4:15
to get wealth. That's crucial.
4:17
It's not just the stuff, it's the ability to get the stuff.
4:21
The might of my hand that also comes from Him.
4:23
Our talents, our energy, our intellect, all gifts.
4:27
And they use that really vivid story of Nebuchadnezzar from
4:30
Daniel 4. He's boasting about building
4:32
Babylon by his own mighty power, for his own glory.
4:35
And boom, God humbles him instantly, takes away his
4:38
Kingdom, his sanity, until he learns that the Most High rules
4:42
the Kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will.
4:45
A pretty dramatic lesson that everything, even a King's power,
4:48
comes from God. It really drives home that God's
4:50
ownership is total. Nothing is outside His sovereign
4:53
hand. And this ownership extends to
4:55
our time as well. That's another resource listed.
4:57
Yeah, Psalm 139.16 is mentioned. Your eyes saw my unformed
5:02
substance. In your book were written every
5:04
one of them. The days that were formed for me
5:05
when is, yet there was none of them.
5:07
Our lifespan, the number of our days, it's determined by God.
5:11
The sources note how people might say, oh, it wasn't their
5:13
time when someone dies suddenly, but the biblical view presented
5:16
here is that God actually does oversee and fix our end time.
5:22
It's a sobering reality, isn't it?
5:24
Our time is limited and appointed by God.
5:27
But the sources also mentioned this idea of being essentially
5:30
immortal on God's timeline, which is kind of comforting to
5:33
knowing. It's not random, but it means we
5:36
have a responsibility to use the time well.
5:38
Like Ephesians 5 says, redeem the time, make the best use of
5:42
it. Spiritual gifts are also on this
5:44
list of things God owns and gives.
5:46
These are the abilities from the Holy Spirit for serving others.
5:49
We'll talk more about those later, but the point here is
5:51
they come from God too. And then there's one more.
5:53
Something not physical, but maybe the most valuable thing
5:56
entrusted to us, the Gospel itself.
5:59
Right, God gives us the gospel message and we become stewards
6:02
of it. The sources site 2nd Corinthians
6:04
5 we're we're called ambassadors for Christ, like God is making
6:08
his appeal through us, we represent the King.
6:10
So a huge part of our role is faithfully representing him and
6:15
stewarding that message, both proclaiming it and living it
6:17
out, showing the righteousness he gives, the sources asked
6:20
point blank. How are you stewarding this
6:23
message? That's a core stewardship
6:25
responsibility. So pulling all that together for
6:27
the mind part, a good steward fundamentally understands and
6:31
accepts that God owns everything.
6:34
Our bodies, stuff, talents, time, gifts, the gospel message.
6:40
All of it. And there's that little analogy
6:41
they use watching kids with presents, how quickly it becomes
6:44
mine. Mine.
6:45
They forget the giver almost instantly.
6:47
Yeah, it's a relatable picture of our own tendency, isn't it?
6:50
We receive blessings from God, health, income, opportunities,
6:53
and we start acting like they're just ours.
6:55
But the sources are really clear, quite blunt actually.
6:58
None of the stuff is yours there in the ultimate sense.
7:01
It's all his entrusted to us to manage for him.
7:04
OK, so that's the mindset, the understanding.
7:07
But stewardship isn't just intellectual ascent.
7:09
It flows from the heart. So the sources move next to the
7:12
desires of a good steward's heart.
7:14
Right. This section shifts to our
7:16
affections, our motivations, what should be driving us.
7:20
The first desire listed is a big one, the desire for God's glory.
7:24
This is presented as the number one motivation.
7:27
Everything else flows from this and it's contrasted directly
7:30
with seeking praise from people. Matthew 6.1 is the reference.
7:34
Beware practicing your righteousness before other
7:37
people in order to be seen by them.
7:39
If you do that, you will have no reward from your Father who is
7:43
in heaven. It highlights that constant
7:44
tension, doesn't it, doing the right thing.
7:46
But why are we doing it? For human applause?
7:49
The sources say. God wants us doing things
7:51
because he sees out of a desire to honor Him.
7:54
Exactly fighting that fleshly pole for approval and they bring
7:58
in that classic verse First Corinthians 10.31.
8:00
So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the
8:03
glory of God. And the source material notes
8:05
that's probably one of the hardest verses in the whole
8:07
Bible to actually live out consistently it.
8:09
Covers literally literally everything.
8:10
But the point is, when our deepest desire truly shifts
8:14
towards God's glory, away from self glory or pleasing people,
8:18
then our actions, our stewardship will naturally start
8:21
to align with. That OK, so desire for God's
8:23
glory first. What's the next desire of a good
8:26
steward? A desire for eternal things over
8:28
temporal things, prioritizing what lasts forever.
8:31
They use that story from Luke 12 where the man asks Jesus to sort
8:34
out an inheritance dispute. Right.
8:36
And Jesus doesn't get into the legal weeds.
8:38
He goes straight to the underlying heart issue.
8:40
Greed, covetousness. The sources define that is not
8:44
just wanting stuff, but this constant desire for more, always
8:47
feeling like you never have enough.
8:49
And Jesus warns in verse 15, life does not consist in the
8:52
abundance of his possessions. Then he tells that parable of
8:56
the rich fool. Yeah, the guy with the bumper
8:57
crop who decides to build bigger barns to store it all.
9:00
His plan? Relax, eat, drink, be merry.
9:04
His entire security was in his stuff.
9:06
But God calls him a fool. Why?
9:08
Because that very night his life was required.
9:11
And then who's would all that stored up stuff be?
9:13
It shows the, the sources say silliness, the foolishness of
9:16
banking everything on earthly wealth.
9:18
It mentions Ecclesiastes briefly to that sense of vanity.
9:21
And Jesus continues right after, telling the disciples not to
9:24
worry about food or clothes, pointing to God's gear for birds
9:28
and lilies. Seek His Kingdom 1st and these
9:31
other things fall into place. And then the punchline in verse
9:33
34 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
9:37
The sources make a really practical connection here.
9:39
Want to know where your heart is?
9:41
Look at your bank statement, look at your credit card bills,
9:43
look at your calendar. Where are your resources, time
9:46
and money actually going? That revealed your treasure and
9:49
thus your heart. That's a challenging
9:52
self-assessment. Our spending reveals our worship
9:55
in a way which leads right into the next desire, a desire for
9:59
proper worship. This draws from Luke 16 point
10:02
low teen. No servant can serve 2 masters.
10:05
You cannot serve God and money. You have to choose where your
10:08
ultimate loyalty lies. And the sources point out the
10:11
strong worship words Jesus uses. Hate, love, devoted, despise.
10:18
It shows the intensity of the allegiance.
10:19
You're either devoted to God or devoted to something else Is
10:22
trying to take his place, like money.
10:24
So what consumes your thoughts? What do you plan for, strategize
10:28
about? That often indicates what you
10:30
truly worship. Right, and the materials wisely.
10:33
Note that maybe money isn't your specific idol, but everyone
10:36
struggles with idols. It could be career, reputation,
10:38
hobbies, comfort, family, anything that captures that
10:41
ultimate devotion which belongs only to God.
10:44
We need to examine where our devotion really rests.
10:46
Makes sense? OK, what?
10:48
Else a desire for God Word service, meaning our service
10:51
should be aimed towards God and his purposes.
10:53
First Peter 4 point Nunzar 11 is the key passage here.
10:57
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good
11:01
stewards of God's varied grace, in order that in everything God
11:04
may be glorified through Jesus Christ.
11:06
See how it connects serving one another directly to being good
11:09
steward so that God gets the glory.
11:11
The vertical relationship with God serving Him fuels the
11:14
horizontal service to others. We serve people for God.
11:17
That's a critical distinction and the sources warned that if
11:20
we lose that God word focus, our service can just become man
11:24
pleasing, doing things just to get strokes from people rather
11:28
than out of love for God. Exactly, and the final desire
11:31
listed for a good steward's heart is the desire to be proven
11:35
faithful. This isn't about being perfect,
11:37
but about consistency, steadfastness over the long
11:40
haul. First Corinthians 4.1 to 2 Again
11:44
it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.
11:47
Faithfulness is presented as the key requirement.
11:50
The sources use that analogy of an ambassador.
11:53
They represent their king faithfully for years, but if
11:55
they blow it right at the end, that failure can over shadow
11:58
everything because as they put it, everybody's focused now on
12:01
you and how you blew it. So faithfulness is about the
12:04
whole trajectory, the consistent pattern.
12:07
The sources mention how crucial this is for pastors, for
12:09
example. Their life, Monday to Saturday,
12:11
has to back up the Sunday message.
12:13
But it applies to all of us. Our everyday actions, words, how
12:17
we handle things, it all represents Christ.
12:19
His reputation is tied to our faithfulness.
12:22
We need to avoid anything that would discredit the gospel or
12:24
give someone an excuse to dismiss Christianity because of
12:27
her inconsistency. That's part of being found
12:29
faithful. OK, so summarizing, the heart
12:32
desires for God's glory, eternal things, proper worship of God
12:36
alone, God word service, and being proven faithful over time.
12:40
That covers the mindset and the motivations.
12:43
Now the sources shift to the practical outworking what they
12:47
call a good stewards will How do we actually do this?
12:50
Right. This is where the rubber meets
12:51
the road and the sources are upfront.
12:54
This takes effort. It requires discipline and
12:56
intentional thought. Because our default mode is self
12:58
pleasing, we won't just drift into good stewardship.
13:00
Exactly. You have to actively organize
13:02
your life around pleasing God, otherwise it'll naturally
13:05
organize itself around pleasing yourself.
13:07
Let's start with stewarding time.
13:09
OK, time we need to honestly look at how we spend it.
13:13
If Ephesians 5 again, look carefully then how you walk
13:16
making the best use of the time because the days are evil.
13:20
Wise people use time well. And the sources list some usual
13:23
suspects for time wasting, don't they?
13:25
Phones, screens, endless scrolling, binge watching TV?
13:28
Are these tools serving God's purposes in our lives or just
13:32
sucking up hours? They mentioned Jonathan Edwards,
13:35
The Preciousness of Time, and Andy Crouches, the Tech Wise
13:39
family as helpful resources here.
13:41
They also bring up communal time.
13:43
Who are we spending our time with?
13:44
They quote First Corinthians 15.33.
13:47
Bad company corrupts good morals and make the point that this
13:50
doesn't stop being true when we're adults.
13:52
Who you hang around influences you.
13:54
That's part of stewarding time wisely.
13:56
And then there's thinking long term about time planning for
13:59
when our time is up, estate planning.
14:01
Yeah, making wills, thinking about inheritance.
14:03
Proverbs 13.22 says a Goodman leaves an inheritance to his
14:06
children's children. It's part of stewarding
14:09
resources. Well, even beyond your own
14:10
lifetime. It takes thought.
14:12
Maybe talking to a lawyer? All right, next practical area,
14:15
stewarding your body. We already established God owns
14:18
it, creation and redemption, so taking care of it is
14:21
stewardship, not vanity. And the motivation given is
14:24
primarily usefulness for God's service.
14:27
Being healthy allows it to represent Christ more
14:30
effectively. Poor health can definitely slow
14:33
us down. Though the sources rightly
14:35
acknowledge that some people deal with illness or disability,
14:37
and that's not necessarily poor stewardship on their part.
14:40
It's about managing the health God has given you.
14:43
Practical tips mentioned include getting enough sleep seen as a
14:46
gift from God for renewal. They even reference other talks
14:49
on sleep being available. And watching what we eat.
14:52
Gluttony is specifically called out as poor stewardship.
14:55
It's about lack of control, not just weight, honoring the body
14:59
God gave us. Exercise is mentioned too, doing
15:02
it wisely for health and usefulness, not just appearance.
15:05
There's a quick mention, kind of amusingly about someone just
15:09
Jeremy PR flexing, hinting at potentially self focused
15:12
motives. OK, moving from the body to
15:14
material possessions, how do we steward our stuff?
15:17
A big theme here is avoiding waste.
15:19
Yeah, they list everyday examples.
15:20
Food going bad in the fridge, buying things we don't use,
15:24
piling up gadgets, maybe even constantly buying bottled water
15:27
if tap is fine. Little things that add up.
15:30
The positive side is using things intentionally for Christ.
15:34
Hospitality is a key example. Opening your home, using your
15:38
possessions to serve others and show God's love, that shifts the
15:42
focus from just having stuff to using stuff for Him.
15:45
And closely related is stewarding money, especially
15:48
giving. The sources point to 2nd
15:50
Corinthians 8, the example of those Macedonian churches.
15:53
They were dirt poor, yet they begged to give generously.
15:56
Amazing generosity. And the key insight from the
15:59
sources is why they were so generous.
16:01
Because they first gave themselves to the Lord.
16:03
Their giving flowed from their devotion to God.
16:05
Giving should show love. It should come from a ready,
16:07
willing heart according to what you have.
16:09
The attitude is key. Cheerful giving is what pleases
16:12
God, and often the amount reflects that heart attitude.
16:15
Even with online giving, the sources encourage keeping a
16:17
ready heart for spontaneous needs, maybe even budgeting for
16:21
unexpected opportunities to give generously.
16:23
And wisdom is implied too. They touch briefly on couples
16:27
where one is more naturally generous.
16:30
The advice is not to stifle the cheerful giver, but seek wisdom
16:33
together. All right, a big one next,
16:35
stewarding your spiritual gifts. Right, these abilities from the
16:39
Spirit are given as the source of stress again for building up
16:42
others, equipping the church, not for personal ego boosts.
16:46
And the sources layout a specific way of categorizing
16:49
these gifts based on a particular theological view.
16:52
They divide them into four groups.
16:54
First, revelatory gifts. These, according to this view,
16:57
have ceased things like apostleship, prophecy,
17:00
distinguishing spirits, words of wisdom, words of knowledge.
17:04
Their purpose was foundational, revealing new truth to start the
17:07
Church. Since the Bible is complete,
17:09
this view says these aren't needed in the same way. 2nd
17:12
Confirmatory gifts also seen as ceased.
17:15
This includes specific gifts like miraculous faith, healings,
17:18
miracles, tongues, interpretation of tongues.
17:21
The idea here is these gifts confirmed the new revelation
17:24
being given, especially before the New Testament was widely
17:27
available like tongues in Acts validating the gospel to new
17:31
groups. With Scripture complete, the
17:34
need for these specific sign gifts to authenticate truth
17:37
within the church according to this perspective, has passed.
17:40
The sources label this view cessationism, maybe leaning soft
17:44
cessationist, allowing for God doing miracles today, but saying
17:48
these specific gifts aren't given consistently in churches.
17:51
Now they contrast it briefly with the continuationist view.
17:54
OK, So what gifts are still active according to this view?
17:57
Third category, speaking gifts. Yes, things like evangelism,
18:01
teaching, pastor teaching, exhortation, gifts focused on
18:04
communicating God's word and building people up.
18:06
And 4th auxiliary or ministry gifts also active.
18:09
These are the support gifts serving mercy giving as a
18:12
specific gifting administration. The sources really emphasize the
18:16
diversity here. God gives all these different
18:19
gifts because the church needs all of them working together.
18:23
If everyone was a teacher or everyone had the gift of mercy,
18:26
the church couldn't function properly.
18:28
You should just sort of see these gifts naturally operating
18:30
all around a healthy church. So how do you figure out your
18:33
spiritual gifts based on these sources?
18:36
They give a process. First, believe gifts exist, and
18:39
every Christian has at least one.
18:41
Second, understand what the gifts are.
18:43
Study the biblical descriptions. 3rd Pray ask God for wisdom like
18:48
James 1 encourages. 4th Consider your natural talents.
18:53
God gave those two, and they might overlap or be the channel
18:56
for a spiritual gift. 5th This is key experiment.
18:59
Don't just sit around theorizing.
19:01
Get involved. Serve somewhere.
19:03
Try different things, see what clicks, where you seem
19:06
effective, where you sense God's help.
19:09
They mentioned missionaries sometimes having to serve
19:11
outside their comfort zone, which stretch them and sometimes
19:14
reveal unexpected gifting. 6th evaluate.
19:17
How did it go? What did you observe?
19:20
And importantly, get feedback. Ask trusted, godly people who
19:25
serve with you what they see in you.
19:27
And 7th, stay humble. God gives gifts as he pleases.
19:31
Don't get puffed up or feel inferior.
19:34
Faithfulness in using whatever gift you have, even if it's
19:37
behind the scenes, is what matters to God.
19:39
Yeah, they used that great example of the woman serving
19:42
faithfully in the nursery for years.
19:44
Maybe not glamorous, but incredibly valuable and faithful
19:47
stewardship. It's OK to have multiple gifts
19:49
or different degrees of gifting. And for a deeper dive, they
19:53
suggest the book Understanding Spiritual Gifts by Doctor Robert
19:56
Thomas. And finally, just a quick
19:58
reinforcement of stewarding the gospel.
20:00
Yes, it comes back around faithfully, representing Christ
20:02
as His ambassador day-to-day, being ready to share the hope
20:06
you have. It's an ongoing stewardship.
20:08
So this whole practical section really highlights that living
20:11
God's way, stewarding his resources well, it takes
20:14
conscious effort. It requires discipline,
20:16
planning, leaning on him. Absolutely.
20:18
It won't happen by accident. It requires soaking in the Word,
20:22
praying for wisdom, actively choosing to manage his resources
20:26
for his goals, not just drifting along serving ourselves.
20:29
Well, that was certainly a deep dive into these principles of
20:32
stewardship based on the sources provided.
20:35
Yeah, we tried to cover those three main areas.
20:37
The steward's mind knowing God owns it all, the steward's heart
20:41
having the right desires and motivations, and the steward's
20:44
will. The practical steps of managing
20:47
time, body, money, gifts and the gospel.
20:51
And the big challenge coming out of all this seems to be living
20:54
that consistently Godward life through faithful stewardship of
20:58
absolutely everything he's given us.
20:59
Not just one area, but all of it.
21:01
And the sources are realistic, they acknowledge we all fail, we
21:04
all mismanage things God has entrusted to us, which just
21:06
points us back to our need for Christ, right?
21:09
And for the Holy Spirit's help every single day to live this
21:11
out, to use this short life for His glory.
21:14
So we'll leave you with that final challenging question from
21:17
the source material. Something to really think about.
21:19
What is your plan then, to use what God has given you for His
21:22
glory and the common good? Thank you for joining us on
21:25
Reform Thinking for this deep dive.
21:28
We hope exploring these sources together has been helpful as you
21:31
continue to think through what it means to be a faithful
21:33
steward.