Faithful Stewards
1 Corinthians • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Transcript
This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself. For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God. I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.
Welcome
As many of you know, the preference and conviction of the teaching team is to preach whole books of the Bible. Then, when we finish a book, we usually take a break and do some topical sermons. Sometimes, we have a theme for those sermons. A few years ago we preached a series on mental health. This past summer, I spoke about evangelism.
As we were going into last summer, the elders were discussing possible themes, and we talked about preaching on the doctrine of the church. We wanted to preach a series on what the Bible says about how the local church is to function:
What is the purpose of the local church?
What are the Biblical leadership structures and responsibilities?
What does it mean to be a contributing member of the church?
As we discussed this, we landed on another idea: what if we just preach through 1 Corinthians since so much of that is discussed there.
And so, here we are, four chapters in.
And today, we are going to see Paul begin to address some of these ideas directly, as he discusses further the role of the preacher and teacher in the church.
He touched on this previously, as we have seen, when he talked about how he imparted spiritual truth to the Corinthians, or how he and Apollos were God’s fellow field-workers, and the Corinthians were God’s field.
So Paul thinks it important that the Corinthians rightly understand the role of teachers in God’s church.
But we’ll see, that Paul speaks about how he and Apollos were called by God to be preachers and teachers, that does not make their role more important than anyone else’s. Different role, yes, but not a more important role.
Please keep that in mind. Always keep that in mind.
Because, you know, very often, I worry about how my sermon will be received. And I am not talking about whether people think the sermon is good or bad, or if they agree with my interpretation of the passage or not.
No. I worry that when I get up here and get all excited - like I tend to do - and I become more and more North Jersey as I raise my voice, talk really fast, and swing my hands around as I try to make my point - that some might think I am doing what I talked about last week.
That I might be thinking, “boy, I really hope someone that needs to hear this is listening.” Or that I take any corrections Paul offers and I walk away saying, “I’m glad I don’t have to change anything, but I hope they do”
Because, believe me, by the time Sunday morning comes, I have already been convicted for a week. I have already had a week to realize just how much these things apply to me.
And this morning, that is especially true. Today’s passage really applies to me more than anyone here. And it applies to all the preaches and teachers in our church directly. Because Paul is talking about us specifically, though he speaks to the whole church.
Now please keep in mind that Paul wrote this letter to specifically address things this church was doing wrong or things they misunderstood. So this letter doesn’t follow the structure of other letters of Paul where he offers doctrine, and then applies all of it at the end.
Instead, Paul offers correction, doctrine, and application throughout this letter as he address each specific issue.
For example, he talks about spiritual vs. worldly wisdom. He corrected the Corinthians for embracing worldly wisdom, taught them about the Holy Spirit and how He enables them as Christians, and then Paul told the Corinthians to stop thinking like the world and start living according to the Spirit and the wisdom He gives: correction, doctrine, application.
Now Paul moves on a bit from that topic, and finishes his thoughts on how he and Apollos - God’s fellow workers - should be regarded according to spiritual wisdom by the church - God’s field.
And he offers correction, doctrine, and application all at once.
He just told the Corinthians that they are not “of Paul” or “of Apollos,” but of Christ. That’s correction. He said hey belong to Christ, and therefore all things are theirs. That’s doctrine.
Now he expounds on that idea by applying it. And he says:
This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
He tells the Corinthians - based on what he just said - that since all is theirs in Christ, this is then how they should really think of teachers in the church. Teachers and preachers should be regarded as, first, servants of Christ who are there for the sake of the church.
Paul has already said this. Back when he told the Corinthians he could not address them as spiritual people but as immature in Christ because of how they exalted him and Apollos, he pointed out to them - he and Apollos are only servants through whom they believed as the Lord assigned to each.
They were but instruments in the hands of the Savior. Because it was God Who did the work.
So after telling them that and then telling them to change how they think, he now tells them that part of this new way of thinking is to rightly regard - or to reason out - what exactly teachers in the church are.
They are but instruments in the hands of the Savior, given for the church.
They teach and preach for the sake of Christ, and the sake of Christ’s church.
And when I talked about this a few weeks ago, we saw that we are all supposed to be instruments of salvation that Christ uses to expand His kingdom. We all have a role in that. We are all to build on the foundation of Christ. We are all to serve for the sake of Christ and each other.
And we all do that according to our gifting. Because the Spirit Who has given us wisdom from God has also given us power from on high to will and to work for God’s good pleasure.
And Paul’s gifting? It’s the same as Apollos’ gifting or Peter’s gifting. They serve Christ as stewards of the mysteries of God.
And this doesn’t mean they keep secrets. That isn’t what “mystery” means here. This is what Paul said back in chapter 2 when he said that among the mature he and Apollos imparted a “secret and hidden wisdom of God.” That “hidden” is the same word as “mystery” here.
It is a mystery in that worldly wisdom cannot comprehend it. But it is not a mystery - it is not a secret - to those with the Spirit. We now can understand it. And so we should seek to understand. That’s why Paul stewards the mysteries by imparting them to those he teaches.
This “mystery” is actually the same word Jesus used when he explained why He taught in parables.
We looked at the Parable of the Sower last week. Jesus told the parable to the crowd, and afterward His disciples said they didn’t understand. And before He explains it to them so they can understand it, He explains why He told parables:
Matthew 13:11–17 (ESV)
And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand… But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
Those “secrets” of heaven are the “mysteries” - same word - Paul is talking about with the Corinthians.
So note two things.
First, when Jesus here talks about what people have, and what more they will be given, and what they will have taken away, what is He talking about? He is talking about the secrets of heaven. He is talking about understanding.
He is talking about knowledge of Him and His work. The more we seek to know Christ, the more understanding we will be given.
And second, He says that many righteous people longed to have this understanding, but didn’t. This is what Paul said when he told the Corinthians that a full understanding only comes by the Spirit, and how the unregenerate cannot understand because they don’t have the Spirit, and how until Christ died on the cross and was raised from the dead, no one knew exactly how God was going to work His promised salvation.
Do you see what a gift it is to live on this side of the cross? With the Spirit given and the Bible complete?
We can understand!
We now can and should understand what God has revealed.
Including how we think about those called to teach.
This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.
Paul and Apollos as preachers of the Gospel are gifted to serve Christ by being stewards of this knowledge. By being caretakers of what is hidden to the world but revealed to us as God’s people.
This is why he planted. It is his gifting and his calling. It is why Apollos watered. It is why Paul like a wise master builder laid the foundation for the Corinthians, and why Apollos built on it.
They had been given the revealed truth of God to steward. That is the calling of preachers and teachers in the church. We are ministers - servants! - of God and His Word.
And it has never ceased to amaze me how misunderstood this is by some in the church.
It is an odd thing. Nowadays, there are experts on everything. Listen to commercials or go on social media and see how many “lifestyle” experts or “relationship” experts there are. Dude, if you’ve been in so many relationships that you are now an expert, I don’t think I want your advice!
There are “experts” in any and every given field, including, somehow, experts in things like “innovation” or even “influence.”
And yes, that sounds ridiculous, because it is. But people listen up when these “experts” speak.
What’s more, you can take just about any profession, and people expect that the people in that field have been taught and trained to be in that field. When we go to a doctor, or a lawyer, or an accountant, we really want them to have been instructed, to have learned - and maybe even passed some tests that show they have - and to have as much experience as possible in what they do.
I would never go to a doctor who thought he could diagnose me because he read a few medical books, and has experienced sickness himself.
I would never want to go to a lawyer who didn’t take the bar exam but knew the legal system because he has made himself familiar with it. Like maybe through his multiple arrests and criminal trials.
I would not want to go to an accountant who had no specific training, but said they liked math, read math books, and still do everything their 9th grade algebra teacher told them to do when solving an equation.
And yet, when it comes to the Bible - to the self-revelation of the infinite God - the mysteries of God once hidden and now revealed - Christians are quite quick to disregard what those called to teach say if it isn’t what they got from reading the Bible. They are quick to decide the preacher is wrong because that isn’t what they were always taught or if they never heard that before.
They are very willing to judge the Word of God - and a preacher’s teaching - based on their own experiences rather than what the well-studied preacher said on Sunday.
And I don’t say all of that because I think what is preached from this pulpit is infallible. I don’t say that because my interpretation is necessarily right if you disagree because I’m a preacher.
I say that because the Bible is clear that there are men called and gifted by God to be the stewards of His truth within His church. For the sake of the church, and for the sake of Christ.
And to quickly discount what we say because you never heard that before, or always believed something else, or got something different from any given passage - that isn’t dismissing us. It is dismissing God and how He says He gifts us to do His work. It is dismissing what God says about His church and how it should work.
Paul wants the Corinthians to understand the role of preachers and teachers. They have been gifted and called to steward His truth. Again, Paul wants to make sure they don’t disregard all he is saying to them, and thereby disregard God and His Word.
And that does not mean that teachers should be exalted in the church. No! That is exactly what Paul wants them to understand is wrong. That is the foolishness he is trying to teach against.
But he is saying that stewards of the Word have their role - like everyone has a role. They have their gifting like everyone has a gifting.
And it isn’t more important. It’s just different. But it is of God.
This is how one within God’s church should regard preachers and teachers, as servants of Christ first and foremost, and as those gifted to steward the mysteries of God - what He has revealed about Himself.
And that is a great privilege, but it is also a great responsibility.
Teaching team, listen up!
Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.
Now, broadly - this applies to us all. We are all to be faithful with our gifting and carefully steward what God has given us. Paul has already said that,
But here, he is speaking more narrowly of himself. He is applying what he says to himself, as all teachers should.
And, because he is faithful in stewarding the revelation of God, Paul is once again pulling from the teaching of Christ when he says this.
Let’s consider another parable told by Jesus.
In Luke 12, Jesus says that those who follow Him must be like men waiting for their master to return home from a wedding feast. Their master may return at 9:00 or at midnight. Who knows?
Then Jesus talks about thieves and how they come when you’re not expecting them. At least good thieves do.
Then, Jesus said:
You also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
Clearly, this parable is about Christ’s return, which Paul addressed in the last chapter when he talked about receiving our true reward at Christ’s return based on what we do with our salvation - including how we use our gifts to build on the foundation of Christ.
Jesus is talking about the same thing. He says we - His servants - need to be waiting with our lamps burning. We need to be always ready for Him.
And then Peter asks:
Peter said, “Lord, are you telling this parable for us or for all?”
And look at Jesus’ answer:
And the Lord said, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.
Notice, first, that this parable was for those whom the Master sets over His household. This had application primarily to the Apostles who led the early church, but is applies to any man who is given authority in the church.
Jesus is pointing out the heavy responsibility given to leaders and teachers in the church.
But it also has a wider application to everyone who has been given stewardship over what Christ has given them - like salvation and the gifting of the Spirit. So this applies broadly to everyone.
So, when Jesus comes, if we are found to be faithful - if we are building on the foundation using that gold, silver, and precious stone - we will be given our reward - we will inherit the kingdom.
Notice, though, that Jesus talks about wisdom. It is the wise manager who is also faithful. We have discussed wisdom quite a bit so far in this series.
And the word Jesus uses for “manager” is the same word Paul is using for “steward” in our passage today.
And both Jesus and Paul talk about the manager being faithful - and they use the same word.
And both of them talk about when this manager is found - again, using the same terminology.
Paul has the truth of this parable in view when he says:
Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.
And here is where spiritual wisdom is required.
Because this word for “faithful” is also the word for “believing.” This is talking about belief - faith - working itself out in how we use our gifts. How faithful we are with what God has given us.
And our faithfulness, throughout the Bible, is equated with how much we believe what we say we do.
You have heard me say before: faith in God is shown through faithfulness to God.
Faith is not an abstraction. It is a life changing fact that works itself out in the believer - in the one who has been saved by God, and gifted by God to serve Him and His church, and steward what they have been given.
Peter - one of those who some in Corinth wrongly exalted - put it this way:
1 Peter 4:10–11 (ESV)
As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God (preachers); whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies (this is the enablement of the Spirit we’ve already talked about)—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Peter has that same basis as Paul for living out our faith - God up here, man down here. Christ is supreme in all things. We are His servants.
And he says we need to serve and we need to live like we believe that. The Corinthians needed to. Paul and Apollos needed to. I need to. We all need to.
We need to be found as faithful stewards when our Master comes back.
When Christ returns, brothers and sisters, will He find Montclair Community Church faithful?
And while all are required to steward their gifts as servants of Christ, Paul is speaking especially of preachers of teachers. As we’ll see in verse 6, Paul says he is applying all he has said to himself and Apollos specifically.
They are to be faithful stewards of the revelation of God.
And they are not to be exalted. But neither are they to be judged.
But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court. In fact, I do not even judge myself.
When did the Corinthians judge Paul? Well, we will see in chapter 9 that there was some judgment going on. If you have read Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, you know this only got worse.
But that isn’t what Paul is talking about here. He is still talking about their wrongly and foolishly exalting one teacher over another. Because to exalt one, you were negatively judging the other.
In exalting Apollos, one judged Paul. In exalting Paul, one judged Apollos.
But Paul is saying, if a preacher and teacher is faithfully stewarding his gift according to the Word of God, no one has the right to judge Him. Do not exalt, do not judge.
Now, this is not to say that reputation doesn’t matter. If I do not have a good reputation as a follower of Christ, then I am not being faithful with what He has given me, and that would exclude me from preaching and being an elder. And it should.
As Paul told Titus:
Titus 1:5–9 (ESV)
This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, and his children are believers and not open to the charge of debauchery or insubordination. For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.
And that “trustworthy” is the same word for “faithful” or “believing.” Not only must a teacher of God’s Word be faithful in imparting wisdom from God’s Word - he has to faithfully follow it himself.
I need to be a servant who is obedient to the Word of God before I can steward the Word of God.
If any of us are going to be good stewards of what God has given us - our salvation and our gifts - then we must first be obedient to the Word of God. And to be obedient to the Word of God, we must first know the Word of God.
And based on how we know the word, and how we obey the Word, and how we use our gifts to serve Christ - we will either be found faithful, or not, at His return.
And that is when the fire of judgment will determine whether we have built with gold, silver, and precious stones, or wood, hay, and straw.
Because the Lord is going to judge us for how we have built on the foundation. He is going to judge what we have done with this glorious and gracious salvation He has given us.
And Paul is foreshadowing what he will talk about in chapter 6 when he says here that he will not be judged by any human court.
1 Corinthians 4:3 (ESV)
But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court.
As we will see, human courts have no jurisdiction over how Christians relate to each other. Only God does. And the fact that some of the Corinthians sought earthly courts to resolve disputes with each other revealed just how much they lived by worldly wisdom.
It shows that t hey didn’t understand proper judgment according to Spiritual wisdom.
That is why Paul says not to judge.
Because ultimately, spiritual wisdom knows that judgment is reserved for Christ:
For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.
Paul is saying that his conscience is clear because he strives to be a faithful servant and a faithful steward. Paul said he doesn’t care if he is judged by the Corinthians. That’s basically what he says. It didn’t bother him if some thought Apollos was a better preacher or leader than him. Paul wasn’t in it for Paul.
But he was in it for the Corinthians. And he wanted them to think rightly about these teachers for their sake - and Christ’s sake - not his own sake. And that is why he was faithful in his calling.
And this is why Paul also knows that just because he isn’t judged by them or even himself, it doesn’t mean Christ won’t judge him.
In other words, Paul does what he does for the sake of Christ first and foremost. It is all about Christ. Paul wants Christ to be pleased with how he stewards his gifts.
And this should be the case for all of us. It is for Christ’s sake we should faithfully use our gifts - for His glory, His exaltation, His kingdom - and only for His approval, not the approval of man
And Paul brings out a further point here. For teachers of God’s Word, judgment is even stricter.
We saw all of those requirements in Titus for an elder, and all that Paul has said here. An elder has to be above reproach. He has to be faithful before Christ. He cannot yield to the judgment or exaltation of man.
Yet he must recognize that he will be judged with a stricter judgment by Christ.
As James warned:
Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.
And it is the strictness of this judgment that Paul cared about. It is the strictness of this judgment that all preachers and teachers should care about and keep a close eye on ourselves.
Paul did:
For I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me.
And this is where we need to keep in mind all that Paul has said. Because he is not saying to listen to the preacher and take everything he says without thinking about it. As I always say: prove me out. Search the Scriptures and read good theology to make sure that what I say from this pulpit is true.
And if you believe I’ve erred - come see me and let’s talk about it so we can be faithful to God’s Word and not false interpretations.
Paul is also not saying that if someone is a preacher or teacher that he should not be judged if he doesn’t live faithful to God’s Word. Paul gives Timothy instructions on bringing charges against elders.
Later in this letter we will see that it is those within the church who we are to judge. That includes everyone in the church. There are no exceptions.
So what is Paul saying? That as stewards of the mysteries of God - the revelation God has now given - preachers and teachers are required to be faithful.
Faithful to the Word - teaching the truth and living the truth. Please, judge me in these things and do it wisely.
But exalting one teacher over the other, and therefore judging one, is not theirs to do. When any one of us from the teaching team gets in this pulpit, there are no comparisons to be made.
And don’t try to judge according to worldly wisdom.
Don’t ask if:
the preacher was entertaining
if he addressed your specific felt need at that moment
if he touched on your hobby horse subject or the hot-button topics of the age
if he was motivational
Ask: was he faithful to the revealed Word of God? That’s what matters.
So the only question you need to ask of preachers and teachers - and it needs to be asked - is: are we faithful? Do we steward God’s Word and do we live it out?
If we do, don’t exalt, and don’t judge.
And either way, remember, Christ is the ultimate judge.
Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God.
And this judgment will be more severe for Paul and Apollos than it will for the rest of the church, because they are called as teachers.
But this judgment applies to everyone in the church.
Paul is coming back to the idea of how each builds on the foundation. We should all take care how we build, and not judge others for how they build. Because it is Christ Who will judge that.
We should all be very careful to use our gifts faithfully and steward all God has given us wisely. And we should do it without making comparisons.
And we should all make sure we are doing this with a clear conscience. It doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks as long as we are being faithful and doing what we do for Christ. Our conscience is not bound by anyone but God and His Word.
And that works both ways. If we do what we do for Christ, judgment by others is wrong and it should not hinder us one bit in stewarding our gifts and being faithful in our calling.
By the same token, if we are exalted by others for what we do, that exaltation doesn’t matter one bit. In fact, it’s a trap - a con perpetrated by Satan.
Because it is easy to think like the world and believe that if I am lauded for something, then it must be good.
If others don’t judge me for what I do, that I must be doing what’s right.
Remember what Paul finished chapter 3 with - we all belong to Christ, and no one else. This is why judgment ultimately belongs to Him - we are his.
Even within the church, we have to remember that man sees the outside, but God sees the heart. That’s why only His judgment is perfect.
And that is what Paul is talking about with this “purposes of the heart.” He is referring to intentions. Why do we do what we do? Why do we serve? Whose praise do we seek? Even in judgment, why do we judge?
Paul knows that in many of these things, the Corinthians intentions were totally wrong. They weren’t doing these things for the sake of Christ.
Last week I asked us to look at ourselves and decide if we were living for Christ. If our lives reflected worldly wisdom or spiritual wisdom.
Now, I say that we all have to look at our lives and decide why we do what we do, no matter what we do. If we are active in serving - why are we active in serving? If we are not - why aren’t we?
Because just like it’s easy to look at what we have and think that can tell us how well we’re living, it is even easier to look at what others think of us - what they say about us - and think that indicates how well we’re living.
It’s easy to be judged by others and think we are doing something wrong.
It is easy to take the praise of our brothers and sisters and think we must be doing things right.
But what are your intentions? What are the purposes of your heart? God sees them. Men don’t.
Paul and Apollos? They sought approval and commendation from God, not the Corinthians - that is why they were faithful.
The Corinthians sought their own commendation and the commendation of others - so they were not being faithful. Regardless of what they did - be it prophesy or speak in tongues or preach or sing or put out the bagels for fellowship.
So Paul tells them not to pronounce judgment on him, Apollos, or each other. It is for God to judge the heart.
And this again is a two-way street. Not only should the Corinthians not judge Paul, because judgment belongs to the Lord. But they better judge themselves. They better consider their own motivations, because judgment belongs to the Lord.
Not only is Paul concerned with the judgment he will receive from Christ, but he is concerned with the judgment the Corinthians are going to receive - and so should they be!
And that’s why Paul is careful to talk about the stricter judgement he and Apollos will receive. He is not excluding himself from this. He is placing emphasis on the importance of his intentions as a preacher of the Gospel.
I have applied all these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed up in favor of one against another.
As in all things, Paul was doing what he was doing for the sake of the Corinthians. It was for their benefit that he was saying this.
And if this applies to Paul and Apollos who the Corinthians were exalting, it surely applies to every Christian in that church. Paul keeps himself under close watch and uses his gifts for Christ’s sake - and their sake. They need to do the same.
They need to learn not to go beyond what is written. Paul is talking about the Word of God. They need to know the Word of God and live according to the Word of God. If they do that, then none of them will be puffed up against one another.
But they weren’t. They were going beyond the Word of God. How? By thinking with worldly wisdom. By adding some worldly wisdom to their lives, and into the church.
They took the Word of God, then added to it what the world said - added to it how the world lived - added in a little of what the world accepted.
And ultimately, that meant they were disobedient to the Word.
In exalting and judging like the world, the Corinthians were inflating their own egos and causing division. They were going beyond the Word of God and judging Paul and Apollos on more than their faithfulness to the Word.
They were going beyond the Word of God and seeking the commendation of man.
They were going beyond the Word of God and doing what they did with the wrong intentions.
They were going beyond the Word of God by judging themselves and what they did by worldly standards.
They were going beyond the Word of God, and were forgetting that they were going to be judged for what they did with what God gave them.
Ask yourself: am I going beyond the Word of God in these things?
If we are not faithfully using our gifting for God, and seeking His approval over man’s, and judging our own intentions before we judge anyone else - we are going beyond the Word of God. In fact, we are disobeying the Word of God.
Because what God wants, is faithfulness.
God wants faithfulness - πιστός: “faithful” or “believing” - correlation between believing in Christ and being faithful to Christ.
Because faith without faithfulness is not the faith the Bible talks about.
In other words, what we really believe will play out in our actions.
So, if I believe God, I will be faithful to Him. In how I steward what He has given me. In judging according to the Word of God and not like the world.
If I see someone who is faithful in stewarding their gifts, than spiritual wisdom and right judgment says: that is a person who believes God. And I have nothing else to judge.
But if I am not faithful in stewarding my gifts, what does that say about what I really believe? Who I believe?
But there’s more here. Because if my faith and my faithfulness go hand in hand, then each reflects the other, and each grows along with the other.
Faith leads to faithfulness, and faithfulness leads to faith.
So that means:
if you use your gifts to please God, your faith will grow.
If you steward well what God has given you, your faith will grow.
If you leave judgment to God, your faith will grow.
If you do what you do - no matter what that is or little that is or much that is - if you do what you do for the approval of God regardless of who else approves or doesn’t, your faith will grow.
And with a growing faith, the purposes of your heart will be more and more to please God, and your faithfulness will grow.
Do you see? God is so good! What a glorious cycle of faith to be in. The more I believe, the more I will do for God - the more carefully I will steward what He has given me. And as I do that, my faith grows!
So I leave you with three things to do this week. Let’s all grow our faith.
First, pray for the elders and preachers of this church. We are going to be judged with a stricter judgment one day. Pray that, like Paul, we would do all we do for Christ’s sake, and for your sake.
Because we are not only going to have to answer for the gifts God has given us and for how we built on Christ’s salvation, but for how we stewarded you. We will have to give an account for how we do that.
Pray that we would have the faith to please God and Him alone.
Second, decide what you believe.
Brothers and sisters, do you believe:
That Christ reigns?
That He is supreme in all things?
That He is coming again?
That He is going to require an answer from you for all you do with what He has given you?
Do we agree that judgment belongs to Him?
Do we know He will reward us and that’s the only reward that matters?
Do we believe it?
Do we?
Then, third, determine to do all you do for His sake. Seek His commendation, and not the commendation of men. Seek His approval. Steward what He has given you - your faith, your salvation, your gifts - and steward them wisely knowing that He will use you as an instrument of His salvation if you do.
And He will give you your reward.
He promises He will. And no matter what, He is faithful.
Let us have faith in Him and be faithful to Him.
