Stewardship of Time (Doctrinal Bible Church in Huntsville, Alabama)

Doctrinal Bible Church

Pastor-Teacher Bill Wenstrom

Wednesday May 13, 2026

Stewardship Series: Stewardship of Time

Lesson # 2

The first area of stewardship that we will note that the believer will have to give an account for in that it will be evaluated by the Lord at the Bema Seat is that of his stewardship of time.

God has allotted twenty-four hours to each one of us.

God has given us days not years.

Psalm 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom. (NASB95)

Scripture commands a believer to make the most of his time, to conduct his life with respect toward God and according to the will of God.

Galatians 6:9 Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary. 10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith. (NASB95)

Ephesians 5:15 Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, 16 making the most of your time, because the days are evil. (NASB95)

Remember, God allots us a certain amount of time on this earth, and we are held accountable as to how we use that time.

The principle of our stewardship of time is taught by our Lord in the parable of the minas in Luke 19:11-26.

Every believer must use his time wisely if he is to be acknowledged by the Lord as a good steward (Psalm 90:1-17).

Psalm 39:4 LORD, make me to know my end and what is the extent of my days; Let me know how transient I am. 5 Behold, You have made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing in Your sight; Surely every man at his best is a mere breath. (NASB95)

Colossians 4:5 Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. 6 Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person. (NASB95)

In Romans 13:11-14, Paul emphasized with his readers the importance of being good stewards with their time.

Paul in Romans 13:11 commands his Christian readers in Rome to continue making it their habit of loving their neighbor as themselves as a result of what he taught in Romans 13:8-10 that loving one’s neighbor fulfills the requirements of the Mosaic Law.

In this passage, he teaches that they are to continue obeying this command because they are well aware of the significance of the period of history in which they were living in, namely, they were living in the church age preceding the imminent return of Christ at the rapture.

This period he teaches is characterized by urgency and opportunity for them, demanding immediate action on their part in that they can gain rewards for obeying the command to love your neighbor as yourself.

The apostle also teaches in this passage that it is now already the moment for his readers to be awake spiritually and to awake from spiritual sleep refers to the confession of sins to be restored to fellowship with God and maintaining that fellowship by obedience to the Word of God.

Lastly, he teaches that it is now already the moment for Paul’s readers to be awake spiritually because their deliverance from the sin nature, Satan and his cosmic system at the rapture of the church is now nearer to taking place than when they first became Christians.

Romans 13:11 So then, all of continue making it your habit of practicing this because all of you are well aware of the significance of this particular period of history characterized by urgency and opportunity, demanding immediate action, namely that, it is now already the moment for each and every one of you to be awake from sleep because our deliverance is now nearer to taking place than when we believed. (Pastor’s translation)

Then, in Romans 13:12 Paul informs his readers that the night has drawn to a close and the day is approaching and he then draws an inference from these two statements by exhorting his readers to lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Romans 13:12 The night has drawn to a close. Indeed, the day is approaching. Therefore, let us for the duration continue to lay aside for ourselves the activities, which characterize the kingdom of darkness. Indeed, let us for the duration continue to clothe ourselves with the weapons, which characterize those belonging to the kingdom of light. (Pastor’s translation)

This passage contains four sections.

The first statement “the night has drawn to a close” teaches that the period in which the church age believer is not in his or her resurrection body and is living during a period of history in which Satan is the god of this world has drawn to a close.

The second statement “the day is approaching” emphasizes with Paul’s readers that the period of time when each and every one of them is living in their resurrection body and is permanently delivered from living in Satan’s cosmic system is approaching or is imminent.

This period begins for the believer with the rapture of the church and will never end and will go on throughout eternity future.

The third statement is an exhortation “Therefore, let us for the duration continue to lay aside for ourselves the activities, which characterize those who belong to the kingdom of darkness” which is making an inference from these previous two statements.

This inferential exhortation involves the confession of sin (1 John 1:9) to be restored to fellowship with God since the noun ergon, “deeds” refers to activities and the noun skotos, “darkness” refers to those who belong to the kingdom of darkness.

They were to continue to confess their sins, keeping short accounts with God the Father during this interim period prior to being permanently delivered by the return of Christ at the rapture.

The fourth and final statement in Romans 13:12 “Indeed, let us for the duration continue to clothe ourselves with the weapons, which characterize those who belong to the kingdom of light” speaks of the believer appropriating by faith his union and identification with Christ.

This statement speaks of the act of the church age believer exercising faith in the Spirit’s revelation in the Word of God that they are crucified with Christ, died, buried, raised and seated with Him.

The expression “armor of light” refers to the Christian’s union and identification with Christ but from the perspective that it gives the believer victory over spiritual and physical death, personal sins, the sin nature and Satan and his cosmic system.

The believer’s identification with Christ in His crucifixion, spiritual and physical deaths, burial, resurrection and session when appropriated by faith gives them the victory experientially over spiritual and physical death, the sin nature, personal sins and Satan and his policy of evil promoted and propagated by his cosmic system.

In this final statement in Romans 13:12 Paul is contrasting those who belong to the kingdom of light and those who belong to the kingdom of darkness.

This antithesis between light and darkness used often by the apostle in his writings (2 Corinthians 6:14; Ephesians 5:8, 11; Colossians 1:12-13; 1 Thessalonians 5:4-5, 8) and is used by John (John 1:5; 3:19; 8:12; 12:35; 1 John 1:5; 2:8-9).

The apostle Paul in Romans 13:13 exhorts his readers to unite with him in conducting their lives properly as those who exist in the day, not by means of drunken parties, licentious promiscuity and jealous contention.

Romans 13:13 Let us for the duration continue to conduct our lives properly as those who, as an eternal spiritual truth, exist in the state of being in the day, not by means of drunken parties, not by means of licentious promiscuity, not by means of jealous contention. (Pastor’s translation)

“The day” refers again to the period of time when each and every church age believer is living in his or her resurrection body and is permanently delivered from living in Satan’s cosmic system.

This period begins for the believer with the rapture of the church and will never end and will go on throughout eternity future.

Therefore, when Paul exhorts his readers to unite with him in conducting their lives as those who exist in the day he means that they are to conduct themselves as those who are positionally resurrected with Christ and delivered from the sin nature, Satan and his cosmic system.

They are also to conduct themselves as those who exist in the day ultimately meaning they are to conduct themselves as those who will ultimately be resurrected and will be permanently delivered from the sin nature, Satan and his cosmic system at the rapture.

Then, to complete the verse he lists three pairs of vices that Christians are to avoid.

They are not to conduct their lives by means of drunken parties, licentious promiscuity and jealous contention.

In Romans 13:14, the apostle Paul in this passage issues a command and a prohibition.

Romans 13:14 But rather, I solemnly charge all of you to make it your top priority to clothe yourselves with the Lord, who is Jesus, who is Christ. Also, all of you continue the discipline of not allowing yourselves to make provision with regards to the lusts produced by the flesh. (Pastor’s translation)

In the command, Paul solemnly charges the Roman Christians to clothe themselves with the Lord Jesus Christ.

This refers to appropriating by faith the teaching of the Spirit in the Word of God that the Christian is union with Christ and identified with Him in His crucifixion, His spiritual and physical deaths, His resurrection and session.

Then, in the prohibition, he wants his readers to continue not allowing themselves to make provision with respect to the desires produced by the flesh, i.e. the sin nature.