THE CHRISTIAN'S GUIDE TO BIBLICAL STEWARDSHIP
Practical biblical stewardship advice, tools, tips, and techniques
Stewardship Bible verses encompass all we need to know about becoming better stewards of God's money. They might not be the most popular Bible verses, but they will help improve how we handle money. Stewardship Bible verses refer not only to money, but to time, talents and all resources. Understanding stewardship Bible verses in context will improve our handling of resources. These Bible verse, though not popular Bible verses, are relevant today as in antiquity. Besides they provide a solid foundation to learn about our stewardship and discipleship roles. Beware, do not ignore them because they might not be popular Bible verses others speak about.
What do we mean by stewardship Bible verses? These are Bible verses that teach us proper attitudes to handling money, time, and talents. They include principles dealing with debt, time management, goals, plans, and so on. We are blessed to have many promises and assurances in the Bible to guide us through life. Among them, God assures us He will take care of our needs when we seek Him first. Besides, He assures us that He will comfort us when we come to Him, and so on.
A word of caution. It's essential we interpret Bible verses in context. Out of context interpretation prevails with many TV evangelists who try to coerce and manipulate you. They tell you God wants you to be materially rich. That's an unbiblical message. To understand a verse we must look carefully at the verse: at each word, phrase, emphasis. Next, interpret it in context of the passage, chapter, book, such as Matthew, and the Bible. One reason so many people tithe is because they take Malachi 3:10 out of context.
As a prelude to understang key stewardship Bible verses, we need to understand three pillars of managing God's money. They are rooted in Bible verses dealing with relationship, discipleship, and stewardship.
The first stewardship pillar is to be born again. After our spiritual rebirth, the second pillar is to be Jesus' disciple, and the third is to become Jesus' steward.
Jesus wants us in a personal relationship with Him. He will accept us right where we are; as is. Then He will give us His Holy Spirit to help us change. John 3: 1-21 shows a beautiful picture of the process of surrendering our lives to Jesus. We must believe in our hearts that Jesus is Lord (Romans 10:9). Meditate on Jesus' discussion with Israel's prominent teacher at the time, Nicodemus.
After we have turned over our lives to Jesus, He wants us to be His disciple, to become like Him. An important part of stewradship is accountability. Mull over these passages in Matthew 25 that show clearly our responsibility under our stewardship role:
“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more." “His master replied, [Continue reading ...]
The important message here is not about money and interest. Indeed, it is about handling everything God has entrusted to us—time, talents, money, resources—to the best of our abilities for His glory.
Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
Does Jesus mean we should literally hate our families? No, he does not. Going back to the original text, we know He means we must love them less than Him. He must be first; others second. Jesus goes on to tell us that before we consider being a disciple, we must count the cost:
Luke 14:28: Count The Cost - Not a Popular Bible Verse
Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?... After becoming His disciple, we must go and make disciples. That's the role of every Christian. We can do this only when we know Him and His word:
Matthew 28:18-20: Disciples make Disciples
Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
The third pillar is becoming Jesus' steward. Besides looking after another's property in that person's best interest, stewardship is serving others. We read in 1 Peter 4:10: "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms." And Apostle Peter tells us in 2 Peter 1:3 that God has given us everything we need for life and Godliness. Our job is to use what we have for His glory. But we must stay in His word; stay close to Jesus because apart from Him we can do nothing: John 15:5.
Stewardship Bible verses that comprise the Gas Principle, unlike many others, are popular Bible verses. Most Christians know them. They are the foundation of managing God's money and effective stewardship of God's resources.You can handle resources for His glory effectively only when you understand and accept these Bible verses. They need become instinctive, so you apply them everywhere—at home, at school, at work, and at church.
For the follower of Jesus the Messiah who chooses to live as His disciple, victory is assured. Jesus tells us apart from Him we can do nothing...I repeat, nothing:
John 15:5: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
Besides, He tells us, in Mark 9:23 “‘...“Everything is possible for one who believes.” Do we need greater assurance than this from our Lord and Savior? Six times in these passages Jesus tells us not to worry about, life, food, or clothes—six times! Do you believe Him? I do. When you are stressed, you do not hear His voice clearly, and it is difficult to be a good steward.
Take all your requests to Jesus to get His perfect peace: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
When you feel anxious, go to a quiet place and ask the Lord to help you lean on Him...to help your unbelief: "Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”" (Mark 9:24)
The Bible doesn't disallow debt, but it looks at it negatively. To be sure, if you borrow you must repay:
Proverbs 22:7: The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. Psalm 37:21: The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously.
Romans 13:6-8: "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for he who loves his fellowman has fulfilled the law." This means, if you owe taxes, pay taxes, pay all debts.
God gave goals to many others in the Bible, and in each case His goals were accomplished: Abraham, Noah, Jonah, Nehemiah, Peter. Here is His goal to Apostle Paul:
Acts 9:15: But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man [Paul] is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” Notice that God told Apostle Paul, he would suffer.
God's goals are always clear, complete, concise. His plans are fuzzy and are part of our sanctification journey. Plans represent the steps needed to do goals. God does not give us clear plans; we need to lean on Him, depend on Him, trust in Him as we journey with His plans to do His goals.
Read how Moses did God's goal to free the Israelites from bondage in Egypt and you will see how frustrating it can be for us humans to carry out God's plans. As you do God's goals, remember these two important points: First, God's goals do not change. Second, when it seems we are not progressing to do His goal, remember Moses and the ten plagues. God might use many different approaches to teach us as we do his plan, so, never take your eyes off Him and his ways. It's vital we understand how God gives His goals so we can be better carry out effective stewardship.
Once you have God's goals, hide them in your heart and turn to your Counselor to see you through; He will. Understand that it is His plans that will prevail: Proverbs 19:21: Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.
Meditate on this essential planning verse and never forget to whom we have access, and who knows the future: John 16:13: But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
Be alert to your "friend's" advice: Proverbs 12:15: The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.
A budget is an estimate of future costs (time, talents, and expenses) to do specific goals. God alone knows the future, so we must seek to do His will (His goals), and He will show us the budget.
To do the budget we need God's goals and plans. The goal is the destination, and the plan shows steps to do the goal. The budget shows costs in time, talents and money. The verses below refer specifically to discipleship, but they apply to all we do in life, especially our approach to stewardship, of which budgeting is an essential practical aid.
Reflect on these words: Luke 14:28-33: "...suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace..." This is essential for stewarding God's resources. Sit down and look at available resources, and God's goals. Then, we can focus our prayers.
Here we see the credit card alternative. These verses remind us that there will be feasts and famines. Times of plenty and times of few. We should live lives that focus on Jesus and not on available funding. We should save to buy items; save for the rainy day when we have excess. Use excess funds in the drought, and learn to sacrifice and do without, when we have no funds. God will provide, but we must seek first His Kingdom and righteousness.
Genesis 41: "...They should collect all the food of these good years that are coming and store up the grain under the authority of Pharaoh, to be kept in the cities for food. 36 This food should be held in reserve for the country, to be used during the seven years of famine that will come upon Egypt, so that the country may not be ruined by the famine."..." Proverbs 6:6-8 Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.
Accountability completes the stewardship cycle. As we use our time, talents and money God allows us to have, we must be conscious that one day we will have to account to Jesus for our stewardship. Our God is not a mean oppressive God but a God of grace, mercy, and love. But He loves us too much to leave us boundrary-less. Read and mull over these Bible passages;
1 Thessalonians 5:11: “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” A prayer partner of the same sex can hold you accountable, encourage you, and help you grow closer to the Lord.
Romans 14:11-12: 11. It is written: “‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord, ‘every knee will bow before me; every tongue will acknowledge God.’” 12. So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.
Matthew 12:36: But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.
Luke 19:17: “‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’