The principle of stewardship is a Biblical concept that is succinctly put in 1 Cor. 4:2 “Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.” The word steward means “an overseer, or manager.” We often use this verse to encourage people to invest in the eternal. There is a mindset that once I give it is out of my hands and out of my control, so I am not responsible for how it is used. It is true that when we give, we are to give with no strings attached. A gift, once given, no longer belongs to us, but now is entrusted to the receiver. But what about before we give? The Lord has entrusted each of us with certain gifts, talents, and resources. One day we will give an account of our stewardship. In Matt. 25, the servants were not all entrusted with the same amount of resources. One received twice as much as another, and actually received five times as much as the third. Jesus commended the “faithful servants” who proved to be good stewards. But the other He calls a wicked and slothful servant. We must use what God has entrusted to us carefully and wisely.
Look at 2 John 9-11 “Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.” These are some very strong words. The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible warns that “We are not to encourage the false teacher at all; not to welcome him nor to bid him ‘God speed.’ If we encourage him, God counts us as a participant in his evil deeds.” Charles Pfeiffer and Everett Harrison concur writing in The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, “The injunction is to refuse such ones Christian hospitality. This is a severe measure, particularly when one remembers that hospitality is generally enjoined in the NT.” In the Welwyn Commentary Series, Peter Barnes adds, “To offer fellowship to heretics, however, is to confirm them in their heresy. That kind of charity does harm – harm which may prove to be everlasting.” Though the Bible says we are to be “given to hospitality” (Rom. 12:13), Dr. Ironside warns, “It positively forbids a Christian to show any fellowship whatever with a teacher of soul-destroying error. Such have no title to the hospitality of believers who owe everything for eternity to the Saviour whom these apostates blaspheme.” Courson strongly states “Those who reject Jesus Christ, those who are not looking for Jesus Christ, those who have diminished the Person of Jesus Christ are to be shunned.”
Someone has said that the Bible has one interpretation, but many applications. They illustrated that with Paul’s application of “Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn” (Deut. 25:4), found in 1 Cor. 9:9-11. In verses 9-10a Paul quotes Deut. 25:4 and asks a question, “For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? Or saith he it altogether for our sakes?” In verse 10 he answers his own question, “For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.” And in verse 11 he explains it, “If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?”
We have looked at the teaching in 2 John 9-11 that we are not to receive, nor bid God speed, to those who do not believe and teach the fundamentals of the faith. We are not to allow them to preach in our churches, invite them into our homes, or even bid them God speed. Should we then support them financially? J. Vernon McGee explains the danger of doing so, saying,
If you entertain a false teacher, if you support him, you are a partner with him in his deeds. This is the reason that you ought to investigate everything that you give to as a Christian, because if you are giving to the wrong thing, God considers you a partner in it.
McGee then takes one of the teachings of Jesus to show that the world is wise in their stewardship of the resources they have, and we as Christians should exercise similar carefulness. He says,
The Lord Jesus gave a parable in this connection in which He told about a man who was working for another man and was about to be fired (see Luke 16:1-13). The man called in all his employer’s creditors and offered them a discount if they would pay their bills, which they, of course, were glad to accept. He did this so that after he was fired he would be able to appeal to them for help since he had helped them. That was crooked – our Lord did not say it was right; He made it clear that it was wrong. He said, “The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light.” They are clever out yonder in the business world. There’s many a man trying to make a fast buck today. It is a case of dog-eat-dog. Therefore, if the man in the world is wise about the way he invests his money and the way he uses his money, what about you, Christian friend? Are you moved by some sentimental story, and do you give because of that? Are you moved by a picture of a few orphans, of little children in foreign countries? Do you know that your money is getting to them? Are you motivated today by sentiment? If you are a partner in that which denies the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ and all that He is and stands for and all that He did for us, if you are supporting that sort of thing, God will hold you responsible for it. He said that the children of the world are wiser than we are. We ought to get smart. We ought to wise up to this and not be taken in by it. Charity has become a big racket today. Collecting money under false pretenses is one of the biggest rackets there is.
Currently, the United States debt is growing to such levels, there is grave concern over the consequences we will face even in the near future. Any thinking person should be troubled by the news that as we are experiencing cut backs (in fighting terrorism and defense – including defense cuts, and a reduction in funds available to those who have faithfully served in our military at great personal risk), that, according to Maxim Lott, we have given Egypt (now ruled by the Muslim Brotherhood) four F-16 fighter jets and 200 tanks. In addition, Fred Dardick reports that the United States pledged $250 million in American aid.
Likewise, how troubled should we be at the prospect of Christians financially underwriting the enemies of the true gospel? When it comes to where we spend the money the Lord has entrusted to us, it is imperative that we “put our money where our faith is.”
REFERENCES
Barnes, Peter, Welwyn Commentary Series – Knowing Where We Stand: The message of John’s epistles, (Auburn, MA: Evangelical Press, 1998), WORDsearch CROSS e-book.
Courson, Jon, Jon Courson’s Application Commentary – Jon Courson’s Application Commentary New Testament, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2004), WORDsearch CROSS e-book.
Dardick, Fred, “Obama Silent While Muslim Brotherhood Prepares Islamist Murder Squads for Egypt.” Red State, 26 March, 2013, <http://www.redstate.com/fdardick/2013/03/26/obama-silent-while-muslim-brotherhood-prepares-islamist-murder-squads-for-egypt/>
Ironside, H. A., H. A. Ironside Commentary – 1, 2, and 3 John, (San Diego, CA: Horizon Press, 1931), WORDsearch CROSS e-book.
Lott, Maxim, “U.S. gift of F-16 fighters headed to Egypt, despite Morsi’s harsh rhetoric.” Fox News, 22 January, 2013, <http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/01/22/gift-us-f-16-fighter-jets-en-route-to-egypt-amid-criticism/>
McGee, J. Vernon, Thru The Bible with J. Vernon McGee, (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 1983), WORDsearch CROSS e-book.
Pfeiffer, Charles and Everett Harrison, ed., The Wycliffe Bible Commentary, (Chicago: Moody Bible Institute, 1990), WORDsearch CROSS e-book.
Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible, The – 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2 & 3 John, Jude, (Chattanooga: Leadership Ministries Worldwide, 1991), WORDsearch CROSS e-book.
