Where is Stewardship in the New Testament?

Stewardship is wisely managing the resources God has given you.

For Christians who believe that stewardship is only an Old Testament thing—nothing could be further from the truth! Jesus weaved the theme of stewardship in many of his parables and teachings. You can find it in didactic (teaching) verses and in the examples of Bible characters who practiced wise stewardship. Let’s follow the thread of stewardship in the New Testament.

Jesus: Parable of the Talents

This parable is about a businessman who gives money to three different servants before he goes on a journey. Two of the servants trade and make a profit until they each double the money they were given. The master returns and praises them.

But the third servant is a different story. When the master asks for an account of what he did, he says, “I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here, you have what is yours” (Matt. 25.25). On the surface, he didn’t lose money. But the master is enraged. He calls him wicked and slothful. Why is that? Because he didn’t even try. He took what his master gave him, and he hid it and lived his own life. And he’s punished.

This parable gives us insight into what our master is passionate about. God is the master, and what matters to him is the yield of our lives from the energy, resources, and time we spent for the sake of the gospel. When you start viewing your money in this light, you don’t think, “What’s the least I can give and still be obedient?” but you start asking, “What’s the least I can live on to help my master with his goals?”

Early Church: Radical Generosity

After being saved, the first Christians underwent a radical change in how they viewed their possessions. Things were no longer seen as mine and yours, but ours. The book of Acts records how they sold homes, lands, and possessions to provide for the poor (Acts 2:45). This would make many believers uncomfortable today!

The shocking thing about the early church that we often miss is that this giving revolution was made up of completely new believers. You may think, “Oh generosity is for the mature believers. Once I grow in my faith, then I’ll be more generous.” No, think of it like this: Generosity one of the pathways to spiritual maturity.

Paul: Ministry Stewardship

You can’t talk about the New Testament without talking about Paul. In Ephesians 3:2, Paul refers to his ministry as the “stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you.” Similarly, God has given you spiritual gifts, time, and talents to steward. God entrusts you with these blessings not for your own sake, but to minister to others and make his name great.[1] Paul’s stewardship was one of grace. In the same way, all of us desperately need grace to sustain us in Christian service to others.

Paul to the Corinthians: Accountability

In his letter to the Corinthian believers, Paul offers perhaps the gravest words on stewardship: Each one of us will stand before God and be accountable for what we’ve done with our lives and what he’s entrusted to us. 1 Corinthians 3:13 says, “each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.” Because God is the owner of what we have, he will hold our lives up to the standard of Scripture, and we will be accountable for how we managed—or mismanaged—our money, time, resources, talents, and relationships.

You can be saved and be a poor steward. It won’t stop you from getting into heaven. But you’ll miss out on being part of what God is doing—and on eternal rewards.

Church of Laodicea: Mismanaged Prosperity

In Revelation, Christ gave individual warnings to each of the seven churches, but he reserved his harshest critique for the church of Laodicea. He accused them of being spiritually lukewarm and “wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked” (Rev. 3:16-17). His words were especially ironic because the Laodiceans were rich, wealthy, and prosperous. David Jeremiah said, “The Laodiceans were financially wealthy yet spiritually bankrupt . . .When God blesses Christians with prosperity, He expects Christ-centered stewardship.”[2]

Christians now live in the wealthiest age in history, and even the poorest of us experience comforts that the richest people in history could only dream of. Are we stewarding our resources according to Scripture or for our own comforts? 

Summary

These are just a few examples of the theme of stewardship woven throughout the New Testament. Stewardship is trusting God that he is enough, that generosity is an act of worship to him, and that your life is not about you, but about his glory.

[1] https://www.ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/pauls-stewardship

[2] https://davidjeremiah.blog/seven-churches-of-revelation-bible-study/