Sermon #120 Luke
Sermons
Title: The
Parable of the Unjust Steward
Text: Luke 16:1-13
Subject: The Proper Use Of
Earthly Riches
Date: Sunday Evening—
Tape # Y-6b
Introduction:
Several of you have asked me in the past few months
to explain the meaning of Luke 16:1-13 and The Parable of the Unjust Steward. As we got closer
to chapter 16, some of you have said, “I am anxious to hear you preach on the
parable in Luke 16 of the unjust steward. I have put your questions off because
I try never to give an uncertain comment about anything in this blessed Book.
If I tell you, “This is what the text means,” I want to be certain that the
meaning I give is correct. We ought never to offer an opinion about the things
of God. When we speak of these things, let us be certain that we speak the
oracle of God.
In preparation for this message, I have spent many
hours before God in study and prayer, seeking the Lord’s message in the
parable. My own heart has been greatly affected by the message it contains. The
more I studied the parable, the bigger it appeared to be. And the more I read
it, prayed over it, and studied it, the more convicting it was to me. I have
been studying for many weeks. Tonight, I have the Lord’s message in this
parable. May he give me the grace, wisdom and power to deliver it to you, for
Christ’s sake, and give you ears to hear.
Let’s read this parable together – I have found it
to be full of very practical, spiritual instruction, by which God has spoken to
my heart. I pray that God the Holy Spirit will be our Teacher as I endeavor to
convey to you what he has taught me by this parable. Read Luke 16:1-13.
(Luke
16:1-13) “And he said also unto his
disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a
steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. (2)
And he called him, and said unto him, How is it
that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy
stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. (3) Then the steward
said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot
dig; to beg I am ashamed. (4) I am resolved what to do, that, when I am
put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. (5) So
he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the
first, How much owest thou unto my lord? (6) And
he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto
him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. (7) Then said
he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said,
An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write
fourscore. (8) And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had
done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. (9) And I say unto
you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye
fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. (10) He that is
faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust
in the least is unjust also in much. (11) If therefore ye have not been
faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?
(12) And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man's, who
shall give you that which is your own? (13) No servant can serve two
masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will
hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
An Illustration
I remind you again to remember that parables are
earthly illustrations of heavenly truths. We do not build our doctrine upon
parables. We do not interpret the rest of the Bible in the light of the Lord’s
parables. We build our doctrine upon the plain statements of Holy Scripture.
And we interpret the parables of our Lord in the light of the whole Volume of
Inspiration.
A parable must not be forced beyond its purpose. The
purpose of a parable is to illustrate one primary thing. It has one central
message. It is not necessary to give every word of the parable a spiritual, or doctrinal meaning. In order to understand it,
we must look at the parable as a whole, and seek to determine what its primary
message is. In this parable…
·
The certain rich man represents the Lord our God.
·
The rich man’s steward represents us all. We are all, in a sense, stewards
of God.
·
The message taught in this parable is this – As the stewards of God,
you and I are responsible to wisely use what God has put into our hands for his
glory and for our own eternal good. This unjust steward was not commended
for his injustice, but for his wisdom and great care in using his present
circumstances to provide for himself in the future.
Someone has suggested that this world is a house.
Heaven is the roof of the house. The stars are its lights. The earth, with its
fruits, is a table spread by the Master of the house, who is the great and
glorious Lord God. Man is the steward of the house, into whose hands God has
given all the goods of his house for a time. It is the steward’s responsibility
to use his Master’s goods wisely for the honor of his Master, and according to
his Master’s will. In the Day of Judgment we will be called to give an account
of our stewardship.
The message of this parable is a subject of
indescribable importance. It is deeper than election, more profound than
predestination, and more difficult to receive than Divine sovereignty. Do I
have your attention? Hear. Now, the Parable of the Unjust
Steward.
Proposition: You
and I are stewards under God, responsible to use what he has put into our hands
for the good of his people and the glory of his name, according to his will. If
we learn nothing else from this parable, I want us to learn this – Everything
(Monet ― Material Possessions ― Time― Talents ―
Opportunities ― Family ― Everything) we
have in this world belongs to God. We are only the stewards of
God’s property for a while. He allows us to use that which is his. But it is
our responsibility to use it for his glory and according to his direction.
Divisions:
1. The Parable of the Unjust Steward (vv. 1-8).
2. The exhortation of our Lord (v. 9).
3. The basis of our Lord’s exhortation (vv. 10-12).
4. The lesson we must learn (v. 13).
The Parable Itself
I. First, we will briefly look at the parable itself (vv. 1-8).
(Luke
16:1-8) “And he said also unto his
disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a
steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. (2)
And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that
I hear this of thee? give an account of thy
stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. (3) Then the steward
said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot
dig; to beg I am ashamed. (4) I am resolved what to do, that, when I am
put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. (5) So
he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said unto the
first, How much owest thou unto my lord? (6) And
he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto
him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. (7) Then said
he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said,
An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write
fourscore. (8) And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had
done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than
the children of light.”
Here our Lord holds before us a wicked,
self-serving, unjust steward. His master trusted him with the goods of his
house. But this man used his office and position to cheat his master and his
master’s debtors and served himself. As I told you earlier, this unjust
steward represents all men and women. God made man to serve him with
his creation and honor him. But we have taken that which belongs to God and
used it for ourselves. We have all attempted to rob God, both of his dominion
and his dignity.
It is not accidental that this parable
immediately follows the Lord’s story of the elder brother and the parable by
which he rebuked the Pharisees and scribes in Luke 15. I am certain that the
Pharisees understood both that parable and this one as specifically speaking of
them, because they took offense at it (v. 16).
Illustration: Adam in the Garden
Here are four things that the Lord
specifically tells us about this unjust steward…
A Wasted Life
A. “He wasted his lord’s goods”
(v. 1).
This steward embezzled his master’s goods,
misapplied them, or through carelessness lost them. And for this he was accused
before his master. This is the charge laid against us all! We have taken that
which God has given us to use for his glory, his Son, and his people and wasted
it upon our own pleasures.
A Warning
B. Because
he had wasted his lord’s goods, this steward was given notice that he would
soon be put out of his stewardship (v. 2).
(Luke
16:2) “And he called him, and said unto
him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no
longer steward.”
In a little while he would be required to
give up his stewardship and give account of himself to his master. Our Lord
Jesus Christ spoke these words against the Pharisees; but he spoke them to his
disciples. They are written for our learning. What do they teach us?
1. Soon we will be compelled to give up our
stewardship.
Our Lord tells us to “work while it is
day, for the night cometh when no man can work.” We will not always enjoy
the privileges and pleasures that are now ours. Death will soon come. When it
does it will deprive us of the abilities and opportunities we now have of
serving Christ and his people. And when we are gone another steward will come
to take our place. We will soon be forgotten.
2. Our discharge from our stewardship is a
matter of justice.
We must die because we have sinned. We have
wasted our Lord’s goods. Therefore, we have forfeited our stewardship. When the
Lord takes it from us, we have no grounds for complaint.
3. When our stewardship is taken from us, we
must give account of it to our Lord.
(Heb
9:27) “And as it is appointed unto men
once to die, but after this the judgment:”
(2
Cor
“After
death the judgment” ― Having been warned
of these things, if we were wise, we would make preparation for that great day.
He is a wise man who says to himself continually, “Prepare to meet thy God.” Soon we must stand before God to give
account of our stewardship.
“Please view my tomb as you
pas by,
For as you are so once was
I;
And as I am soon you shall
be ―
So make your plans to follow
me.”
Make Preparation
C. As soon
as this unjust steward realized that his stewardship was to be taken from him,
he began to make preparations for the appointed day (vv. 3-7).
He used the time and opportunities he had to
prepare for that appointed day when his stewardship would be taken away. We would be wise to think
upon that day. We have been warned. Soon God will take us out of this world.
Soon we will stand before God in judgment. We are fools if we do not prepare
for that day.
Now look at what this cunning, unjust steward did –
1. He realized that he had no ability to earn
his livelihood and that he was too proud to beg (v. 3).
(Luke 16:3)
“Then the steward said within himself, What
shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the
stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed.”
He could not dig because he would not dig. He was not willing to lower himself to what he looked upon as menial labor. He was not too proud to steal. But he was too proud to work! He was too lazy to work and too proud to beg. Both work and humility were contrary to his nature. This old boy was in a pickle. ― Spiritually, you and I are in the same position he was in.
·
We cannot, by the works of our hands, save our souls. We have neither the will
nor the ability to obey God’s law. “By
the works of the law there shall no flesh be justified.”
“Man is not justified by the works of the law.” Salvation is by grace. It
cannot be earned or won by works (Eph. 2:8-9).
·
But there is another problem – We are all too proud by nature to
beg for mercy. We are too proud to come to God like the publican upon
the footing of free grace through a Substitute (Lk.
2. Though he was too lazy to work and too proud to
beg, this unjust steward determined that he would make friends of his
lord’s debtors, so that when he was turned out of his master’s house he
might be received into theirs (vv. 4-7).
(Luke
16:4-7) “I am resolved what to do, that,
when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses.
(5) So he called every one of his lord's debtors unto him, and said
unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord?
(6) And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And
he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. (7) Then
said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said,
An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write
fourscore.”
This unjust steward was a treacherous, dishonest
man. But he was brilliant in one thing. He used the opportunity he had to
prepare for his future welfare.
A Strange
Commendation
D. Now look
at the commendation given to this unjust steward (v. 8).
(Luke
16:8) “And the lord commended the unjust
steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in
their generation wiser than the children of light.”
This is a strange commendation. His lord did
not commend him because he had done the things he had done, but because he had
wisely provided for himself. Dishonest as he was, by lessening the bills of his
master’s debtors he made for himself friends. Wicked as he was in his deeds, he
had an eye to the future. Disgraceful as his actions were, he provided well for
himself. He did not sit still in idleness and wait to be reduced to poverty. He
schemed, planned, contrived, and found a way to secure a future home for
himself.
Therefore, we read, “The children of this world are in their generation wiser than the
children of light.”
Do you see the contrast? This man, with regard to
earthly things, was diligent. He wisely looked to and provided for the future.
This is commendable even in insects and animals (Prov. 6:6-9; 30:24-28).
(Prov
6:6-9) “Go to the ant, thou sluggard;
consider her ways, and be wise: (7) Which
having no guide, overseer, or ruler, (8) Provideth her meat in the
summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. (9) How long wilt
thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of
thy sleep?”
(Prov
30:24-28) “There be four things which
are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise: (25) The
ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;
(26) The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in
the rocks; (27) The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them
by bands; (28) The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings'
palaces.”
Spiritual Things
Without question, the Book of Proverbs is a book of
inspired wisdom drawn from earthly maxims. But the maxims, as given by Solomon,
under divine inspiration are not about carnal matters. They are about spiritual
matters. Solomon is not telling us how to lay up treasures upon the earth. That
would be a direct contradiction to our Lord’s word in Matthew six. Solomon’
purpose is to tell us show the necessity of laying up treasure in heaven.
Yet, how foolish we are to neglect our souls! In this regard the unjust
steward sets before us an example we would be wise to follow. Like him, we
should…
·
Look to the future (2 Cor.
·
Make provision for that day when we shall have to leave our present
habitation.
·
Secure for ourselves “an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”
·
Use every means at our disposal to secure our everlasting welfare.
J. C. Ryle wrote, “The diligence of
worldly men about the things of time should put to shame the coldness of
professing Christians about the things of eternity.”
·
They improve their opportunities. ― We
waste ours.
·
They redeem their time. ― We squander
ours.
·
They seize the moment to increase their riches. ― We live as if we expect to live here forever, as though
there were no eternal riches in glory.
Christ’s Exhortation
II. Second, I want us to understand the exhortation of our Lord (v. 9).
The parable ends in verse 8. Verses 9-13 are
words of instruction to you and me, by which he pointedly applies the parable
to us. Listen to this exhortation.
(Luke
16:9) “And I say unto you, Make to
yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they
may receive you into everlasting habitations.”
This is the meaning of our Lord’s words in
this verse
– “Make to yourselves friends with your money and earthly goods, so that when
you die, you may enter into everlasting habitations. ― Use your earthly
goods, as a steward under God, with an eye to the future. ― Use your
riches in this world in such a way that they shall be friends to you and not a
witness against you in the day of judgment.”
Lest any mistake what I am saying, or what our Lord
is teaching in this verse, let this be perfectly understood. No man can
purchase an eternal inheritance in heaven with money, any more than he can earn
it by his works! Our only grounds of acceptance with God, is the precious blood
of Christ (1 Pet.
(1
Pet 1:18-21) “Forasmuch as ye know that
ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from
your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; (19) But
with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without
spot: (20) Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the
world, but was manifest in these last times for you, (21) Who by him do
believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your
faith and hope might be in God.”
Your earthly riches cannot get you into heaven, no
matter what you do with them. But your earthly riches can keep you out of
heaven (Matt.
(Mat
Illustration: The Rich Young Ruler (Lk.
(Luke
18:22-24) “Now when Jesus heard these
things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast,
and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come,
follow me. (23) And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he
was very rich. (24) And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he
said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter
into the
It is our responsibility not to serve our
earthly possessions, but rather to use our earthly possessions to serve our
God, his people, and his gospel. All that we have belongs to God and is to be used
for God. We are nothing but stewards. A steward takes in with one hand
and distributes with the other according to his master’s will (Matt.
(Mat
6:19-21) “Lay not up for yourselves
treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break
through and steal: (20) But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break
through nor steal: (21) For where your treasure is, there will your
heart be also.”
(Mat
We were not put here to amass wealth, but to
use what God puts in our hands for the glory of Christ and the good of his
people.
The doctrine of this text is just this – The proper use of our
earthly goods, from the proper motives, will be for our eternal benefit. It is
an evidence of God’s grace in us, which shall befriend our souls forever. Let’s
look at three inspired commentaries on this verse.
·
Ecclesiastes 11:1
·
Galatians 6:7-10
·
1 Timothy 6:17-19
(Eccl
11:1) “Cast thy bread upon the waters:
for thou shalt find it after many days.”
(Gal
6:7-10) “Be not deceived; God is not
mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. (8) For he
that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth
to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. (9) And let us
not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
(10) As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good
unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”
(1
Tim 6:17-19) “Charge them that are rich
in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but
in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; (18) That
they do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to
communicate; (19) Laying up in store for themselves a good foundation
against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.”
(Luke
16:9) “And I say unto you, Make to
yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they
may receive you into everlasting habitations.”
Faithful,
or Unfaithful?
III. Third, our Lord gives us the basis of this exhortation and enforces it in
verses 10-12.
If we do not make good use of God’s temporal gifts
of providence, we need not expect him to bestow upon us the true riches of
spiritual and everlasting grace and glory (v. 10).
(Luke 16:10) “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.”
The riches of this world are here called that
which is least. Men think riches are great, significant, and all-important. Our Lord
calls riches that which is least, the very least of all God’s gifts to man. The
spiritual riches, the riches of grace and glory are much, infinitely,
immeasurably much ― “The
unsearchable riches of Christ” (Eph. 3:8). “God’s riches in
glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil.
Matthew Henry said, “God withholds his
grace from covetous worldly people more than we are aware of.” And our Lord
said virtually the same thing. (Read Luke 18:25).
(Luke
18:25) “For it is easier for a camel to
go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the
Read verse 11.
(Luke 16:11) “If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon,
who will commit to your trust the true riches?”
The riches of this world are deceitful and
uncertain. They are “the unrighteous
mammon.” Spiritual riches are “true riches”. I wonder if we really
believe that? Those who are rich in faith are truly
rich. Those who are rich in grace are infinitely rich. Those who are rich
towards God are permanently rich. Those who are rich in Christ are perfectly
rich, rich in all things (1 Cor.
·
All providential things are ours.
·
All temporal things are ours.
·
All gracious things are ours.
·
All spiritual things are ours.
·
All eternal things are ours.
Now, look at verse 12.
(Luke
16:12) “And if ye have not been faithful
in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is your own?”
The riches of this world are another man’s.
They all belong to God. We are only stewards of them, who use them for a very little while.
Then, we must leave them to another. Spiritual, eternal riches are our
own. They are that good part which shall not be taken away from us, neither in
this world nor in the world to come. That which God has imputed to me
is mine forever. That which he imparts to my soul can
never be separated from me. It is my very own forever.
·
Christ’s righteousness is my righteousness!
·
Christ’s reward is my reward!
·
Christ’s inheritance is my inheritance!
·
Christ’s glory is my glory!
Little Things
In these verses, our Lord plainly shows us the
importance of faithfulness in “little things”. He is showing us that “little
things” are the truest test of character.
·
A man who will steal a dime will rob a bank, if he thinks he can get by
with it.
·
A woman who will gossip about you would murder you, if she could.
A person who is not faithful in “little things” is
probably unfaithful in all things. And he certainly is not an heir of heavenly
things. ― Yet, let me hasten to say,
faithfulness is not measured by acts but by lives!
Our Lord’s Lesson
IV. Fourth, our Savior plainly declares a lesson, which we must learn (v. 13).
(Luke
16:13) “No servant can serve two
masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will
hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”
“We have no other way to prove ourselves the
servants of God than by giving up ourselves so entirely to his service as to
make mammon, that is, all our worldly gain, serviceable to us in his service”
(Matthew Henry).
If we love the world and seek to hold on to the
things of the world, we will hate God and despise his grace. Our
worship of, service to, and faith in God will be made to be subservient to our
worldly interests. We will use the things of God to serve the world.
If we love God and seek to hold on to him, serving his
kingdom and his glory, his Son and his gospel, then we will hate the world and
despise all that it offers. That simply means, when the world comes into
competition with God, we throw the world away and hold our God and Savior. We
make our business and worldly interests subservient to the worship of,
obedience to, and service for our God. We make the things of the world to be
neither more nor less than instruments with which we serve the Lord God.
“Ye
cannot serve God and mammon!” So I say to you today, as Joshua did to
(Mark
8:34-37) “And when he had called the
people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take
up his cross, and follow me. (35) For whosoever will save his life shall
lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the
same shall save it. (36) For what shall it profit a man, if he shall
gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? (37) Or what shall a man
give in exchange for his soul?”
Illustration: The
Preacher and the Businessman