Trustworthiness,
Faithfulness, Diligence, Stewardship
Joseph
K Stephen 6 May 2007
1 Corinthians 4:2 Moreover it
is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
Trustworthiness, faithfulness,
diligence and stewardship are closely
related. As Christians, god has endowed us with His Word (2Ti 2:2, 2:15, Mt
28:20), His gifts (Mt 25:14-30, Luke 19:12-27, Ephes
4:11-14, 1 Pet 4:10), His name (Acts 11:26) and His creation (Gen 1:26). We
therefore must be trustworthy, faithful
and diligent in our stewardship of these things. In order to be such in these
four important endowments, we must be faithful and trustworthy in each little
daily task.
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.
Psalms 119:4 ¶Thou hast
commanded us to keep thy precepts diligently.
In David's time, like ours, the
world was full of faithless and untrustworthy men, evil stewards of God's
heritage so that David wrote:
Psalm 12:1 A Psalm of David.>>
Help, LORD; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the
children of men.
Trustworthy:
·
deserving of trust or confidence; dependable; reliable.
·
Taking responsibility for one's conduct and obligations;
Faithful:
·
strict or thorough in the performance of duty: a faithful
worker.
·
true to one's word, promises, vows, etc.
·
steady in allegiance or affection; loyal; constant: faithful
friends.
·
reliable, trusted, or believed.
·
adhering or true to fact, a standard, or an original; accurate:
a faithful account; a faithful copy.
as a designation of Christians,
means full of faith, trustful, and not simply trustworthy (Acts 10:45; 16:1; 2
Cor. 6:15; Col. 1:2; 1 Tim. 4:3, 12; 5:16; 6:2; Titus 1:6; Eph. 1:1; 1 Cor.
4:17, etc.). It is used also of God's word or covenant as true and to be
trusted (Ps. 119:86, 138; Isa. 25:1; 1 Tim. 1:15; Rev. 21:5; 22:6, etc.). (
Diligence:
·
constant in effort to accomplish something; attentive and
persistent in doing anything: a diligent student.
·
done or pursued with persevering attention; painstaking: a
diligent search of the files.
Stewardship:
·
a person who manages another's property or financial
affairs; one who administers anything as the agent of another or others.
As we have seen in earlier lessons,
if God asks of us something, He Himself demonstrates or bears this
characteristic. He is the Faithful God, we are told He is to be trusted and has
shown through history that He is trustworthy:
Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore
that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and
mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand
generations;
Isaiah 25:1 ¶O LORD, thou art
my God; I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name; for thou hast done wonderful
things; thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD
with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
Isaiah 26:4 Trust ye in the
LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:
It is clear from scripture that
fruitfulness in labour or position of honour can only come through being
trustworthy and faithful in our stewardship of whatever is entrusted to us.
Some examples of those whom were trustworthy and faithful and whom were given
positions of honour or great responsibility:
Numbers 12:7 My servant Moses
is not so, who is faithful in all mine house.
8 With him will I speak mouth
to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the
LORD shall he behold… (Also see Heb 3:2-5.)
Due to his Faithfulness, Moses had a
very close relationship with God, God made His will known to him in a clear
manner.
1 Samuel 22:14 Then Ahimelech
answered the king, and said, And who is so faithful among all thy servants as
David, which is the king's son in law, and goeth at thy bidding, and is
honourable in thine house?
David's reputation was that of faithfulness and honour in the kings house.
Nehemiah 7:2 That I gave my
brother Hanani, and Hananiah the ruler of the palace, charge over
Nehemiah chose his brother Hananiah
to be in charge of
Nehemiah 13:13 And I made
treasurers over the treasuries, Shelemiah the priest, and Zadok the scribe, and
of the Levites, Pedaiah: and next to them was Hanan the son of Zaccur, the son
of Mattaniah: for they were counted faithful, and their office was to
distribute unto their brethren.
Shelemiah, Zadok, Pedaiah and Hanan
were made treasurers because of their faithfulness.
Daniel 6:4 Then the presidents
and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but
they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither
was there any error or fault found in him.
Daniel was faithful and was given
great position and honour in the kingdom.
Some examples in the New Testament,
note little is known about many of these except that they were faithful,
examples of such spoken of in 2 Timothy 2:2:
2 Timothy 2:2 And the things
that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to
faithful men, who shall be able to teach others...
1 Corinthians 4:17 ¶For this
cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in
the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ,
as I teach every where in every church.
Ephesians 6:21 But that ye
also may know my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and faithful
minister in the Lord, shall make known to you all things:
Colossians 1:7 As ye also
learned of Epaphras our dear fellowservant, who is for you a faithful minister
of Christ;
Colossians 4:9 With Onesimus,
a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you. They shall make known unto
you all things
1 Timothy 1:12 ¶And I thank
Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful,
putting me into the ministry;
1 Peter 5:12 By Silvanus, a
faithful brother unto you…
Some more examples of the importance
of faithfulness in our everyday lives:
1 Timothy 3:11 Even so must
their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things.
Proverbs 31:10 ¶Who can find a
virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband
doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
Titus 1:6 ¶If any be
blameless, the husband of one wife, having faithful children not accused of
riot or unruly.
3 John 1:5 Beloved, thou doest
faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers;
Psalms 31:23 O love the LORD,
all ye his saints: for the LORD preserveth the faithful, and plentifully
rewardeth the proud doer.
Psalms 101:6 Mine eyes shall
be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh
in a perfect way, he shall serve me.
Proverbs 11:13 A talebearer
revealeth secrets: but he that is of a faithful spirit concealeth the matter.
Proverbs 13:17 ¶A wicked
messenger falleth into mischief: but a faithful ambassador is health.
Proverbs 14:5 ¶A faithful
witness will not lie: but a false witness will utter lies.
Proverbs 20:6 ¶Most men will
proclaim every one his own goodness: but a faithful man who can find?
Proverbs 25:13 ¶As the cold of
snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger to them that send him:
for he refresheth the soul of his masters.
Proverbs 28:20 ¶A faithful man
shall abound with blessings: but he that maketh haste to be rich shall not be
innocent.
Proverbs 29:14 ¶The king that
faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established for ever.
Matthew 25:23 His lord said
unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a
few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of
thy lord.
Matthew 24:45 Who then is a
faithful and wise servant (steward Luke 12:42), whom his lord hath made ruler
over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant,
whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47 Verily I say unto you, That
he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But and if that evil
servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49 And shall begin to smite
his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50 The lord of that servant
shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not
aware of,
51 And shall cut him asunder,
and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth.
Matthew 25:14-30.
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.
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?
Luke 19:12-27.
Proverbs 10:4 ¶He becometh
poor that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich.
Proverbs 11:27 ¶He that
diligently seeketh good procureth favour: but he that seeketh mischief, it
shall come unto him.
Proverbs 12:24 ¶The hand of
the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute.
Proverbs 12:27 ¶The slothful
man roasteth not that which he took in hunting: but the substance of a diligent
man is precious.
Proverbs 13:4 ¶The soul of the
sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made
fat.
Proverbs 21:5 ¶The thoughts of
the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to
want.
Proverbs 22:29 ¶Seest thou a
man diligent in his business? he shall stand before kings; he shall not stand
before mean men.
Proverbs 27:23 ¶Be thou
diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.
Summary:
It is every Christian's duty to be trustworthy, faithful and diligent stewards of God's heritage. God has entrusted to us gifts for the building up of His church, His Name which we are to bear with due reverence in our testimony, His Word which we must rightly divide and teach faithfully to others and His creation which we must take dominion of and tend. If we are faithful in the little things, we will be given greater and more honourable responsibilities. If we are slothful in our stewardship of God’s heritage, the neglected gift will be given to one who has proven himself diligent. Moses, David, Hananiah, Shelemiah, Zadok, Pedaiah, Hanan, Daniel, Timotheus, Tychicus, Epaphras, Onesimus, Paul, Silvanus are all examples of faithful, diligent and trustworthy stewards. Some of which we no nothing more than the fact that they were faithful, a testimony which the Holy Spirit deemed important enough to record. Our time here is to prove our faithfulness since as the Lord through Luke wrote, if we can’t be faithful with the unrighteous mammon (earthly possessions), how can we be faithful with the True (heavenly) riches? Diligence, trustworthiness and faithful stewardship lead directly to honour, riches and positions of authority whilst slothfulness and faithlessness lead directly to poverty and servitude and ultimately to weeping and gnashing of teeth, for the saved, if not hell, this must at least be a state of dreadful regret.