Lesson 10 March 3-9
The Role of Stewardship
Commentary in Navy Inspiration in Maroon
Sabbath AfternoonRead for This Week’s Study: Col. 1:16-18; Heb. 4:14-16; 3 John 3; Gen. 6:13-18; Rev. 14:6-12; 1 Pet. 1:15, 16
Memory Text: “For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life” (1 Thessalonians 4:7, NIV).
Because of the depth and breadth of stewardship, it is easy to get lost in the big picture, bogged down by tangents and overwhelmed by its enormity. Stewardship is simple yet also complex, and thus can be easily misunderstood. However, neither the Christian nor the church can exist or function without it. To be a Christian is to be a good steward as well.
“It is not a theory nor a philosophy but a working program. It is in verity the Christian law of living. . . . It is necessary to an adequate understanding of life, and essential to a true, vital religious experience. It is not simply a matter of mental assent, but is an act of the will and a definite, decisive transaction touching the whole perimeter of life.” - LeRoy E. Froom, Stewardship in Its Larger Aspects (Mountain View: Calif., Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1929), p. 5.
What are some of the core tenets of what it means to be a Christian steward? This week we will look more at the roles that stewardship plays in Christian life. We will do so, though, through an interesting analogy: a chariot wheel.
Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, March 10.
Sunday March 4
Christ as the Center
Jesus is the central figure throughout the Bible (John 5:39), and we need to see ourselves in relationship to Him. He paid the penalty for sin and is “a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Jesus has all authority in heaven and earth (Matt. 28:18), and all things are in His hands (John 13:3). His name is higher than all others, and one day every knee shall bow down to Him (Phil. 2:9-11).
“Jesus is the living center of everything.” - Ellen G. White, Evangelism, p. 186.
Christ is the heart of our stewardship and the source of our power. Because of Him, we produce a life worth living, demonstrating to all that He is the central focus of our lives. Paul may have experienced many trials, but no matter where he was or what happened to him, he had one priority for living: “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil. 1:21, NKJV).
Read Colossians 1:16-18, Romans 8:21, and 2 Corinthians 5:17. What do they tell us about just how central Jesus is to everything about us?
There is no genuine stewardship without Christ being our central core (Gal. 2:20). He is the center of “that blessed hope” (Titus 2:13), and “He is before all things, and in Him all things consist” (Col. 1:17, NKJV). Just as the axle is the center of the wheel and thus carries the weight of a wagon, Christ is the center of the steward’s life. Just as a solid axle provides stability, allowing the wheels to rotate, Jesus is also the fixed and stable center of our Christian existence (Heb. 13:8 ). His influence should affect everything we think and do. All aspects of stewardship rotate around and find their center in Christ.
“For without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5, NKJV). The center of stewardship is not a hollow void but the reality of the living Christ, who is working in us to mold our characters now and for eternity.
It’s one thing to say that Jesus is the core of our life, but it’s another to live as if He is. How can you be sure that Jesus is, indeed, living in you as He promises He will if we will but let Him in?
Monday March 5
Sanctuary Doctrine
One doesn’t usually think of the sanctuary in the context of stewardship. Yet the link is there because the sanctuary is so crucial to our belief system, and stewardship is part of the system. “The correct understanding of the ministration [of Christ] in the heavenly sanctuary is the foundation of our faith.” - Ellen G. White, Evangelism, p. 221. It is imperative that we understand the role of stewardship in light of this biblical concept.
First Kings 7:33 describes a chariot wheel. We will illustrate the sanctuary doctrine as the hub of the wheel. The hub attaches to the axle and provides more stability for the wheel when it turns. Having experienced death and a victorious resurrection (2 Tim. 1:10), Christ through His death is the foundation for His work in the sanctuary (Heb. 6:19, 20) and provides the stability for our faith. And it is from the sanctuary that He ministers in our behalf here on earth (see Heb. 8:1, 2).
“Standing on the sola Scriptura [Scripture alone] principle, Biblical Adventism builds its doctrinal system from the general perspective of the sanctuary doctrine.” - Fernando Canale, Secular Adventism? Exploring the Link Between Lifestyle and Salvation (Lima: Peru, Peruvian Union University, 2013), pp. 104, 105.
What do these texts tell us about Jesus’ ministration in the sanctuary? 1 John 2:1, Heb. 4:14-16, Rev. 14:7.
The sanctuary doctrine helps reveal the great truth of salvation and redemption, which is at the core of all Christian theology. In the sanctuary we see not only Christ’s death for us, but His ministry in the heavenly sanctuary as well. We can see, too, in the Most Holy Place the importance of God’s law and the reality of final judgment. Central to it all is the promise of redemption made available to us by the shed blood of Jesus.
The role of stewardship reflects a life anchored in the great truth of salvation, as revealed in the sanctuary doctrine. The more deeply we understand what Christ has done for us and what He is doing in us now, the closer we come to Christ, His ministry, His mission, His teaching, and His intent for those who live out the principles of stewardship in their lives.
Read Hebrews 4:14-16. What is found there for us in our own struggle with sin, self, and selfishness? How do we draw strength and hope from what is promised us there?