At a Glance
Series: Strapped
Scripture: Matthew 25:14-30, Deuteronomy 14:22-23, Matthew 6:19-21
Summary: What Jesus Thinks About Money is a sermon outline centered on Matthew 25:14-30. When it comes to money, there are two major schools of thought… 1. Money is everything.
Source: Adapted from Brandon Cox sermon outline notes from 2018. Transcript, audio, and video files were not used for this draft.
Review labels: clean
Sermon Notes
This resource draft preserves the outline movement of the source file and is staged for Brandon review before any public update.
Extracted Outline
What Jesus Thinks About Money
UN$TRAPPED, Week One
When it comes to money, there are two major schools of thought…
1. Money is everything.
There are two major needs all human beings have – security and significance. When I believe that money will truly meet those two needs completely, I am destined for disappointment and frustration.
And in this camp are some who have a ton of money and others who never seem to have enough. It’s not so much about how much money we have. It’s more about how much money has of us – of our attention and our affection.
Within Christianity, this is often referred to as the “prosperity gospel,” and its heresy.
2. Money is nothing.
And in the opposite corner are the people who believe money is nothing. I don’t have to worry about it or think about it or have any plans for it. It just means so little.
The problem with thinking money is nothing is that it ignores the fact that 15% of what Jesus said in the gospels was about money. He obviously considered it important.
Within Christianity, I would call this a “poverty gospel,” where we believe that money is bad and having money will keep you from being holy.
The truth is, money is something.
The fact is, money is a tool. And it’s a good tool that can be used for very good things. And we are stewards of it.
What I want to find out is, what did Jesus think about money? What does the Bible teach about money?
What you believe about money will determine how you behave with money.
Matthew 25:14-30 NLT
14 Again, the Kingdom of Heaven can be illustrated by the story of a man going on a long trip. He called together his servants and entrusted his money to them while he was gone. 15 He gave five bags of silver to one, two bags of silver to another, and one bag of silver to the last—dividing it in proportion to their abilities. He then left on his trip.
16 The servant who received the five bags of silver began to invest the money and earned five more. 17 The servant with two bags of silver also went to work and earned two more. 18 But the servant who received the one bag of silver dug a hole in the ground and hid the master’s money.
19 After a long time their master returned from his trip and called them to give an account of how they had used his money. 20 The servant to whom he had entrusted the five bags of silver came forward with five more and said, ‘Master, you gave me five bags of silver to invest, and I have earned five more.’
21 The master was full of praise. ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
22 The servant who had received the two bags of silver came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two bags of silver to invest, and I have earned two more.’
23 “The master said, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. You have been faithful in handling this small amount, so now I will give you many more responsibilities. Let’s celebrate together!’
24 “Then the servant with the one bag of silver came and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. 25 I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.’
26 “But the master replied, ‘You wicked and lazy servant! If you knew I harvested crops I didn’t plant and gathered crops I didn’t cultivate, 27 why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it.’
28 “Then he ordered, ‘Take the money from this servant, and give it to the one with the ten bags of silver. 29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. 30 Now throw this useless servant into outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
3 Big Truths Jesus Teaches Us About Money
1. Everything I have belongs to God.
Tithing isn’t about giving. It isn’t even about obeying a particular rule. It’s ultimately a lesson that reminds us who really owns everything.
Deuteronomy 14:22-23 (The Message)
Make an offering of ten percent, a tithe, of all the produce which grows in your fields year after year. Bring this into the Presence of GOD, your God, at the place he designates for worship and there eat the tithe from your grain, wine, and oil and the firstborn from your herds and flocks. In this way you will learn to live in deep reverence before GOD, your God, as long as you live.
2. God wants me to manage what I have wisely.
When the most recent tax cuts were announced, consumer revolving debt shot up by over a trillion dollars. We decided to put our future tax savings on credit card. It’s already spent and we’ve bet against our potential prosperity.
We’re going to talk next week about the 10-10-80 principle.
3. How I manage what I have matters forever.
If I don’t use it, I lose it. I can only reap from what I’ve been willing to sow. And the fact is, when I manage what I have well – living within my means, saving wisely, and giving generously – I wind up making a big difference in the world around me now.
And when I do manage what I have wisely and invest into things that matter, God rewards me with more responsibility, now and in eternity.
Matthew 6:19-21 GW
Stop storing up treasures for yourselves on earth, where moths and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal. Instead, store up treasures for yourselves in heaven, where moths and rust don’t destroy and thieves don’t break in and steal. Your heart will be where your treasure is.
The great thing is, unlike the ruler in this story, God hasn’t left us. He is right here with us. He walks beside us.
When you hurt financially, God knows. God cares. And God gives you wisdom and a strategy that works.
When you experience prosperity (and most of you who are hearing this do live in prosperity), God deserves all the credit!