Eph.3:2 Assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you.
There is an interesting description of the call to ministry, "the stewardship of God's grace." God has placed his grace in our hands, in the sense that he has given us his Word of Life, the gospel of Jesus Christ, that we may, as physicians of the soul, dispense divine grace through the public and private proclamation of the Word. This we do for the sake of those to whom God has sent us as his stewards!
As stewards of God's grace, what does our stewardship require of us?
1. That we proclaim his word frequently. We are to look for opportunities to tell the gospel story and take each one presented to us. The gospel is not limited in quantity such that as stewards we must ration it out in tiny bits here and there for fear that we will run out of the word! No, the gospel is not diminished when we share it but rather multiplied. Like the widow's jar of flour (1 Kings 17:16), the more we use the more we have, in never-ending supply. He is the good steward who most uses the gospel.
2. That we proclaim his word faithfully. We neither add to nor subtract from God's word but deliver his word just as it given to us. We are heralds of another's message, not our own. It is our job to relay God's message with the utmost care and accuracy. This faithfulness also requires clarity of communication and sharpness of application. We are not faithful when we make his message obscure, boring, or irrelevant. We are to make his word as clear as possible when we explain it to others.
3. That we proclaim his word fearlessly. We are not to shyly whisper his word to the disbelieving world or to fainting Christian hearts. We are to hold it forth loudly, clearly, and confidently. The more passion, conviction, and sincerity we use in proclaiming his word the better. God's message is not unimportant or untimely. It is urgently needed and life changing. We do well to add to our proclamation a high courage, passion, and boldness. We are fearless because we are armed with his Word and energized by the Holy Spirit.
May Christ enable us as stewards of his grace to offer it frequently, faithfully, and fearlessly as we proclaim his Word to all.