Do you not know that
those who minister
the holy things eat
of the things of the temple,
and those who served
at the altar partake
of the offerings of
the altar?
Even so the Lord has
commanded that those
who preach the gospel
should live from the gospel.
But I have used none
of these things, nor have I
written these things
that it should be done
so to me; for it
would be better for me to die
then that anyone
should make my boasting void.
1 Corinthians 9:13 --
15
Paul had
only one thing on his mind and that thing drove him in all that he did and
said, therefore, those who would attempt to bring reproach upon him would not
have any cause to do so. Paul has had
to endure those who would speak against him due to his past, those things that
he did against the Christians, and would not now admit that he had truly
converted to Jesus Christ. It is always
easy to point to one’s past and say that what they are doing now must not
actually be a conversion. Paul
previously pointed out that he was a true apostle for he had seen the Lord
Jesus Christ, and now he is pointing out that even as the priest had the right
to eat of the meat brought to them for sacrifice, so too he had this same right
to have use of any offerings for his service.
Paul reminded the Corinthian Christians that even though he had the
right to receive monetary gain because he was preaching he did not demand that
right. It is not wrong for a preacher
or other people who are working in churches to have income; rather it is not
right for them to demand, or to just expect to have income because they are
preaching. We as brothers and sisters
in Christ are to care for those who are in need no matter who they are and it
is appropriate to pay our pastors and others to work in the church a
salary. Once again, Paul is speaking
about something we must remember that it is all it is about our motives. For Paul the most important thing for him
was to preach the gospel. Is this true of you? He had nothing to boast of: "For if I preach the gospel, I have
nothing to boast of, for necessity is laid upon me; yes, woe is me if I do not
preach the gospel! For if I do this
willingly, I have a reward; but against my will, I have been entrusted with a
stewardship" (1 Corinthians 9: 16 -- 17). Paul had been entrusted by God to preach the gospel to the
Gentiles (Galatians 2: 7) whereby even Peter had been entrusted to bring the
gospel especially to the Hebrew. Paul
was very aware that he could easily abuse this power given to him by God to
preach the gospel: "What is my
reward them? That when I preach the
gospel, I may present the gospel of Christ without charge, that I may not abuse
my authority in the gospel" (1 Corinthians 9: 18). This attitude of Paul, not to demand any
charge for his preaching, for his way of life was accomplished by his tent
making income. This does not mean that there were not certain supplies given to
him over the course of his ministry, rather he was not abusing his power
demanding that which was not necessary as he did when he needed his coat. The principle here is that preaching the
gospel is more important than our concern about our income, whether you be, as
it's called a layman, or a pastor. But,
when examining some of the preachers, especially in what is called the
mega-churches we find that the pastors have incomes that are in the millions of
dollars, and that they live in huge mansions.
I did a study of those who are in such positions and found this to be
very true that rather than living economically, they are living a life great luxury
as though they deserve it because they are pastors of these huge churches. Paul has spoken about not becoming a
stumbling block. But is this not true
that many people will look upon such living as a stumbling block. When this type of person who is living in
such a life is approached about this there are many excuses, and reasons given
for doing so, even though they will point out that they do give away some money
to the poor or to other missions. Now I
am not advocating that a person must live in squalor wall or in some aesthetic
lifestyle to be a preacher of the gospel, no, what I am saying is we must make
sure that we are not a stumbling block and that the most important priority in
our lives is the spreading of the gospel.
If we truly believe that the Lord God Jesus Christ will care for us
under any circumstances, is this not true also of our needs? Will not Jesus Christ provide? How often all of us are more concerned about
the things of this world and whether we are looked down upon because we are
somehow different. We become so concerned whether or not we are dressing in the
latest fad, or attending the latest concert, or having the latest car or the
latest and newest and biggest house. We give excuses and reasons for doing so,
and yet we are not reading our Bible every day, and we are not teaching our
children, praying with them and with our spouses but feel as though we have
this "right." What is more
important in your life, you, or the spreading of the gospel: "For though I am free from all men, I
have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I
became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as
under the law, then I might win those who are under the law; to those who are
without law, as without law (not been without law toward God, but under law
toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak, I
became as weak, that I might win the weak.
I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save
some" (1 Corinthians 9: -- 22).
Winning souls for God, is not just for those called of God to a special
service, we too are to spread the Gospel. We cannot except some things that are written in the Bible and
reject others because they don't fit what we believe or wish to believe, rather
we are to accept all things written by God for his word has been inspired to be
written by men for all Christians in all times. Once again what and who holds a priority in your life? The answer to this question will determine
not only your maturity in Christ, it may determine whether or not you are truly
converted to Jesus Christ and are only hoping to be somehow "good"
enough to be accepted by Him. Only you,
or I, and answer this question.
O God, You know my foolishness;
and my sins
are not hidden from You.
Let not those who wait for You, O Lord God of hosts,
be ashamed because of me; let not
those
who seek You be confounded because of me,
O God of
Israel.
Psalm 69: 5 -- 6
Draw near to God: live for Him
Richard L. Crumb
No comments:
Post a Comment