Before Paul brings this letter to a close, he wants to deal with this subject sternly.
The strategy that some use when they want to destroy a message is to destroy the messenger. This is the kind of strategy they were using against the apostle Paul.
This is done in politics all the time. When the truth comes out about a politician, so often the character of the one stating the truth is viciously attacked. The idea is, if they can destroy the messenger they can destroy the message.
Paul had been preaching salvation by grace alone. They came along and preached another message, saying that salvation by grace alone is not sufficient. They also taught they had to be circumcised.
They had viciously attacked Paul, and now we can see why Paul, as he comes to the close of this book, has something to say about THE BELIEVERS RELATIONSHIP with the one who has TAUGHT THEM THE TRUTH ABOUT THE WORD OF GOD.
I. THE RESPONSIBILITY OF SHARING
The teacher certainly has a responsibility to the learner (student). But students also have a responsibility to those who TEACH them.
How are students to be responsible to those who teach them?
They are responsible in a number of ways, such as:
• Being present when they are teaching
• Being attentive and trying to learn what is being taught
• Participating in what is being taught (discussion)
• Passing on to others what they have learned
• Encouraging others to come and hear what is being taught
But there are other things that the students are responsible for concerning those who teach them the Word of God. There is a-
A. POSITIONAL RESPECT
It has become fashionable in this modern church age to call preachers by their first name. People drop the title Pastor, Minister, Reverend, Preacher, and Dr., and just call them by their first name. This is not good!
For example, President George W. Bush is like any other man in many ways, but because of the job he has, he is not like everyone else. There are some who did not vote for him, but they honor him by calling him Mr. President. They would not think of calling him George! Why? It is because they recognize the important position he holds.
It is those who want to dishonor him that call him “GW!”
WHY DO SOME WANT THE PREACHER TO BE CALLED BY HIS NAME LIKE EVERYONE ELSE? For several reasons:
• Some have not been taught that the position of those who teach the WORD OF GOD comes with a title that is to be honored.
• Some do it out of familiarity. Many pastors preach in the same town in which they were raised, so the people that grew up there knew them by their first name. So when they see them, they do as they have always done and they call them by their first name.
• Some do it out of disrespect. They do not want to recognize their title because that puts them in a position of being under them. So, if they can refer to them by their first name it makes them just like everyone else.
Those who TEACH THE WORD should be shown respect.
Look at 1 Timothy 5:1 “Rebuke not an elder, but entreat him as a father; and the younger men as brethren.”
Look at the word “Elder”. This has a Physical and Spiritual meaning to it.
That is, it would be disrespectful for some young person to walk up to an OLDER person and say, “You stupid individual, you do not know what you are doing!”
Why would this be wrong? Because this older person has been around a long time and they have learned things that the younger person has never learned. It may be that the young person does not agree with them, but it also may be that the young person is wrong. They are not showing the kind of respect they should be showing to someone who has acquired knowledge over many years.
The same thing applies for a SPIRITUAL elder. God put that Elder in the church, and God works through the chain of command. That chain of command is always from the top to the bottom, not the bottom to the top. When a person is always jumping in the face of the Elder, they are not showing respect to the MINISTER OF THE GOSPEL that God put in the church.
This is why the Word of God says, “Rebuke not an elder…”
WHO SHOULD REBUKE AN ELDER?
This is why it is important that a missionary or a pastor is under some kind of denomination or fellowship. That is, when the leaders of a denomination or a fellowship hear of a pastor that is teaching some false teaching, other elders will call him in and “rebuke” him.
This is the way it is supposed to be done, but it is not the place of the students to be teaching the teacher.
The student should show a TEACHER OF GOD’S WORD POSITIONAL RESPECT. But also the student has a-
B. FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Illus: One man said of his pastor, “We have a good pastor. He does not take any money for preaching, he just does it from a heart of love.”
I hope he does it from a heart of love, and most likely he does. I do not know this pastor, but I do know this about him, he is ignorant of the Word of God.
Look at 1 Cor. 9:14, we read, “Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel.”
Look at 1 Tim. 5:17-18, we read, “Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine. For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.”
Illus: Suppose a college professor spends years of his life preparing to become a teacher. Then he gets a job at a university and starts to teach and gets no money. He has spent years to prepare for this job, and to do the job adequately takes the same amount of time if not more than a man who works forty hours a week. But folks say to him, “What you are doing is good and it is good that you are willing to give your life doing this.” Yes, it is a good thing he is doing, but his family has to eat just like the fellows in his classes.
No hard working pastor needs to be ashamed to take a salary, the Word of God says he is WORTH IT.
Look at Deut. 25:4, “Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.”
This is something many congregations do not understand. Many pastors have done well for their congregations. That is, their church would not have what they have if it were not for his leadership and hard work.
Illus: In the Old Testament, a farmer would hook his old ox to a plow and work him so hard he could hardly get back to the stable. And sometimes as the ox would plow, he would reach over and grab an ear of corn. Some of the unkind farmers would work an ox into the ground, and to keep the ox from eating, they would put a muzzle on him. And God said, “Thou shalt not muzzle the ox when he treadeth out the corn.”
The same thing applies to a pastor. Some congregations do not understand their responsibility to a hard working pastor that has done well for them. Out of unkindness and ignorance, they will put a muzzle on him so he can not reap anything from his hard work.
God is not pleased with the pastor who does not take care of his congregation.
But also God is not pleased with the congregation that does not take care of their pastor.
God put him there, and the church has a responsibility to take care of him RESPECTFULLY and FINANCIALLY.
Look again at verse 6, we read, “Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto him that teacheth in all good things.”
II. THE REWARDS OF SHARING
Look at verses 7-9, we read, “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
As Paul is bringing this book to a close, he touches on the RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CONGREGATION TO A PASTOR, and he also touches on the RESPONSIBILITY OF A MINISTER.
Notice, he starts these three verses off by saying, “Be not deceived”.
If you were to attend services in some churches today, and you are a student of God’s Word, you would recognize that they are teaching false doctrine.
HOW DID THE CHURCH GET LIKE THIS?
Ministers that were not faithful to the Word of God have led them to be deceived.
For example, one of the things many congregations have been deceived about is SIN. They have not been told from God’s Word, THAT THEY CAN NOT SIN AND GET AWAY WITH IT!
God’s Word says:
• If a man sows corn he is going to get corn
• If a man sows beans he is going to get beans
• If a man sows squash he is going to get squash
And the Word of God teaches that if a man sows sin he is going to reap judgment.
Many are being deceived today. We all have the choice to sow each day to the FLESH or to the SPIRIT. And which ever one we choose to sow to, we are going to reap from.
Look at verse 8 again, we read, “For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.”
Everyday we are to sow to the Spirit and we are not to get tired of doing it.
Look at 9, again, we read, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”
Before we leave these three verses, notice what it means to reject the teaching of God’s Word.
Look at verse 7 again, “Be not deceived, God is not mocked…”
God says when a person rejects the teaching of God’s Word they are “mocking” God.
The word “mocked” is the word “mukterizetai” which means to “Turn one’s nose up at God.”
When a minister is not preaching the Word of God, a Christian should find a church where they are preaching the Word of God.
But when a minister is preaching the Word of God and they reject his teaching, they are turning their nose up at God! This is some serious stuff!
We have looked at THE RESPONSIBILITY OF SHARING and THE REWARDS OF SHARING. Now let’s look at -
III. THE RELATIONSHIP OF SHARING
Look at verse 10, we read, “As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.”
This simply means that we should always be looking for opportunities to serve.
Some folks can find good things to do, but what they are doing does not advance the WORK OF GOD at all.
Some folks will volunteer and give their time:
• To help at the school
• To help advance some political agenda
• To help in the local hospital
But these are things that saved or lost people can do. But these things do not advance the Kingdom of God at all!
The smartest thing a person can do is:
• Get in a Bible preaching church
• Join hands with that pastor and look for opportunities to work with him to advance the Kingdom of God.
Every pastor will receive calls wanting him and his church to donate to help some underprivileged child go to a rodeo to make them happy for a few hours.
But listen, when we help a child to come to know the Lord, we are giving them something that will make them happy for eternity, not just a couple of hours.
Let the “dead bury the dead”, but we who are alive in Christ should be looking for opportunities to work with God’s minister to promote the Kingdom of God. A minister of the gospel can not do it alone, but if God’s people will support him the same way Aaron and Hur supported the arms of Moses, God will get the glory and the job will be done.
Conclusion:
We have looked at:
I. THE RESPONSIBILITY OF SHARING
II. THE REWARDS OF SHARING
III. THE RELATIONSHIP OF SHARING
