THIS IS GOING TO COST YOU
I Corinthians 9:1-14
S: Ministry
C: Ministers of the gospel are to be materially supported
Th: Live the Difference
Pr: We are to adequately support those that make their living by the gospel.
?: Why?
KW: Proofs
TS: We will find in our study of I Corinthians 9:1-14 three proofs why we should adequately support those that make their living by the gospel.
The _____ proof is the…
I. CALL (1-2)
II. COMMON SENSE (3-7)
III. CRITERIA (8-13)
PA: How is the change to be observed?
· Pay Christian workers adequately
· Think righteously when it comes to money
· Be willing to do what must be done in order to fulfill the church’s mission
Version: ESV
RMBC 27 June 04 AM
INTRODUCTION:
Have you met the perfect pastor?
ILL Notebook: Pastor (perfect pastor)
He preaches 20 minutes and then sits down. He condemns sin but never steps on anybody’s toes. He works from 8 in the morning until 10 at night, doing everything from preaching sermons to sweeping. He makes $400 per week, gives $100 a week to the church, drives a late model car, buys lots of books, wears fine clothes, and has a nice family. He is tall on the short-side, heavy-set in a thin sort of way, and handsome. He has eyes of blue or brown and wears his hair parted in the middle, left-side, dark and straight, right-side, brown and wavy. He has a burning desire to work with youth and spends all his time with senior citizens. He smiles all the time while keeping a straight face because he has a keen sense of humor that finds him seriously dedicated. He makes 15 calls a day, spends all his time evangelizing non-members, and is always found in his study when he is needed.
Unfortunately, he burnt himself out and died at age 32.
This is not the easiest job in the world.
And there seems to be a lot of expectations for a person that gets accused of only working one day a week.
So when I am asked, “What do you do Monday through Saturday anyway?”…
I can say I play the role of…
…teacher
…healer
…lawyer
…judge
…social worker
…writer
…editor
…philosopher
…ethicist
…entertainer
…salesman
…manager
…planner
…visionary
…leader
…peacemaker
…servant
…counselor
…scholar.
And in the midst of all these roles, the pastor must stay sweet to those that chide him for not doing it correctly.
For example…
ILL Notebook: Pastor (cut sermon)
A pastor came to the breakfast table with a cut on his cheek. His wife asked him what happened.
He replied that he was concentrating on his sermon while shaving and cut his face.
His wife said, “Maybe you should concentrate on your shaving and cut your sermons.”
Well, I guess that hurt in more ways than one!
TRANSITION:
1. Do you know that we can “live the difference” when it comes to our pastors and other Christian workers?
You may remember that our theme for the year is “live the difference.”
It is a challenge to us that we are to live lives characterized by holiness.
This means that we are to be submissive to the Holy Spirit’s control in every aspect of our lives.
Today, this will include our attitude toward the leadership of the church, and more specifically, the income that is paid to those that work in the church.
In George Barna’s book, Pastors at Risk, one of the top four problems in clergy marriages was income level.
This being so, Barna indicates that many spouses are forced to find supplement income because the churches are not paying or able to pay the pastor sufficient funds in order to support a family.
Barna goes on to say…
“No matter how you slice and dice the figures they are well-below the national average among married-couple families… Most pastors are part of such households and by virtue of the occupational experience and educational achievements should be exceeding the average.”
I share this next part, because some of you may not realize the extent of your pastor’s education.
I have a Bachelor of Arts in Religion which was your typical 120 hours.
In addition, I have a Master of Divinity degree which is not the typical master’s degree.
For a typical master’s degree is 30 hours, but a master of divinity is 90 hours, taking at least three years to accomplish full time (and some students stretch it into more!).
To obtain my degree, I had to write a comprehensive final doctrinal statement that was 120 pages and defend it in front of a select group of my professors for over 2 hours, during which I needed to demonstrate a working knowledge of Hebrew and Greek, theology and the ability to apply the knowledge to my field of practice.
It was a lot education with some heavy duty requirements.
Now this is not about Paul trying to get a raise from Randall.
Don’t you dare think that!
I’ll take one, but I don’t need one!
I mention these things because they are related to our text of the day.
This is what happens when you study a specific book of the Bible.
Your take it in order and you study the next passage that comes.
Well, as with our entire study of I Corinthians, we have been encouraged to think and act righteously.
2. We are to think and act righteously.
Now it used to be the joke that it was the church’s responsibility to keep preachers poor and humble.
But you know, I have never met a pastor that has laughed at that.
It is this passage that Paul states that it is the righteous thing for a pastor to be adequately paid.
In so doing, he defends the right of a pastor to expect to be adequately compensated.
For, you see…
3. WE ARE TO ADEQUATELY SUPPORT THOSE THAT MAKE THEIR LIVING BY THE GOSPEL.
This includes the pastors (we have four on staff here).
It includes the ministerial and support staff.
It also includes, in principle, parachurch workers that work in specialized situations, like those in urban and college ministries.
And it includes those that we know as missionaries, that serve as ambassadors that serve around the world.
All of these are to be adequately supported.
Now in Paul’s day, there were four basic ways that the philosophers and religious teachers received income.
The first way was to outright charge fees.
The second way was to receive a patronage, that is, someone else pays your way.
A third way was to simply beg.
Or the fourth way was to work a trade at the same time.
This was the least common, but this was the practice of Paul who was a tentmaker by trade
For Paul, though, it was essential because in his circumstances, it gave him the most freedom.
He needed to do this because if he accepted the patronage of some of the Corinthians, he would have been tempted to give them deference.
Since the church was immature, he thought it wiser to remain independent financially since money ties can be so tricky.
When we come to the specific passage today, we find that Paul’s leadership was being questioned.
Because other apostles and teachers were supported in other ways, certain ones in Corinth were arguing that Paul did not have the same kind of authority as the others did and that he was inferior.
So, interestingly, Paul makes an argument for their support of him.
He argues that they had a responsibility to share in his making of a living, even though he voluntarily chose another route to earn income.
If it was his desire, it was right for him to expect an income from them.
So…
4. We will find in our study of I Corinthians 9:1-14 three proofs why we should adequately support those that make their living by the gospel.
OUR STUDY:
I. The first proof is the CALL (1-2).
[1] Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are not you my workmanship in the Lord? [2] If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
Well…
1. We are not to miss the obvious.
Paul begins by asking four questions.
All of these are expecting a positive answer.
So, in reality, the text should read like this:
Am I not free?
Of course I am.
Am I not an apostle?
Of course I am.
Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?
Of course I have.
Are not you my workmanship in the Lord?
Of course you are.
Paul wants them to know that he is just as free as they are.
He has the same freedom in Christ that they do.
And He cherishes it.
He is free from the stranglehold of sin and he is no longer bound by the law.
Paul also wants them to understand that He is an apostle.
He possessed that call.
He was proclaiming Christ, not Paul.
He was calling people to serve Jesus, not his ego.
Everything he was doing was in the name of the Lord.
To shore up that standing as an apostle, Paul testifies that he too is an eyewitness of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He had received it later than the other apostles, but it did not make it less real.
In fact, because of this, he refers to himself as a man born out of time.
Nevertheless, Jesus called on him to make a difference for Him.
Finally, Paul makes the point that their saving faith and their knowledge of God’s power came from Paul’s faithful evangelism and discipling.
They did not get this on their own.
They have come to know Christ because of His faithfulness to Christ.
Because Paul was working for the Lord Jesus, they were Paul’s work in the Lord Jesus.
ILL Notebook: Evidence (film flam)
Lea and Joanne were film buffs. Joanne, however, objected to the high cost of refreshments sold by theaters and sometimes tried to sneak in a snack hidden in her large handbag. Once, Joanne popped a bag of microwave popcorn and stashed it in her pocketbook just before they set out. But as they approached the theater entrance, they were stopped by the ticket taker. "I’m sorry," he told Joanne. "No outside food allowed."
"What makes you think I have food from outside?" Joanne hedged.
"Well, ma’am," he said, "your purse is steaming."
How obvious was the evidence!
In the same way…
2. Each one of us is evidence.
Each one of us is the evidence that God has used someone to bring us to Jesus.
And this is what Paul had done for the Corinthians.
He had poured his life into these people and they were the obvious evidence that God’s call was on his life.
He uses the picture of a “seal” to make the point.
The seal was the official statement of the authority of the one who sent the merchandise or letter.
What was under the seal was guaranteed to be genuine.
The Corinthians were questioning Paul about his credentials.
But what they were doing was undermining and questioning their own existence.
They needed to recognize the call of God on the one who had shepherded them and respond to this appropriately.
II. The second proof is COMMON SENSE (3-7).
[3] This is my defense to those who would examine me. [4] Do we not have the right to eat and drink? [5] Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? [6] Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working for a living? [7] Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard without eating any of its fruit? Or who tends a flock without getting some of the milk?
This is where Paul reveals why he is writing on this subject.
He uses a legal term.
He is defending those that are investigating him.
So, here Paul defends the subject of “rights.”
1. We all have our rights.
Paul again makes an argument that expects positive answers.
Do we not have the right to eat and drink?
Of course we do.
Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?
Of course we do.
Paul makes the point that those working in the faith have a right to earn a living.
They are allowed to have a normal life that includes food and drink.
They are allowed to have a normal life that includes the partnership of a spouse and a family, just like the other apostles, Jesus’ brothers, and Peter.
They are allowed to make an income that can provide the normal things of life.
Now the problem here is that this wasn’t the practice of Paul and Barnabas.
Barnabas had not visited Corinth, but he was well known in Christian circles.
So Paul would use him as an example of one that also worked on the side while he ministered the gospel.
Paul had the right to devote all his energy and time to the work of the ministry.
Yet, he made tents.
Why?
Because the church, when he came, was not a church yet.
In its infancy, it was not ready to support Paul.
So, he voluntarily worked.
ILL Notebook: Expect (are you kidding?)
At the end of a job interview; the human-resources director asked the new MBA graduate what salary he would expect if he were hired. The candidate responded confidently, "In the neighborhood of $100,000, depending on the benefits package."
The HR director replied, "What would you say to a benefits package of five paid weeks of vacation, 14 paid holidays, full medical and dental, a retirement fund with a 50 percent company match, and a company car, say, a new red convertible BMW."
The grad sat up, mouth agape, and said, “Are you kidding?”
“Of course,” the Human Resource director replied. “But you started it!”
Well, one certainly can have the wrong expectations.
But Paul wants the church to get it right.
2. It is expected that one be rightly recompensed for their work.
Paul uses some ordinary circumstances to get the point across.
A soldier does have to buy his own uniform, gun and meals.
No, his country is expected to provide them.
When you grow grapes, you going eat and drink some.
When you are a farmer and raising cows, you are going to drink some of the milk.
This was all a matter of common sense.
It was customary, rightful and expected.
Remember, Paul is responding to their “investigation.”
And so I believe Paul is saying, “Yes, I did it this way, but it doesn’t make me an inferior leader; I did it for your sake.”
And along with that, he is reinforcing the importance of supporting those that will work among them, especially those that he will send to them.
It was a matter of recognizing the call and acting in common sense.
But there is another reason as well…
III. The third proof is the CRITERIA (8-13).
[8] Do I say these things on human authority? Does not the Law say the same? [9] For it is written in the Law of Moses, "You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain." Is it for oxen that God is concerned? [10] Does he not speak entirely for our sake? It was written for our sake, because the plowman should plow in hope and the thresher thresh in hope of sharing in the crop. [11] If we have sown spiritual things among you, is it too much if we reap material things from you? [12] If others share this rightful claim on you, do not we even more? Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ. [13] Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings?
There is an additional criterion that needed to be understood.
For this matter of supporting workers was not just a matter of common sense.
1. This is bigger than human judgment.
This was a concept that was well documented in Scripture.
In particular, Paul quotes Deuteronomy 25:4…
You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain.
In other words, when you working the ox, make sure he is fed.
So…
2. Doesn’t God care more about us than the oxen?
God cares about oxen.
They are not to be abused, beaten and mistreated.
In fact, they are to be “paid” for their work.
So, Paul argues, if men working for men are to be paid, shouldn’t men working for God be paid as well?
Paul had plowed the soil in Corinth, and there was a spiritual harvest.
Should he not enjoy some of the physical and material fruit?
There is certainly application to us today, because if the life of the church is important to us, and our lives are in the process of being transformed, we are to recognize the value of that.
We are to receive and respond to these blessings with gratitude.
You see, the principle of grateful hospitality and generosity is to be the instinctive response to God’s blessing.
So, when we take an offering here, it is a very a practical manner (personally – it is very practical!).
When we take an offering, it makes ministry possible, in part, because you have recognized that the volume of things we desire to do in the name of the Lord require people to be occupied in making it happen.
This means, like Paul…
3. We should be focused on the best way to accomplish proclamation.
This is what God does in the Old Testament.
God made financial arrangements for the Levites who would serve in the tabernacle and temple.
Income was to be provided for by the people of God.
The priests and Levites were supported by the tithes of crops and animals, as well as portions from the sacrifices.
It is this same principle that we follow today.
APPLICATION:
So…
1. If a person specializes in proclamation, material and financial support is appropriate (14; I Timothy 5:17-18).
Paul says that the Lord ordains the principle…
[14] In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.
But Paul goes even further in his letter to Timothy, whom he has placed as pastor in Ephesus…
[17] Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. [18] For the Scripture says, "You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain," and, "The laborer deserves his wages."
Paul wants the church to know that those that serve among us are to be acknowledged, appreciated, and compensated.
In our years of ministry, we have had some extraordinary experiences.
We will especially remember our first church for being so giving (we are going to be there in a few weeks…).
They didn’t pay us very much, and you might snicker if we told you how much, but we never, ever lacked.
It was a rural community, and the farmers in the church always seemed to keep us well-stocked.
But I admit, it wasn’t always in the typical food-stuffs we were looking for – like venison and liver – they even threatened us with bear meat.
I also remember that in our second church in New Jersey that though they did not pay us a great deal either, the people were still very generous.
I was in conversation one day with one of the members about a vacation we had just taken with the three kids (Joel was not on the way yet), and I was saying it was the last time I was taking that car (we had a small hatchback – two car seats and JJ in the middle).
The next week, the same man came back to us and told us to go shopping for a minivan and he would help us purchase it (which was the brown one we had until last summer – we got our money’s worth out of it).
God has always been very good to us, and we have been consistently blessed.
So, are some pastors overpaid?
Sure, I think we have heard of many salaries that seem to be past common sense.
But, on the other hand, many more are underpaid (many of my friends), and for these, the constant worries about money serve as a distraction.
You see…
2. We want to do whatever needs to be done in order for the church to fulfill its mission.
This means that we are generous in our payment of those that are making their living by the gospel.
For we want to be effective in getting the gospel out.
And we want those that are called to do so to be free from distraction that a lack of money brings.
If we truly believe in our mission, that the good news about Jesus as Savior and Lord is to be proclaimed to everyone, then we will do what we need to do to make it happen.
BENEDICTION: [Counselors are ]
Now may your love abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best; and may you be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Amen.
RESOURCES:
Blomberg, Craig, The NIV Application Commentary
Fee, Gordon, The New International Commentary on the New Testament
MacArthur, John, I Corinthians
Sermoncentral.com
Paying the Preacher, Ken Trivett
Rights or Wrongs, Ray Stedman
Personal Priorities in Leadership, Doug Goins
An Example of Love, A. Todd Coget
