THE CALL

“For if I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because an obligation is placed on me. And woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (1 Corinthians 9:16 HCSB)

“If you can do anything else besides preach, then do it!” 

Those were the words that met me in my first day of attending Fruitland Baptist Bible Institute.  They were spoken in the homiletics (preaching) class by the professor, Dr. Kenneth Ridings.  He went on to say, “If you have any doubt about your call to preach, get up and get out of this room right now!”  There was some uneasy shuffling, but nobody had the gall to get up and walk out.  I cannot say that the thought didn’t briefly cross my mind!  Before long several had dropped out.  Sadly, out of about thirty who started class with me, preparing to preach the Gospel, maybe five are currently pastoring a church.

Honestly, there are times that I have thought about doing something else—but, God wouldn’t let me.  That is because “the call” is an inescapable compulsion.  It is a settled matter.  God has thrust this responsibility upon me, and I only had this choice before me: go or woe!

Isn’t that what Paul was saying here?  God had called him and he needed to go and preach; woe to him if he did not.  He knew what I have to remind myself on occasion, that to be in the will of God in a prison is preferable to being out of the will of God in a palace.

Just this past week, I spoke with a couple of young men who shared that they believe God may be calling them to Gospel work.  Time will tell.  It is a glorious thing—if it is God’s design.  It is for me.  Please don’t get the idea that there are not rewards in Gospel work—there are many.  Yet, if someone thinks pastoring a church is an easy job where you work a couple of hours on Sunday and play golf the rest of the week, then obviously you don’t know much about ministry.

Let me share with you a few aspects of God’s call to Gospel work.

The Apostle speaks of THE MEANS OF SUPPORTING GOSPEL WORK (1 Cor.9:1-14).

“In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should earn their living by the gospel.” (v.14)

Although Paul did not demand his right to be solely supported through the collecting of offerings in the churches, he neither wanted the people of God to think that supporting God’s called men was a duty they might deny.  It was Paul’s choice to be a “tent-maker” and thus a bi-vocational minister.  Some still make that choice today.  It may be a necessity in some places where there are not sufficient funds to sustain a pastor and his family, or it might open a door in some places to share the Gospel through marketplace ministry that would be otherwise closed.  I went to a particular foreign land as a “teacher” since they did not allow missionary activity from abroad.  Naturally, what I taught was the Word of God—speaking in some outdoor evangelistic meetings and addressing some young pastors graduating from their Bible Institute.  There are some “teachers” like that in similar spots around the globe today.

A man must provide for the needs of his family or he is worse than an “infidel” (1 Tim.5:8, KJV)  Paul had no wife or children to support, and so could more readily care for his own needs without excessive attention to his tent-making trade that would distract from his Gospel work.  For those who do have a family, it is difficult to maintain focus on Gospel work and do a 9-5 in a factory—not impossible, but hard.

Having an undistracted focus on Gospel work is the issue.  It isn’t about the material reward (few preachers “get rich”) but is about the spiritual freedom to pursue with all one’s energy the call God has placed on the pastor.  Never get the idea that you pay the pastor for the work he does—you couldn’t afford him!  He shares the incalculable wealth of God’s Word and deals with the immeasurable worth of immortal souls.  He carries the burdens of others that are life-threatening, home-wrecking, and with eternity-shaping implications.  How could you compensate a man for that?

What a church does is to liberate the man of God from the additional burden of caring for his family so he can concentrate on the flock of God he has been called to serve.  If you want your pastor to be effective, you will help him by supporting him financially.

But, remember that he doesn’t work for you—God is his boss.  You are a supporter not an employer—no matter how the IRS looks at it.  Your dollars don’t translate into demands.

I must preach the Gospel—paycheck or not!  Usually, I enjoy ministry so much I would do it for free—I might even pay someone else for the privilege!  Please don’t tell the Finance Team, however—that’s our secret.  For me it is go or woe—and I appreciate church members who put wind in my sails and fuel in my tank so I can go and go and go.

The Paul also presents THE METHOD FOR SUCCESSFUL GOSPEL WORK (1 Cor.9:7-27).

There are several metaphors that Paul provides which have implications for the nature of Gospel work.  He speaks of pastors as soldiers (v.7a), vine-dressers (v.7b), shepherds (v.7c), plowmen (v.10), priests (v.13), messengers (v.14,16), stewards (v.17), slaves (v.19), ambassadors (v.19-23), runners (v.24-26a), and boxers (v.26b).

Each of these would be worthy of close evaluation, but that would turn into a book of itself, so we will give but a brief overview of the concepts.

Pastors are to be soldiers, “Who ever goes to war at his own expense?” (v.7a)   When you enter ministry you sign up for combat—spiritual warfare.  While that is true of all Christians, the pastor is leading the charge—on the front lines where the fight is fiercest.   

The preacher is a vine-dresser, “Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit?” (v.7b)  The Lord is looking for fruit among His people, and is glorified in its quantity and quality.  Such fruit is not produced without the cultivation of the soil, pruning of the limbs and killing of insects. 

A man of God must be a shepherd, “Or who shepherds a flock and does not drink the milk from the flock?” (v.7c)  That is what the word, “pastor” means.  The church is God’s flock—each member a lamb that is valued by the Great Shepherd.  Gospel work demands feeding them the Word, leading them in righteous paths, and willingness for bleeding on their behalf to guard them from predators.

The preacher is a plowman, “Or isn’t He really saying it for us? Yes, this is written for us, because he who plows ought to plow in hope, and he who threshes should do so in hope of sharing the crop.” (v.10)  Men’s hearts are hard and must be broken up by the preaching of the law, that they might receive the seed of the Gospel of grace.

The Gospel worker is a priest, “Don’t you know that those who perform the temple services eat the food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the offerings of the altar?” (v.13)  The Bible clearly teaches that every believer is a priest—not just those designated as clergy.  Yet, the pastor has a sacred responsibility unique to him in ministering at the altar—his post is in the house of God and he brings God and man together in worship.

The pastor is a messenger, with his duty to, “preach,” (v.14,16)  The Greek word has the root word, “angel” in it—few have thought of their pastor as an angel, but it is nonetheless true!  A deacon once told me that I was an angel.  He said, “I was always up in the air, harping about something!”  Ha! 

The word literally means, “messenger” and in secular usage, Paul’s word for preaching refers to the report of a government official.  The pastor, thus, represents the King.  He speaks with appointed authority.  His proclamation has to do with the government of God and is a call to submit to Him.

The man of God is a steward, “For if I do this willingly, I have a reward, but if unwillingly, I am entrusted with a stewardship.” (v.17)  A steward was a household manager who took care of his master’s property.  The pastor must ever remember that the church is not his church, but belongs to the Lord.  One day, he will give an account for how he has invested the time, talent and treasure of God’s people.

Gospel workers are slaves, “Although I am a free man and not anyone’s [slave], I have made myself a slave to everyone, in order to win more people.” (v.19)  Paul was not a slave to the whims of men.  The preacher dare not be a people-pleaser.  He saw himself as a slave to God.  That doesn’t mean he had no concern for serving people.  He saw himself as loving Christ by loving others.  He served the Lord, but by serving those made in His image.  The church is, after all, the Body of Christ and by ministering to them, we minister to the Lord.

The preacher is an ambassador:

“To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win Jews; to those under the law, like one under the law — though I myself am not under the law — to win those under the law. To those who are without [that] law, like one without the law — not being without God’s law but within Christ’s law — to win those without the law.  To the weak I became weak, in order to win the weak.  I have become all things to all people, so that I may by every possible means save some.” (v.20-22)

Although Paul never altered his message, he did adjust his methodology.  This is what an ambassador does.  He represents his government’s interests, and yet in the foreign land adjusts to the cultural mores in order to build bridges to that nation.  He learns their customs and language for effective communication on behalf of his King.

The last two analogies of the Gospel worker’s methods are drawn from the field of athletics.  First, He is a runner:

“Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize.  Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. However, they do it to receive a crown that will fade away, but we a crown that will never fade away.  Therefore I do not run like one who runs aimlessly…” (v.24-26a)

At the end of his life, Paul would rejoice that he had finished his race.  He had an assigned lane to run in, a distance to cover and a finish line to focus on.  This is a relay race, with each of us a leg to complete.  Paul took the baton of truth and put it in Timothy’s hand, and when Timothy finished, he passed it on and so it has come to be placed in my hand and I will hand it off at a future point, unknown to me, but already determined by God.

Then, the preacher is a boxer, who does not, “box like one beating the air.” (v.26b).  In other words this isn’t shadow-boxing—this is a real fight.  It is serious; when you climb in the ring, you better be trained and ready to rumble.  The Devil and his minions will be waiting.

Let us not conclude today’s study without considering THE MOTIVE IN SUSTAINING GOSPEL WORK (1 Cor.9:15-27)

God is never concerned only with what we do, but notes why we do it, as well.  There are professionals in ministry that may do a good job and gain the applause of men.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but God looks at the heart.  They have their reward.  They wanted human recognition—that’s all they will get.  Our motives for ministry should be pure.  What we seek is the approval of God and in doing thus it is all for His glory. 

Our motive is to be eternal and cannot be monetary.  We have noted that even though financial support ought to be provided, it is never about finances, but freedom—being able to fulfill God’s call without the encumbrance of other employment.  But, as soon as a pastor gets greedy, he has planted in his heart a root of all kinds of evil.

Our motive is to be enthusiastic and cannot be compulsory.  While it is true that God’s call brings an inner compulsion, it is never to be viewed as drudgery in duty, but is to be embraced as a delight in devotion.  This will impact our attitude and our attitude will impact the members.  They will become complaining grouches or cheerful givers based on our contagious spirit.  Attitudes are more caught than taught.

Our motive is to be enduring and cannot be temporary.  When the fight gets hot we will be tempted to flee.  When the ground gets hard, we will be tempted to put the plow up.  When the sheep behave like smelly, stubborn sheep, we will be tempted to find another line of work.  When we become exhausted in the race, we will be tempted to drop out.  When we get punched in the mouth and find a seat on the canvas, we will be tempted to throw in the towel.  We cannot!  Our motive is for a crown in heaven, and only those who are faithful will attain it!  Storm the gates of hell, wounded warrior!  Put your hand to the plow and don’t turn back, weary worker!  Stay with the sheep, shepherd of souls!  Get your second wind, marathon minister, and sprint the rest of the way to the finish line!  Get off the canvas, and slug Satan with a haymaker!

This requires discipline.  We cannot take the easy way out.  If you are looking for a cushy career, you aren’t called to Gospel work.  Listen to Paul’s warning about the danger of an undisciplined life, “Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.” (v.27)

Is God calling you to Gospel work?  If not, run from it as fast as you can.  If He is, seize it with joy!  You will find that you cannot do anything else, and almost all the time, you will not want to do anything else.