ENTITLED?

Can I pray for you in any way?

Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com

In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you not the result of my work in the Lord? Even though I may not be an apostle to others, surely I am to you! For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. Don’t we have the right to food and drink? Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas? Or is it only I and Barnabas who lack the right to not work for a living?

Who serves as a soldier at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its grapes? Who tends a flock and does not drink the milk? Do I say this merely on human authority? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? For it is written in the Law of Moses: “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.” Is it about oxen that God is concerned? Surely He says this for us, doesn’t He? Yes, this was written for us, because whoever plows and threshes should be able to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest. If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? If others have this right of support from you, shouldn’t we have it all the more?

But we did not use this right. On the contrary, we put up with anything rather than hinder the gospel of Christ.

Don’t you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel. But I have not used any of these rights. And I am not writing this in the hope that you will do such things for me, for I would rather die than allow anyone to deprive me of this boast.

1 Corinthians 9:1-15

This ends today’s reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Should someone feel entitled if they are doing ministry work?

In my opinion, it seems like it shouldn’t even be a point of discussion but as we see in our passage for today, it was definitely a point of interest in biblical times so it warrants our attention. I think we’ll see that there are modern day applications.

Before we get into the opening verses of chapter 9, it’s important to gain our bearings. We are looking at Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth which today is considered south central Greece. The people of Corinth were known as the Corinthians and therefore the title of this letter, 1 Corinthians.

Paul was an Apostle and you can think of him as a traveling missionary in every sense of the word since he made four missionary journeys to share the Gospel with parts of the world outside of Israel. Paul visited Corinth for eighteen months around 50AD during his second missionary journey. He was integral to establishing the Christian church there.

Later, during his third missionary journey, Paul received word of issues occurring in the Corinthian church and felt compelled to write two letters to the believers there. Our study over the last several months has been of the first of these two letters.

So Paul was an Apostle and he had a very personal connection to Jesus, personal in that Jesus literally came to Paul on the road to Damascus and confronted him for the persecution of Christian believers. At that time, you will remember that Paul bore the name Saul and was a fervent Jewish Pharisee. After his encounter with Jesus, Saul converted to Christianity and gained a new name to go ahead with his new identity in Christ, the name Paul.

From that point on, Paul was on the road constantly, moving from place to place to share the good news of Jesus. He wasn’t rich nor did he seek to profit from his ministry work. Like Jesus, his focus was on helping others find salvation.

Still, people need supported, right? A person needs shelter, even if it’s only temporary. Food, drink, and a means to take care of personal hygiene are also critical. And even if these things are provided, money is still needed in order to cover expenses, in Paul’s case, ministry expenses, especially as he was traveling from place to place. It did cost people to travel in biblical times just as it does today.

Paul didn’t have a job outside of answering Jesus’ call to make disciples of all nations and so he needed help from those He ministered to. But as we see in the opening fifteen verses of 1 Corinthians 9, Paul was also humble to his core and was never going to demand that anyone do anything for him. I feel there are a lot of pastors today who are the same whether currently serving or retired.

As the passage opens, Paul reminds the Corinthian church of his credentials. He was an apostle who had actually encountered Jesus. Not everyone credited Paul with these credentials but the Corinthian church couldn’t be counted in that number because Paul had actually established the church there and so the Christians were a seal of his “apostleship in the Lord”.

Now, it appears that some people were griping about the fact that Paul (and even Barnabas) wasn’t working for a living which really means Paul relied on the generosity of others for his sustenance. Paul made the point that there were others who provided service and in turn were compensated for that service.

Soldiers don’t serve at their own expense. They are provided for in exchange for the defense they provide.

People who labor in on farms enjoy the fruits of their labors, whether the grapes of the vineyard or the milk of the flock.

Paul was driving home the assertion that those who sow, should reap from the harvest. Using a physical case, he connected it to the spiritual. He was helping others come to know and believe in Jesus. In turn, he should receive material benefit to meet his physical needs. Paul felt this was his right as it was the right of any apostle and he made sure the Corinthian Christians knew that “the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel”. In other words, it wasn’t just Paul feeling he should have support. The Lord had demanded it happen and if the Lord demands something, His people need to make it come to be.

But note that here’s where Paul stops pushing the envelope. He makes his case that support should be granted but stops short of insisting it.

Why?

Because the attention would have been diverted from where it should have been.

You see, the main focus of Paul’s work was spreading the gospel of Christ and he wasn’t about to do anything that would have hindered that work.

Paul felt he had the right to be entitled in exchange for the Gospel work he was doing. He just didn’t think anyone should be compelled to give him anything. Rather, he hoped the Corinthian Christians would honor the Lord by sharing a portion of the blessings He provided with those He called to represent and serve Him in ministry.

Your Pastor works hard, laboring for their Lord and the flock He has given them.

Missionaries are willing to leave their homes to go and plant churches or bring the Gospel to people in faraway lands.

All Christians benefit from the great work that their Lord-appointed leaders are doing for their spiritual benefit while advancing the cause of Jesus. The least believers can do is make sure that these leaders are provided for while they carry out the Great Commission. They are entitled to our care and provision, even if they never ask for it.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
Send any prayer requests to Gods4all@aol.com