1Corinthians 9:1-15 RIGHTS
There are those who arbitrarily choose to be a preacher, pastor, priest, or some sort of religious worker as a vocation, a way to make a living, or an appealing lifestyle. This is not a calling from God to fulfill the commission the Lord Jesus Christ made just as He was leaving. Others spend a lifetime in secular employment until they are sure they have enough money to maintain a comfortable old age, and then they want to respond to the commission on their own terms. Paul made it plain to the Corinthians that his credentials for preaching the Gospel, teaching them, and correcting them came from the highest possible Source - the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. His apostleship came from the Lord speaking to him personally and plainly on the road to Damascus. It did not come as a feeling of interest, a personal desire to be able to move about among God's people, or wanting a career change. The Lord Jesus called Paul when He saved him and told him he would take the Gospel to the Gentiles. The Lord also made it known to Ananias three days after Paul was saved and before he baptized Paul, that he was to take the Gospel to the Gentiles, to kings and to the children of Israel. His apostleship was without question. As such, he had the right to be supported by those who were blessed by his efforts and the saints of God who had fellowship with him in his work. Those people were actually his commendation and credentials.
When a person labors in daily work, wherever they are in the world, there is some kind of compensation. The farmer lives off the food he harvests. The fisherman's needs are supplied by the fish he labored to catch. There are principles to guide us in the efforts we expend. "If any will not work, neither shall he eat." An ox treading over the sheaves of wheat to separate the grain from the stalks is to be free to bow its head and get a mouthful as it keeps walking. To have the need to be financially secure before being willing to give all of one's time laboring in the work of the Lord is not a walk of faith. It is not wrong for one to feel the need for security through money earned by diligent labor in one's occupation. One who is to go out in faith, "taking nothing of the Gentiles," to spend his/her strength and life preaching the Gospel, is to live "of the Gospel." Each is to labor for God where He places them. One trusts God for the strength to do their daily work on the job. The other trusts God to meet all of his needs. The spiritual principle we apply when we receive spiritual blessings is that material blessings are to be given freely, without asking or begging for them. Expecting material blessings when we are already financially secure is not what is in view when laboring for the Lord in the Gospel. "The laborer is worthy of his hire." He does have a right to feed his wife and family from the fruits of his work for the Lord. He is responsible for caring for them and clothing them from what he receives through the material blessings passed on by others. To give God one's full-time efforts for a short time at the end of life after being assured of plenty of money to live on isn't what was intended when the Lord called His disciples to follow Him. The strength of youth and the vigor of a healthy body are to be used for the furtherance of the kingdom of God. One who does that has the right to be compensated for their labor.
The enthusiasm of the apostle Paul and those who assisted him in reaching untouched areas with the truth of God is an example for us to follow. Those people followed Christ's example as He spent His public life ministering from place to place through His teaching and preaching, and at the same time being ministered unto by women from Galilee. Paul labored at tentmaking on at least one occasion to supply the needs of himself and those with him, so he would not be "chargeable " to the Corinthian believers. He made sure those Corinthians didn't think of him as their hireling, even though he had the right to be supported by them. Those he saw saved and gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ were his credentials for their support.
An assembly is responsible for caring for those who minister to it. The other side of the matter is that those who minister to them do not have the right to contract with them or to demand a specific amount of money or a salary from the assembly. To trust God to "supply all our needs" is to live by faith in Him and His ability and willingness to meet those needs. Preaching the Gospel was Paul's calling. He had to preach God's Word. It wasn't up to him to say he would or wouldn't. He was not able to say he would preach only if he was paid. There is a certain drive and constraining power that motivates one to use the best of their life and strength for the work of God. The leftover time of our life to spend for God, as we choose, isn't taught. Yet there was opportunity for some laborers to go into the harvest at the end of the day in a parable taught by the Lord Jesus.
The driving power of the Holy Spirit that sent the Lord Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil is the same driving power behind those who go to "regions beyond" and to places where no foundation has already been laid. The motivation behind such people is an all-encompassing commitment based on "the love of Christ," the need of lost souls, and the coming Judgment Seat of Christ. Such people understand what "woe is me if I preach not the Gospel" really means. When a person's gift and Holy Spirit-given motivation come together, a person has no choice in the matter. The burden of the heart, the urgency they have, and the vision of the work before them, move them. They expend their strength, their finances, their time, and their lives to fulfill the work to which God has called them.
Our loyalty and allegiance to the Lord give us no other option but to live with a good conscience unless we do what God wants. Those who go out to the battle are not superior in any way to those who "stay by the stuff." But they do have different roles and responsibilities. Together, those who supply the laborer and those who labor share in the blessing at the end of the harvest.
We each have a work to do We each have a role to fill Until the labor of life is through God forbid my voice to be still Because we are sent under commission To take the Gospel and disciples to make It is God's choice, not our own decision When the Word to far places we take.
There are those who have a hankering to preach But do not have the ability or desire To go places others have not reached It is only near home they aspire One is not more important than the other As long as the will of God is done God uses one to support his brother And the other laborer must leave his home.
Our rights are not just demands; Although through one the other's needs are met Both the front-line worker and supporter are under command From the Lord of the harvest, their orders they get Through the one, sinners and saints are called Through the other practical supplies are given When the labor and commission are fulfilled Both rejoice and share the blessings of heaven.
"Thank You Father, for this day's blessings. Prayers have been answered; fellowship with saints have been encouraged; some seed has been sown; and a lot of joy in the Lord experienced. I praise Thee in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen."