"Rights"
Out of the blue, Miracle asked me a very pointed and thoughtful question (as he often does). Thursday after school, Miracle asked, “Dad, what’s the most important part of your job?”
“The most important part of my job,” I replied, stalling a bit. “The most important part of my job is preaching God’s Word.”
Miracle seemed satisfied with my answer and went off to go play and rip a hole in the knee of his pants.
My answer seemingly satisfied Miracle, but then I had to decide if I was satisfied with my answer. And I think I am.
In the early moments of the church, the leaders/elders of the church faced the issue of what was the most important part of their calling:
Acts 6:1–4 NIV
1 In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Hellenistic Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. 2 So the Twelve gathered all the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. 3 Brothers and sisters, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over to them 4 and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the word.”
The ministry of the Word is not to be neglected. It has to take precedence in the life of the church.
If you’ve ever wondered why the church pays a preacher (and I know there are some Sundays, some weeks, some months, some years, you absolutely wonder why this church body pays this preacher), if you’ve ever wondered, here’s why: it’s Biblical, the Lord commands it, it’s good, and it shows how much a church values the word of God preached.
That a church body would hire a man whose chief task is preaching and then pay that man more than enough to live on, more than enough to support his family, that is a reflection of that church body’s love for God and the Good News about His Son, Jesus.
You, church, have done just that. You have shown the great value you place on the preached Word of God, over and over again. You support me and my family more than sufficiently. You support us and, on top of that, generously support several missionaries and ministries. It’s clear how highly you regard the Lord and His Word.
I need to make a disclaimer before we begin our time in 1 Corinthians 9 this morning. Let me say it as clearly as I can: as I preach this chapter, please do not think I’m asking for more money. If anything, you should probably pay me less than you do! This is not me asking for more money; I count myself among the most blessed pastors in the world. I don’t have a private jet, nor do I live in a mansion, or have a summer home in the Keys; I have far more, and far more than I deserve. I have a church family who is truly that—a family who is generous, selfless, loving, and a daily blessing to me and mine.
I will not be asking for more money this morning. I am preaching 1 Corinthians 9 this morning because I preached 1 Corinthians 8 last Sunday morning.
My prayer is that you will take your Bible, open it up, and search along with me what the Lord would have us do in response to hearing His Word.
>If you have your Bible (and I hope you do) please turn with me to 1 Corinthians 9. If you are able and willing, please stand with me for the reading of God’s Holy Word out of reverence for Him.
1 Corinthians 9:1–18 NIV
1 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? 2 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.
3 This is my defense to those who sit in judgment on me. 4 Don’t we have the right to food and drink? 5 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? 6 Or is it only I and Barnabas who lack the right to not work for a living?
7 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? 8 Do I say this merely on human authority? Doesn’t the Law say the same thing? 9 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? 10 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. 11 If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you? 12 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.
13 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? 14 In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.
15 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. 16 For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! 17 If I preach voluntarily, I have a reward; if not voluntarily, I am simply discharging the trust committed to me. 18 What then is my reward? Just this: that in preaching the gospel I may offer it free of charge, and so not make full use of my rights as a preacher of the gospel.
May the Lord add His blessing to the reading of His Holy Word!
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You remember that Paul has stated a very important principle at the end of Chapter 8, the principle about giving up rights for the sake of your brothers and sisters. He says, at the end of his argument:
1 Corinthians 8:13 NIV
13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.
Paul states the principle in chapter 8, illustrates it in chapters 9-10, and applies it in chapters 10-11.
All of chapter 9 is an illustration from Paul’s life of the principle he taught in chapter 8. It’s Paul expresses his freedom, but more than that, he expresses his freedom from his freedom.
Paul is free! He’s an apostle—having seen Jesus (the last of the apostles to see Jesus; Paul met Jesus, or rather, Jesus met Paul on the Damascus Road and called him to this work). Paul’s free. He’s an apostle. The Corinthians are evidence of Paul’s ministry and the seal of his apostleship—the change made in the Corinthians’ lives by Paul’s preaching of the gospel shows that his apostleship is genuine.
He argues, hypothetically, almost teasingly that he has these rights—along with the other apostles, the Lord’s brothers (Jesus’ half-brothers, James and Jude, and any others born to Mary and Joseph after the virgin birth of Jesus), and Cephas (that is, Peter):
Paul has the right to food and drink, the right to take with him a believing wife, the right to make a living as preacher. Those are “rights” afforded to Paul; pretty basic things, really.
“Rights, rights, rights”—Paul had many “rights”...and claimed none (as he makes clear in vv. 12 and 14).
Paul has the same “rights” as anyone else (at least in theory). He’s free to do almost anything. And yet, he won’t.
What most concerns Paul (and the point I believe he’s trying to get across to the Church, then and now) is that everything he does or doesn’t do is done out of a concern to:
Honor God.
That’s his goal. That’s what he’s after, what’s he’s striving for. This is his concern. And it should be ours, that everything we do or don’t do is honoring to God.
Before he talks about how he honors God individually, he writes at some length about an important principle.
Paul argues in verse 7 and verse 13 using examples from everyday life that illustrate the principle that Christian ministers ought to make a living preaching the gospel.
Christian ministers ought to be able to make a living preaching the gospel, just like the soldier gets paid for going to war, for their service, for their sacrifice. No one serves for nothing.
Christian ministers ought to be able to make a living preaching the gospel, just like the vintner (the one who plants a vineyard) gets to enjoy a little wine and eat the grapes.
Christian ministers ought to be able to make a living preaching the gospel, just like the shepherd gets to drink the milk of the flock.
Christian ministers ought to be able to make a living preaching the gospel, just like those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple and those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar.
Those are some really good arguments; no one could disagree with Paul’s assertion there.
But Paul doesn’t make his argument with just those common scenarios. He appeals to God’s Word, to the Law of God.
Paul doesn’t want them to listen to him alone, to obey merely human rules. He’s not the authority; the Word of God is the authority. Honor to Paul doesn’t matter nearly as much as honor given to God.
Paul’s desire is that the Church of God might listen to the Word of God (novel concept, no?).
The Church should desire to obey God’s Word, understanding the ceremonial and sacrificial commands have been fulfilled by Jesus. But understanding that God’s Word stands, there are principles and timeless truths to apply, even from the strange commands in Deuteronomy.
Deuteronomy 25:4 NIV
4 Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain.
Paul references this in his discussion about Christian ministers and their right to earn a living from their work.
I’m not sure how I feel being lumped in with a working animal, though, admittedly, sometimes I know I behave like a dumb ox.
The point Paul makes from this verse in the Torah is well-taken: If you’re gonna strap a big, heavy stone to an ox and have it crush grain all day for you, you better not put something around its mouth to prevent it from eating. It’s working crazy hard for you; let it eat.
Paul says, “God says this for our sake. He not just concerned about oxen. God says this for us as we consider paying our preacher.”
If we have someone working hard for us, for our sake, sowing spiritual truth, planting seeds of the gospel, laboring to bring and apply God’s Word, is it too much that [they] should reap a material harvest from [us]?
It is honoring to God for the people of God to pay well the man of God for his work in preaching the Word of God to the people of God.
Some say: “Pay the preacher just enough to get by; we want him to stay humble.”
Or, “We don’t want him doing this for the wrong reasons.”
I’ve heard all of these before, though not directed at me. Only once have I experienced firsthand extremely poor pay.
I was a supply preacher for a couple of years while in college. During my Senior year, I was Student Body President of the college. I was sent to promote the school and fill the pulpit, teach Sunday School, lead the worship service; whatever was needed.
On this particular Sunday, the administration sent me to the town of Matfield Green, KS. I was to teach Sunday school and preach the sermon. On that Sunday, it took me an hour and a half to drive there, I arrived and met the congregation of about 50 people, taught a class, preached a sermon. And afterward they hand me a check for my travel, preparation, preaching, teaching. 50 bucks.
On my way back to Manhattan, I got pulled over and got my first and only speeding ticket to date. 125 bucks.
I lost $75 dollars that day when, even after the speeding ticket, I should have made at least $75.
Oooh, I was hot. What kind of church only pays a traveling preacher (and poor college student, at that) $50? That’s like tipping your waitress a quarter.
1 Corinthians 9:11 NIV
11 If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?
Something I read this week just blew my mind. It’s so simple it shouldn’t have, but it did. Listen and maybe you’ll have your mind blown:
“If Christian people are giving as they should…a congregation of ten people can support a minister at the same level of their own average income. How many churches take that challenge seriously?” - N.T. Wright
I’ve often wondered how small churches—churches of 10-20 people—support a pastor. Where does that kind of money come from? And yet, it’s really as simple as Christians giving as they should. 10 people giving 10% of what they make would be able to support a pastor in the amount of their average income.
There are many Christians who give as they should, and many of their churches pay their pastors well. This shows a few things: 1) they love their pastor, 2) they value the word of God, and 3) their desire is to honor God with their giving, with their support. So it is with you.
This is, in fact, a command of the Lord:
1 Corinthians 9:14 NIV
14 In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel.
Jesus made clear when He sent out the 72 to preach the gospel (Luke 10:7)—workers deserve their wages.
Honor God by giving a material harvest in exchange for spiritual work.
It gives God honor when the Church takes care of their pastor. It shows the value of his work and the value placed on the Word of God.
Paul continues:
1 Corinthians 9:12 NIV
12 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.
1 Corinthians 9:15 NIV
15 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.
Paul doesn’t take advantage of his right of support from the Corinthians or anyone else; he works as a tentmaker, supporting himself. He does this, not because he must, but because his main concern is that he would be able to preach the gospel unhindered.
Preach the Gospel
Paul himself would rather die than accept payment for preaching the gospel.
Part of the reason Paul hasn’t used any of these rights is to illustrate to his fellow Christians how one may have certain rights but give them up for the good of others.
But his reasoning goes deeper. Paul wants to draw a clear line between his preaching and the teaching of those who were out to make a buck. There were teachers in his day who always asked for money, and then when people wanted more teaching, they were charged more money.
This is not how the gospel of Jesus worked. The gospel is for everybody, not just for those who can afford it.
Paul also sees himself as utterly indebted to Jesus. Paul’s the only of the apostles who used to persecute the church, killing Christians, attacking and imprisoning all those who preached the gospel. So now, Paul preaches the same gospel—the teaching he used to hate—and he does so for free.
Paul’s main concern is that the gospel be preached. Pastors who preach the gospel should be supported by those who benefit from it.
Friends, think about what you have benefitted from hearing the gospel proclaimed:
It’s by hearing the gospel preached that you came to salvation:
Romans 10:13–15 NIV
13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”
The gospel brought you life and is the daily reminder of your deep, deep need for Jesus.
The unspeakable joy at the realization that unto us a child was born, One come to save His people from their sins, One who would take our sins, absorb the wrath, pay the price once and for all time, for all our sins—past, present, and future.
That’s the gospel! That’s the Good News about Jesus.
Oh, that our chief concerns would be that we:
Honor God and Preach the Gospel.
Have you ever thought about why the Lord placed you here, in this country, with all the rights and privileges and freedoms we enjoy? I’ll let you in on a little secret: it’s not because God likes you more or has blessed you more than another.
God has placed you here—with all your rights and freedoms and privileges and possessions and money—God has placed you right here so that you would share the gospel with those who don’t yet know Jesus.
Paul is willing—more than willing—to give up his rights, but not for nothing. He’s willing to give up his rights for the sake of the weaker brother (ch. 8) and for the sake of preaching the gospel (ch. 9).
Paul would have you give up whatever right or freedom you might have for the sake of preaching the gospel.
Our rights, our freedom are not all-important, not by any means. What is most important is that God be honored and the Gospel be preached.
Preaching is not just the job of a few men. It’s not just the elders’ task. In fact, the word used here for preachpreachingpreacher is (in all but one occurrence) the word euanggelio-…the word for evangelize, that is, “Good News-ing”, sharing the Good News that Jesus has come to save a wretch like me.
This is the task of every Christian: Honor God. Preach the Gospel.