The ship of destruction

I have read that on the night the Titanic sank the musicians played instruments on the deck until the very last moment. They did so supposedly to keep the people on the ship calm, to keep them from panicking. I guess it could be said that they played to deceive those onboard.

Here was a great ship, the likes of which the world had never seen before. It was grand, filled with such finery that it’s still talked about today, more than a hundred years later. And on that ship were some of the wealthiest people in the world.

These were people that were used to the finer things in life. They didn’t know hunger or depravation. They lived on expensive meals and wore expensive clothes. They owned the finest things and spent their days doing…whatever the wealthy did in the early twentieth century. They were, quite simply, not accustomed to hardship.

And in the most dire of moments they were serenaded with songs meant to give them luxury and coddling as they sank to their deaths in frigid water.

The day of the Titanic is long gone. Today we speak of what a tragedy it was. How horrible it was that so many people lost their lives that night, how senseless those deaths were because they could have easily been prevented if there had only been more lifeboats on board.

More than a hundred years after the Titanic sailed and sank, a ship that was ‘unsinkable’, people are fascinated with it, they speak of it, they study it.

But as I write this I think of the many people on the first class deck, or whatever upper levels they were on, doing whatever they may have been doing that night, being serenaded with music right up to the final moment when the ship disappeared into the icy depths.

They were given a show, designed to delude them, to keep them from realizing just what was happening, and to keep them calm until it no longer mattered if they were calm.

And I think of the many ‘church’ buildings today. The Sunday services, the music that is presented as more of a concert than a true worshipping of the Lord, the sermon that is designed to offend few if any, even in the ‘churches’ where the preacher is willing to tackle a deeper truth, he will generally skate over the surface of the topic, using lots of stories to catch the attention and grab the emotions. At best these sermons are only a tiny bit of what they could be. Sadly in most of them they are but a show put on to entertain the mass of people that file into the congregation on Sunday morning, people that are used to getting what they want, when they want it, and what they want today is a sermon that caters to their emotions and lets them leave an hour later feeling good about themselves.

These Sunday services are much like the music played on the Titanic the night it sank. Here is a group of people that are doomed. They are headed for an end they will not like. Their destruction is coming. And their preachers stand before them week after week playing ‘music’ in the form of sermons designed not to tell them, ‘LOOK! You’re about to sink. Wake up! Grab the only Life Preserver there is.’ No, these preachers don’t do that. Instead they stand before them week after week, as their ship slowly sinks, and they play ‘music’ before them to keep them calm, to keep them entertained, to give them the life they have become accustomed to. There is no need to shake things up, no need to wake them up. Just play the ‘music’ and keep them deluded until the boat sinks.

Here are the majority of the preachers today, men that lead through shows and their inability to offend anyone. They play their ‘music’ before their audience to keep the audience happy.

The people that pack those ‘churches’ are like sheep following a leader straight to the slaughter house. They are so busy listening to the ‘music’ and enjoying the way it makes them feel good when they walk out the doors that they do not understand that they are being kept entertained until the very last moment when their ship sinks and it’s too late.

The musicians are playing on the first class deck, the people are congregating around them, some of them half asleep, some of them wide awake and dressed in their very best, some of them have put on life jackets, they hold tight to their Bibles and their crosses, some of them sit and smile at the musician, some of them dance, keeping time to the melody being played, but all of them are sitting before a program that is nothing but the illusion of what they think they have.

I’ve read that those on board the Titanic did not know it was sinking until very nearly the last moment. They believed the loading of the life boats was a drill (or something to that effect) and therefore they did not take seriously, or did not understand, the danger they were in. They were tricked into thinking the situation was less dire than it was by the crew of the ship, by the music being played before them, by the assurance that the ship they were on was unsinkable.

Today hundreds of thousands of people fill ‘church’ buildings every Sunday. Some of them have seats that are ‘there’s’. We might say they have reserved seating on the ship of destruction. They file in every morning, some of them dressed in their very best, dressed because they are going to the ‘house of God’, dressed ‘nice for Jesus’, some of them take the ‘come as you are’ mentality to heart and show up in their pajamas. No matter what they wear, they show up, they file onto the ‘ship’, they sit in their chairs and they buy into the assurance that their ‘ship’ is unsinkable through the prayer they prayed that gave them salvation, through the belief that if they do nice things they will get to heaven, by the belief that ‘God’ loves them all so very much and that He wants them in heaven with Him just as they are, by the belief that ‘God’ only wants to ‘bless them’.

And they smile and enjoy the ‘music’, some of them singing along, some of them sleeping, some of them dancing in their fancy clothes or their pajamas.

But they all fall for the show before them, being deluded until the very last moment when the ship goes down and they sink into the deep, dark, depths and they realize in one horrifying moment that the ‘musician’ duped them. As they sink into the depths of hell they will realize that the preacher and his elders led them straight to an eternity of torment as they sat before him and enjoyed the ‘music’ he played for them.

And as they experience the agony of hell, in a place where there will be great torment, they will finally understand that the band played for the sole purpose of keeping them calm until the ship sank. And they fell for it. Only, in that moment when they discover hell is real and it is to be their eternity, it will be too late to stand up on the deck and walk out of the show being played to keep them deluded until it’s too late.

Too late.

Their cries in that moment will fall on death ears. The Lord will not hear them. They had their reward on earth as they lived for the things of this world and followed men that claimed to offer them salvation. And now they will pay the eternal price for the delusion they lived with. Because in that moment they will understand that the ‘musicians’ played for them to keep them calm while their ‘ship’ sank straight into the fiery depths of hell.

Called to be seperate

On this rather long and winding path I have taken to get closer to Christ…a path I did not choose,  nor did I ask to be placed on…I have found myself being further and further separated from the things of this world and even, for the most part, the people of this world.

I have a sister that not only thrives on social connections but she seems to truly need them. I guess she’s always been that way. I, on the other hand, have never been that way. When I was a child, going to school, I needed…and I stress the word needed because I was lost without her…a best friend. She was always like a security blanket for me. So much so that when she would miss a day of school I was lost…all but didn’t know how to function…without her.

I had several best friends over the years of school and had the same dependency on all of them but as I got older I developed friendships with more of the girls I went to school with. Those friendships filled the days when my best friend wasn’t there. By the time I was in high school I no longer had that need. In fact, by then we had moved so much that I no longer had any close friends. I simply went through my days at school and went home. And I was okay with that.

As the years passed and I became an adult with a family of my own people…friends…came and went, family ties that were once strong faded away while those I had never been close to before became closer. Life…happened. And while it happened I found myself slowly…ever slowly…being pulled from the world and those in it.

Don’t get me wrong, I still have strong relationships with family. I have friends. But I don’t have the same connections to the world a lot of people seem to have. I don’t need them and quite honestly…I don’t want them.

But looking back over the years I can see a separation from the world in me that started even in childhood. I was always the girl that was happy with one friend. As I grew older I was happy with only family relationships. I never felt the need to be surrounded by friends.

It’s neat to look back over our lives and see how the Lord prepared us for what we are today. The Lord…will separate us from the world. That was the point. It is a point I can’t make though without going all the way back to my childhood. Back to the days when…in kindergarten…I would stand just inside the classroom door and cry until my best friend arrived, back to the days that…when school was just too much…I would cry and the teacher would send me to the nurses office because I didn’t feel good and I would be sent home from school, back to the days when I literally didn’t know what to do on a day when my best friend was absent.

I was separated then. Separated from all the kids around me, separated from the life of school. I had no interest in it and no desire to be even a small part of it. And so I had that one friend that I was close to…and that made the days bearable.

From those days…the separation never ended. I was so often in the world but rarely was I a part of the world. Even in my teen years.

As a Christian that is a good thing. It’s what we’re called to be in Scripture. But it wasn’t until a few years ago that I began to understand that and it was much more recently that I was able to connect that separation that I feel in me to the calling that was placed upon me.

As I go through life…when I’m in town amongst the ‘world’…I feel no connection to it. There are things I enjoy doing but there is nothing I feel I must do…for myself, not the have to do this kind of tasks of caring for a family and a home.

It is a separation that allows me to enjoy the things in the world but to not feel the need to have the connections and interactions…and experiences…that so many do. It is a separation that takes me from the nonsense of this world and places me in the Lord’s will for me.

This separation…I have had family members say that I make being a Christian harder than it has to be because I separate from so much. What those family members don’t understand is that first, I didn’t choose that separation, it’s just there, and second, the separation makes everything easier. It takes the stresses and pressures of much of this world away and leaves me with a peace that only the Lord can give.

 

Peddling Christ part 2

Some months back I wrote a post titled Peddling Christ. I wrote that post because I was asked to do so. Someone gave me a few verses and a general idea of what they thought about those verses. Because I agreed with what this person believed I agreed to write that post. It was the first time I had ever written anything like that…based off what someone else wanted to see.

It was a challenge to write. Mostly because I wrote it based off my own beliefs, what I saw in those verses, what I understood, but always knowing I was writing that post for someone else. And in so doing there was this underlying thought of how it should, hopefully, meet that persons expectations.

When I finally finished that post the person that had requested it was happy with the results. It said what they wanted it to say and I…breathed a sigh of relief that I was able to pull it off.

Little did I know that only a couple of months after that, the person that had asked me to write it would give me a bit of follow up. Not so much feedback but more of a continuing the discussion. This person didn’t ask me to write a follow up with what they said.  I have taken it upon myself to do that.

Once again I don’t know if what I’m about to write will convey the tone that this person was trying to get across. All I know is that I’m going to take the verses and the little bit of comments I got from this person on those verses and attempt to further the topic of Peddling Christ.

Because this is part two of Peddling Christ I highly recommend anyone thinking of reading this post read Peddling Christ first.

In Peddling Christ I spoke of how those that teach and preach the Word of God are doing so for their own gain and are doing it in opposition to what Paul taught should be done. In Paul’s day there were men that were ‘peddling’ the Word of God. They were lining their own pockets by preaching to others.

Today we have many ‘church’ buildings and many preachers that peddle Christ. After writing Peddling Christ I had someone tell me that they have encountered many preachers that preached for the sole purpose of sharing Christ with others. Supposedly this person has met preachers that teach and preach of Christ with no financial compensation.

If that is accurate…then I’d truly like to meet these preachers.

I personally have never met such a preacher. I have met a few teachers that teach Scripture for the sole purpose of helping others to learn and understand. I have also met a few others that naturally teach Scripture, teach Christ, as they go about living out their lives.

What I have never done is meet a preacher that spends their life preaching with no monetary reimbursement.

Are there such preachers out there? I suppose there could be but I personally have never met one.

A couple years ago I went to a music performance at a ‘church’ building. This performance was put on free of charge, no tickets required, no admission at the door. That appeared to be a good thing. But then, as so often is the case, at the end of the performance the audience was asked to give a ‘goodwill offering’.

I understand that the music performers had expenses with coming to the ‘church’. I understand that there were utilities used during the performance. But where I ran into problems was the way the audience was asked to give the offering. It was put across almost as if it was expected and should be done.

Have you ever met anyone that used guilt trips to control those around them? I have. A person that does this will take a situation and twist it so that whoever they’re talking to winds up feeling guilty for something. A ‘guilt trip’ is put on the other person until that person does what this person wants them to. Usually the other person winds up feeling bad for the person using the guilt trip and so does what they wouldn’t have ordinarily done because the other person was somehow ‘wronged.’

It is a form of manipulation. That is what that ‘goodwill offering’ reminded me of. At the conclusion of the music performance a story was given of what it had taken for the performers to be there that night and how they needed the help of the audience to afford…whatever it was that needed funding. There was no mention of how those performers were making hundreds of dollars off the CD’s and other items they were selling that night.

That may not seem like all that much money. Assuming they made even a couple thousand dollars that night…but the performance was only about an hour long.

The reality is that in the music industry that really isn’t that much money. I have a relative that recently bought concert tickets to go see a popular band. This person paid over $550.00 for two tickets. That was two tickets out of probably several thousand that were sold for this concert.

I’m not opposed to money being given to the performers, they did have expenses in being there and they do have to support themselves somehow. Now…that said…it does get into the subject of whether or not what they’re doing…because they are essentially sharing Christ through their music…is peddling Christ.

If Paul and the apostles supported themselves by means outside of Christ…should anyone support themselves with Christ?

And I ask that as a question because I truly don’t know the answer to the question.

But what I do know is that most preachers operate in exactly the same way that music performance was put on. When my relative decided to go to that concert they knew that in order to go it was going to cost whatever the price of a ticket was. They knew that should they go they had to be prepared to pay the price to get in. This relative even thought out how much they were willing to pay to get in and how much they could reasonably afford to pay. And the moment the tickets went on sale…they willingly paid the price, in advance, to go.

But that wasn’t what happened at the music performance I went to. The one I went to was ‘advertised’ as being free. It was a come enjoy the music kind of thing. There were no advance fees. No tickets sold ahead of time. No admission fees. It wasn’t until the end of the show that the audience was asked to give money to support the performers. It was much like a story that was told to prey on the emotions of those that were there. Once the music had been enjoyed the audience was told that if they enjoyed what they heard, could they please help support the performers by giving money.

It put me in the mind of a person that uses guilt trips to control those around them. It was manipulation. It was using Christ in music to get to the emotions of those listening and then using those newly touched emotions to get them to give money.

Preachers do much the same thing. Even in a ‘church’ that claims to never take up an offering there’s usually a hard to miss offering box or something else designed to take the offerings being given. Many times before the preaching is started there are announcements that speak of all the things the ‘church’ needs. The youth group is usually in need of funds for some reason, the children’s programs are often accepting donations for this, that, and the other. The seniors programs usually need something. Or some combination of all those things.

I have to wonder…if the ‘church’ receives any kind of offering, why do any of their programs need more funding? Why isn’t the ‘church’ funding them through the offerings given?

And so…what I see is an organization that finds ever more ways to peddle Christ.

Several years ago I heard about a man that was riding his bicycle cross country for the sole purpose of spreading the Gospel. I don’t know the details of his situation or why he did what he did. I don’t know what gain he got from what he did. Maybe he simply did it to teach of Christ…I don’t know.

What I do know is that if that man did what I heard he was doing…he taught Christ without a building and without the need for funds that seems to be never ending in the ‘church’ building.

There is an understanding among those that travel in RV’s full time that living the way they do is much cheaper than living in a home with rent payments, mortgage payments, home insurance, property taxes, utility bills, upkeep, the need for things to fill the home… Those that live full time in an RV say that living as they do is much cheaper than when they lived in a real house.

How much cheaper would it be to share Christ if the preachers gave up their ‘churches’? How much would it cost them to share Christ wherever they were and with whomever the Lord put in their path?

What if they taught Christ instead of peddling Him? What if they shared Christ instead of expecting to gain from what they’re sharing? What if they simply lived for Christ and shared Him as they lived their life instead of making a career of Christ?

That is what Paul did. That is even what Christ Himself did. Strange as that may seem. Christ didn’t charge people for the miracles He performed. He simply performed miracles out of the faith of those doing the asking. What did He charge the woman that was healed because she touched His clothes? What did He charge the blind man who was given sight? What did He charge those who heard the Sermon on the Mount? What admission did He ask of them? What guilt trip did He put on them so that they would give a ‘goodwill offering’ at the end?

In Acts 20:17  Paul has called to him a group of Elders from Ephesus…

From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church.

 These were not ordinary everyday men, they were the leaders of the people of God. They were the preachers, the teachers.

This was a time when people did not have a Bible to turn to. They didn’t have the Scriptures in their homes…in fact the Scriptures hadn’t even been fully written yet. Believers in that day had little beyond other believers to guide them in their faith.

I have recently done some research into the history of the Bible, have even written on that very topic. I have even gone so far as to write out some of the Scriptures for the purpose of understanding some of what it might have been like to be in a time and place where the only way to have the Scriptures was to copy them down or to pay the rather high price…it often cost a priest in the 1400’s, 1500’s, and beyond an entire years wages to own a Bible…but this was in a time when there were no Bibles to be had. And so these leaders…had to lead correctly. Their insight was valuable…so was the need for it to be accurate.

And so Paul has called the elders…the preachers…the teachers…to him. And he began to teach them, to guide them, to lead them so that they might lead others.

¹⁸ When they arrived, he said to them: “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. ¹⁹ I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents.

He begins by telling them how he served the Lord with great humility and with tears even in the midst of great suffering. Anne Dutton, a puritan writer, called the trials and tribulations we endure as Christians the ‘cup of bitters.’ She says we should drink freely of that cup because it is sweetened by Christ.

Something tells me that the way Paul served Christ and the way most preachers ‘serve’ Christ is vastly different. There is a reformed preacher that recently preached on the persecution. He said that losing his tax exempt status was persecution. Can you see Paul calling a financial issue persecution?  Paul said… I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents. Somehow I don’t think anyone that experienced the kind of persecution Paul did would consider anything financial to be persecution.

Paul told the elders of Ephesus that he served the Lord with great humility and tears in the midst of severe testing. Notice the use of the word great before humility. He served with great humility. What classifies great humility?

Years ago I found a supposedly Christian book on humility at a thrift store. I bought it and took it home with all intention of reading it. It sat on my self for years without ever being looked at. Eventually I got rid of it, still without reading any of it. Today, we have books written that can supposedly teach us how to be humble. Paul had no such books. And yet he served the Lord with great humility.

What lessons the elders learned from Paul in just those few sentences. They are lessons everyone of our time should continue to learn…they are lessons our elders, those the modern ‘churches’ call preachers, should learn.

²⁰ You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house.

Paul goes on to say that he has not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful. I recently read something online, said by a reformed preacher, of how most preachers do not preach or teach or even speak of the wrath of God. This preacher talked of how most preachers teach of the love of God but they never speak of the anger…the hate…of God. This preacher then went on to say how, as a preacher, it’s difficult to preach on the hate of God. But Paul says that he didn’t hesitate to preach anything that might be useful.

Ahh…but then comes the next part. I…have taught you publicly and from house to house. Paul tells where he did his preaching. He preached in public and in one house or another. He did not have a building where he preached according to a calendar or a clock. He did not preach on an agenda. He preached in public and he preached as he went from person to person, house to house.

There is a reformed man that has a program online where he goes into the public and challenges the beliefs of the people there. While he is doing it he gives them the truth of Scripture straight from Scripture.

When I think of a preacher teaching in public that is what I imagine. Someone that goes out…into the public…and preaches to the people where they are. I know that ‘church’ buildings are open to the public and therefore could probably be considered public preaching. But I have to ask…is that really public preaching? Is that preaching in public?

Is that what Paul did?

I think of the ‘church’ I sometimes attend…and those sometimes are growing fewer and fewer…and I think of the people that are there week after week. It is mostly the same crowd of people in the audience every week, every sermon.

I am well aware of the fact that Christians need to be edified and I know well the verses that tell us not to forsake the assembly but…I must wonder if a preacher’s main job should be to stand before the same people week after week, giving them bite sized pieces of Scripture…Scripture that is often predigested so that it doesn’t upset them.

These are people that have heard the gospel…they at least have heard that preachers version of the gospel. In our country it would be near impossible for anyone to live out their life without hearing at least the basics of the gospel. And yet…these ‘church’ building preachers stand before their congregations, ‘leading their flocks’, week after week after week.  They give different sermons to guide their ‘flocks’ through their lives while failing to give them much of the basis of the true Gospel.

These preachers…stand before a collection of followers…followers of themselves…giving them bites of Scripture that feed the surface level of their belief and never feed them that which offends them.

And in the end…this preacher…this leader…usually expects a money offering to be given. It is an often times outright spoken expectation of going to a ‘church’ building.

How far these preachers are from what Paul was. How much they could learn if they would stop peddling Christ and look instead to the example that Christ set in how He preached His own gospel. How much they could learn if they would read and listen to what Paul taught.

Instead they peddle Christ.

Even though Paul clearly laid out a foundation for how to preach and lead. He even tells what they should preach…in case it was missed when John the Baptist or Christ Himself preached it…

²¹ I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.

There is the gospel. It is the gospel as given by John the Baptist, it is the gospel given by Christ. It is the gospel given by the disciples, and it is the gospel given by Paul.

Repent. Repent and have faith in Christ. Repent and believe.

That is the gospel. There is nothing in there about saying a prayer or making a ‘decision for Christ.’ Nowhere in Scripture does it say you should ‘invite Jesus into your heart.’ Repent and have faith…repent and believe. That is the basis of salvation. It is the first step. It is what should be taught by all preachers. Instead they peddle the ‘Christ’ that gains them the position they desire and lines their pockets with the money they don’t work for.

²² “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. ²³ I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.

There are missionaries that go into the world to preach the gospel…whatever version of it they may believe in…and do so knowing that they are going into places where prison, hardships and even death may await them.

That is what Paul did. That is the life he led. He went from town to town, warned by the Holy Spirit that hardship and prison may await him, and still he went to preach in the public places and in the private houses.

Why?

What prompted him to do such a thing? He gives us that very answer…

²⁴ However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

Have you ever met anyone that felt as if their life was worth nothing to them? I have. It’s a bit disconcerting at first. I know that Scripture tells us that to live is Christ, to die is gain, and yet…I am still a fallen creature, a person of the flesh even as I am a person saved in the Spirit. And I am a wife, a mother, a grandmother, a daughter, a sister. My mind, my heart, desires Christ, I long for Him. But…I also know I’m needed by those entrusted to me on this earth. But I know someone that looks forward to death and speaks of it as one might talk of a long awaited vacation. I can’t do that. At least not at this point in my life.

I live to Christ and my death will be gain for me, but…I am flesh. I am fallen. I am weak. I have people that love me, people I know would be hurt if I were to leave this earth. And that prevents me from fully looking forward to death. But I love someone that has reached the point where they can look to death in just such a way. I hear this person say…this life doesn’t matter, we will soon be dead.

It puts me in the mind of a sermon I heard once. This sermon was given by a reformed man. In it he said something to the effect of if you knew you were only going to stay in a hotel for a night or two would you start redecorating the room, buying new furniture for it?

Death is imminent for all of us. Every moment that we live brings us one step closer to death. We live…to die. From the moment we are conceived there is no choice but that we will die. I knew someone that once told me we have the power to control life and death. I think I understood what this person meant…I think they were implying that we have the power to control whether or not we have children, whether or not we commit murder. We have the choice of whether or not to get an abortion. I think that was what this person was referring to. And yet…if we stop and think about it…we really have no power over death. A murderer may intend to kill someone but they are only successful if it is that person’s time to die. How many people survive violent attacks? How many of those people are told you shouldn’t be alive, there is no medical explanation for why you lived? How many babies survive an abortion?

When I was in my teens I met a girl that was the result of an abortion. The abortion was successful. The woman that walked into the abortion clinic pregnant, walked out with an empty womb. But she left behind a living baby that was saved by a nurse working in the clinic. That girl lived despite the procedure that should have ended her life.

Not all that long ago I read about a young woman that went to an abortion clinic and had an abortion. Several weeks later she discovered that she was still pregnant but that the baby had no amniotic sack. There were other things that the baby didn’t have, vital things, but I don’t remember all the details. Despite the attempt the kill the baby within her, the abortion was unsuccessful and the baby survived to be delivered…when it was missing vital parts of its support system. It should not have survived the abortion…but it did. It should not have been able to live without the system put into place to help a baby grow until it’s ready for birth…but it did. That baby should have died…it didn’t.

It is believed by some that we have the ability to control life and death. They say we can control pregnancy. There are numerous products and medications out there that are supposed to prevent pregnancy…but every one of them has been known to fail. I personally met a couple that both the husband and the wife had undergone surgery to prevent any future pregnancies. Despite being told by doctors that their surgeries were successful…they continued to have babies.

The same person that told me we can control life and death…eventually had a child despite their attempts to prevent pregnancy.

People may believe they have the ability to control life and death but…do they? Or are they mere instruments being used to work out the Lord’s plan for someone’s life?

The belief that we can control life and death is a belief that is held by many. It is…I guess…an important belief among those living in the flesh. It gives them something to hold onto. And there are many things that would make us think we do indeed hold that kind of power. How many women walk into an abortion clinic pregnant and walk out the mother of a dead baby? How many people never have a child, or have one on their timetable, because they made use of something designed to prevent pregnancy?

It would almost seem as if we do actually have that kind of power. But thinking that goes against the teaching of Scripture. It goes against the Lord.

And yet it is that very need to believe that we can control life that makes what Paul said so hard for some to grasp. I consider my life worth nothing to me… How many people in this world truly consider their lives worth nothing to them? It goes against the human nature…the flesh…our very being…to consider our life worth nothing. Paul would have gladly died for Christ. He clearly said that his goal in life was to live for Christ. …my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace. That was Paul’s purpose in life. It is a purpose that very few hold in life. Most people, even those that have been given new life in Christ, put at least some value on their human lives. They worry over those they love, they think of the struggles they endure, they even worry over their very salvation…but Paul said his only goal was to complete the task the Lord had given him.

If a person went through life with no other goal than to complete a job that they have been given…how would they look at life? Paul knew that his purpose in life was to spread the gospel and he clearly put that purpose at the forefront of how he lived his life. So much so that he went against his flesh to the point that he put no value on his life and all value on Christ and the job he had been given.

How hard must he have worked to spread the gospel? How much emotion must have been in the things he said? What Truth’s must have been in everything he said. He lived to complete his job of teaching of Christ. He taught because it was his purpose in life. He didn’t do it because he expected or even wanted pay. He had no reason to peddle Christ…he had a higher agenda. He worked for the spiritual side of life and his highest pay was to plant a seed that was used to salvation. Or maybe his highest payment was in seeing those the Lord had saved stay on the narrow path, seeing them understand what they were to do as Christians.

I don’t know what he considered to be his highest pay but his goal wasn’t something of the earth but something of eternity. He worked for an eternal Lord and he worked for the eternal souls of those that belonged to his Lord.

There is a thrift store that I visit sometimes that has a sign on the side of their building announcing that they have given over one million dollars in help to local people in need. Inside the store there is a sign that says how many people they have helped that week. The numbers are tallied and announced. I think the reason they put those numbers up there is so that those who donate to the store and those that shop there can see that their contributions are used toward helping those in their communities but…the numbers are tallied and posted for all to see.

There are many ‘churches’, many ‘Christian’ organizations, many ‘Christians’ that tally the number of people that they ‘led to Christ’ in much the same way. Their success is measured in numbers and they take full credit for the number of ‘souls saved.’

Paul did not concern himself with numbers. He concerned himself with completing the task that was given him by the Lord. He didn’t say he was out to ‘convert’ as many as he could, he never spoke of ‘leading someone to Christ’, never told how he had helped someone ‘make a decision for Christ.’ Because he wasn’t peddling Christ…he wasn’t keeping count…he wasn’t selling Christ in a way that he needed to be able to show his financers a return for their investment.

He was out to do the job assigned to him by the Lord and his sole purpose in life was to complete that goal. So much so that he considered his own life to be worthless.

²⁵ “Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. ²⁶ Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. ²⁷ For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God.

Paul clearly said that he told them everything of God and therefore was innocent of their blood. He told them everything. He wasn’t careful of what he told them because he was about the work of the Lord, the work assigned to him. If even his own life was worth nothing…how much stock would he put on keeping those he spoke to happy?

I think often of the sermon by Jonathon Edwards, Sinners in the hands of an angry God. How much pain there is in that sermon. Not pain of the preacher but pain for the person whose soul dangles over hell. The fervency in that sermon can be felt as it is read. The preacher was desperate to show the sinner exactly where they stood, how close they were to spending eternity in hell. That preacher didn’t shy away from telling those listening to him that they were on the verge of hell, he didn’t back off because someone might be offended, he didn’t sugar coat the truth. He gave them a heartfelt sermon filled with the anguish of someone that knows the torture awaiting the person they are speaking to. He spoke to them as if it was his only chance to show them what they were toying with.

It was a slap in the face, a hard shaking. A LOOK at what is about to befall you.

Paul did not teach of Christ because he wanted to make a living spreading the gospel. He taught of Christ because he had been appointed that job by the Lord himself. He had nothing to lose in teaching the Truth of the Gospel and teach it he did. So much so that he was able to say he had kept nothing from them.

How many preachers today share the entire Truth with those they are teaching? How many of them give them the wrath of God, the hate of a holy God, along with the sugar coated love?

Not very many.

Too many of them are busy peddling Christ instead of serving Him by desperately seeking to share the entire gospel so that they might say ‘I told you everything. I gave you the Truth, wholly, fully. I put your soul above my finances. I did not peddle Christ…I served Him.’

Instead of being able to say that, many of today’s preachers look more like what Paul warned the elders of next…

²⁸ Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. ²⁹ I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. ³⁰ Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. ³¹ So be on your guard!

The preachers in today’s ‘churches’ look more like what the elders were warned against than they do true teachers of Christ. They distort the truth, whether they do it out of intention or blindness, distort it they do.

And they do it for a paycheck that is their main reason for what they do. Even if they claim they are serving the Lord and would continue to do so without reimbursement most of them would not continue to devote their lives to preaching if they had to give up their homes and their tax exempt status…and their paychecks.

Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.

So much is said in that single sentence. He didn’t just preach to them, didn’t just teach them, but he warned them…for three years…night and day with tears. How he must have hurt for those he was leading…teaching…preaching to. How he must have agonized, not over their earthly lives because for someone who put no value on their own life…would he have valued the earthly lives of others…but over their souls, their spirits.

³² “Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

Here he speaks of an inheritance. This isn’t an earthly inheritance but their inheritance in the kingdom of God. And he gives them over to God. He has just told them that he has done all he can for them, now they are in the Lord’s hands.

And that brings us to the part of these Scriptures that truly tie to Peddling Christ. The rest was mostly background information. It was…context. Here is where we see that these verses tie to those that peddle Christ.

³³ I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. ³⁴ You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions.

He tells them that his own hands supplied not only for his own needs but for the needs of those that were with him. He has just finished telling the elders that he spent three years of his life teaching them and then he says he did not want anyone’s money…not even their clothing. He devoted three years of his life to them…to their souls…and he wanted nothing from them. He tells them that not only did he not want their money or clothing…but he worked to provide for himself and others.

Even as he devoted three years of teaching and tears to them…he worked to provide for himself.

Do we see that in the preachers of today? Do we see that in the men that stand in the fronts of the ‘church’ buildings week after week or do we see men that teach a watered down version of Scripture (at best) and how they line their own pockets with the ‘work’ of preaching?

Today’s preachers can’t even say…I told you everything of Scripture…as they peddle the ‘Christ’ that keeps the money flowing into their pockets.

³⁵ In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

In Paul’s own words…in everything I did, I showed you…he set the example. He lived out the example. He counted his life as nothing and he lived to preach of Christ. But he never once made a career of Christ. He didn’t peddle Christ. He didn’t make the name of Christ serve him by lining his own pockets with the ‘ill gotten gains’ that he took in by cashing in the name of Christ.

There are those that will make money off anything they can get their hands on. They will lie, steal and cheat to line their own pockets. They will use and abuse those that love them most to bring in money. In a lot of ways that is exactly what most, if not all, of the preachers in our ‘church’ buildings are doing today.

They put on a good show, the sermons…generally…sound at least half ways good. Their numbers grow. They can show the number of souls they ‘saved’. They can show the number of people they helped.

But they did all that through their peddling of Christ. They turn Christ into a career that is generally pretty lucrative and they claim to be ‘called by God’ as they do so.

Look again to verse 35…

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

Paul spoke of working hard to help the weak and how it is more blessed than to receive. How many ‘churches’ are financially supporting the elderly that have no family? How many of them are providing homes to the single mothers?

At the ‘church’ I sometimes attend I overheard an elderly couple talking to others from the ‘church’. This couple spoke of how they couldn’t afford a battery…costing about $100.00…for the husband’s truck and how they needed it because the husband needed to pick up a child from school and the wife usually had their only working vehicle with her to be able to work.

I do not know that couple, nor do I know anything of their situation, but I know that most weeks this ‘church’ takes in approximately $10,000.00 in offerings. Every single week. Why should there be anyone in that ‘church’ in need of something so minor? With an income of around $40,000.00 every month in only offerings…that isn’t counting the money brought in through the ‘churches’ other ventures…why should anyone need to suffer the inability to keep their vehicle running? Why should single mothers need to worry over food? Why should the elderly struggle for medications? Why…why…why…

The Church is the body of Christ…if something were truly the church, it would be about its Father’s business…just as Christ was. It would be serving others. It would take those funds that come in every week…all $10,000.00 of it, and it would give it to those that truly need it. If they gave so much that they couldn’t keep their building going…they would find a way to meet without it.

This same ‘church’ runs a food bank…and asks it’s congregation for donations of food.

Where does the money go? What do they put their funds to when they aren’t getting single mothers into homes? When they aren’t footing the bill for the food they give to the hungry? When they aren’t helping their members with the most basic of needs?

If something wears the title of church, shouldn’t it be giving more and receiving less?

If they’re serving Christ…and not making Christ serve them…wouldn’t they be using all of their funds to help others? Wouldn’t they be giving up much to serve Christ instead of gaining much as they Peddle Him?

Oh the wisdom we can gain from the above verses. What standards are set before us in those few verses. Paul was speaking directly to the elders of Ephesus in those verses but his message, his teaching, is just as applicable today.

In our modern day ‘churches’ the word elder is interchanged with preacher. These men that Paul had before him were the preachers in Ephesus. They were the leaders, the teachers. They were the ones that today would wear the title of preacher, except…maybe they wouldn’t. Because these men were truly preaching Christ and so in a country where ‘preachers’ are known by their associations with a ‘church’ building maybe these men would not hold that position if they lived in America today. 

Maybe they would be men that were going about their lives, working, helping others, and in the course of their lives…teaching of Christ. Because…these…presumably…were not men that were peddling Christ. They were men that were being taught by Paul himself.

And Paul certainly never peddled Christ.

Through Paul’s teachings we can see that he seemed to put great importance on working with his hands, on supporting himself, on not making a living off the task he was given by the Lord.

Preaching, teaching, wasn’t something he did…it was who he was.

Why do Christians today accept peddlers when we should expect servants? Why do we sit in the congregations of preachers that preach to line their own pockets while there are people in their ‘flock’ that are in need?

Why do we overlook this peddling of our Lord as if it is normal when we have the greatest Teacher to point us to how a servant should act?

Why do we nod our heads in approval when a preacher speaks of the ‘congregation’ giving to help someone while that same preacher still accepts their payment for that week? Why do we give the preacher credit for the little helps offered while overlooking who it is that is giving to make those helps possible?

Preachers stand in their pulpits week after week, sermon after sermon, giving a, generally, watered down or outright twisted sermon…and even if their sermon is doctrinally sound…they willingly accept their payment for selling Christ to their audience at the end of the sermon…or at the beginning.

Even when an offering plate isn’t passed…that preacher is being paid for the service he is doing the people in his congregation. His pockets are being filled with their ‘silver and gold’, his clothes are paid for with their ‘donations.’

Christ is his career and more often than not it pays well. He happily ‘serves’ the Lord because the name of Christ is big business. People pay high dollars to ‘give’ to the Lord. They believe their preacher is doing for them what they could never do for themselves, they believe is he a worker of God and therefore when they give to him…they give to God.

What they give to…more often than not…is the pockets of those that run the ‘church’. They buy Christ with their offerings and ‘donations’ because it is expected of them and often it is something they believe they must do to have any hope of salvation. God wants them to give to the ‘church’ is the general understanding and so…give they do.

And why do they give?

Because they have been brainwashed by the many preachers that have passed through their lives peddling Christ as if he was a set of dishes or a new stove.

Christ is where the money is and therefore these men, these peddlers, these...hucksters…will do all they can to…

Peddle Christ.

 

 

Peddling Christ

This is something I posted several months back and am reposting today because I have written a follow up post to it...a part two...that will be posted tomorrow. For anyone that may have missed this the first time I posted it, or for anyone that might like to read it again, I am reposting it so that it is easily accessed when part two is posted tomorrow.

I’ve seen the headlines for several news articles the last couple of days that talk about a prominent ‘Christian’ organization’s leader and how much money he is paid by the non-profit organization he runs. I haven’t read the articles but did see just a few sentences in one of them where it actually told the amount this man is paid. I know a lot of non-profit organizations pay the people that run them but I have to question how any company that pays someone to run it can truly be labeled non-profit. If someone’s being paid by that organization…doesn’t that make them a for profit company?

Someone, an individual, is making money off the funds that are given for the purpose of whatever that organization stands for. In this case it is the very man that claims to do so much for others that is making such a high salary from the money given to help those in need.

I think of all the ‘church’ buildings and how they have non-profit status. Some of those ‘church’ buildings pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to their pastors. And they don’t stop there. Many of them pay that same pastor’s living expense, they pay their vehicle expenses, some even pay their vacation expenses. Many of those same ‘church’ buildings also pay music leaders, youth pastors, secretaries, janitors, landscapers… Is that truly non-profit? Can they truly be not making a profit when those in charge of the ‘church’ are being paid…sometimes huge amounts…to run the ‘church’ that is supposedly not making a profit?

My husband and I have talked about preachers and their paychecks before. We’ve discussed it as it’s portrayed in Scripture. I can’t think of any better preacher than Paul. He is who gave us a good part of our New Testament teachings and it’s his teachings that I turn to time and again. I’m not a preacher, will never be a preacher, have no desire to be a preacher, cannot be a preacher per Scripture, but if I was a preacher I think I would look long and hard at Paul, not just his teachings but him, as a man, as a preacher. How did he live? What did he do?

It would take me pages and pages to summarize all of Paul’s life so I’m not going to try and do it in any detail but if we look to Paul what do we see? Of the man? Of the preacher?

He was a man with a powerful job. He was important. He was educated. And he gave it all up for Christ.

For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 1 Corinthians 2:2

All his knowledge wasn’t taken away, he gave it up. He decided to know nothing among men but Christ. Do we see that in preachers today? When was the last time you went to a ‘church’ building and heard the preacher say…I have decided to forget everything I’ve ever learned and teach you nothing but Christ.

I’ve never heard a preacher say that, not even a reformed preacher.

Let me ask you…what does that statement… For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified…say about Paul? Here he was, a man that gave up his powerful job, a job that gave him a lot of control, a job that most likely boosted his ego, his self-esteem, and he gave it and all else up to teach Christ, and he said I have decided to know nothing but Christ. Paul lived in a time when teaching of Christ was a serious offense. People were dying for doing what Paul was doing and yet he still said ‘I have decided to know nothing but Christ’.

I don’t know of a single preacher today that has done that or one that would do that. They know what they were taught in seminary. They know what they learned in high school or college. They know what they learned in the army. They know what they learned with their families. They know lots…but do they know nothing but Christ?

When was the last time you heard a preacher preach and knew he wasn’t getting paid for what he was doing? How much does a preacher make for giving a single sermon?

The preacher of the ‘church’ building I sometimes go to has said that he makes about $33,000.00 a year to be the preacher there. As I understand it that’s a pretty low amount for a preacher but it’s still a decent amount of money. This ‘church’ building doesn’t have Sunday evening services and the Wednesday evening services are preached by a rotation of lay pastors. Since I’ve never been to a Wednesday evening service I can’t say whether or not the main preacher ever preaches in them but let’s just assume he preaches one Wednesday service a month. That gives us 52 Sunday’s a year…104 services because there are two services every Sunday…and 12 Wednesday services a year. That’s 116 services this preacher delivers. With those numbers this preacher makes 284.48 per sermon delivered. That’s sermons that last about 30 minutes each. That means he makes over 500.00 an hour.

Now I know his job entails more than just delivering a sermon and so those numbers are affected by everything else he does. How many hours does he spend writing his sermons? How many hours does he sit beside someone’s hospital bed? How many other tasks does he perform? But even if we say he works 60 hours a week…he’s still being paid for a job that Paul described as…

Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which accords with godliness… Titus 1:1

1Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God… Romans 1:1

Paul described himself as a servant of Christ more than once. Time and again he said he was an apostle of Christ. He said he was set apart for the gospel, that he was a servant for the sake of the faith. Here was a man that lived to further the faith of the elect. He willingly became a servant, a slave, for Christ in order to serve others.

And he did it without being paid. In fact he worked as a tent maker to support himself and when he wasn’t working he taught Christ. He had a job, a profession that wasn’t preaching. He was a tentmaker.

I have no idea what people said about Paul in his day but if I imagine what it may have been like I would think that those that knew him, or knew of him, might have said something like ‘Paul’s that tentmaker that gave up being a soldier so he could teach about Jesus’. Depending on who was saying it or how they felt about Jesus would probably have affected their tone of voice, the derision they displayed toward Paul and his teachings, how excited they were or how crazy they thought he was.

But that was what Paul was…a tentmaker…it was his job, his profession. It was how he put food in his belly, how he bought the things he needed, how he supported himself. He worked with his hands and provided for himself. Then he preached. Then he taught. Quite possibly he taught of Christ while he worked, while he earned a living, but he didn’t make teaching of Christ his way of making a living. Christ wasn’t his paycheck.

He didn’t go out and preach expecting to make 500.00 an hour, he didn’t expect to make .10 an hour. His preaching and teaching wasn’t about money. He made that clear when he said he was a servant of God for the sake of the faith. But he didn’t stop there…he said he was a servant of God for the faith of the elect. For God’s people.

That wasn’t what he did…it was who he was.

Christ wasn’t something he did in order to put money in his pocket. Christ wasn’t Someone to be exploited so he could buy a bigger house, a fancy car, or fund his vacations. He didn’t make Christ’s name serve him…he served Christ.

Paul, himself, told us in 2 Corinthians 2:17…

For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ.

Paul made a distinction between the preaching and teaching he was doing and that of others of his time. He said… we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity. Apparently there were those that were peddling God’s word not from sincerity but out of some other reasoning. The definition of a peddler is that of someone going from place to place selling something.

From that it would seem that there were those in Paul’s time that were literally selling the word of God. Today we think of the Word of God as the Bible but we must remember that in Paul’s time there were no Bibles. So he couldn’t have been speaking of Bible salesmen. These were people that were selling the story of Christ. They were using Christ to line their own pockets and Paul clearly said He was not like them. He said that he…and the others…were men of sincerity. And he told us that these peddlers weren’t just a handful of people but that there were ‘so many’. I find the next part particularly meaningful. Not only did he say they were men of sincerity (showing that the peddlers weren’t) but he went on to say they were commissioned by God. As meaningful at that is it’s the last part that really stands out to me…we speak in Christ.

He said ‘we’re sincere men, not selling the word of God, but commissioned by God to speak in Christ.’ They had no bigger purpose for teaching and preaching than to teach Christ. They weren’t peddling Him. Weren’t selling Him. They were sincerely speaking ‘in Christ.’ Teaching out of a sincere belief, not out of self-motivation. Not from greed or self-gain.

Paul was preaching and teaching for nothing but the purpose of giving a message, of furthering the faith of the elect. He chose to know nothing but Christ and therefore taught nothing but Christ and in so doing he became a servant, a slave, that expected nothing in return for the teaching and preaching he was doing.

He didn’t pass an offering plate. He didn’t deliver a message to a group of people and then make them feel like they needed to give him money at the end. He didn’t tell them that God required they give him a percentage of their earnings. He simply taught them of Christ. And in so doing he was never afraid that the message he delivered might offend them into not giving him money. He didn’t have to play a game, work within certain rules, to keep the pocketbooks of his supporters happy because he had no financial supporters. He was able to preach and teach Christ and nothing else.

Paul gave us some wonderful insights into this very topic in 1 Thessalonians 3: 6-10…

Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. ⁷ For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you, ⁸ nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you. ⁹ It was not because we do not have that right, but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate. ¹⁰ For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. ¹¹ For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. ¹² Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

Where in any of the above teachings is there mention of making money off sharing the gospel? Where does it say that it’s okay to charge others to talk about Christ? It doesn’t. In fact Paul teaches exactly the opposite. In verse 6 he says…

Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us.

That single verse gives us a lot of insight into the message Paul is delivering. First of all with the second word he says, he shows that it isn’t just him that is saying this. He says…We…so there was more than just Paul being talked of here. One word later he makes it clear that he isn’t making a suggestion. He isn’t simply implying something or setting a guideline. He straight out said…we command you… This is a commandment. An order. It’s not a suggestion but a ‘this is what you are to do’ statement. He’s saying exactly how things should be.

And who is he saying it to?

Brothers. He is speaking to anyone that is in Christ. Anyone that is claiming the title of ‘Christian’. We command you, Brothers. This is a commandment, an order, given to Christians.

That first verse not only tells us who he’s talking to but it tells us why… that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us… Here he sets out the why and gives an example. How much plainer can he say it? Basically he’s saying…Listen up, Christians. Stay away from anyone that claims to be a Christian and doesn’t follow the example we have set for how a Christian is to act.

He’s set the foundation for the lessons he’s about to give. We command you, Christians, to stay away from any Christian that is idle, that doesn’t follow the example we have set for you.

Then he goes on to say…For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you,

He says here…you know how to act because we showed you through our actions. We weren’t idle. We set the example.

⁸ nor did we eat anyone's bread without paying for it,

This part sure goes against what is expected by the preachers and teachers of the modern ‘church’. When was the last time you saw any preacher doing anything not only with no expectation of being paid for it but by handing over his hard earned money…from a job outside his position as preacher…to pay for what he does while in the midst of the church? And before you think that you see it all the time, remember that every time a preacher sits with someone in the hospital, visits the home of a ‘church’ member, or witnesses to someone, that is part of his job description and so he’s actually being paid for what he’s doing. And if he spends money at a ‘church’ function…something he and his family are generally able to participate in, or partake of, free of charge even when everyone else has to pay…it’s money he made off the ‘church’ through the salary they pay him.

…but with toil and labor we worked night and day,

Paul not only says they paid for what they ate with money they made through their own work…toil and labor…but that they worked night and day to earn that money. And why did they work for their money instead of taking money from others?

that we might not be a burden to any of you.

They didn’t want to be a burden, a hardship, to those they were teaching. The next part of those verses tells us he did it out of his own choosing and not because of anything required of him. And remember it wasn’t just Paul that was doing this. The men that were teaching and preaching with Paul were also living off the wages they earned outside of their teaching of Christ.

Paul makes clear why they did what they did and the position they were in when they chose to teach of Christ without taking any payment from those that they taught.

  ⁹ It was not because we do not have that right,

He clearly says they had the right to accept payment from those they taught. It would have been okay, would have been acceptable. But they didn’t do it. Why? …that we might not be a burden to any of you. If that wasn’t enough of a reason he gave them another one…

but to give you in ourselves an example to imitate.

They not only didn’t ask for payment but they paid their own way, supported themselves, so as not to be a burden and to give others an example of how they should act, of what they should do.

¹⁰ For even when we were with you, we would give you this command:

This is the second time Paul has said…we…command… This was in a very short time, in a short message. We command you… It wasn’t a suggestion. Wasn’t an if-you-want-to-do-this-do-it. He’s saying we are telling you this is how you are to do this and we’ve set the example for you to follow. Here it is, pay attention.

If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat.

Here’s his order…do not do for those that won’t work for their keep. If you won’t work…you won’t eat.

¹¹ For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work,  

Some of you will not work, you won’t do anything to provide for yourselves.

¹² Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.

Go to work. Get a job. Earn a living. Either work…or go hungry.

Paul has clearly shown us in his teaching and by his example that a preacher is to work aside from the preaching and teaching he does of Christ. Serving Christ is to be just that…service to Him. We aren’t serving someone when we’re being paid for our works. We are simply exchanging what we do for compensation. We are furthering ourselves through what we are doing.

Through the example that Paul set we can clearly see that a preacher or teacher of Christ is to serve Christ through his slavery to Christ. There is no pay for a slave. There is no pay for a servant.

Some will say that 1 Timothy 3 says that it’s okay to take money for Preaching.

The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. ² Therefore an overseer^[a] must be above reproach, the husband of one wife,^[b] sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, ³ not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. ⁴ He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, ⁵ for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church? ⁶ He must not be a recent convert, or he may become puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. ⁷ Moreover, he must be well thought of by outsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into a snare of the devil.

⁸ Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued,^[c] not addicted to much wine, not greedy for dishonest gain. ⁹ They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. ¹⁰ And let them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. ¹¹ Their wives likewise must^[d] be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, faithful in all things. ¹² Let deacons each be the husband of one wife, managing their children and their own households well. ¹³ For those who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.

But if you read over those verses carefully…nowhere in it does it say that it’s okay to make your money teaching and Preaching Christ. Nothing in the above verses actually encourages the receiving of money for preaching or teaching. I’m not going to go through those verses individually but point out just a few.

If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.

It does say it’s noble to be an overseer but then it goes on to give a long list of requirements for that position. None of which include payment for the task. It does in fact say…

not a lover of money.

Now that doesn’t tackle payment for preaching one way or the other. It just says a man must not love money. How many preachers today would fall into the category of not loving money? How many of them receive salaries and compensation that makes a very lucrative income? If that’s not enough to point us away from the idea that those verses make it okay to accept money for preaching this one should…

not greedy for dishonest gain

How many of the messages preached in ‘church’ buildings today are done so straight from the truths of Scripture? How many of them are teaching nothing but Christ as Paul said he was? Do the preachers in those ‘church’ buildings meet this qualification… They must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience. And if they don’t…Are they not dishonestly gaining from the message’s they’re teaching? Are they not teaching false doctrines in those ‘church’ buildings and gaining from it? Even in ‘churches’ that are reformed and teach Truth…do their preachers not encourage giving money…tithing…to the ‘church’?

I know that many point to 1 Timothy 3 to dispute most, if not all, of what I’m saying here. But I don’t see anywhere in those verses where it says the preacher is to be supported by the congregation. I don’t see where it says its okay for him to take money for teaching and preaching Christ. What I do see in those verses is a long list of requirements that I’ve never yet met anyone that meets them.

How many people, whether preachers or not, meet these qualifications… sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, ³ not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money…if they somehow meet those, do they meet these… manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive.

Just one example…the preacher at the ‘church’ I sometimes go to says often that he ‘has world war 3 in the living room’ with his wife. Does that sound like a man that can manage his household well?

And although I see nowhere in 1 Timothy 3, or elsewhere, where it says a preacher can’t be paid for preaching and teaching, I do see where it’s not encouraged. And I see that the greatest preachers did not receive a salary for preaching or teaching.

What I do see strongly is that men that ‘peddled’ God’s word were not described in the same manner as Paul.

For we are not, like so many, peddlers of God's word, but as men of sincerity, as commissioned by God, in the sight of God we speak in Christ. 2 Corinthians 2:17

And if we remember…Paul did not take money for preaching even though he said he had the right to, he didn’t. He worked just the same as everyone else and preached out of service to Christ. And he said he was to be the example that others used.

I don’t see that example being put into practice today. What I do see is the meeting of ‘churches’ in all manner of things that don’t come close to being what Paul did.

I also see where we are told how worship is to be held when groups of believers get together.

²⁶ What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. ²⁹ Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. ³⁰ If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. ³¹ For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged, 1 Corinthians 14 26, 29-31

Those verses don’t even come close to describing what happens in modern ‘church’ buildings. In fact it doesn’t even come close to describing the much practiced once a week meeting that takes place in ‘church’ buildings. It says When you come together. There’s no distinction for that, no saying it happens once a week at a certain time, or a certain place. If we think to what life might have been like in Paul’s time, and if we think of what his schedule may have been like, it’s not real likely that he did the majority of his preaching on one day a week, in the same place, at the exact same time, week after week. And we know he didn’t because Scripture shows us how he went from one place to another. We can look to Jesus and his teachings and see that he didn’t speak only in a certain building, on a certain day, at a specific time either. Instead we see where Paul said…when you come together. That’s anytime. When you are together.

Then he tells us how those meetings are to go.

each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation.

Each person ‘coming together’ has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, to share with the group. It’s not one man doing all the teaching, all the preaching, all the song leading, all the talking. Each one shares something.

Several years ago I spoke with someone online that was going to what they called a house meeting. This person told me how each week, each person that met with them would bring a verse, or verses, that they wanted to share with the group. They would read their verse(s) and then the group would discuss it. I didn’t ask for too many details of how all that worked but from the way this person described it I got the impression that it was a group of people meeting in the home of someone and they all engaged in conversation on Scripture. There wasn’t a leader, they all shared and they all learned. That’s how I picture a meeting, or coming together, as Paul described it in the above Scripture.

Paul goes on to tell us…

Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said.

There’s nothing in that where he says there should be one man in charge of all the speaking and teaching. In fact it actually says that there is to be more than one man doing the teaching. And while one man speaks the others are to weigh what he says. Why? Could it be that it isn’t only for the purpose of the listeners learning but also so they can consider what they heard and then speak up if they have questions, concerns, or corrections?

³⁰ If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent.

Here, he says that if one of the listeners needs to speak the first should stop speaking and hear what he has to say.

³¹ For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all be encouraged,

First I have to ask what happens in a ‘church’ if the preacher gets it wrong? How many people in the congregation feel like they can stand up and correct the preacher during the sermon? I’ve never seen it happen and I’ve sat through many a sermon in my life. If no one feels like they can openly speak up during a sermon…how can an error in Scripture be pointed out? How can it be corrected? And if it isn’t corrected how many people will leave that sermon having learned something that isn’t there?

But that is exactly what happens week after week in ‘church’ after ‘church’. One man leads the entire service, he is solely responsible for what is being preached and taught. Everyone else there is under his tutelage, learning what he wants taught, whether it’s Biblically accurate or not.

And what does that do for and to the man doing the preaching?

In a good number of cases it gives that preacher the puffed up ego of being in charge. He has power and authority over the congregation. Some even go so far as to tell the people in their congregations that they must follow the rules and guidelines set forth by that preacher.

We have Scripture to warn us against that very thing.

I have written something to the church, but Diotrephes, who likes to put himself first, does not acknowledge our authority. ¹⁰ So if I come, I will bring up what he is doing, talking wicked nonsense against us. And not content with that, he refuses to welcome the brothers, and also stops those who want to and puts them out of the church. 3 John 9-10

We are shown an example of what happens when one man is in charge. Diotrephes placed himself above others and did not acknowledge the authority of John or others. He would not welcome the ‘brothers’, the believers. Not only that but he put anyone out of the church that wanted to welcome them. He was exercising his control over those in his church. Refusing to let others, that might teach the truth and correct him, in and kicking anyone that opposed that out.

How many ‘church’ buildings today kick people that oppose them out of their congregations? How many refuse to listen to anyone that might try and show them where what they’re doing or teaching is wrong?

And how many continue, week after week, sermon after sermon, to teach what wouldn’t hold up to the test of Scripture?

Scripture tells us what we are to do in those cases…

 If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person, and have nothing to do with him, that he may be ashamed. ¹⁵ Do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. 1 Thessalonians 3:14-15

We are to avoid them except to warn them for what they are doing. I don’t see that happening in the modern ‘church’ buildings either. Essentially we are told to judge anyone preaching anything other than the truth of Scripture and to avoid anyone that isn’t teaching that truth.

And a person that is using Christ to line his own pockets isn’t serving Christ but peddling Him and making Christ…or at least His name…serve him.