April 30, 2022 (29th day of 1st biblical month)
1 Cor. 9:1-14
:6 Minister's right to refrain from working
:14 The LORD directed/instructed/commanded preachers to get their living from the gospel.
If GOD commands/instructs it, then why must I disobey God, so that I must obey people who think that I must work a carnal job, to satisfy their opinion of what I must do?
1 Tim 5:17-18 "double honor" and "don't muzzle the ox", means that we should financially support the pastors.
Paul is the only biblical example of a minister working a carnal job during the time of his ministry. But he also collected tithes & offerings from the people. And he always maintained his right to do so.
We shouldn't look at Paul alone, but also to Jesus and all of his disciples and how Jesus taught them. And Jesus never taught the disciples to work a carnal job.
Mark 6:3 says that Jesus was a "carpenter". But if we read all of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, we easily see that Jesus did not work any carnal job (non-ministry job) after He started his ministry. Neither did any of his disciples.
They traveled much. They preached much. They baptized much. The ministry was their life from morning to night.
Jesus is the ultimate example of what a pastor must do, not Paul.
Paul was not God.
No command in the bible for ministers/pastors or apostles or prophets to work carnal jobs outside of their ministries.
In fact, just the opposite. We actually see that God commanded ministers, of both Old and New Covenants, to make their living from the gospel/ministry itself, and NOT from carnal works.
Numbers 18:23-24 Levites were not allowed to work any job except the ministry. They were not given their own tribal land, as all other tribes were. The people were commanded to support them. And they were commanded to collect tithes & offerings from the people for their own living expenses as well as the expenses of the ministry.
The Levites were the foreshadowing type of preachers as modern day pastors. Although there are many Old Covenant regulations that the modern pastors don't have to obey, such as the command to wash hands, and wear hats, etc.
People don't understand how much work and time is involved in being a pastor. And even more, the work & time involved in being an apostle or evangelist.
Matthew 6:24, 33 Carnal work for money creates a distraction from the pastor's ministry work and makes for serving of two masters. Focus on the work of ministry is diluted and the result is what we have today, ignorant pastors.
The people who insist that all pastors must work outside of the ministry must prove this from scripture, but the only thing that they can point to is that Paul tried not to depend entirely on tithes & offerings. They have a very narrow viewpoint of his writings, while totally ignoring many of his words. It's obvious that they are stuck in what they want to believe, rather than what the bible really teaches.
Exceptions: But of course, if a pastor has only 1-6 people in only one congregation, and he doesn't publish/translate a bible translation, and is not an overseer of other congregations, and doesn't have an international ministry, then of course, his work is not too much overbearing and it would be acceptable for him to work outside of the ministry.
But if a pastor or has more than just 6 people in his congregation, or is an apostle who an administrator over more than one congregation, or runs an international ministry, or is working on a bible translation, then he absolutely needs to focus on the ministry work and not be distracted with 20-60 hours per week carnal pursuit of money!
Full sermon audio: https://soundcloud.com/isawthelightministries/apr-30-2022-pastors-work-is-his-job
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