I Cor. 16:9
"For a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many
adversaries."
May 12, 2007
No one ever graduates from Bible study
until he meets the author face to face.
We celebrate Pentecost
on May 20th of this year. This is a celebration of the expansion of the New
Testament church, which is the witnessing church.
WITNESSING
Word Not in Vain
A highwayman once stopped John Wesley and demanded
his money or his life. Wesley, after giving him the money, said,
"Let me speak one word to you; the time may come when you will regret the
course of life in which you are now engaged. Remember this, 'The blood
of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin.'" No more was said, and
they parted. Many years after, as Wesley was going out of a church in
which he had been preaching, a stranger introduced himself, and asked Wesley
if he remembered being waylaid at such a time. He said he recollected
it. "I was that man," said the stranger, "and that
single verse you quoted on that occasion was the means of a total change in my
life and habits. I have long since been in the practice of attending the
house of god and of giving attention to His word, and trust that I am a
Christian."
Now Is All the time We Have
l. Remember that this may be the day the Lord
returns. The thought of Psalm 118:24 surely includes our rejoicing
in the return of the Lord. If I really believe Christ may return today,
I'll live differently than I ever have, seeking to effect others for Christ.
Nobody knows when He will return, so we ought to live each day as though He
will come back today.
2. Use time wisely, make the most of every
opportunity. (Col.4:5) Don't make excuses--be involved in the
lives of those outside the Lord. Pray daily that God will keep alive in
your heart a picture of those who are outside Christ as being lost. Ask
God to revive your loving concern that all men be taught of Him, and to help
you be involved in every effort to teach them.
3. Treat everyone as if you'll never see them again.
If we don't take for granted that we'll have time in the future, surely
our treatment of each other will greatly improve. Use the time now to
share a little about Jesus, for you may not have another opportunity.
If we truly believe now is all the time we have, what a
difference that will make in our lives. It's great to be part of the
family of God.
Church Year #6 - TRINITY
We conclude this last of the reminders of how the church year is divided
so that we can better teach our people the basic truths of our Christian
faith.
Trinity
Season
Trinity
Sunday is June 3rd and the Trinity season lasts until Dec. 1st
of 2007.
·
Ep.: Rom. 11:33-36, Gos.:
Jn. 3:1-15
During this season several series of
sermons on different topics could be preached. This is the non-festival half
of the Church Year. We as Lutherans do celebrate Oct. 31st as
Reformation Day.
·
Ep.:Rev. 14:6-7, Gos.: Mt.
11:12-15
There are many minor festivals that the
church used to celebrate, but do not really much anymore. There were days on
which different of the apostles would be remembered. But as time passed we
considered that focusing on them instead of our Lord was unwise. In The
Lutheran Hymnal pp. 159-167 there are many texts one can pick from to preach
on.
Of course
especially during this season and not just on Trinity
Sunday sermons could be based on a variety of texts to teach of how our
God is three Persons in one God. You could use some texts that show all three
persons together or texts that show each individually is God.
The Angels in Heaven Rejoice Over One Sinner Who
Repents
Here are two stories that you may rejoice also. In our sister church, Etago
CLC, some years ago a pastor openly sinned and was disciplined by the men.
He left the church. Now he has returned confessing his sin and asking for
forgiveness. The people have welcomed him back as a member of the
congregation with the Lord's forgiveness . Many years ago a Bible institute
student in the Nigerian CLC openly sinned and was reprimanded. He left the
NCLC. He has now returned, attending church and publicly confessed his sin
in the congregation. He has been welcomed back. The faculty of the Bible
Institute will now consider him for membership.
The Word of God is alive and active and sharper than any two edged sword
piercing...Heb. 4:12 Let us pray that if there are any pastors in our
fellowships who are violating the Word of God and the conduct
that a minister should follow that such repent and seek the Lord's
forgiveness. Let us also praise our merciful God whose Spirit works on
hearts through the Word. May each of us also faithfully speak the Word that
is needed.
Pastor Koenig
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B.A.S.I.C. NEWSLETTER # 97
I Cor. 16:9
"For a wide door for effective work has opened to me, and there are many
adversaries."
May 29, 2007
Supporting
Preachers of the Word
In the CLC USA
we have the joy of working together with our brethren in sister churches to
bring the Word of God to people. Above all we have the joy of working together
with Him. “For we are fellow workers for God…” I Cor. 3:9 “Working
together with him, then, we entreat you not to accept the grace of God in
vain.” 2 Cor. 6:1 Sometimes though when the ‘salary question’ arises
this is forgotten.
When some men inquire about joining with
us as they learn that there is no salary, they leave. For instance Pastor
Kossi in Togo
of the EELCT had a man who was to study with him to be a preacher in the
church. The man was told we do not give salary. While he also saw that Kossi
works as a headmaster to support himself and his family as a clear example,
still this man wanted a salary. He left then because he could not get one. Of
course we regret him not joining to work together, yet we are glad that the
desire for money excluded him from joining, as there may have been worse
difficulties later. Even within our fellowships the question of a salary
arises. Some years ago the former head of the BELC in India
gave salaries to men. Over several years working with our brothers we changed
this, though there is still once in a while a question about ‘salary’. We
all have a sinful flesh that expresses itself.
Mission
Board Policy
The CLC Mission Board policy is to not
pay salaries to preachers in our sister churches except in several special
instances. And even in these we hope over time to change that. It is neither
commanded nor forbidden in Scripture that we as a different church body
removed by the oceans are to pay salaries of sister church pastors. Since this
is a matter left for human judgment, the Mission Board has decided through
study and prayer that the policy is a good one. History has shown in looking
at many other situations that this is wise.
- For
us to pay a salary to a preacher in a sister church body can breed a
dependency on foreign help. We want our sister churches to be
self-governing, self-propagating and self-supporting. If we were to inject
this sizeable support it would not move toward self-support. Among all our
sister churches there are approaching 500 preachers.
- Paying
of salaries to all preachers would prolong a dependency to the point that it
would be unhealthy for the sister church. We have seen this unhealthy
attitude show itself in other areas. In one sister church we built several
churches. When the time came for repairs we were asked for repair costs as
these were ‘our’ churches. We have given bicycles for some who have
completed study. After several years we find that some have not kept up the
bicycles such that some need a ‘new’ one and we were asked to replace
such as if they were ‘our’ bicycles. Our policies try
to avoid these spiritually unhealthy attitudes.
- Paying
of salaries can also contribute to a coveting. There is a love for money in
all of us. If we pay one man more than another, the question is asked,
‘Why? Don’t I deserve that.’ Since we are not on the scene, since it
is not our church we do not know the situations and what can arise with
this. It is best that the local congregation supports its pastor as the
basis for the work. They and he know.
Some may wonder if it is a ‘loving’
thing, this policy. All any need do is remember how the CLCUSA has helped in
many other ways to support the work of preaching to see that our approach is
one of love.
Preaching
the Gospel – Living of the Gospel
In 1 Cor. 9:14 we read, “…the Lord
commanded that those who proclaim the Gospel should get their living by the
Gospel.” We see that this means that those who proclaim the Word receive
support from those who hear the Word. “If we have sown
spiritual good among you, is it too much if we reap your material benefits?”
9:11 Paul further illustrates this with verse 7, “…Who plants a vineyard
without eating any of its fruit? Who tends a flock without getting some of the
milk?”
In Gal. 6:6 Paul again points out the
preacher/congregation relationship of support, “Let him who is taught the
Word share all good things with him who teaches.” This relationship between
preacher and those preached to is so basic for the church. It is foundational
for the church. As can be seen, a foreign church body as the CLC USA
is not in this picture as paying salaries. God knows what He is doing. It is
His church. For Him to point this out in Scripture is very
important then.
The Twelve
and Seventy Sent Out
In the sending out of the twelve the
Lord explicitly points out how they should be supported as they travel and
preach, “…for the laborer deserves his food.” Mt. 10:10 This food is to
come from those who benefit. They were to go into the house of one who
received and listened.
In the sending out of the seventy again
our Lord says, “…the laborer deserves his wages…” Lk. 10:7 They were
to remain in a house that received the blessing, “eating and drinking what
they provide.” Those who are blessed with the Word support the preacher of
the Word.
The
Example of Paul Supported by Others
We do have the example of Paul working
with support from Philippi, “And you Philippians yourselves know that in the
beginning of the Gospel, when I left Macedonia,
no other church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving
except you only; for even in Thessalonica you sent me help once and again.”
Ph. 4:15-16 It should be noted that this was a very voluntary thing. The
Philippians did it at the time but not others. We of course send support to
our sister churches just as Philippi did to Paul.
The other reference to Paul accepting
support from other than the local church where he was working is, “I robbed
other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. And when
I was with you and was in want I did not burden any one, for my needs were
supplied by the brethren who came from Macedonia.”
2 Cor. 11:8-9 It seems then that there were other churches beyond the
Philippians who did support Paul in his work.
Paul the
Tentmaker
The way that Paul supported himself in
three specific situations, Ephesus,
Corinth,
Thessalonica, follows.
- Ephesus
– Acts 20:34-35 “You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my
necessities, and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you
that by so toiling one must help the weak, remembering the words of the Lord
Jesus, how He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
Paul spent up to three years working in the Ephesus
area on the third journey so that his laboring with his hands might have
been rather extensive. Notice also that he did it also for those “who were
with me.” Here is the example of the Apostle that we
must not forget in our situations today.
- Corinth
– Acts 18:3 “and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them,
and they worked, for by trade they were tentmakers.” Paul preached at Corinth
for at least 18 months, so that here is again a place where he could have
worked with his hands greatly to support himself.
- Thessalonica
– 2 Thess. 3:7-8 “For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us;
we were not idle when we were with you, we did not eat any one’s bread
without paying, but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we
might not burden any of you.” This is the attitude we pray all of our
fellows preachers have toward THE work of proclaiming the Gospel.
The CLC is following the example of Paul
in this regard in that we are trying to help preachers with ‘tentmaking’
or self-help projects. This we are doing extensively because it is Scriptural
and the comparison is clear with Paul and preachers today. We make loans in
the OT mode of ‘no interest’ to our brothers to assist them to work with
their hands or to allow the wife to work on some business project. It is very
important that these loans are repaid for then the money can be loaned out to
other brother preachers to help them. None repayment of the loan means not
helping a brother.
Conclusion
It is not for us
to murmur or complain, but to be thankful to the Lord for what He is doing for
us. We as preachers have the greatest task in the world. In considering the
‘salary question’ it is good to remember the words from the love chapter
13 of First Corinthians. “Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or
boastful; it is not arrogant or rude. Love does not insist on its own way; it
is not irritable or resentful;…Love bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things… When I was a child, I spoke like a
child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I
gave up childish ways.” Let us seek to be maturing in Christ always in this
question as in all others until that day when the imperfect will put on the
perfect and the corruptible will put on incorruptibility.
Pastor Koenig