1 Am I not an ambassador of the Gospel? Am I not free? Haven't I Jesus the Anointed One, our Master? Isn't it because of my work that you serve the Master?
2 Even if others think I'm not an ambassador of the Anointed One, I am without a doubt one to you, because the proof of my ambassasdorship is your walk with the Master.
3 This is my answer to those who question my authority:
4 Don't we have the right to eat and drink?
5 Don't we have the right to bring a sister or wife with us, like the other ambassadors of the Good News, the Master's brothers, and Peter do?
6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have to work to make a living?
The average sermon or Bible study takes 10 hours of research and writing to prepare. Add in the amount of counceling and business the average pastor does, and you can see it is already a full time job to pastor a church. Yet, most American pastors are bi-vocational; they work for the church AND have a secular job to support their familites. This is not the way the Bible says it should be. Ministers should be supported by their churches so they can give their all to the congregation.
Even churches that do pay their pastors what is supposed to be a living wage, often keep him in poverty. Often his wife is forced to go get a job so that they can survive, yet this takes her away from her ministry to her children and from helping her husband in his (Yes, I know most famillies have two incomes today, but this is not biblical. God wants parents to raise their own children, not leave them to the babysitter, and not just until they turn 5 either. Parents are responsible for everything a child learns from birth until they are on their own, even if it the cuss word on the playground or the godless attitude in the classroom.)
7 Does a soldier have to pay to go to war? Doesn't someone who plants a vineyard get to eat some of its fruit? Doesn't a shepherd who feeds his flock get to drink the milk it produces?
8 Am I just expressing a human opinon? Doesn't the Law same the same thing?
9 Because it Moses' wrote in the Law, "Don't put a muzzle on the ox that treads the grain." Did God say this because He cares so much about Oxen?
A common practice in non-industrial agriculture is to put all the grain you harvest on a special, circular floor, harness a draft animal such as an ox to a log, and let the animal pull it around in a circle. This cracks the hulls on the grain so the farmer can later seperate the chaff (outside hull) from the edible grain by winnowing (throwing the grain up in the air and letting the wind blow the chaff away. The grain is too heavy to blow and just falls back to the ground.)
God told Moses to not put a muzzle on the ox, which would let him eat all the grain he wanted while working to pull the log. The ox directly profited from his work.
10 Or does he say it for our sakes? Of course it is for us that this was written! He who plows should have hope of participating in the harvest, and he that threshes should look forward to eating what he has grown.
11 Since we have planted spiritual things in you, is it too much to ask for a harvest of food and drink?
12 If you support others, don't we have even more right of support? However, we haven't used this right. We would rather put up with suffering than hinder the cause of the Anointed One.
13 Don't you know that those who minister in holy things live on the things donated to the Temple? And those who work at the altar eat whats on the altar?
14 In the same way, the Boss has ordered that those who preach the Good News should get their living from those who hear the Good News.
15 But I have never used these rights, and I haven't written this so that you will start to send me money now. I would rather die than be deprived of my bragging (about preaching the Good News without charge.)
16 Yet preaching the Good News is not something I can brag about. I am forced by God to do it. How terrible for me if I didn’t preach the Good News!
17 If I preach willingly, I will be rewarded. If I preach against my will, I am still assigned this work to do anyway.
18 Then what is my reward? Truly, that I get to preach the Good News without charging a fee. That's why I don't demand my rightful pay from you.
20 When I'm with Jews I live like a Jew so I might bring the Jews to Jesus. When I'm with those who follow Moses' Law I obey the Law so that I might bring those under the Law to Jesus.
21 To those who do not live under the Law I live without Law so I might bring them to Jesus. (Not that I disobey God's Law. I do follow the laws of the Anointed One.)
22 I become weak when around those who are weak so I can save the weak. I live however I need to wherever I am so that I can bring as many as I can to Jesus.
23 I do this for the sake of the Good News, so I can share in its blessings.
25 Anyone who is disciplined enough to train for races, is diciplined in every area of life. They do this to win a prize that will decay. We do it to win a prize that will never decay.
The "prize" generally given in races in this time period was a crown made of olive leaves, so it decayed quite quickly. But even a crown of gold will eventually tarnish.
Our "crown" is heaven. It will never decay or tarnish.
26 That's how I run- not aimlessly (but with purpose); That's how I fight- not like a boxer just beating the air.
27 No, I subdue my own body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I won't fail to pass the test myself.
3 This is my answer to those who question my authority:
4 Don't we have the right to eat and drink?
5 Don't we have the right to bring a sister or wife with us, like the other ambassadors of the Good News, the Master's brothers, and Peter do?
6 Or is it only Barnabas and I who have to work to make a living?
The average sermon or Bible study takes 10 hours of research and writing to prepare. Add in the amount of counceling and business the average pastor does, and you can see it is already a full time job to pastor a church. Yet, most American pastors are bi-vocational; they work for the church AND have a secular job to support their familites. This is not the way the Bible says it should be. Ministers should be supported by their churches so they can give their all to the congregation.
Even churches that do pay their pastors what is supposed to be a living wage, often keep him in poverty. Often his wife is forced to go get a job so that they can survive, yet this takes her away from her ministry to her children and from helping her husband in his (Yes, I know most famillies have two incomes today, but this is not biblical. God wants parents to raise their own children, not leave them to the babysitter, and not just until they turn 5 either. Parents are responsible for everything a child learns from birth until they are on their own, even if it the cuss word on the playground or the godless attitude in the classroom.)
7 Does a soldier have to pay to go to war? Doesn't someone who plants a vineyard get to eat some of its fruit? Doesn't a shepherd who feeds his flock get to drink the milk it produces?
8 Am I just expressing a human opinon? Doesn't the Law same the same thing?
9 Because it Moses' wrote in the Law, "Don't put a muzzle on the ox that treads the grain." Did God say this because He cares so much about Oxen?
A common practice in non-industrial agriculture is to put all the grain you harvest on a special, circular floor, harness a draft animal such as an ox to a log, and let the animal pull it around in a circle. This cracks the hulls on the grain so the farmer can later seperate the chaff (outside hull) from the edible grain by winnowing (throwing the grain up in the air and letting the wind blow the chaff away. The grain is too heavy to blow and just falls back to the ground.)
God told Moses to not put a muzzle on the ox, which would let him eat all the grain he wanted while working to pull the log. The ox directly profited from his work.
10 Or does he say it for our sakes? Of course it is for us that this was written! He who plows should have hope of participating in the harvest, and he that threshes should look forward to eating what he has grown.
11 Since we have planted spiritual things in you, is it too much to ask for a harvest of food and drink?
12 If you support others, don't we have even more right of support? However, we haven't used this right. We would rather put up with suffering than hinder the cause of the Anointed One.
13 Don't you know that those who minister in holy things live on the things donated to the Temple? And those who work at the altar eat whats on the altar?
14 In the same way, the Boss has ordered that those who preach the Good News should get their living from those who hear the Good News.
15 But I have never used these rights, and I haven't written this so that you will start to send me money now. I would rather die than be deprived of my bragging (about preaching the Good News without charge.)
16 Yet preaching the Good News is not something I can brag about. I am forced by God to do it. How terrible for me if I didn’t preach the Good News!
17 If I preach willingly, I will be rewarded. If I preach against my will, I am still assigned this work to do anyway.
18 Then what is my reward? Truly, that I get to preach the Good News without charging a fee. That's why I don't demand my rightful pay from you.
Paul a Servant to All
19 For though I am a free man with no master, yet I have made myself a servanat to everyone, so that I can bring more people to Jesus.20 When I'm with Jews I live like a Jew so I might bring the Jews to Jesus. When I'm with those who follow Moses' Law I obey the Law so that I might bring those under the Law to Jesus.
21 To those who do not live under the Law I live without Law so I might bring them to Jesus. (Not that I disobey God's Law. I do follow the laws of the Anointed One.)
22 I become weak when around those who are weak so I can save the weak. I live however I need to wherever I am so that I can bring as many as I can to Jesus.
23 I do this for the sake of the Good News, so I can share in its blessings.
Run Your Race to Win
24 Don't you know that everyone in a race runs, but only one person wins a prize? So run to win!25 Anyone who is disciplined enough to train for races, is diciplined in every area of life. They do this to win a prize that will decay. We do it to win a prize that will never decay.
The "prize" generally given in races in this time period was a crown made of olive leaves, so it decayed quite quickly. But even a crown of gold will eventually tarnish.
Our "crown" is heaven. It will never decay or tarnish.
26 That's how I run- not aimlessly (but with purpose); That's how I fight- not like a boxer just beating the air.
27 No, I subdue my own body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I won't fail to pass the test myself.
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