BURDEN BEARING AND THE LOCAL CHURCH

Society as we know it is made up of groups of people who have something in common. Sometimes these groups formalize into an active, viable entity. Other times they do not. For instance, Gail and I enjoy watching a series on the Hallmark Channel that is titled WHEN CALLS THE HEART. This series is based on a series of books by the same title that were written by Christian author, Janette Oke. Towards the end of this most current season one of the main characters died. In an effort to figure out if the actor was simply fired from the show, or if this was in keeping with the story line of the books I did a Google search. As I did so I found that there was a whole community of people who followed this show who are known as HEARTIES. Though Gail and I enjoy this show, we do not follow it on social media. We are not HEARTIES, though we could be if we wanted.

The local church is a community of believers who are joined together for the purpose of worship, instruction, and evangelism. In the early days of the church it would appear that they not only had a common interest in the Messiah, Jesus, but they also had all things in common. Dr. Luke, writing about the Day of Pentecost when the church came into being, stated:

Acts 2:41–42 NASB95PARA

So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls. They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Because many of the charter members of the early church were Hellenistic Jews who had traveled from distant lands to be in Jerusalem for a Jewish holiday, they desired to stay in town rather than return to their homeland for the purpose of learning more about this new found faith. So they literally had all things in common, by participating in communal living.

Acts 4:32 NASB95PARA

And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them.

The term translated common in this text is koina. It is used in its various forms throughout the N.T. to refer to sharing, partnership, fellowship, etc. We find it in its verb form in our text for this morning, . In this instance it is used as an imperative command: “Share all good things.” The context of our passage is connected with the burden bearing that Paul had referred to in last weeks passage, and it is the close of the ethical section of this early letter from the Apostle Paul. Throughout this ethical section Paul has impressed on this bewitched community of believers that they need to live out the doctrine of the cross in their daily lives. He did so by summing up the Law in one statement, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” He continued by exhorting them to walk by the Spirit rather than give way to their basic, fleshly nature. He contrasted the works of the flesh with the fruit of the Spirit, and then challenged them to fulfill the law of Christ, the law of love, by bearing one another’s burdens.

I believe that the main point of our passage for this morning is that the believers in the local church are to share with the leadership in the burden of the ministry. As we go through our text we will look at various commands which help to define just how a believer is to share in this awesome burden. They do so by: supporting the ministry of the local church with their finances, standing firm against those who seek to deceive the church, sowing spiritual seed, persevering in ministry, and by doing good to all.

Let’s read our text together.

The first thing we see in our text is that believers share in the burden of the ministry by:

Supporting the Ministry of the Local Church with our Finances

Look with me at verse 6. I will begin by stating that there are differences of opinion regarding both where this verse belongs and what Paul intended by the statement to share in all good things with the one who teaches.

As to where this verse belongs, most modern translations put it together with verses 7-10, but some put it together with verses 1-5. The NKJV gives this verse its own paragraph.

The basic understanding of the verse changes based on which paragraph it is associated with. If it belongs with verse 1-5 then the reference is to bearing the spiritual burdens of the church. If it belongs to the paragraph with verses 7-10 then it may be a reference to finances. One author was bold enough to title his sermon on this passage: BURDEN BEARING, PART 2: PAY YOUR PASTOR! I wonder how well that was received by his congregation?

As I frequently do, I am going to take somewhat of an inclusive approach and say that this passage does refer to burden bearing, which includes supporting the local church with our finances.

Churches are not businesses which sell a product in order to make a profit. Our focus is not on profit margin, but on the One who is described as being prophet, priest and king. Therefore we, the local church, depend on the giving of those who attend in order to sustain our ministry.

Though we are not a profit seeking institution, it does take money in order to pay the bills. And when giving is down, as it has been so far this year, it is easy to get nervous about how we are going to make ends meet! Thus, one of the greatest ways that you as a church attendee can help carry the burden of the local church is by supporting it with your finances.

You may note that I am applying the text to the church, but Paul seems to apply it to the one who teaches. There is good Scriptural proof that ministers of the Gospel are to make their living from their ministry. As Jesus prepared to send the disciples out to minister two by two He gave this instruction to them:

Luke 10:7 NASB95PARA

Stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house.

Though Paul chose to pay his own way and not rely on monies from others, still he referred to this passage to point out that he did have the right to earn his living from the work of the Gospel.

1 Corinthians 9:14 NASB95PARA

So also the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel.

Elsewhere he taught: ,

1 Timothy 5:17 NASB95PARA

The elders who rule well are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching.

1 Timothy 5:18 NASB95PARA

For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle the ox while he is threshing,” and “The laborer is worthy of his wages.”

I will just say that I have been blessed to be your pastor. You folks, collectively, have sacrificed much to provide for me and my family.

The second thing we see in our text is that believers share in the burden of the ministry by:

Standing Firm Against Those who Seek to Deceive the Church

In the context of this Epistle, there were those who were seeking to get the people who made up these local churches in the region of Galatia to embrace a different gospel than the one the Paul had preached to them. But Paul issues the command to not be deceived. “Stand firm against the teachers who would lead you to embrace a different gospel, for there is only one true gospel!”

Paul went on to indicate that embracing a different gospel is itself a mockery of God. Of course this deception may be broader than being about the gospel message. It may be in regards to the need for supporting the local church with your finances as well. Some folks deceive themselves in this matter, others are deceived by someone else.

I’m trying to be delicate in reference to the matter of giving. Most preachers that I know, myself included, don’t like preaching on giving because we don’t want be accused of being greedy.

The third thing we see in our text is that believers share in the burden of the ministry by:

Sowing Spiritual Seed

You folks know that we like to plant a garden. Before we moved here we never had a garden, although as a kid we had a huge one. Though I am not a gardening expert I know enough not to expect to grow corn from bean seeds. I do not expect to harvest potatoes from cucumber seeds. You reap or harvest what you sow.

I take it that the seeds sown to the flesh refers back to and the deeds of the flesh. And the seeds sown to the Spirit refers back to and the fruit of the Spirit.

We as believers have nothing to do with our own salvation. It is totally the work of God in Christ Jesus. We have been justified by faith, apart from any sort of work or merit which we have done. We have been saved according to God’s mercy. And from a positional standpoint we have been sanctified by God as well, since He set us apart for Himself from the foundations of the world. But from a practical standpoint we are to be engaged in the process of sanctification. As Paul wrote to the ,

Philippians 2:12 NASB95PARA

So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your salvation with fear and trembling;

Philippians 2:15 NASB95PARA

so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world,

Philippians 2:13 NASB95PARA

for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

The fourth thing we see in our text is that believers share in the burden of the ministry by:

Persevering in Ministry

It is easy to lose heart in doing good. Sometimes we grow weary either in our private battle with the flesh or in the ministry of the church.

William Carey is considered to be the father of modern day missions work. He went to India as a missionary and was there for seven years before he saw his first convert. It would have been easy for him to give up and walk away from it all. The same can be said of our ministry here. We can easily get discouraged by our financial issues, or by the lack of growth in attendance. I know I sometimes do. But you see, the seed of the gospel has a different rate of germination than do the various types of seed that we plant in our gardens. Garden seed is predictable. You can look at the information on the back of a seed package and get an idea of when you will be able to harvest the seed. Not so with the gospel. Sometimes it takes decades for the gospel seed to germinate.

Philip Ryken related an account of a man by the name of Luke Short who was a colonist in Virginia long before the War for Independence. When he was 18 Short heard the Puritan John Flavel preach a sermon. Eighty-five years later, as Short was sitting under a hedge he recalled this sermon that he had heard, and he placed his faith in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior, at the tender age of 103. His tombstone has this inscription: “Here lies a babe in grace, aged three years, who died according to nature, aged 106.”

If anyone had the right to be discourage in ministry it was the Apostle Paul who was confronted with violent opposition just about everywhere he preached the gospel of the cross and the empty tomb. Writing to the Corinthians he stated:

2 Corinthians 4:1 NASB95PARA

Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received mercy, we do not lose heart,

2 Corinthians 4:7–12 NASB95PARA

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death works in us, but life in you.

2 Corinthians 4:16–18 NASB95PARA

Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

The final thing we see in our text is that believers share in the burden of the ministry by:

Doing Good to All

Did you notice that there was an explanatory clause in this passage (for lack of a better label). Especially to those who are of the household of the faith. Our deeds of kindness, whether financial or otherwise, begin within our local assembly. The material needs within our own body of believers must take priority over the needs that are elsewhere. I would even take this a little further by stating that the needs of fellow believers who are not a part of this assembly take priority over the needs of non-believers. But as the Lord allows, we should do good to all people.

The most meaningful way that we can do good to those who are outside of Christ is to share the life-giving message of the gospel with them! The message that begins with a Ruler to whom all men are accountable. And moves on to we who have rebelled against His ruler. And how this Ruler provided a Redeemer, Jesus Christ, His Only Begotten Son. And then comes down to the reception of the work that Christ did on their behalf.

We have some cards made up with the church’s information and a gospel message. I strongly recommend that you take some of these cards and pass them out to people that you know need to hear the life saving message of the cross and the empty tomb.

Conclusion

As we close this part of our service this morning, I want to remind a bit of what we have looked at. We have seen that the believers in the local church are to share with the leadership in the burden of the ministry. They do so by: supporting the ministry of the local church with their finances, standing firm against those who seek to deceive the church, sowing spiritual seed, persevering in ministry, and by doing good to all.

Let’s pray.

Closing Song: No. 305 — Jesus Paid it All