Pastor’s corner - Serving others in the Christian Life

The great missionary Adoniram Judson once stated that his goal in life was to be like Christ rather than being like the apostles or any mere man.

His goal was to be “like Christ, drink His Spirit, and walk in His footsteps”.

Clearly, Judson understood that the Lord Jesus came to serve rather than to be served (Mark 10:45).

The apostle Paul reinforced this in Philippians 2:4 where he stated that each of us should be concerned not only about our own interests but in the interests of others.

Paul emphasized that Jesus (Eternal God) took on the form of a man and emptied himself by taking the form of a servant so that He might accomplish the Father’s will of redemption of mankind and glorification of God the Father.

Many of the Christian authors today appeal to our preoccupation with self. According to their psychobabble disguised in Biblical terminology, you can become a total woman, total man, gain financial wealth, experience self-healing, and so on. These books may contain some biblical truths but the prime message of these books, it seems to me, is that we should be pursuing our own comfort and some form of some self-expression rather than growth in the character and service of our Savior. A study of the Bible teaches us that our goal is to know and love God then serve Him will all our hearts, minds and souls.

One of the tests to check yourself out on Christian service is to answer this question:

If you think that you have a good attitude about being a servant, then how do you feel when people treat you like one? If you gripe and complain that you are the only one working, cleaning up, showing up to do the work, or “doing anything”, are you really expressing the servant’s attitude that Christ taught? The key to understanding Christian service is to be trained in the truth of God’s Word because human based philosophy will not give you peace.

Preparation for Christian Service begins with understanding the spiritual gift that God gave you. It will define your service to Him. In Ephesians 4:7-13 we note the gifts that are to train other spiritual gifts for Christian service.

First, in Ephesians 4:7 we note that each Christian receives grace from the Lord due to Christ paying for our sins on the cross and forgiving us. His victories over the penalty of sin on the cross, the grave by resurrection, and our enemy Satan by being seated at God’s right hand provided the opportunity for all mankind to be saved by faith in Christ alone. Once a person becomes a Christian he has the opportunity to learn the Word of God and spiritually mature. This prepares him for service.

Note that God gives a spiritual gift to each Christian regardless of social status, cultural background, race, gender, or human I.Q. Every believer has been given the same grace opportunity for spiritual growth and service. Every believer’s life has value, meaning, purpose, and direction based upon the grace provision of a spiritual gift. The believer must take advantage of this great blessing in order to benefit from it. This is a display of God’s grace!

Ephesians 4:8 “Therefore it says, When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, And He gave gifts to men.” This is a quote from Psalms 68:18 referring to Christ’s ascension into heaven and being seated at the right hand of God the Father. When this was accomplished Christ distributed spiritual gifts to believers for the whole Church Age (from Pentecost to the Rapture). The spiritual gifts in this context refer to communication gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists and pastor-teacher. There are numerous other spiritual gifts listed in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12 and 14 which teaches us that God is in charge of our service to Him!

The purpose of the pastor-teacher is revealed in Ephesians 4:12, “for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.” Pastors are to train and equip Christians in their churches for spiritual warfare against the forces of the world system and its philosophies. This is accomplished by teaching Christians the whole counsel of the Word of God. The “work of service” means to prepare Christians for service to Christ. The only true Christian service is based upon what the Word of God tells us to do rather than what we feel like doing.

The ultimate objective for the pastor’s work is “for the building up of the body of Christ,” which means by teaching sound doctrine the congregation is edified or built up in the knowledge of Christ. This provides the motivation for service to Christ and to one another (Romans 15:14, Colossians 1:28, 1 Thessalonians 5:14).

When Christians are being taught in the Word then there should be a “unity in the faith, knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:13.

In summary, Christian service is not based upon what we feel we should do but rather on what God’s Word tells us to do. Evangelists are to evangelize, pastors are to shepherd and teach, prophets are to prophesy, and other spiritual gifts are to function within their guidelines. In this way the body of Christ is built up and serves one another as Christ served His heavenly Father in obedience, humility, and with integrity.

Chaplain

Ron McMurray